Gone in a flash!

A short post just to say hello and then head back to my comfy place to suffer through the nasty cold that is making the rounds.

Colleen has come and gone and it seems like just a spec of time has passed. Nobody wanted her to go, we all wanted to find ways to keep her here, but it was not to be. She had to fly away and take on her next challenge.

If your doll club is deciding on a teacher, we can highly recommend Colleen. Those in our club who struggle the most with their doll faces, all came away feeling completely satisfied and that they now have so much more confidence after Colleens approach. Those who are more experienced, came away with an even more vast library of skills. In other words, each and everyone came away with a smiley face. Her approach is such that no matter your experience, you will learn from her.

The most common feedback was how she filled in the gaps of doll making. In other words, we can make dolls from A - Z, but now understand the steps that get us there. She connected all the dots with her well prepared, organized and confident way of teaching.

More to come soon…

Let’s Face It

A small post before tomorrow and Colleen arrives. I thought I better make sure to have something to identify myself and since I only had to add the trim to this, it seemed very appropriate.

This is from Colleen’s “About Face” pin doll class. What a quick and oh so cute project. Scroll down on this page and you’ll find it. They can be made to look so different each time you make it, so an easy way to give gifts, just choose their colours and you’re all set. Make one for everyone you know, they will love you for it.…. ;o)))

Place Mats

I love handmade place mats. To me they signify that you enjoy cooking, doesn’t have to be fancy cooking either, just healthy meals. It also, means that you have your meals together and talk about your days activities. A table does not have to be set with fine china and crystal either, it just has to feel welcoming.

With company coming, I just had to make place mats. I had a tablecloth I bought a while ago and while I love the colour, I didn’t have the right place mats to use. I did buy some of those skinny bamboo type, but when you rest your arms on them, not so comfy. Those I bought in a pinch, hence the need to go back to homemade.

When I was at one of our local fabric shops the other day, they had a display of the bolts of fabric and these kits made up for place mats and a table runner, didn’t buy the table runner, but for sure the mats. I didn’t have the tablecloth with me, but as luck would have it, the mats turned out to be just right…

What was a great discovery, something I had forgotten until I got the mats finished, was that the table cloth has lines of what look like hand stitching throughout. Of course it’s not hand stitched, but my sewing machine does the same kind of stitch.

I don’t use a lot of the stitches my machine has, but this one I do. It’s called a “sculpting stitch”. You use regular thread in the bobbin and invisible thread on top, adjust the tension and set the stitch on the machine. What you get is this.  My machine is a Janome Decor DC 3050 if you have a place nearby to go and see the stitch in real life.

And here are the finished mats. The last picture shows you the backing and how the stitching shows up on the bottom. Now off to conquer something else…Have a great weekend everyone.

Bethany is done!

So here she is. I tried to hold back on the embellishments, to much can ruin a pretty doll, so I tried to be careful not to do that. Here are the full front and side views.

I made the covered button at the hip area, but resisted the urge to add beads to it.

Her little bag is made with a stretch velvet, trimmed at the top with the same thing that’s on her hipline and adorned with some bits of beading.

Around her head, I used some lace pieces cut from a larger piece of lace yardage. There are some pretty pink sequins but they don’t show in the picture. I made the necklace with a black teardrop bead, some soft metal bead embellishments pressed into the sides and glued on, then just added a piece of chain.

The wrap on her head is made with strips of the same fabric tied in knots and patiently glued and pinned around her head. At the end, I stitched on some delica beads, they aren’t immediately obvious, but in real life, they give just a touch of sparkle to her head dress.

When I did her face, I wanted it simple, so that’s what it is. Somehow to me, she didn’t require to much, and I think sometimes we tend to overdo. Simple is just a nice as intense. And that’s it. She’s done and ready to make her debut at the doll club meeting..

Newest doll

I’m working on my next doll for the doll club meeting next week. It’s an embellishment challenge.This is my own design and I’m using one of the pincushion mannequins that I love so much. They can be transformed so easily into something completely different than how they started. Just a couple of pictures in the first stages. I should have it finished in a day or two.

The first step is to make the base of the dress and I’ve attached a paper clay head that will be covered with a cloth overlay. The skirt is made using a knitting yarn from Estelle called “Frill Seeker” and I added a ruffle from the same fabric as the body. If you do a Google search for the Frill Seeker, you will find a free scarf pattern for this yarn.

I’ve added a couple of trims to her skirt now.

Her arms and hands are done. I used a needlework linen for the hands as an experiment. What I found is that it will work, but you have to use a high count linen, this one is 32ct.Then I did some beading on the hands, trying to give the effect of wearing beaded gloves. The second part was to ruffle some organza ribbon and add trims to complete her gloves.

I have since covered her face with the overlay, attached the arms and made a purse for her to carry, so more next time.

Round Robin Doll #1

Just a quick post to show you what I did with my first round robin doll. I have no idea whose dolls they are, but I’m hoping as I work on each one, that they’re okay with what I add to their doll.

This is the first one and I decided to do her hair. Because the particular day I was working on her was a nice spring day, I went with spring blossoms theme.  Here she is and at the next meeting I will bring another one home. Definitely a challenge to know what to do with someone else’s doll.

I did a French braid (first attempt) and when I got to the bottom of the braid, I wrapped it with a piece of silk cord.

For the top of her head, I used some hand dyed silk and wool fibres. I twisted them together, tied it in knots, then folded it back on itself to make it a bit wider and twisted that again, then glued it along the front and tucked it under her hair. Then I added some tiny ribbon roses behind that.  I like how it turned out and hopefully the doll owner will to.