Paisley Praise

     I have revised another doll pattern.  This one is Paisley Praise, a beautiful angel.  You can find her at my ETSY site.

     When I was in the hospital several years ago with severe double pneumonia I was afraid I might die.  Then one quiet evening I was resting in bed with my eyes closed and I felt hands on each leg and each arm.  I opened my eyes to see who was there, but I was alone.  I closed my eyes and immediately felt the hands again.  I believe it was angels comforting me and letting me know I would be all right.  And then of course, I was all right.   The experience invited me to create this doll.

Here is a pic of the pattern

I made another version, though she is just Lady Paisley as she has no wings.

     Here is a close up on Paisley's wing.  The wing is made of two sided fabric, cut into strips of feathers, stitched using Free Motion Embroidery to add details to the feathers then attached to a wire to make the wings pose able.

     I really enjoyed making this doll.  Choosing all the complimentary fabrics was fun!

New Pattern!

       I have dusted off and rewritten the text for an old pattern.  "Lucky Penny Pin Doll" actually has a copper penny tucked into her gathered bosom.  

     

       This pattern has detailed step-by-step needle sculpting and face coloring details.  She’s the perfect size for a special little gift.  Years ago she was published in a pattern book by my local doll club, the Guilded Lilies.  Her instructions and pattern templates filled one page.   Now, years later, Penny has her own pattern with ten pages of instructions.  I hope you'll visit my ETSY site and check out Penny and my other patterns and workshops!      

Step One for the New Studio!

    Today I finished painting the living room.  In itself it's not a big deal, but now I can start packing up my studio and moving it upstairs to the living room.  I want to go back to teaching from Skeelhaven and once I'm moved and organized (okay- that's a relative word for an artist!) I can start to set up classes and find students again.  

     I'm still working on editing and revising patterns.  This week I finished a few. 

Joy! Celebrating Life

     Middle aged Joy, with her widened hips and saggy breasts celebrates waking up every morning and all the simple joys of her life through dance.  Boldly dressed in vivid colors, including her hair, she loves to draw attention to herself because she knows she is still beautiful, as all women are inside.  This doll may choose to sit or dangle from the ceiling.

Embellished Angel was the first and here's a page showing drawings that step by step show dressing the doll.  I'm pretty pleased that I drew it all on the computer!  

Here's a drawing of the same costume completed.

Both of these patterns are available at my ETSY site.

Still Working

I am still working on revising doll patterns.  This week the main focus has been on the Dragonfly Rider.  The Elf wears a cod piece, a silk Tunic and leather gloves and boots.  Seated he is about 6 inches tall.  He also sports real hair eyelashes and brows.  The dragonfly is just under 2 feet long with acetate wings that can be colored with markers as desired.  I made one dragonfly where I fully beaded the tail in a random format, which, by the way, is much easier to do than any other type of beading.  The whole piece can be set on a stand so he appears to be flying, or he could be hung from the ceiling.

I cropped a photo to give you a close up of the Elf's face.  I added brown hair to his eyelashes and brows and you can see them in this photo.  Sadly, I can't enlarge the photo any more as it gets pixilated.  If you look closely under the hair on his forehead you can see the brows.

All in all, I think it's a pretty cool pattern. I just posted it at my ETSY site if you are interested.

More revisions

       I am still working on pattern revisions.  In working on the Dragonfly Rider I discovered it was a pre-class pattern and missing a TON of information.  How embarrassing!  Now I have the complete Dragonfly Rider ready to offer.  He is at my ETSY shop.  Here's the new cover for The Dragonfly Rider.  It includes the Elf Rider and the Dragonfly who can sit on a table, or hover above a stand or even hang from a ceiling!

       I still have a few more doll patterns to revise before I take a look at my workshops.  

      I am also working towards bringing my doll Studio upstairs to the old unused Living Room from the current walk out basement Studio.  It's nice down there but I've been fighting the stairs too long and not going down enough- actually almost not at all so the move will get me away from the steps and if I use one (or two!) bedrooms for supply storage I will be able to hold classes again!  Oh how I have missed teaching!  I'll post photos of the Studio progress but first I have to finish putting the family room back together after remodeling.  One room at a time!