Friday 30 September 2011

With helpers like these . . .

Sometimes I'm surprised I can get anything done in the course of a day.
I have two small, creative, inquisitive children. Sweet Pea (age 3) wants to help. With everything. All the time. Sometimes that works out nicely - like the day I was wrestling the baby into bed for his nap and she tidied up the kitchen and rinsed the dishes for me. All without being asked to. Sometimes it doesn't work out so well. Like when she decides she'd like to cut something, or re-organize my work basket, or what have you. And then there's Boober (9 months) who is just into everything, and on everything, and climbing and grabbing and oh my goodness!!

In spite of all the helpfulness, I do manage to complete things from time to time. And we seem to go through cycles. Right now the kids are feeling co-operative, independent, and gracious. This week, I've completed 2 dolls. Photographing them, however, was a bit of a challenge. And in a few days, weeks, or (heaven help me) hours, they may be feeling more clingy, needy, or wantful. And then the whole thing will come to a stand-still.

What's that saying? Make hay while the sun shines? I intend to!

So let me show you what's been going on around here. I have 3 dolls to introduce to you.

First up is Becky. She's a 10 inch jointed Waldorf style doll.



She reminds me very much of a good friend of mine.
I love the low lights and highlights in her hair -- it really turned out great! And this outfit is just awesome on her!



And then I did something new and a little bit different. One of my fans pointed me towards Dinky Baby. And it turns out the proprietor of Dinky Baby, Vicky, is a super human being. As she says, it's the talent of the doll-maker that really pulls the doll together - she made the pattern, but the doll-maker makes the doll. The dolls are permitted to be sold. So I ordered some patterns, and got to work!


Here's the first one. A 14 inch, soft-sculptured cutie. He wears a newborn diaper, and can wear a modified onsie, although I'm not too crazy about the fit. I'll work on something else for these dolls to wear, I think.



Because this was the first, the sculpting took a whole afternoon, and most of a spool of thread. Well worth it though -- look at that detail!


Boober was pretty interested in helping out with this photo shoot. Or, more accurately, he was interested in swiping the baby for cuddling. It's tough to get your shots when you're dodging grabby little baby hands!


And then, since that one went so well, I made another one! Only this one is much smaller -- just 8 inches. All those futzy little bits just about made me crazy!  But, well worth it, I feel. She's so sweet.


This little girl wears a cloth diaper, a nice soft velour hat, and crocheted booties. She even comes with her own blankie. 


 Here she is, showing off all of her sculpting -- which took significantly less thread this time!


I can't decide which part of these babies is better -- the wee toes, or the little buns!



Sunday 25 September 2011

Busy, busy, busy

Between home life, 2 wee kids, and gearing up to apply for a guest artist spot at the Stitch & Kitsch I haven't had a lot of free time lately. That's why it's a kind of a big deal that I have this new and exciting thing to share with you. The package arrived on Thursday. I read and prepped it all on Saturday. Today I was able to put the finishing touches together. And tomorrow, I'll photograph and share!