A Rainbow of Friends

These are the dolls I’m working on now.

A little scary before their faces get painted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here they are at the hairdressers. The fabric in the background is going to be a very  big sort of doll.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An argument for being a crafty hoarder. I found this perfect pink piece of fluff in my box of ribbons when I was looking for something to adorn the neck of a shirt and it was just big enough. I have no clue where it came from, but thank goodness I saved it.

My First Blogger’s Quilt Festival

I’ve taken a bit of time off from my dolls to ooh and aah over some amazing quilts today. I’ve been heard to say things like holey moley, and wow, awesome, oh my word, unbelievable, look, even the back is amazing!  It’s the Blogger’s Quilt Festival hosted by Amy’s Creative Side. What a show! If you’re a quilter, artist, or lover of color, you have to check this out. I’ve chosen to share this quilt for my first ever festival entry.

I made it with some friends from the Quilts and Heirlooms team on etsy. They provided most of the blocks and I put it together. The tree house in the center is actually crocheted. The creator of it didn’t think it would work, but when I saw it I knew it had to be part of the quilt, so I got creative with  some hand dyed fabric to frame their beautiful work. I chose to hand quilt it with a garden of morning glories.

This quilt has some traditional blocks and some quite innovative house blocks, exactly what I was hoping for when I chose the house theme. It was like Christmas getting these beautiful blocks in the mail.

Week 2 Still Playing With Dolls

These are the small dolls I worked on last week.  I always loved very small play pals, so these were a great deal of fun for me. Each one came alive when I made the clothes, and I added the faces and hair later.  I did learn a lesson here. Small doll clothes are a bit fussier than large versions.  These were all sewn by hand. This week I’m working on some larger, more colorful friends.

Dolls

These hand dyed dolls are the beginning of my year of creative weeks. I decided to see what I could do with the simplest little dolls  that range from  3 and 1/2 to 5 and 1/2 inches high.So far, I have in mind an Eskimo, some green overalls, a pretty party dress, a hippy sort of flower child, a knitted ski outfit and something with lots of beads.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a custom knitted lacrosse doll I finished last week. Notice the blond streaks in the hair, something I may  not have thought of on my own, but I love the look. That’s the best part of custom work.

My Own 365 Day Project

I am reading the book “365: A Daily Creativity Journal” by Noah Scalin in hopes that I can kick my creative self into action. Noah spent a year making a skull a day and documents his adventure and those of others on his blog. http://makesomething365.blogspot.com/p/share.html
After thinking about it for a bit I’ve come up with the following rules for my own 365 Days of Creativity starting on or around May 1st, 2012.
1. Noah’s book says “How to use this book, the only rule is: There are no rules!”  Gotta love that.
2. Don’t think, do, because honestly,  if I over think it, I’ll spend too much time deciding what it is I want to do in the first place. (any other creative people out there recognize that problem?)
3. My 365 days will be called 52 weeks: how much can I learn and create? Some of my ideas will take more than a day, and I want to stretch myself.
4. Every week or month or so, I’ll work on a new idea.
5. I’ll try very hard to document my fun once a week.
6. That’s it, no more rules, it’s an adventure after all.

Oh, yes, and while I’m at it, why not use some of the goodies I already have right in my studio?

Last week, a friend gave me some fabrics and while I was sorting it out, I noticed that some of it would make adorable doll dresses, so I had decided to make dolls for starters, maybe a month of dolls, maybe more. A couple of days later, I got an order for a knitted lacrosse doll and another customer asked for some miniature doll-sized lacrosse sticks. How’s that for serendipity? Also, I’m working on polymer clay dolls for my son’s wedding cake topper, so maybe some doll house furniture would be fun to make, and a big challenge, since I usually use fabric and yarn in my work.
In that vein, here’s a doll I made last summer. Remember The Patchwork Girl of Oz?

A New Year, a New Challenge

Update: I do have an amethyst shawl and a beautiful aquamarine inspired shawl for February and March. I’m just looking for a way to photograph them, and come to think of  it, a mannequin will fit into my next project:   365 Days of Creativity.

 

I had fun with last year’s challenge to make snowmen for each month of the year. This year, I’ve decided to choose birthstones as an inspiration for knitting projects. January’s birthstone, and mine, is the garnet. I asked some friends on my Quilts and Heirlooms Etsy team to help me out. These are some of the gorgeous garnet items we came up with.

Clubaloha created this amazing lap quilt in garnets and blue.

Elliemae55 made a beautiful quilted table topper in red and white.

Littlepearlquilts made her garnet project for a younger set.

Quiltsalad embroidered this adorable angel wall hanging.

KandKkrafts has these great pillowcases in her shop.

How about these coasters from thegiftgarden in a lighter shade of red with flowers that could be January carnations?

Greatquiltations made this beautiful bargello wall art called wine and roses, an excellent addition to a birthday bash.

Baloolahbunting has some lacy red bunting in her shop.

I love the plaid and flowers in this baby bib by lovethebaby.

This is the scarf I created using deep reds and textured yarns in a diagonal stripe pattern.

February is amethyst. Wait and see what we come up with next!

Snowman 2011 Finals

It took me a little over a year, but I finally finished my challenge for 2011. I chose snowmen for my theme and decided to create a project for each month of the year. Some of them were a challenge. Here is my year of snowmen.

January and February are sold, but the rest of these can be found in my etsy shop.

In January we held a New Year’s party

                  February was a month for true love and lacy valentines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In March, I decided to go in a different

direction and made an Irish leprechaun doll.

    

                                          April showers had my snowman

                                          dressed in raincoat and galoshes.

 

 

April showers, of course led to May flowers. In this

case, the snowman is in a meadow checking out a

robin and her babies.I hand painted and stenciled this one.

                                June had to include a bride and groom.

 

 

 

 

 

This snowman is enjoying fireworks on the Fourth of July.

I used beading for the fireworks.

           In August my snowman decided to go to the beach                 and build a sandcastle.

 

 

 

 

 

September seemed like a good month for a picnic.

 

       October is harvest time in the world of snowmen.

 

 

 

 

November found my snowman and his friend celebrating the first Thanksgiving.

                     And last, but not least, in December my snowman 

                    went ice skating with his best friend.

                        

                                    

 

 

 

 

 

For this year I’ve given myself an easier challenge, I think. I’m going to make something inspired by the birthstone of the month. Stay tuned to see if I manage to finish it within this year.