Sunny Days Are Awesome

If you are at all familiar with the Pacific Northwest, you know that our winters and springs are not known for their sunny days.  So when that elusive orb finally comes out, it makes the whole day a little bit brighter.  I took advantage of the beautiful (if still chilly) conditions to photograph my latest peg doll creations.  I'm having fun learning new embroidery stitches and these little guys are the perfect size to try something new.  I like how the middle (pointy hat) gnome turned out; I think I might have to try my hand at applying dye to wool felt more often this spring.

 

 

 

New Easter Peg Doll

I came up with a new design for my peg dolls, just in time for Easter.  Meet the Easter gnome, who loves Easter so much she dresses up like the Easter bunny.
I needle felted the nest and eggs from roving and I have been trying out new embroidery stitches.  Recently, I went to the library and checked out about 10 books on embroidery and crewel.  Generally, what I found is there is a short basic set of stitches with a lot of variations to make them look different. 

 

 

Lastly, here is a photo of one of my lovebug peg dolls.  The heart felt is from an experiment with alcohol inks. 

Wool Felt Doll

I have finals to grade (homestretch), but I wanted to do a quick post on a felt doll I made as a gift before I completely forgot.  I bought the pattern from Gingermelon's etsy shop.  The doll is made from the pocket pixie pattern.  This is the 2nd pattern I have bought, and it is just as adorable as the first.

Except for the embroidered face, she is 100% wool felt.  The pretty glittery multicolored wool yarn I bought at Artfest 2012--sorry I don't remember the vender's name.  The hair is needle felted on, and I really liked how easy it was and how well it turned out.  I'm waiting to see how it holds up with gentle toddler play.

Cloth Dolls

I actually finished these gals in June, but then had thoughts to send them to Prims Magazine or Stuffed to see if I could get published.  I've had a hard time letting go of these dolls, though, and the thought of them sitting in storage at the publisher's wasn't so appealing.  I'm still undecided whether to send them in.

So their bodies are made with muslin and other cotton cloth and their hair is made with wool yarn (except for the sparklies).  I hand painted their faces, a method I rather liked.  I feel like I have more control over their features than if I had embroidered them.  Let me know what you think.

Some More Dolls in Progress

Here are two more dolls in progress.  I created the pattern, cut out doubled muslin and cotton fabric and machine and hand stitched these two little lovelies.  I  painted the eyes last night.  I decided to keep the focus on the eyes and make the mouth and nose very simple.  For me this harkens to the Waldorf ideal a bit, where their dolls have neutral, primitive faces to engage the imagination.  The eyes go beyond primitive here, and certainly indicate personality, but I don't think that's a bad thing, in this case. 

I think these dolls must be friends, even though they have very different personalities.  Originally I was making one doll as a birthday present for a little girl I know, and then I figured I'd make two.  I'm torn now, as I'm thinking I'd like to send them in to see if they might get published in Stuffed or Prims.  I might just have to make some more with the same pattern.

I'll post more pictures when they have hair and clothes :).

 

 

Bunny Plushie Party Favors

Originally, we were just going to have a family celebration for my daughter's 2nd birthday, but this quicky expanded to include a day to celebrate with the family and a party with friends on the following weekend. I've had the idea for these little plush bunnies running around in my head for awhile now, and I figured that this would be a good opportunity to create some to use as party favors. They are fairly simple in design, and their small size makes them great for little hands. I put a loop on them for the older kids, so they could attach their bunnies to their backpacks, if they so desired. The legs are made from an old curtain I made in grad school, and their decorative embellishments are made with scraps. I hand embroidered the faces with cotton floss.  They seemed to be quite a hit, so I think I may make a few for my etsy shop.

Holiday Tree

I always mean to go all out on the holiday decorations, especially since the kids seem to enjoy them so much. Somehow, though, the business of life interferes and I never have quite enough time. This year, trees are on my mind and I decided that this would be one project I would complete.

I bought the tree base from Joann. It was one of those super coupon deals, so it cost only a few dollars. I would imagine if there are any left after the holiday season, they will be even more drastically on sale. I wet felted the balls by hand. Originally I was going to do the whole tree in the off white balls and then maybe do some other white embellishment. After some thought I decided I wanted more color, so I added the colored balls that I felted for a now abandoned jewelry project. I used a sewing needle and threaded the balls onto embroidery thread, knotting both ends when done. Then I just tucked in the top knot at the top of the tree and spiraled the balls down the tree, tucking in the end knot at the bottom. This way, when I want a different look next year, it is easy to remove and I can use the balls for another project. If you are looking into doing this but don't have the time to make your own balls, I know there are several shops on etsy.com where you can buy them.

I Love Making Gnomes

So, to take a break from making dolls and collages to sell, I decided to make some toys for my kids. I have been wanting to create these little guys for awhile. I came across this style of peg doll when I was researching Waldorf dolls. They fit with the connection to nature that is part of the Waldorf philosophy. Mine are made of wood pegs that I bought. I covered them in 100% wool felt and embroidered with cotton embroidery floss. Everything is hand sewn except I did use a little bit of fabric glue to attach the hats. I'm thinking of maybe creating some to sell. What do you think?

By the way, there are more pictures of these little guys in my new dolls and sculpture gallery on my webpage. You can click here and visit, if you are interested.

Primitive Dolls

Here's my first attempt at some primitive dolls. These, hopefully, will be making their way to a gallery in Colorado. More on this later . . .

New Elf Doll

So I used a basic Waldorf doll pattern and adapted it to make this elf for my son for Christmas. The fabric is an upcycled t-shirt belonging to my husband. It is stuffed with wool except for the ears which are made with cotton quilt batting. The clothing is made from felt and the scarf is knit from a soft wool blend. The hair is mostly wool yarn with some wool roving thrown in for texture.