Adventures in Fiber

New Dolls

2009-10-28T20:16:00.002-04:00

I will be in an art show next month, so, I am busy making dolls. They are made on a wire armature, wrapped with quilt batting, fabric and fibers. I then do some beading and maybe add a piece of vintage jewelry. I have never sold my dolls before, so this is a brand new experience for me. Hope it goes well!

2009-10-28T20:13:00.000-04:00

Selvage edge purse

2009-10-28T06:47:00.003-04:00

I've been playing with the selvage edges of my fabric lately. After I finished the selvage edge skirt, which my granddaughter loved, I wanted to try something else. I used the pattern I designed a few months ago, which is selling pretty well at the local quilt shop. Hope you like it.

Halloween Doll

2009-08-27T14:24:00.004-04:00

Yet another wrapped doll! I have taught this method a number of times and never seem to tire of it. I came across this chiffon skirt I had made for my daughter for a dance back in high school (quite a few years ago) and thought it would be perfect for a witch. I had wrapped an armature in black already so all that was left was the fun part! She was going to be a Halloween witch, but she turned out way to cute for that....so she is just a Halloween doll. I will call her Kat, after a very dear and sick friend.

New Art Quilt

2009-08-18T21:23:00.003-04:00

I used hand dyed fabrics in this quilt. I took a class in dyeing a few months ago and dyed twenty yards of fabric. Guess it's time to start using some of it.

Pin Cushion

2009-08-18T21:11:00.004-04:00

This pin cushion was made from a free online pattern called Zadora by Sandra Corson-Walker. I did change it up some. This is the link, pinkeeps.blogspot.com/.../free-zadora-pincushion-bysandra-corson.html

Selvage Edge Skirt

2009-08-01T08:42:00.005-04:00

Last week I saw a pillow made from the selvage edges of fabric. It was so cool! I went home and was going to make one. I was in the process of making a child's skirt from a pair of recycled blue jeans. So, instead of a pillow I made a skirt. Only one problem.... which granddaughter gets it!

Collage

2009-08-01T08:38:00.003-04:00

This is my latest collage piece. I was showing some of my works in progress to a friend and her sister wanted to buy it when it was finished! What a surprise that was!

Holly Hobbie Fix-up

2009-08-01T07:12:00.002-04:00

A friend asked me to restore her daughter's Holly Hobbie doll for her granddaughter. She was very dirty, seams were ripping, she was missing an arm, her clothes were tattered and torn and she was badly in need of a new hairdo. I took her apart and reinforced the seams, washed her by hand and gave her some little yellow daisy (applique) tatooes to cover little holes in her legs. Then I restuffed her. I used my black paint marker to give her shoes a polish. I brightened up her face with gel pens and some blush! I found some yarn that matched the color of her hair pretty well and gave her some new hair. I'm sure she will be loved just as much as she was 30 years ago!

Li Hertzi's ABC online class

2009-07-16T16:29:00.004-04:00

This is the business card I am working on in Li Hertzi's online Photoshop/Elements class. The class has been great fun, I've learned a lot and Li does a awesome job teaching. The class is still open if you're interested. Here is the link
http://www.dollstreetdreamers.com/index.htm

Get Well Wishes for a Sick Dreamer

2009-07-12T12:50:00.004-04:00

This is the "Prayer/Bra Doll" that Barb and Keeling, and myself made for another sick Dreamer. Hopefully this will put a big smile on her face. This was so much fun! Barb and Doug are so talented!

Doll for Kat

2009-07-09T13:09:00.004-04:00

This is the "Bra Doll" that Barb and Doug Keeling, and myself, made for my good friend, and fellow Dreamer, Kat. She was diagnosed with cancer about six weeks ago. Although it was not breast cancer, we felt the "Bra doll" was still a good choice to make. Cancer is cancer. Barb designed a series these patterns to promote cancer awarness. I chose to make the "Mom Mouse". An appropriate choice for a beautiful person named Kat. I hope it makes her smile.
The doll started out as a round robin, but only the Keelings and I worked on this particular doll. There are a few more that are traveling around being touched with artistic love by many talented doll makers. These dolls will go to other people who are struggling with an illness.
This "Bra Mouse is very small, because I did not enlarge the pattern like I should have. Oh,well! I made the body and head and sent it off to Barb and Doug Keeling. Doug painted a beautiful little face and Barb made ears (from part of the bra) and put hair on her. Then they sent her back to me. I made the arm, legs and clothing.
My hubby made the piece of cheese she sits on!
So, from all of us, with many "get well" wishes, this is for you Kat. I hope it makes you smile!

Another Wrap Doll

2009-06-29T20:19:00.002-04:00

Mommy's Angel

2009-06-22T08:18:00.003-04:00

This is a collage of my granddaughter Emily. She liked my self portrait and wanted to keep it. I think she'll like one of herself more.

Dotties Arrived

2009-06-05T18:40:00.004-04:00

Here is a picture of the Dotties I received today. They are each so sweet and so different. The little one with the gold sequins around her face is "Honey Bear". She traveled all the way from Australia. Thank you Ivy Yates! The little green owl came from Julianna "Belle" Doerres in Arizona. Don't you just love the glasses? Thanks Julianna. The "Snow Spirit" was made by Sarah Jones in Sweden. I laughed when I saw her because we had a few snowflakes flying around last week. So, she was very appropriate!
Thanks you ladies, I love them all!......and a HUGE "Thank You" to Judi Wellnitz for all the work she did hosting this exchange!

New Purse

2009-06-05T18:24:00.004-04:00

I am taking a fabric dyeing class on Saturday. We will dye 20 yards of cotton. I am so excited. This is something I have been wanting to do for a long time. The class is through my local quilt shop. I am not a big quilter and neither are a lot of ladies who shop there. So, I designed this purse to use many different colors. Hopefully, it will give the "none quilters" some ideas ! Hope they like it! I used dupioni silk and batiks. I also put an adjustable strap on it....my straps are always to long!

Another Wrapped Doll

2009-05-18T10:42:00.003-04:00

This is my latest doll from Ray Slater's book, "clothdolls for the textile artist"
I know I've said it before, but, this is a great book!

2009-05-18T10:37:00.004-04:00

Reach fot the stars

2009-05-16T08:56:00.004-04:00

This is my latest fabric collage. I think I'm becoming addicted to these. They are so much fun.

Self Portrait Collage Challenge

2009-05-11T18:28:00.003-04:00

Today I got a call from the owner of my local quilt shop, Alley Kats. To my surprise, I won first place in the self portrait challenge. The small quilts have been on display since the first of February. I am thrilled! I will recieve a $50 gift certificate to the shop! Gotta like that! I learned this technique in an online class on Doll Street from Linda Misa......Thanks again Linda!

Dotee Doll Swap

2009-03-19T18:22:00.004-04:00

Here are my very first Dotee Dolls. I made them for the Doll Street Swap. I had so much fun I made four of them. I used the flash on my camera, so the pictures on the charms didn't show up so well. I hope whoever receives them enjoys them!

Wrapped Doll

2009-03-05T19:11:00.004-05:00

This is the second doll I've done from Ray Slater's book. It was the first time I made a wrapped doll. The instructions suggested a knit fabric, but I did'nt have anything suitable so I cut batik strips on the bias and used them. It worked pretty well. A few frayed edges but not to bad. By the time it was wrapped with other fibers you could not see any loose threads. It was a relatively quick and easy process. My hubby made the armatures for me and he got a little carried away. I now have five of them. Beter get wrapping!

2009-02-26T18:48:00.002-05:00

I had so much fun with the collage technique I used in the self-portrait quilt that I decided to try it again. I turned the collage into a flap for a messenger bag. It is a pretty simple design, nothing fancy. I just cut and sewed as I went along. I made if from black wool, a mistake, it picks up every thing, but it was an experiment and it turned out ok. I thought the flap might be to stiff.

So, thank you Linda Misa for the inspiration!

Collaged Snowmen

2009-02-26T18:39:00.002-05:00

I saw these snowmen in fall the issue of Cloth Paper Scissors. I searched around to find some old bottles and stuff! They were so much fun. Once the materials were gathered up I put them together in a day. I tend to collect little tidbits of junk, or maybe I should say treasures, regardless, they were tons of fun to make and a everyone loved them.

Christmas 2008

2009-02-26T18:21:00.003-05:00

I don't know how many of you have seen the book Sew Pretty Christmas Homestyle by Tone Finnanger. The book has some great projects and she has some fabulous fabrics that are not available in the US. But I did two displays for the local quilt shop with some of the in store fabric. They turned out ok, but I wish I had some of her fabric. Maybe next year!