Folk Dancer- Vintage Spirit #9

Just finished! Deciding who this bottle would become was easy- she was already depicted on the label.  I just focused in on the dancers. Except for the bottle, she is all cloth. Her hands are wired which allow her to grasp her skirt.  

Here is a close up of the label. I used the colors on the girl in front and just went from there.

This label is from the 1930's-A German Wine. 

What Was I Thinking??

I can't imagine why I decided to post a picture of my work space (or should I say disaster area) yesterday. Since then I have been browsing other blogs and NO ONE puts up pictures of their space when it is messy! Everyone else shows pictures of their studio space in pristine condition. What was I thinking?? Oh well. damage done. So now I am going to try to put a spin on it (yes, presidential politics has definitely started in New Hampshire) and include a few new photos of a somewhat cleaner space.

I am finished with the two Vintage Spirit dolls (bottle dolls- I call them my Vintage Spirits because much of the fabric and all of the jewelry I use on them is vintage; and spirits because of the liquor bottles) I have been working on except obviously for their heads. Still procrastinating, I cleaned up the work space and took a few "after" pictures. I collected a few of my other figures to look at when I tackle the faces on the two new additions- otherwise this is a pretty accurate look at my work space on an off day.

 I think this is a great idea for organizing tools yet still keeping them in close proximity to the work space. You can see all my beads in the Gerber containers I mentioned in my last post. I like that I can just stand in front of it and see it all at one glance.

Here is a picture of my fabric cabinet with all my thread attached to the side. I bought these tin pails years ago at Walmart in the floral department I think. They are the perfect size- about 4 inches tall with a 5 inch diameter. I have the thread color coded- each pail has the possibility of holding about 20 spools which is more than I have ever accumulated in any color family.
The fabric armoire that the pails are attached to is approximately 3 feet wide by 4 feet tall. Not big by any means but inside the shelves are totally full on ALL my fabric, color coded. I NEVER buy fabric for a specific figure. Instead I buy fabric I like and put it in this cabinet. So when I am contemplating costuming I can open it and like every piece of fabric that I see. That way I am always happy with the fabric that I am working with on any figure. I also will never buy more fabric than this armoire can accommodate. I know most people have much much more than I, but personally I would feel overwhelmed by any more, and I seem to always be able to find that "perfect piece" with what I have stored here whenever I am working on a figure
Well. now I have shared 1/2 of my work space- and in somewhat decent condition- so I feel better. Tomorrow I will get my courage up and tackle the heads...until then .....

Mess In Progress

Yes I know the saying is "Work in Progress" but I think in my case it is better described as "Mess in Progress".  I am generally not a messy person, but for some reason when I am working on a figure I choose to operate amid complete chaos. I think of it as my personal "Hyde" time. My work table is quite large, 4'x6' but when I am working it shrinks down to 1'x2' open space. Then, when I am finished with the doll, I will clean off the entire table and will have this amazing space again- that apparently I will never actually use! Crazy

I keep all my beads in plastic Gerber baby food containers and as you can see I have pulled out quite a few. I keep all my thread color- coded in small tin buckets one of which is visible. I have all these buckets hanging on the side of my fabric cabinet. Speaking of fabric, I find I pull lots of fabric out and hence there is fabric piled up all over! Pins, scissors, trims....endless chaos!  But somehow, it seems to work for me. Currently I am working on two more bottle dolls. One is a folk dancer and the other a duchess. Neither have heads- I am procrastinating. Usually I finish one doll completely before starting another but I just have an aversion to creating the heads so I moved on. I will finish both before the summer is over and I return to work, but for now I am content to surround myself with the headless.
I promise I'll post the completed pieces soon.
I just thought I would share my mess with the world today.

Which Came First- The Chicken or the Egg?

It has been about a year since I've made a cloth doll as my focus has been on needle felting,
but recently I was in the grocery store and I saw this wine bottle and immediately knew who it was destined to become. So I bought the wine, drank every last drop, cleaned the bottle, and made her.

The last bottle doll I made I needle felted so it was a challenge returning to all cloth. But I really enjoyed the process and have decided to make a few more this summer.  I challenged the cloth doll group I belong to (Textile Tarts) to make one along with me this summer. I hope some of them take the challenge because it is lots of fun and moves along quickly since the bottle is most of the doll.

The hen is needle felted with legs made from paperclay and a shell for its beak. The eggs are also  made using paperclay.