Thursday, November 6, 2008

New Doll - Old Pattern

I am going to teach a class next March at the City Quilter in NYC. I am really excited about teaching in the city. I will be doing "One Kiss Is Not Enough" and I needed a sample doll so I made a new one. I acquired the dress fabric last year at Joann's. It is embroidered and was sold in with the curtain fabrics. I gave her pink shoes and it was hard not to give her pink hair too! I must be the slowest dollmaker around - I have made this pattern before but it still took me about 5 days to make her.











Now I am working on a mermaid for a workshop for one of my doll clubs this month. It is a techniques workshop and I am going to recreate the techniques I used on Soprana, She Sleeps With the Fishes. This was the first mermaid I ever made and she was adapted from a Patti Culea pattern that appeared in a 2002 issue of Soft Dolls and Animals - I modified the head and tail. I really had alot of fun with her though at the time I was told I overembellished her - I didn't think so. The new mermaid will be my own design but I'll use the same techniques - stencil on the bodice and sides of the head, layering fabrics for the tail, gold leaf on the fluke, heat treated layers of fabric for the hair and other embellishments among others. I am going to change the colors a bit but I am still going to use that cool black lace with the blue and green sequins. I got that online REALLLLLLY cheap years ago. I have enough left for another tail. She was one of the first dolls I sold and one of my favorites. She has such a sweet expression.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

5 days is slow? Back when my hands worked that was still fast for me. Now that my hands are a mess it takes me a month at least to make a doll. I think you should count yourself very lucky and very speedy.

Shashi Nayagam said...

You I think must be the quickest. I take ages to finish a doll.
Your class doll is beautiful but my favourite is the mermaid I love her.

Grangry said...

Love your kiss doll, what a sweet face, but that mermaid's a real cracker - not over-embellished at all!

Unknown said...

OMGosh! These dolls you make just blow me away! They are soooo beautiful....imagine that, the mermaid is overdone!!!! NOT, she is gorgeous!! When I grow up, I want to make dolls like yours...lol...teeheehee...I love it here on your blog!
hugz
Pam