New Doll

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, or a Happy Holiday of your following. I finished "Give Us a Kiss", a doll designed by Colleen Babcock. She is so adorable. I love Colleen's dolls, they are charming.

I had her on a stand at first because I had to order the grapevine ball to make her mistletoe ball. The balls arrived yesterday and I decorated them with fake mistletoe and a ribbon and attached her to the ball last night and I really like her hanging from the ball. She looks a lot cuter in person but this will give you an idea. I loved the fabrics that I used also. They are Moda - Basicgrey, so they're not the traditional Christmas colors, but I really liked them. Her skirt is lined with the same fabric as her hat and her bloomers are white eyelet trimmed in lace. I got some really cute miniature buttons and Christmas decorations at Pat Catan's so she has holly on her lapels and a green tree on her hat and small white snowflakes on her mittens and a large snowflake on her apron.

I finished her Christmas Eve night, just in the nick of time so Santa could see her.

Well, now to decide what my next project will be, I have sooo many to choose from. I guess I should work on my challenge doll for Time For Dolls which is due in February, yes I guess that is the best idea.

Finished Belle

Well, I've finally finished Belle. She is a doll designed by Cindee Moyer and I started her 2 years ago but never made her. Last year I decided to make her out of different fabric and chose these fabrics but she still didn't get made. I think this doll intimidated me for some reason but when I made her I discovered she was so simple to make! My only mistake (problably not the only) was painting her face before fitting it into the hat, I would have made her eyes a little lower but I'm happy with her. Like I said she was really simple to make. She's my only Christmas doll so far. I started to make Colleen Babcock's "Give us a Kiss" but I'm not sure she'll be done for Christmas. There is no reason for her not to be done except I'm just not feeling like making dolls right now.
The weather here is horrible, this is the most depressing place I have ever lived and it is really hard for me to function when I look out the window and see this solid color of gray in the sky. It is really hard for me to deal with but I have to accept it and try to work through it. Oh well, what are you going to do??!!
I wish anyone who has taken the time to look at my blog a Happy Holiday Season and thank you for visiting me.

Finn Darien is finished

This is my Finn Darien from the Barbara Schoenoff workshop that my doll club, Time for Dolls sponsored.

We had a wonderful weekend, there were 17 students in all and we had a great time.

I'm not totally happy with this doll, it's not my best work by far. There were a combination of things that came together, this was the first time I had used Airtex filling in a doll and I think I need a little more experience with it. Poor Finn's face wasn't stuffed well at all and I wasn't crazy about the colors I chose for his clothes. I don't like earth colors especially brown but this doll really required those colors I thought, so his clothes came out ok but I'm just not feeling "it". Then the doctor called the Monday before the workshop and moved my surgery up a week so it was the day after the workshop - aaauuuggghhh! I had to change appointments, freak out about the surgery, finish the pre-work for the doll, finish the name tags, freak out about the surgery, Pam and I set up the classroom, had to get the ice for the water, freak out about the surgery - YIKES!!

Anyway, everyone did have a great time at the workshop although I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked to but it was great.

So, tomorrow is the 4 week mark for the hysterectomy. Still feeling more pain then I thought I would, and I have zero energy, can not believe how tired I am all the time. I bought some vitamins today so hopefully that will help. Some people I know told me I would love having this surgery, well guess what - NOT LOVING IT!!! They probably loved it because they were having big problems and felt so much better after. My situation wasn't like that but it was really a good thing I did have it because my pathology report was a lot worse than I thought it would be but we caught everything in time and now all I have to do is heal.

Unfortunately with having no energy I haven't made any dolls. I have 2 Christmas dolls waiting to be made and a purse that I want to make. I go in my sewing room and sit for a while then get up and go lay down on the couch, but I guess I just need more time.

Well, I do write this blog basically for myself but if anyone out there in cyberspace is reading I hope you have a Happy and safe Thanksgiving weekend.

Little Christmas Elf

My other doll club, the Doll Gatherers in Aurora, OH made little elfs from Allison Marano's pattern - Ghillie Guerkin. Allison designed this little guy as a "Brownie" but it was decided that we would make him as an elf. Someone else in the club made him as a Christmas elf and I really liked that idea because they are going to be hung on a Christmas tree at Howard Hannah in Aurora.

Howard Hannah has a communty meeting room and that is where the club meets. And, Howard Hannah has a luncheon every year where the community attends and there are silent auctions to raise money for the Akron Children's Hospital. So, our little elfs will be auctioned off. He really came out very cute, I hate to see him leave but it is for a good cause and I'm making myself another one. I plan to make an everyday "Brownie" but I may also make another one for Christmas. He was a lot of fun to make although he definitely has a mind of his own, he reminds me of the little house elf (that's not what they're called, can't think of the correct name) in Harry Potter. A bit obstinate.

Morris is finished!!

Yeah!! Morris is finished - well, almost I still have to paint his pedestal and assemble it but the doll is done!! I am so happy with the way he turned out.

Sunday was our Time for Dolls club meeting. We worked on the pre-work for our workshop with Barbara Schoenoff that will be the end of October. This is the sample doll that Barbara made for the class, it is part of her Elfing series and her name is Shar Lillia. She is really a beautiful doll. The other dolls that are going to be made are - Finn Darian, which I am making, Ari Briavel, and Kiri Alyd. It is going to be a fabulous workshop and everyone is getting very excited.

I have a lot of projects to do in a small amount of time - yikes!!

I talked to my friend Carolyn tonight, she is so sweet and funny. She just got back from MM&M and had a great time. I can't wait to see her finished dolls.

Well on to making more dolls.

Morris has his hat and shoes

Last night I finished sewing on Morris' hat and shoes. He sure was a lot of work but a very fun doll to make. Now for all the froo-froo!! I have a lot of trims but I think I need more that are a little smaller. He needs small trims, medium and large scale, for me that is hard to get right but we'll see where it goes. I'm really happy with him so far. Now on to trimming!!

Morris has his jacket

Well, after much moving of things and re-doing of things, Morris has his jacket finished! I had to move his over-vest closer to the center, or the jacket would have covered it. That was ok as it was just tacked on. Making the jacket was pretty easy, I love the pleats. I put the jacket sleeve cap and crescent on while the jacket was off which made it easier to sew on by hand. But putting the jacket on his right arm with all the yo-yos was very difficult but I did it. Then of course I wasn't happy with the way it looked so I had to wrestle the jacket off of him and re-do the cap and crescent but I was happier with it. I also love the lace I used for his collar. He is very dapper!

More of Morris

I've put Morris' vests on and I really like them. The only problem is that I think I put the overvest on where it is open too much. It is just tacked on so it will be easy to move. I started making the jacket yesterday, I have the back finished and hopefully can get the front done today or tomorrow. Then when I try the jacket on, I'll know for sure if the overvest is not in the right place. I'm pretty sure where the overvest is now the jacket will cover a lot of it up.

But he is coming along nicely. What a fun doll to make.

Some more of making of Morris

I can't believe it's been almost 3 weeks since I have written. Time flies when you have a very active 11 year old around. We had a great vacation together and he went home yesterday to get ready for his move into a new house this weekend and his birthday on Friday then 7th grade on Monday - big times this weekend, he is such a sweetheart, yeah I know I'm prejudice!

Well, I wanted to post the next pictures of Morris before I continue on with him now that I have time. He now has pants!!

I'll post again soon , I have his vests cut out and ready to go so after my pedicure (my great luxury in my life!) this afternoon I hope to work on his jacket. I'll take pictures of the vest first and post.

The Making of Morris

Well, it's been kind of a crazy summer this year. The weather has been strange, very cool for a summer.

My lovely mother-in-law passed away a couple of weeks ago. It was so sad, she was such a wonderful woman. I was very very lucky to have had such a great mother-in-law like Millie. She went quickly but thankfully without too much suffering.

Then last Monday August 3, Jorday my grandson came to visit!! We haven't seen him for 2 years so it will be a nice time. He is staying for 3 weeks. Here is a picture of him in all of his silliness!!

Well, I guess I should talk about the subject of this blog and that's the Making of my Morris doll. This is an online class from Joggles. He is designed by Barbara Schoenoff and is a fabulous doll.

This is Morris' beginings - he has a body and legs and is wire armatured throughout and has a dowel running up his leg into his body.
Then Morris received his head and arms and some beautiful sleeves. His outfit looks a little strange right now, but it will all come together. I think there are 12 different fabrics on this doll so there is a lot more to come. I started working on his pants this morning, that's another 3 fabrics. I am anxious to finish him but I'm going to take my time, I want him to be as perfect as possible. Well, perfect is probably not the right word, but at least the best that he can be! I made a couple of mistakes on his face but I really don't mind them, at least not enough to make another head!!

Now, as if Morris isn't enough work to do I also signed up for 3 other online classes. One is Henrietta, that would be Morris' wife. She is going to be soooo much fun. I haven't quite decided on her colors yet. I keep changing my mind, big surprise!! I also am taking Julie McCullough's Lady of the Lake, I thought she was really pretty and her dress is made of fibers that are sewn together free form. I haven't tried that yet so this doll will give me some guidance with it. Then I am taking the fabulous Coleen Babcock's Water Lily. She is so darling. These are all dolls that I wanted to take just for me, they are not dolls for shows or challenges or anything that HAS to be made, they are just dolls that I want to make for fun. There is such a difference! So I'll keep posting Morris' progress and we'll see what happens with the other dolls!

The Ohio State Fair

Well, last Sunday August 2, 2009 Pam, Carolyn and I drove down to Columbus to the Ohio State Fair. We sat at the Guilded Lilies' table and helped make some pins that people who stopped by could color and take to wear. It was a lot of fun talking to people and watching them color the faces on the pins and it was nice seeing some of the "Lilies" that I know.

After a while we went to lunch then we walked around to see the exhibits. Pam won 2 ribbons!! It was a great day for her. Her metal jewelry that she made in Mexico last February won best in show in its catagory - it was fabulous!!

Pam's second ribbon, also first place was for her Lucinda. I almost entered mine, but I knew she was entering hers so I entered my Dorinda instead. Pam's Lucinda is beautiful and I'm so happy for her that she won first place.

Then we went to another room where they had the holiday dolls displayed and Pam's "Field of Dreams" dressed in her finest Valentine attire and my Ruby Valentino were standing side by side. My Ruby is slumped over and looks very depressed. Maybe she's sad that she didn't win! But I told her before she left that she and the other girls were only there for everyone to look at and not to worry that they won't win.

Then we walked around the fair, it was a very nice day, the sun was out but it wasn't hot. It hasn't been hot at all this summer I guess it's ok, I like a few warm days to let me know that it is summer since the winter is soooooo long here in Ohio, but maybe we'll get a few hot days before the snow flies again. Anyway, on our walk I got a couple of really cool scrunchies to use for a doll hat or something, we'll see where they end up. Carolyn bought a couple also. Pam got some nice holiday flags for her house. Then we saw this ginormous pig that had 10 piglets the week before. The babies were so cute! And we went to the fine art building where we saw some really wonderful art and some really strange art. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

All in all it was a lovely day at the fair!

Christmas in July 2009-NO RULES

Yeah!!! Today (Sunday) was our Christmas in July doll exchange at NO RULES. It was so much fun. Everyone was so excited it was like 4 little girls on Christmas morning! So cool, so much fun.

We started our meeting with presents (love that!) Carolyn gave us little storage boxes - mine was pink - and little lint rollers. The lint rollers come in so handy while you are making dolls, I have a great big one but this one is small and just the perfect size. Then, Teresa gave us all pincushions that she made that look like cupcakes!! Aren't they adorable?!! And well, that really kicked off a theme for the day.

I brought a package of cupcakes (from Heinens of course - the best) and Teresa brought a package of cupcakes from Heinens, and Pam made homemade cupcakes - lime - yummy!! After all, cupcakes are a girls best friend.

So after the gifts we had our doll exchange. We had picked names out of a bag at the beginning of the year so all this time no one new who was making each others dolls. The suspense was killing us. Teresa went first and she gave the doll she made to ME!!! I was so excited - don't you just love getting presents??? Oh, my doll is so beautiful, I still have to think up a name for her. Well, judge for yourself, isn't she beautiful? And... she is holding a cupcake. I LOVE it!!!

Then Carolyn went next and she gave the doll she made to Pam. This doll is also beautiful (Chelsea by Barbara Willis) and here is a picture of her.

Then Pam went next and she gave the doll she made to Teresa. This doll is amazing! The body is a large heart and it is decoupaged with all things that Teresa loves and interesting things that Pam put on it. FYI - it's all about hearts for Teresa. Here is a picture of her doll. I don't know the name of the doll but it is designed by Di McDonald.

Then finally I got to give the doll I made to Carolyn. I had so much fun making the doll. Carolyn is so much fun and so funny I just had to make something whimsical for her, so here is a picture of the doll I made for Carolyn. Her name is Olive at the Beach and she is a design by Jill Maas. I made a little beach mat and a good book for her to read and put them in her beach bag. Then when I was at Pat Catan's I found some little erasers that fit perfectly into the bag. There was a sandwich, a grape drink, a cupcake (it really was a freaky cupcake day), a beach ball and a gun. Grandma needs to pack heat when she is alone.

Then we all had pictures taken with our new dolls. Me, Carolyn, Pam and Teresa.

Then our dolls got to be friends and they wanted their pictures taken together.

Originally we were going to meet last Sunday, the day after the "Fourth of July" and we were going to have a BBQ. We had to change the date of our meeting, but decided to still have the BBQ. Oh my - that was so delicious!! Pam made BBQ chicken, a delicious recipe from this month's Cooking Light, very yummy. Carolyn made a salad of tomato, cucumbers and mozzarella cheese, again very yummy. Teresa made a fruit salad with a yogurt dressing, yes , again very yummy. And, I brought (Ed made) potatoe salad. Ed makes the best potatoe salad, very yummy. Needless to say we had a great lunch. And of course, cupcakes for dessert.

After lunch we had a show and tell. I brought my fabrics for the Morris class that I am taking on Joggles. Carolyn brought some Barbies and books on what altered Barbies look like, which is going to be a project for the beginning of next year. Then we discussed what projects we wanted to work on for the rest of this year.

Between all those projects, the Time for Dolls doll club, which is getting ready for Barbara Schoenoff to come in October, and everything else I need or want to do there just aren't enough hours in the day. Then in the fall it will get really crazy when my other doll club Doll Gatherers really gears up for the Gala 2010. Well I'm tired and Food Challenge on the Food Network (love that show) is almost on so that's all for now.

Happy 4th of July!!

Well it has been pretty hectic around here since I last posted. We had our Time for Dolls meeting which fell on Father's Day so not many members showed up or stayed long. We decided to bring in Barbara Schoenoff to teach for a weekend and the members who did show up for the meeting got to vote on which doll they wanted to make. It was between Rose Red, Barbara's new doll, she is gorgeous and the Elfings. Everyone chose the Elfings. They are four different dolls, so if you come for the weekend you get to choose which doll you want to make. I am going to make Finn Darian, he is gorgeous!! So, I've been doing a lot of work with Pam to get ready to prepare for the weekend with Barbara which is October 24 and 25.
I have also been trying to finish up my Santa doll for Cloth Doll Artistry which was originally due on July 1st, but I hadn't looked at the site for a while and didn't realize that the date had been changed to August 31st. I'm not complaining at all but I just have one thing left to do on him although I'm sure I'll fuss with him some more also.
I have also been finishing my doll for NO RULES. This month is the "Christmas in July" doll exchange. I'm so excited I can't stand it. The doll I'm making will probably be finished today if not tomorrow.
And... I started my online class at Joggles with the Morris class. I have loved this doll since I saw him a year ago April, at MM&M. I can't tell you how excited I am to be doing Morris, now I just have to start making the actual doll. Then Morris' wife Henrietta's online class will be starting shortly. Barbara S. had to change the date and I can't remember exactly when but it is in the next couple of weeks.
Then I have another project that I HAVE to start very soon actually next week, that I am making for someone.
And of course in the middle of all of this crazy doll making Ed and I went to FL to visit my MIL who is in the hospital. Plans were made in a day, flights, car rental, kennel, packing etc. not to mention getting up at 4 in the morning to catch a flight. We left very early 6/23 and returned very late 6/25. Of course upon arriving back in Cleveland at 11:30pm the airport had no electricity. That was a nightmare!!
Back to a happier subject, I took pictures of the fabrics for Morris, they really don't show up that well so I think I'll take pictures of Morris in progress and post those. So I guess I will go get dressed, finish up my NO RULES doll and see where the day goes from there.

Pam and my excellent day out

Yesterday Pam and I went to Cortland, OH and we went to a fabulous shop, Quilter's Fancy. This is absolutely the best shop around for trims, charms, and buttons.

I got some great printed fabric, some cotton and metallic fabric, some beautiful fabric from London(the blue and beige pic) to make Gather ye Rosebuds and lots and lots of trims. This pic is the flower and leaf trims. I also got tiny ric-rac, velvet ric-rac, and others. I got some silk ribbons, charms and other things. It was such a fun day, beside the fact that I love shopping, it was a nice drive out there and after shopping we had lunch. We forgot to pick strawberries that we had seen a sign for, oh well. Quilter's Fancy is about 45 minutes east of my home and then Pam lives about 30-40 minutes south of my home, so she had quite a drive. Hopefully in the next year you will see some dolls made with these fabrics, there's always hope and good intentions.

New Dolls

I can't believe it's been a month since I've written anything. Either I've been busy or haven't much to say. I have made a few dolls and I'll add their pictures here.

Today I received my dotee dolls from the swap I participated in on Doll Street. They are adorable and I will cherish them.

The duck "quacks" me up, ha ha - couldn't resist.

The duck was made by Shirley Nieminen from OR. and the center doll was made by Kat Tyni from MI. Unfortunately the pink one didn't have a name tag but pink is my favorite color!

I've made a couple of dolls this past month, I think I will enter them in the Ohio State Fair which is the end of July. One is a rag doll from a Patti Culea pattern. The doll was simple but her clothes were a little involved. I enjoyed making her so much. I named her Dolly because after I applied her hair it was so big and curly she reminded me of Dolly Parton - so I had to give her a headband. After all she is a little girl. The second doll is Ruby Valentino from a pattern by Cindee Moyer. I just love her designs.

I am working on another doll for our Christmas in July doll swap at NO RULES. She is coming along nicely and I want to make another for myself. I can't show the picture until after we have exchanged the dolls. That will be a lot of fun.

Boy, I also have to make my Santa for the fabric swap from the Santa Studio on Cloth Doll Artistry. As if belonging to 2 doll clubs, one of which is putting on a Gala next May and I'm on a committee, and 3 online doll clubs wasn't enough, this week I joined another online group to make comfort dolls. It is such a worthy cause and the dolls are so small, but what am I thinking??

Well that's all for today. I really have to keep up with my posts.