Kittie

        I finally sat down and created something and she is SO cute!  Meet Kittie, a pin cushion for a swap with my on line doll club Doll Street.  

       I knew I'd be stuck sitting down for at least a day and a half because I was going to get another steroid injection in my back, so I gathered what I needed and set it all beside my chair the night before my procedure.  I figured machine sewing felt would make turning things right side out a challenge, especially the tail and the tiny pointed ears so using tiny stitches I hand sewed the felt kittie. I'm happy that the stitches are so small you have to look for them.  I used the blanket stitch to border the cushion with the same pink Pearle Cotton that I used for stitching her facial features and then I made the tassels out of the Pearle Cotton and sewed them on.  I also added a little stacked beadwork at the base of the blanket stitches.

       I'm feeling much better now that the steroids have kicked in.  I'm off to the post office to mail this package off for the swap and looking forward to seeing photos of all the pin cushions as well as receiving one for me.  

       It's been a while since I had a hand sewing project and I guess I had forgotten how much I enjoy hand sewing. I love this adorable little Kittie so much I just might make another one for myself!  

Zentangles

     

         I've been sitting in a chair a lot as if there is nothing else to do.  It's not warm enough outside for me to garden and I've been having enough back and sciatica pain that I've resorted to using a walker almost all the time for the last week. Well, sometimes I can step away from it in the kitchen. Anywhoo, I've looked for easy things to do.  My last two posts showed that I've been drawing faces.  I thought they looked pretty good at the time but now I'm seeing lots of areas to improve on.  That sort of turned me off for drawing faces right now.  I seem to toss my hands up pretty easily these days. Then a few days ago I got out my Zentangle supplies.

       A purist Zentangle creator will insist all you need is a small permanent black pen and a 3 by 3 card. I'm not a purist. I have a small canvas bag full of Zentangle supplies. It includes Micron pens in assorted sizes, a couple pencils including a .5 mechanical pencil which has a small eraser, an extra soft eraser, and a tortillon which is French for "a rolled up piece of paper" and we typically call it a stump blender. A bunch of Zentangle books teaching how to create a variety of designs of course make it a heavy bag. Oh, and don't forget paper. I have a sketch book, and a "Bristol Smooth" notebook, but I prefer "Artist Tiles." The tiles are stiff and come in squares of 3 and 6 inches and I used the 6 inch squares clipped to a small clipboard for the ones I'm showing here.

       If you don't recognize the term "Zentangle" I will explain. It is simply glorified doodling. I remember doodling in high school waiting for other kids to finish their tests. But Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas decided that putting multiple doodling designs together was very relaxing and that's where the Zen comes in. The "Tangles" are the doodles themselves. So she labeled them "Zentangles" and has made a fortune writing books teaching technics and teaching classes where she certified other people to teach the "glorified doodles." I must say my hat is off to them. They came up with a brilliant product and reminder that we should all find time to relax and sit and doodle now and then. 15 minutes doing Zentangles will no doubt reduce your stress and maybe even lower your blood pressure a bit.

       So, now that you know what this is all about I will tell you that 15 minutes is not enough for me.  I spent hours and hours drawing the tiny designs in pencil then again in ink and then I erased the pencil marks. Then I took a 2B pencil and added shading. I had to wash the graphite off the part of my hand that slides over the page a few times as I worked.  I used my extra soft eraser to clean up messy and graphite smeared edges of the tile and then I used my mechanical pencil eraser to clean up small areas and called the piece done.  It's usually not really done because I typically think of another tiny detail to add a couple more times. So, I hope you like my Zentangles. 

       Oh, and a final thought: should wish to join the world of us who tangle all you need is a permanent pen and a piece of paper. You can find everything you need for free on line, but the books on Amazon are great, too. Watch out.  It's addicting!

       

Face Markers

       I buy these really cool pen/ pencil binders from Dick Blick called "Global Classic Leather Pencil Case."  I prefer the smooth black that holds 120 Pencils.  They retail at $34.14. I try to only buy them when there is a really big deal or coupon. When I started buying them they were $25.  That was probably 20 years ago. The binders were especially great when I was traveling and teaching. The core of a pencil is a bit delicate and if the pencil is dropped on a hard surface, like the floor, the inside may break which makes the lead fall out, especially while sharpening.  So I got all my supplies in one binder to create doll faces and as obessive/ compulsive as I am the colors are in Roy G. Biv color order.  For the non artist friends, that means Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. Like a rainbow. You can see the elastic strip with little divided spaces that can hold 3 pencils or typically 2 pens in the pic above. So while teaching I could always find the specific pen/ pencil I needed right away. I have quite a few pencil binders. I seem to have an obsession with buying pens and pencils and putting them in order. A BIG obsession.  And I always buy the 120 pencil size because sooner or later I always fill them.
       The binders are great for holding just what you need. I already have several for Prismacolor Pencils (2), Watercolor Pencils, Inktense Pencils, Pastel Pencils, Gel Pens, Micron pens (not just color variations but sizes as well), Pitt Pens also including various sizes and colors, Calligraphy Pens, Tom Bow Brush Tip Pens, other brush tip Pens, Zig and Paint Pens and there is one off the shelf and I can't remember what it is. Like I said, a BIG obsession. Oh, and I have a display stand for my Sharpies (I think I have 72).  

       So I recently added Arteza skin tone markers to my collection of markers.  I bought a set of 24 Arteza markers and had a few Copic markers in flesh tones so I decided to put them together in my Copic marker binder since I didn't want to fork out $35 just at the moment. The pens are all squarish so they fit there nicely. I initially thought I would buy more Copic pens that I have so far but they are expensive compared to my other writing instruments and since the Arteza pens are similar in shape I rearranged a few pens and now have a section for just flesh tone pens.

        Of course, the pens needed to be in color order. Organizing flesh colors is not as easy as Roy G. Biv. I cut little pieces of paper from a sketch pad and on each one made a color swatch, listed if it was Arteza or Copic, added the coded number and then the name the company issued that specific color.  I then shuffled the little cards around until I felt the color order was from light to dark and listed the info on a piece of paper.  Of course, there were 2 more pens than there were lines on the paper so it's not "perfect."  If the OCD gets to me I will redo the list to fix that.  Fortunately that doesn't bother me enough to keep me from making a blog post or fixing dinner since my 32 year old son is looking at me with hungry eyes.  Not the love song Hungry Eyes but the "I worked hard all day and now I'll just disintegrate and die if there isn't food coming soon" eyes.  Actually, he doesn't pester me for food, but he is really good with his expressions so it's all in good fun.

       So. Now that the pens are all in order, I wonder if I'll get busy on drawing and coloring faces on watercolor paper tomorrow. I've been watching some Karen Campbell videos lately and that's why I wanted the alcohol inks.  Copic and Arteza are both alcohol inks and they have an alcohol blending pen. I bought some other brand of pens and they blend with water but the variety of colors isn't very good.  I never found a pale enough color to satisfy me as a base skin tone.  I like pale since that's basically me, since I avoid the sun like the plague.

       So, will I get busy and see the difference between markers or finish that project I promised for Christmas?  Time will tell.  Meanwhile, I'll most likely be playing Candy Crush.

Looking for Vendors!

        The Craft Show at Skeelhaven is a unique shopping event.  Crafts are accepted 1 week prior to the show then creations are displayed in the style of a gift shop with areas such as the garden area with bird houses, yard signs and dried floral wreaths. The kitchen area will display quilted table runners and original kitchen/ dining room decorations as well as home baked/ canned goods.  Multiple Christmas trees will display ornaments with a theme, such as Victorian and Whimsical.  We are also looking for fall and Christmas creations with a preference given to original handmade arts and crafts.  Our goal is to not duplicate types of crafts by multiple vendors.

Heliotrope by Judy Skeel

        Please contact me privately with “Craft Show” in the subject line and include photos of your work. Show dates include Friday thru Sunday, November 5- 8, 2020 in the Westerville, OH area. Contact me Judy Skeel: jskeel@skeelhaven.net

Due to Covid-19 the Craft Show at Skeelhaven has been postponed until 2021.

I've been watching You Tube videos by Karen Campbell and drawing faces.  It's been a while since I've made a doll and I thought this would help me do a better job when I make my next one. I'm loving the process! The one with long hair was my first one and I drew it while watching a Karen video.

I guess I remember more than I thought tho I'm having trouble with tarantula eye lashes.  I should make myself stop and sharpen a pencil first, yes? The profile and 3/4 views were the second day. 

Yesterday's drawing is still bald. I need to work on some of my blending before adding hair. She is my favorite so far.

I hope you like them!

Sorting Stuph

       I am STILL working in my studio, organizing and unpacking totes full of miscellaneous stuph!  I just counted AT LEAST 42 UFO's (Un-Finished Objects) that are waiting for me. I told someone once I have to live long enough to finish every item I want to create.  With the length of my list I'll live to be 350 years old!  For probably a dozen years I had a serious case of Pattern Acquisition Syndrome.  I bought every new pattern that caught my eye. I have a filing cabinet filled with files on a slew of designers, each having somewhere between 1 to 15 patterns.  I didn't count all the epb patterns, but I'm sure they are hedging towards a count of 20! Three drawers full of patterns designed by other people.  I do mean full!  The 4th drawer is full of kits that I absolutely had to have because I would get the doll completed sooner, or make a second one in a different color as a gift.  Ha!  I have been making dolls 20+ years. That's a lot of patterns and extra kits waiting for me.  
       My Mother-in-Law will be visiting for 10 days in December.  As we have no first floor guest room we need to convert one of my "storage rooms" into a nice little room for her. The room is currently walled with those white/ semi transparent drawer units.  2 walls are stacked over my head.  Okay so I'm only 5' 1" but seriously, what will I do with all this stuph? at least 2 walls will be moved into my second "storage room" which of course is the smallest room in the house sans the ladies room! That is part of what motivated me to tackle the boxes and totes to get excess things off the floor.  She arrives in 4 weeks.  I think I'll meet the deadline. I think I can, I think I can... chug chug chug.
       But for the rest of the day I'm back in there organizing and rearranging some stuff with some other stuph to make it organized so there is space for my Mother-in-Law. Come January I had better start in on these UFO's before they begin to take over the whole house!!!

Books, Boxes and Things

       I have finished putting all my books on shelves in the order that I want them.  Now if I want to read about embroidery I can find all my embroidery books in one place.  I did find that I have a few more books that are duplicates, including Wendy Froud's "The Winter Child."  I took a workshop with Wendy in New York City several years ago and I must say her dolls are even more lovely in person.

        There's a table with the sewing and ironing stuff.  Some small drawers hold pins, needles, bobbins and other miscellaneous items. Some larger items like ironing hams are in a unit under the table. Finally, there is nothing else on that table. My work table, however, is full of small items that need to go home. I'm trying to leave them there as I open the rest of the boxes. It seems small items got tossed into boxes just to fill the box so small items are everywhere.
       Speaking of boxes, I only have a few left to unpack and find homes for the things inside.  I can easily move a few around if I need something "boxed in", like my filing cabinets full of doll patterns.  I have a couple of file drawers full of doll patterns I've purchased.  I used to have a bad case of "Pattern Acquisition Syndrome." It manifested itself requiring me to purchase almost every new doll pattern sold on Dollmakers Journey.  That was back when I was friends with most of the designers.  Now I look at the designers list on Dollmakers Journey and I don't know at all 37 out of the 87 designers. I mean I have never heard of them or seen their patterns.  I guess that means I need to peruse DMJ again, including every dollmaker that I do know that has designed anything new in the last 10 years.  Wow!  I guess that will keep me busy for awhile.
       Meanwhile I'll keep emptying boxes in the studio.  My son Shawn will be helping me today by placing dolls on my tall book shelves while I sit back and point. Some are mine, some were made by others and a few are made from patterns of other designers.  Just to clarify, my "Patten Acquisition Syndrome" means I bought all the patterns, not that I actually made the patterns.