There Be Gnomes at Skeelhaven!

       So I'm getting ready for the Craft Show at Skeelhaven and I'm currently making gnomes.  I still have some hand sewing and beards to apply then I'll have 9 of them.  If I should actually find the Mache cones I bought forever ago for a class that got canceled when I was recovering from Sepsis, then I'll make a bigger family, but just now, it's 9 gnomes.

       

        Years ago someone gave me a bunch of fabric and stuff.  I mean like 2 trash bags and 2 paper boxes full.  Some of it was country not my taste, which makes it perfect for craft show stuff because I can make things with fabrics I don't care for but that shoppers might love.  It wasn't ugly fabric, just not my taste.  Included in that hoard of goodies I found very thick wool felt and I wondered what the heck would I ever do with that.  Well some of the different colors went to some if the gnomes.  Also included was a bag full of partially done snowmen, everything was precut and ready to go.  Several of the snow men were already made, some had their legs pinned on but there were probably about 20.  She had done shows before and was moving so needed to downsize.  Yea for me!  I have several friends give me things.  A huge box of leather and several boxes of jewelry that was either damaged or only one earring, or grandmas stuff and no one wanted it.  A box of evening gowns was given to me with lots of bead work that I could use for embellishments (if I can convince myself to cut into it.)  And of course, I've been given loads of fabric.  I am blessed with generous friends and students.

       So, I need to get back to creating.  I can finish sewing the base of the gnomes while watching TV, then do the beards.  The beards send fur EVERYWHERE!  I'm wearing a navy shirt today and it was practically covered in white just from doing one beard.

       I haven't decided if next come the snowmen or bath bombs.  I'll have to think on that one!

Last Week

      

My friend and mentor, Inez Brasch

        I missed posting last week, sorry.  A week ago Wednesday I left for Chicago for the Windy City Doll Workshops, which just so happens to be 20 minutes from my sister Kathy in Romeoville, who I met for lunch on Sunday.  I went a day early and enjoyed the quiet, room service and someone else making my bed.  I hooked up with my new friend, highly talented Gayle Wray, one of the new teachers.  Returning teachers were both fabulous: Dawn Schiller and Inez Brash, who doesn't have a web site of her own.  There's only so many hours in a day, right?

       I took Inez's workshop to make the character Roxie from the movie Chicago, played by Renee Zellweger.  Well it was an intense class!  Quite often there was complete silence as we layered batting and created muscles, knees, butt cheeks and such.  Then we hand sewed these layers in place.  Eventually we started gluing but then the "skin" layer came and I chose to hand sew rather than mess up with glue.  That meant my doll never got a head, breasts, the wonderful mask face Inez had in our kit and so my doll is not worth photographing yet.  I won't be touching her until after the craft show in November as I need to focus all my time on getting the new studio presentable for the craft show and make more stuff.  My doll is however very neatly sewn!

       I made a calendar spelling out when I work on what for the next few weeks. Today was the first day and I blew it.  I went back to bed instead of changing sheets and doing laundry.  I was also going to work in the studio while waiting for laundry, but instead I created fliers for the craft show.  This afternoon I will help Craig get the stray items in the studio upstairs.  there's odd things still there like my desk chair, a work table and the cool containers I have for supplies like paint brushes and such.  Again, there's only so many hours in a day.  Sigh.

       For some reason I cannot control the font size in this blog.  There seems to always be a wild section that wants to do it's own thing.  I try resetting the font, but keep failing.  If anyone can help me out here I would LOVE to hear from you!