Just Chillin...

One of the things I must constantly defend about our lives as professional farmers is the fact that we are tied to the land we work. It is a very big deal to arrange to for the care of the animals and the continued smooth operation of the dairy without Jake in charge. For the most part, we are content to stay put. I have worked hard to make the place where I must be also be the place I WANT to be. Hence... my studio! Oh, don't I have fun in there!

It is still a treat to go away for a little while though, and Lincoln City, OR is one of our favorite places. We got to spend a few nights there this past weekend. The days were sunny and beautiful the whole time we were there (a rare thing, believe me!) so we took advantage of every moment we could get to hang out on the beach.


I tried to take some portrait shots of the girls, but it took a moment to get them to settle down and quit clowning... Unfortunately, I didn't notice that by then my camera lens had fogged over from the change in temperature and humidity, so this is the only decent shot I got. It serves Alice right for being such a goof that I had to post *this* photo of her, LOL!



The wind is always blowing on the NW Coast, and Lincoln City's beach is famous for its kites. This display is maintained by one of the condo/hotels there, and I could watch it all day.



This dragon kite was my favorite! Isn't it the coolest? We actually went into the kite shops looking for one like it, but didn't see another.





Lydia and Jake tested the water... personally, I think they are nuts! Way too cold for me, but they must have been out there for a good 10 minutes before even they decided that the warm sand was a much more appealing option.




I just happened to have my camera in hand as this seagull swooped by. I don't know what made me snap, but I'm glad I did. Sometimes I take a good shot in spite of myself, LOL!





Jake and Alice insisted that I give up the camera and get in a shot... as a rule I HATE having my picture taken, but we were all having too good a time to argue, so I figured "what the heck" and let Alice have it. So here I am. I did NOT hold my sun hat that way on purpose, but it sure does disguise a multitude of flaws!

I am so sorry to see this summer end, but at least we got to see it out with a bang. I hope to have updated photos of my dolls in progress by the end of the weekend as well.

Happy Last Days of Summer everyone!

Nothing finished... Yet!

I would give just about *anything* to have a photo of a finished project to share, but I don't... yet! On the other hand, I have made some good progress on 3 alternating dolls this week, and so will have something to show for my efforts soon. Each of these little babies has a lot of drying time involved in their processes, so I feel justified in breaking my promise to myself to work on only one thing at a time for the sake of effeciency.

Yeah, right. I do believe that I am incapable of that kind of concentrated effort anyway, LOL!

This little lady is "Charmed One", from an online class by Sherry Goshon. She is a very clever design, intended to display a charm collection, and I am having pure fun making her. I am enchanted by Sherry's face designs -- doesn't she have the most wonderful expression? I wish I could say that I *intended* the paint job on her body to turn out the way it did, but I have to confess that Serendipity played a big part. The background paints flew on almost by themselves, and the bottom "flame-y" part is a scrap of silk fusion I happened to have lying around that just happened to blend perfectly. I trimmed it to fit, stuck it on with some Mod-Podge, and it was Meant To Be -- I LOVE it.

I intend to give her arms and sleeves yet this afternoon, but I have to let the fixative I used on her face dry yet, so I thought I'd post a quick blog spot while I wait. I see by looking a the photo that the box I used for her base needs some attention too, so it's just as well I took a little break.





As for this doll, if she EVER gets finished, it will be a miracle. "Lavinia Mae" is a pattern by Shari Lutz, designed to resemble an Izannah Walker doll of the early 19th century. She was originally intended to be a gift for my mother, but now I just want to get her off of my UFO pile!

I began her years and years ago when she came out as a pattern in "Cloth Doll" magazine. First I had to wait 6 months for the parts to make her head to be backordered. Then I lost the issue with the instructions to put the head together. By the time I found it, I had misplaced the parts for the head.

Once I had finished creating the head, I had misplaced the pattern pieces to create the body. By the time I had made the body, I had once again lost the head. This week I finally managed to get all parts, instructions, and ME into the studio at the same time and got her assembled. Now I have run out of gesso, and so can't prime her arms until I can make a run to the city to get some more.

See what I mean?

I am still working on the Klimt doll as well, but the beadwork is going slowly. Her neckpiece IS finally finished however, and once I finish her belt, the rest of her costume will fly together pretty quickly. In the meantime, it's still just one bead at a time. We'll get there eventually!

Who knew that there is an entire online community dedicated to collecting Jurassic Park toys?! My oldest daughter has been in love with dinosaurs practically since birth, and began collecting these figures when she started finding them in the toy aisle at Goodwill. Her latest thing is doing what her group calls Customs.


The blue gray dinosaur, an "Aqua Spino" (be sure you want an answer before you ask!) is a working toy from her collection. The other, a non-functioning duplicate, is her first attempt at a Custom.





She used craft acrylics and her own imagination to create "Lava Spino", the first in a planned series of "Elementals by Raptorgrll", dinosaurs with genetic mutations that allowed them to survive the natural disasters that wiped out the rest of their species'.

I think they are pretty cool!

As for me, I am still working on stabilizing the cover and end papers of my "Poe" book. I am also beading a collar and a belt that will anchor my Klimt doll's costume. Hopefully there will be photos sometime before too long!

Elfin Challenge doll

The voting is over and the challenge is done, so I can share my Elfin here at last. I didn't win anything, but that's OK, because this is easily one of the most charming dolls I have ever made and she's all MINE. Here's the little story I had to include to enter her in the Challenge:

May I introduce you to “Levaine”? She is a Sourdough Elf, though she prefers to
be known as a “Tamer of Wild Yeast” instead. I like to humor her because she is
a nice little creature and it’s a small thing to make her happy. She lives
behind the baking books on my kitchen bookshelf, and as long as I keep her
supplied with plenty of fresh butter and aged cheddar cheese, my bread bakes up
light, fragrant, and delicious.

If I have forgotten the proper offerings however, my dough won’t rise and my bread is flat and heavy. Needless to say, she has me well-trained!

It's too bad I didn't take any photos of her "in progress". I modified the pattern to create what I think is a really wonderful 3D body with "mature" breasts, a poochy tummy, and a very cute round bottom. I was shocked by the shape her face took on as I stuffed the 4-piece head, as it is NOT what I thought I was drafting at all. I kept it though, because it turned out to be one of those Happy Accidents that keep things interesting while creating.

My favorite part was doing her skin coloring. I don't know what made me do it... on a whim I grabbed a brush and my watercolors and just started painting her as if she were a piece of paper. The colors flowed into eachother beautifully and created a different kind of subtly mottled shading that made a very interesting skin texture. Pretty cool, and I look forward to playing with that technique again.

This weekend I'm working on a round robin cookbook, and then I have another round robin doll to contribute to. It's always something around here. Thank goodness!

Painting again

It has been too long since I posted, but there is so much going on here this summer -- not much of it blog-worthy either I'm afraid -- that it hasn't really been on my radar to sit down and write. It feels good to be doing it today. Besides, it is time to come up for air now that I have finished reading the last "Harry Potter" book.

I have been doing what my friend Sue calls "committing a neatness" in my studio, so that I can work in there again. My poor cutting table is literally buried in the debris on ongoing projects, oh my! So in the meantime, because I just can't NOT be creating, even if only for a few minutes a day, I have once again picked up brushes and begun painting. I had so much fun with the little strawberry sketch that I did for a round robin cookbook that I decided to do some more. These little dragons are destined to be cut out and used as page accents for the book I am working on right now. Look, no mud! I think I might finally be getting the hang of watercolor.














This little blueberry sketch was supposed to be "next" in the cookbook project, but fortunately I discovered that the owner of the book despises blueberries BEFORE I added the recipe to her collection. It's all good though... it just means that I have a headstart on the next book. I will be rather sorry to see this exchange end -- it is easily the most fun and relaxed I've ever participated in.

Oh, and look what I found! The Library where I work is going to have a big used book sale next month, and I have been helping sort the donations. This treasure came in and I HAD to have it! (NOT cheating... we have a pre-sale cart set up already, so these books ARE for sale to the public. I just got there first, LOL!) I know it's in terrible sad shape, but it is still so pretty. It called to me... really it did! I have NO experience with altering books, but I am going to give it a try.

Happy Birthday USA!

Happy 4th of July! In the grand tradition of government workers everywhere, seeing as how it is a federal holiday I have today OFF, so I am devoting myself to goofing off, LOL! I don't even have to cook, as we have been invited to our neighbors' annual barbecue.


It's about time I got cracking on some of my swaps, so I have begun the final assembly of this month's cookbook project. My recipe for this month is my favorite version of strawberry shortcake, so the project for the book was this little watercolor.





I have been back at my jewelry making again. Last week I was lucky enough to be wait-listed into a full class with my favorite designer Emily Smart. She really is an amazing teacher, so patient, and she makes everything look so easy. Of course it's easy, now that I know how she does it, but before that... no way!



The class project was our own version of her design for these sterling silver halo chokers. Mine features thai silver beads, fresh water pearls, swarovski crystals, and aquamarines. I also bought enough silver wire to make 3 more... so many ideas crammed into one brain HAVE to be let out or else cause an injury. The wire is NOT cheap, but hey! I have a job now.

(I got my first real paycheck last week... woo hoo!)

Last but not least, I finally committed to a pose for my 2D/3D challenge doll, based on the masterpiece "Judith" by Gustav Klimt. The only downside to this choice is that Judith is holding a decapitated head in her hands, which means I have to make another head. This project just keeps getting bigger and bigger! Good thing I made extra eyes while I was at it.

The designer's instructions call for the doll to be painted with tinted gesso, but I decided to give her a coat of plain white gesso and THEN paint her, as I want to try to imitate Klimt's skin tones as closely as possible. I am using Genesis paints and having SO much fun. Once I got the hang of their eccentricities, I found them to be workable to the point of playfulness. Sheer delight! and then once I get a section just how I like it, poof! a little heat set and they are dry and ready for the next section.



I haven't quite captured the sleep-eyed stare of the original painting, but then again, it's supposed to be "inspired by", not an actual copy.

Klimt is famous for his gorgeous nudes, and this pattern does not disappoint.

Last weekend was the annual Black Sheep Festival in Eugene, OR. Black Sheep began years ago as a potluck picnic and has morphed into one of the largest fiber festivals in the west coast, if not the largest. It's not *quite* in my backyard, but the driving distance is reasonable so of COURSE I had to go. Lydia is crazy about the animals and also spins so she came with me, and Jake is just an all-around Nice Guy who came along to keep us company. And maybe babysit the Visa card, LOL?



We spent some time in the animal barns. I have pretty much given up on my dream of keeping flocks of my own, but I still like to get my fix of "clean sheep smell". Mmmmmmmmmmmm...

I would have LOVED to dig my hands into this guys fleece, but that would probably have freaked him out, so I settled for a photo instead.



The angora goats are so beautiful and so full of personality. Oooooh, I love mohair!

I found the Fantasy Fibers booth and loaded up on some of their "Mystery Batts". You never know what's in them, but it's always good stuff. Jake insisted on carrying the bags for me.

Lydia passed on fiber this year, but was very interested in the jewelry that seemed to be featured in every booth this year. I don't know if that's a new thing or if I just never noticed it before, but I sure came away with some good jewelry making ideas for myself. She eventually picked out a "Painted Pony" style pin accented with pearls. It looks really good on her denim jacket.

On the creating front, I have been making great progress on the sweater. I finished the main body and am now knitting off the edge with a simple lace border. I can't wait to get to the sleeves. I've never made a sweater in this style before... it's quite interesting in its construction.

I've been up to a lot more as well, but I'll share that in a later post. This one is already long enough.

First day of summer

My latest doll is so cool...! Unfortunately, she is also entered in a challenge so I can't share a photo of her until after the voting. I don't want to go any longer without posting though, so...

Instead I will share this photo of one of my favorite "dolls", my youngest daughter, who celebrated her 16th birthday yesterday. I remembered gifts, a card, and a cake... unfortunately I forgot candles! In order to create a more festive photo, I want out and cut 16 roses from my garden for a bouquet for the table. I was annoyed with myself at the time, but now I am really pleased...

I wish flowers would bloom around *my* birthday, LOL!

I started knitting on a new sweater this week. Unfortunately, photos of a knitting work-in-progress all look like used grocery bags; still, here it is! It's working up quickly in a textured cotton yarn... This one is "Madeline" from White Lies Designs. I hope it looks as pretty on me as it does in the photo on the pattern!

I am home for the weekend, so my plan is to FIRMLY ESTABLISH a final pose for my Klimt doll, stitch her into position, and begin painting. I have been circling her for days, avoiding making a final decision, because she is just such a wonderful figure... I want her to be right. No more waffling though -- I WILL finish this doll!

Another Round Robin doll ready to travel

What I *really* want to be posting are "in process" pictures of my latest doll, but it is a challenge piece and so must remain a secret until after the voting is completed. It's a pity, because this little being's metamorphosis has been a magical adventure, and another example of how much I can accomplish in an experiment if I just RELAX about the results, LOL!

Our Colorful Adventures Round Robin is just about ready to come to a close. I think I only have one more doll to work on, and then that one will be sent home to its owner. Which ALSO means that MINE will soon be home as well. I can't wait!

This doll was originated by a wonderful doll artist with a very quirky style. I hope she is happy with what has been done to her doll. I think she is "Simply mah-veh-lus dahling!". If you double click on the photo you can see a larger view of her, you can get a better idea of the depth of detail that has gone into her creation. Can you see the dragonfly in her hairpiece? Her beautiful facial tattoos? AND the wonderful texture and color on the crown-of-thorns gourd that makes up her base?

Honestly, there are enough ideas on this one doll to fill an embellishment book!




When she came to me her arms were stark white. The obvious and easy choice for my addition was to give her arms a flesh tone. After a little playing around mixing different colors of Dyna-Flow into a flesh tone, it didn't take any time at all to paint the arms. Because it was SO easy I felt a little guilty and decided to add a little more, so I dug up some black stretch lace and made her some gloves.

The only snag occured when I went to put the glove on her left hand -- she was wearing a bracelet that had been stitched on by another artist. I carefully snipped the thread, restrung the beads in exactly the order created by the original artist, THEN put on the glove and reattached the bracelet. Whew!

OK, NOW I feel that I have done enough and can send her on with a clear conscience.

What a difference a day makes!

Not nearly so scary looking now, is she. (Whew...!)

The library where I work is closed on Mondays, so I had all day yesterday to work on my doll. It did take nearly the entire day to get her skinned, assembled, and sculpted, but she is such an amazing sculpture. She was worth every second!




I'm sorry the photo doesn't show much detail -- white on white is always tough -- but I am thrilled with her shape AND her face. The overall shape of her skull isn't quite as rounded as I'd like. If I *ever* attempt this VERY labor-intensive pattern again I will tweak the head pattern to give her a wider and deeper skull. Now that I have a clue to what I'm doing though, maybe next time won't be quite so challenging.

(I wish I had taken this as a class. Aside from the fact that I would love to meet Pam Grose, it would have been SO much easier to work with the designer instead of trying to puzzle it all out by myself.)

Nest step is gessoing and painting. I had been planning her costume as well, but her body is go gorgeous I might not want to cover it up, LOL!

A "Finished Object" and progress made

This is my entry for Shashi's cookbook in Cookbook Round Robin on the FabricDollArt list. All ready for mailing -- woo hoo!! I kind of wish now that I had printed the recipe out on a transparency instead of vellum so you could see the watercolor painting underneath better, but I am still satisfied with the effect. I look forward to tweaking this process more in the future. Geez, I love to paint!

My next painting project will be a little more unorthodox. I have some girl's Levi's jackets in excellent condition that I want to try "unpainting" with bleach I've got the designs all worked out... now I just need to find the time to sit down and do it. I've been experimenting with a bleach pen made by Clorox that makes the whole process pretty easy.


Here you can see some of the results of my experiments on denim. The numbers refer to the number of minutes I left the bleach on the fabric. The "90" is darker because I began with wet fabric in the first place. Yes, I know you shouldn't add another variable to a test, but I didn't think of that until later. sigh...

Stay tuned for further updates!



















I haven't abandoned my doll making either, but... is this about the scariest doll head you've ever seen? Ugh! I am just going to have to Have Faith in the designer of this one as I have seen some spectacular dolls made from this pattern. There will be another layer of fabric over all this as a "skin", as well as eyelids to tone down the goggle-eyed stare, but in the meantime, I have to say it again... UGH!!

This is the body of the doll for the above head. Again, I am going on faith as the limbs seem to be a very odd shape to me, but we'll just see won't we. The idea for this doll was inspired by the "Judith" paintings of Gustav Klimt. Who could resist the great story line involved as well as the fabulous imagery he created... not me! This is one of the more ambitious dolls I have ever attempted, so we will just have to see how it all comes together.

Still threading the loom, so no progress to report there. The soy silk thread is a delight to handle though, so I will just enjoy the process. One of these days I will learn to settle down and do one thing from start to finish instead of having so many multiple projects going at once... or maybe not, LOL!

... at a snail's pace...

I have no photos today. ... sigh... I AM creating, but nothing has been finished for what seems like an age. It has now been almost 3 weeks since I have had a day to myself. Me, who is completely used to having EVERY day to myself. It is all good, but the freedom to lose myself in my Right Brain is now going to have to be planned for MUCH more carefully. I thought I knew that already, but the challenge is in keeping up the effort at organization.

I HAVE completed 2 more round robin projects, and am deep in a dressmaking endeavor for DD#2 who has a figure which needs some intensive fitting. (Tall slim dancers are NOT the type for whom pattern companies grade their patterns!!) I have also completed a fascinating experiment with some denim and a Clorox Bleach Pen. A fun playtime with some very interesting results -- stay tuned for a project to come! So, yes, things are happening, but nothing that will photograph well... alas for blogging!

I have also been doing my level best to be a Source of strength, rather than yet another who needs *his* strength to my DH, who is facing some serious challenges on the farm. Nothing major... just a string of odd coincidences and bad luck that add up I don't know how successful I have been, but I don't know what else I have to offer. He's not the kind of man who will ask for anything, and my intuition has run out of ideas. Maybe there really isn't anything else TO do. I wish I knew...

In the meantime, if you who read this are the praying kind, please remember us. I am becoming quite afraid of the next "little thing" which just might be the one thing too many for a good and strong man to bear. He would probably tell you I worry too much. I hope he's right.

A Busy Week

There is nothing like being busy to prod one into getting things done. Thanks to my new job, my days are no longer entirely my own, so I need to work on my various projects in a much more organized and efficient manner.

This is "Lily Ann", an all-cloth doll from a pattern by Kezi Matthews. I have been trying to put her on my Etsy site, but I haven't been able to get a decent photo of her in my little light tent. I popped over to the hardward store this weekend for another length of PVC pipe to make longer legs for the frame, so now she fits inside and I can photograph her at last.




All her features are hand embroidered using cotton floss.

This little darling is my first completed "Reborn" doll. She started out as a "Lots to Love" doll by Berengeur. I took her apart, painted more realistic features and skin colors on all the vinyl parts, and gave her a rooted mohair wig instead of the textured vinyl she started out with. Then I sewed a new and more proportionate body for her out of cuddly soft doe suede, jointed her parts back together, and weighted her body for a more realistic heft. Her romper is made of Hoffman cotton and trimmed with lace.

I enjoyed the painting part a great deal, but sewing the body and clothes was rather boring. I may make another one some day, but not any time soon.




Last but not least, I finished weaving the prayer blanket I began for my brother-in-law last autumn. I stopped work on it for a while when I found out that his church had already made him one. I need the loom for another project though, so I got this one off, sewed up the center seam (my loom isn't wide enough to make a full-width blanket in a single swath) and bound it this morning with the coolest irridescent silk duipioni. It has a few quirks so I don't think it's nice enough to give as a gift or sell, but it is a wonderfully heavy fuzzy thing and will be pleasant to have on hand next winter.

"Magik" the cat likes the corner where the yarn has noticibly more mohair spun into it.

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged by 4 different people this week... which pretty much leaves me with nobody else to tag, LOL! Anyway, I am supposed to list 7 random facts about myself.

1. When I was young, I wanted to grow up to be a star of the Grand Ol' Opry.

2. I like sparkly beads better than diamonds.

3. I do not understand the appeal of professional sports.

4. I like silk better than any other fabric. If I could, I would dress in silk from head to toe every day.

5. My favorite comfort food is a thick slice of warm bread slathered with real butter and topped with a thin slice of sharp cheddar cheese.

6. I think I could live without any given body part except for my hands. If for some reason I were to lose the use of my hands, I believe I would pine away and die.

7. My favorite way to waste time is puzzles. Give me a good sudoku or crossword and I am a happy camper.

I have been as busy as the proverbial one-armed paper hanger this week. I just started a new job in the business office of our public library, and while it is a very nice job, it will take me a little while to pick up on all the ins and outs. So, while I have gotten lots accomplished in the studio, I haven't managed to take any pictures yet.

Stay tuned!

I got to go into the city by myself on Monday evening to take a wire wrapping class with Emily Start, one of my favorite jewelry artists. She works primarily with heavy gauge wire and large-ish stones and I think her work is almost alive, it exudes so much energy. Now that I have tried some of her techniques, I know why. Ittakes a LOT of energy to make thick wire do your bidding, even if it is labled "dead soft".

Here are 2 views of the piece I made in class. I started with an amethyst crystal point about 2" long that I got on eBay, (you won't find THESE at Wal-Mart, LOL!) which I wrapped with 16 g wire, then accented with more silver beads on 22 g wire. I absolutely love it, but think I still want to add a dangle from the little curlicue at the bottom. I just need to get a chain for it and it's ready to wear.














Then I have these 3 pieces waiting to be wrapped, now that I have a clue as to what I'm doing. The brown one is smoky quartz, the purple is amethyst (of course), and the green one is zoisite. The red spots are ruby crystals embedded in the matrix. Isn't that one cool??














The photo on the right shows the neck ring that started it all. The ring itself is of 12 g wire (my mind boggles trying to imagine how much strength she has in her hands to shape such heavy stuff) and the stone is kyanite embellished with aqua aura and more silver. A very dramatic piece.

I wish I had a link to include so that I could share more of her wonderful work, but she doesn't have an internet presence. If you want to see Emily's jewelry you have to come to Oregon and tour the galleries and bead shops where her work is displayed. Let me know if you do... I'd love to go shopping with you.

Finished at Last!

I have two big pieces of news today. The first is that I have finally put together an Etsy Shop to attempt to sell some of the things I make. I don't know if anyone will find me, or want anything even if they do, but it was a big step outside of my comfort zone, and I am proud of myself for scraping up the confidence to finally Just Do It. I even managed to add the link to the sidebar of my blog. Who says you can't teach an Old Dog HTML?!

My second piece of news is that I have finally finished my beaded collar.



See, I can finish a Really Big Project when I want to... even if it does take several years, LOL! I put the last bead on my collar this afternoon, and I am so happy with how it all came together. I've been wearing it for over an hour now, and am very pleased with how comfortable it is, even for all its weight. It is very nicely balanced, and the leather backing hugs my neck in a very pleasant way.


Because of the requests for photos of me actually wearing it, I had my daughter snap this photo of me this afternoon when she came home from school to show you how it looks on the body. See how it just snuggles into the curve of my throat?

Tonight I am taking a class in wire wrapping. I hope to have something new to show very soon.

April in Oregon... sigh..

It's been cold here... and wet... and COLD! What would YOU do under the circumstances?? Personally, I think my beloved little companion "Sailor" the dachschund has absolutely the right coping skills in place. Snuggled as deep and down and under something warm and cuddly as ever could be possible, LOL!

I, however, have been doing some spring cleaning and continuing with my beading on the collar I have already posted. I realised after I began adding fringe that I needed to construct a closure to determine how the finished collar would hang from my neck, so I could THEN determine where the center point of the fringe should be. Math and theory are good, but reality has its own way of imposing itself on a project, LOL!



So I have constructed two more small beaded pieces to form the base for the closure. Once I attach the pieces I can determine whether the thing FITS me or not, and whether or not the center of my design actually IS the center of the piece when it actually hangs from a human neck. And THEN I can finish adding the fringe. Oh, I hope this one is going to be as good as I hope it will be.

I'm learning...!