Are You Ready?

Are you ready for that time of year when you need to wrap up something special for that some one special?  It's too early to even think about it, but I don't want to find myself with so many unfinished dolls when I need them.  So TADA - announcing the week long doll bee at Attic Window Quilt Shop starting Nov 28 and going thru Dec 1, 2011. The times are 10:30 am on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.  For Tuesday, we'll meet after the regular Tuesday Bee...say 1:00 pm.  The bee fee will be $5 for the entire marathon (4 days of classroom use). 
Hope to see you there!

Bring whatever doll you wish to finish during the week.  I hope to get several finished!  Including these MYO dolls that should have been finished and posted on Etsy many months ago.

On another note:  I have been looking for ways to "clean green".  I find I am allergic (or something like that) to many of the green cleaning products you find at the grocery stores.  I have been using Doctor Bronner's pepperment soap for many years and just found out that I could add some hydrogen peroxide to clean a spot on the carpet.  This spot has been a thorn in my side for many years!  Even the professional carpet cleaners couldn't get it....but good old Dr B and the hydrogen peroxide got it right out.  I used the food grade stuff diluted down to disinfect my counter top and had a bit left over, so I added the soap and used the rest on the carper.  Awesome stuff.  Here's the link that gave me the idea: http://www.using-hydrogen-peroxide.com/.  It's an enviromentaly safe cleaner that I plan on using a lot more.

While I am cleaning the kitchen, you go have some doll fun - so at least one of us has some fun today - Julie

PS - I found that the magic bullet glasses that I never use make a wonderfull shaker (use the lid with the larger holes) for my new green scour powder - borax. 

Dixie Redmond's Izannah

Are you thinking you might like to try your hand at an Izannah Walker style doll?  Besides my Gail Wilson Izannah's I have three Dixie Redmond dolls in the works.  They are still in the pre-sculpt stage, but hopefully soon I will get them going again. 

Here is the link for Dixie's workshop e-pattern. I hope you'll give it a try, it is loads of fun with this group.  Lots of talented doll makers in that forum, so be sure to join in to see the pictures and read the discussion threads.

http://izannahwalkerworkshop.blogspot.com

hmmm, maybe Santa should make a few of these dolls! 

Have some doll fun today (you have that extra hour) - Julie

The Retreat Doll

Here she is - the doll from the Gail Wilson retreat in early October.  She is one of the dolls from Gail's journey to create a doll just as the real Izannah Walker did back in the last half of the  1800's.  This doll has a molded head with stockingette over it and a cloth body.  This was my first attempt at stockinette and it was much easier than I thought it would be.

I met some wonderful new doll makers at the retreat as well as connecting with some doll makers I have met at other retreats.  It was a fun filled long weekend.  We did a gift exchange and I was so lucky!  I received some special fabric designed by one of the retreaters.  Thanks Cornish Crone! 

After the retreat, my husband and I traveled to the Shelburne Museum in Northern Vermont.  It is a series of buildings housing several different kinds of museum exibits. It took us two full days to see it all.   In one of the buildings, they have three Izannah Walker dolls on display!

In addition to dolls, we saw sleighs and carriages, quilts, folk art, impressionistic paintings, american paintings, circus carvings, and some period houses.  We also saw a shaker tool shed, a weaver with a working Jacquard loom, and a locomotive steam engine.  If you'd like to arm chair visit the museum, here is their web address:

http://shelburnemuseum.org/explore/collections/

They have a nice gift shop there with books, games, clothing, Vermont artist items, and even some fabrics that are reproductions of fabrics in their antique quilts.

I hope you get to visit the Shelburne Museum some day...but in the meantime, have some kind of fun today!

Shop Hoppin in Rockford, MI

Hello dollmakers!  We are taking a break from dollmaking (shhh, don't tell the  dolls!) for 4 weeks in honor of the annual fall shop hop around West Michgan fabric stores.  Today my eldest daughter and I made a trek into Rockford, MI to visit the Rockford shoe outlet. Wow, so many nice shoes and things there. I found a nice zip bag for shopping at an outlet price :)



Since we were there in Rockford, we decide to have a look around and WOW we found this really cool olive oil and balsamic vinegar spot.  I never knew they had dark chocolate balsamic vinegar (I got a bottle of that).  And so many interesting oilive oils.   They do have a website and I think I will go back and do some Christmas shopping there. They had some nice gift bags with four or six bottles that I figure would be very nice for gifts. http://www.oldworldolivepress.com  or click on the title of this post.

I got a couple of sampler sets (so I could try all those very delicious oils at home).  There are samplers in mid sized bottles or small bottles.


Some of the very tasty combos are:              
 (EVOO = Extra Virgin Olive Oil, BV=Balsamic Vinegar)
Blood Orange EVOO and dark chocolate BV
Basil EVOO and Sicilian Lemon BV
Wild mushroom and Sage EVOO and 18year aged traditional BV

YUM YUM! I'm making myself a salad for din din and then I am going to take a good look at a knitting pattern I bought at the yarn shop in town. A very nice lady helped me find a nice sweater pattern that you can use up scraps to make and it shows sizing for kids and adults.  And you knit it in once piece and sew one seam and it's done. Sounds like it's right up my alley.  http://www.therockfordnetwork.com/rockford-mi-180-J.T.-Stitchery-and-Frame-Shop.htm

I was hoping to get into the rug hooking spot, but it looks like they are closing and moving to another location, so we didn't get in there. But oh well, sounds like a good reason for going back to Rockford! 

Well, the EVOO and BV in the pantry is calling my name, so off I go to the kitchen - have some fun today (even if it isn't doll fun).
Bon Appitit! - Julie

Third Generation Doll maker

Hello Dollmakers!  Here's what happens when you can't find some one to mind the little one while you make dolls: you give the next generation doll maker a start!

My middle daughter Hazel is entering a Hitty doll in a work sponsored art contest.  Here she is painting the skin color on a Hitty head and limbs. Of course her little one Kristin wants in on the painting fun and did a pretty good job considering she is only two.

Hitty is a fun doll to make. She is only 6.5 inches tall, but has a big personality!  We made her a room box and some medical office items like a miniature stethoscope and knee banger (ok, go ahead a laugh! I don't know the medical term for that knee banger thingie).  We found some very small bottles with cork stoppers and made some tiny cotton balls, cotton swabs, and tongue depressors for them.  Hitty also has a table and chair, a coat rack, a file box with patient files, and she even has a framed medical degree! 

She is now residing at Hazel's work and the company employees voted on Friday. I hear we have some pretty good competition at the art show.  We will hear on Monday how she fared.  If she wins the competition, she will have another adventure to a medical convention.
Good luck Hitty!   

Have some doll fun today - we sure did!  Here are a few of the fun places we visitied in cyber space while making Hitty and her room box:
www.gailwilsondesigns.com   for the Hitty parts
http://www.printmini.com/printables/   mini printables
http://www.hittyprintmini.julieoldcrow.com/  more mini printables
and thanks to them for sharing their Hitty treasures! 

Finishing up the MYO doll with Hannah and Samantha

HI doll makers, today is the day we finish up the MYO dolls that Hannah and Samantha (and Mom helped too)  have been working on for awhile.   The first day (gee, was that last year??) they sculped hair on the doll heads. 

The second meeting, they painted the doll parts with skin and hair color and mom worked on the cloth parts.

The third meeting we painted on the facial details and shoes on the feet.  Ok, I helped a little by painting on the eye whites, but they did most of the face themselves. I was impressed they did so well as they are my youngest doll making pupils ever.

Yesterday I made the dresses and undies so that there wouldn't be naked dolls going home.   Samantha picked out a dark print dress with red dots.  It made up nicely with gathered sleeve edges and a wide lace ruffle.  Hannah picked out a sweet pink sprigged fabric that looked equally nice with the lace ruffle.  The undies were made out of an old man's hankerchief.  The slip was too long!  This is one of the dangers of making clothing ahead of time, no chance to fit it on the doll before hemming.  So, we'll have to fix that later. 

Today, H & S's mom finished sewing the torsos, and then....


Hannah attached one of the arms to the arm tube before we put the arms into the shoulders and sewed her legs to the thigh tubes. 

Hannah

Samantha

And Samantha stuffed some roving into her legs and sewed them shut.   Then we slipped the arm with arm tube into the holes in the shoulder and sewed on the second arm, added the legs to the torso and VOILA!  Two very nice Gail Wilson designed "Make Your Own" dolls completed by two very young doll makers.

The pantaloons went on first, then the slip, and finally the dresses.  I can see these two dolls are going to be well loved! 

Hannah and Samantha did a wonderful job on their dolls and can be very proud of themselves. 

For more information about the MYO doll from Gail Wilson, please see her website at

www.GailWilsonDesigns.com

Good Grain Lines and the Columbian Doll

Hello Doll makers!  Happy doll day to you.   Yup, she's finished and up on the Etsy Shelf where I keep all my Etsy offerings safe and dust free.  Here's a picture of her before she went up on the shelf in her dust proof cover:

There are additional pictures on the Etsy site if you wish to see more. Click on this blog post title to take the short cut there.  There will be a rare black version of her on Etsy as soon as I can get her finished.

Now it's time to prepare for the next doll class at Attic Window Quilt Shop - The Columbian Doll.   The antique Columbian doll that inspired our class doll lives at the Wenham Museum near Boston.  She was made by Emma and Marietta Adams  (1890's in Oswego, NY) .  Miss Columbia got her name as a result of winning an award at the 1893 Columbian Exposition of the Chicago's World Fair. She went on to travel internationally to raise monies for children's Charities.  For more information about Miss Columbia and her travels, please visit the Wenham Museum site at:  http://www.wenhammuseum.org/misscol.html

Today I will be making the body of the Columbian doll designed by Gail Wilson so that I have a class example for our first class on Aug 4, 2011. It's not too late to jump into class, purchase a pattern for the Columbian Doll from Gail Wilson and come to class with your sewing machine and basic sewing supplies.  All the skill required is basic sewing skills. The rest we'll cover in class.    Gail's website is: http://www.gailwilsondesigns.com  The columbian doll is in the historical section in the cottage industry doll.  Tell her you are taking my class and she'll let you know the items besides the pattern that you will need (shoe leather, buttons, etc). 

The first step in sewing the body is to find the grainline of the fabric.  This is parallel to the salvedge.  Easily done UNLESS the salvedge has been cut off. No worries, just find a similar fabric with a salvedge and find which way the stretch goes.   The stretch is perpendicular (at a 90 degree angle) to the salvedge. So now you know you want to lay the grainline indicators on the pattern along the not stretchy grainline of the fabric. 

 The next step, which I actually do way before I start cutting into the fabric is to copy my patterns onto cardstock and  extend the grainline on the pattern piece all the way to the edge of the pattern on both ends.  Then I laminate the patterns front and back and cut out the patterns.

On the fabric, I take a ruler and pencil and run a pencil line down the grain line. Take your time and make sure you have a good grainline.  If you are not flush with fabric, you may wish to lay out the patterns to see where the pencil lines should be drawn, then remove the pattern piece and draw the line. 

One you have a nice long pencil line (longer than the pattern piece), you can lay your pattern piece on the line of the fabric so that the extended grain lines on the pattern match up with the grain line on the fabric.  Make sure they line up at both ends and then draw around your pattern piece.

Why is it important to get good grain lines?  It helps to maintain the shape of the doll as originally intended by the designer.  If you don't follow the grainlines, you might end up with a short fat doll instead of the doll shape you were supposed to have. This means that the clothing may not fit well.  Having said this, there are times you might WANT to disregard the grainlines. For example, if you want to make a second doll with the same pattern and don't want it to be exactly the same, you can flip the grain line in say the head and end up with a fatter head.  The doll will look different, but if you keep the body the same, you won't have issues with the clothing not fitting. 

Here are two NY dolls I made, flipping the grainline on the black version to get a different shaped head. I ended up adding hair of yarn too, so it is really different.

Or if you wish to make the body short and fat too, you will need to adjust the clothing patterns to account for that. One way you can do this is to make your adjustments on the clothing fabric when tracing around the pattern pieces and then make the article of clothing out of paper towel. It's a good way to test the fit of the item on the doll without cutting into your fabric.  Once you have the perfect fit, you use the pattern tweaks on the real fabric.  

I hope I helped you become a better doll maker today!  Take a break from the summer heat and have some doll fun today! Thanks for stopping by - Julie

Painting eye whites

Julie's work table - almost cleaned up

Hi Doll makers!  Today I am straightening up the sewing table. My machine is in the shop for it's yearly cleaning and it's a good time to dust and clean the spot.  I'm finding all sorts of ufo's!

So as I go, I organize for what I'm going to do next while I wait for the sewing machine to return.  One thing I found is that several heads are suspended in their process waiting for eye whites to be painted on. I like to do my heads in alkyd oils and eye whites need to go on and dry before the rest of the face can be painted.  I like to give them a few days of drying time, so if I have to pull off some iris color, I can use my filbert with a touch of turp without pulling off any eye white. 
For me, the first step in painting is to find that spot where I can leave things to dry.  I have six heads to paint the eye whites (3 hitties for Thursday's doll class and 3 MYO dolls).  I happened to be dusting one of my spool pincushions and thought, hey - why not this for drying eye whites?

You can secure them if you slip a square of paper towel into the shoulder area loosely. Then the dowel will hold it in. Don't try to wad a big bunch of toweling, or the pressure of the paper against the dowel against the inside of the head might break the head. For the wooden Hitty head, use a tall spool of thread that fits the head dowel. They can move, just not so the movement spoils the painting of the eye white.

The doll heads may touch each other, so do not use to dry hair or even skin paint. 

And they touch the pincushion,  so make sure the hair is super dry before you load them onto the spool dowels.

Well, guess I better quit fooling around on the blog and get back to cleaning! 

Thanks for stopping by and have some doll fun today! - Julie

ps - I got the wooden spool pincushion from Gail Wilson at a retreat.

http://www.gailwilsondesigns.com/catalog/oldfashdrygoods.html 

Visit the website above for her vintage pincushion kits. 

Super Duper Cute alert

Oh my, I feel like a pirate finding a pot of gold in the sand! For in with all the junk mail yesterday was the MOST ADORABLE tiny sock monkey for my Hitty.  Many thanks to Linda H from Sequim, WA for sending me this little treasure.  My Hitty thinks she is the cat's meow now with her own sock monkey  (and she probably is).

Linda, you sure made my day yesterday! Thanks for sharing your talent with me.  It always amazes me that you can get a felting needle and turn a whisp of roving into little critters.  I must try my hand at this sometime.  In the meantime, if you have a website where others can go and see your craft, please let us know in the comments.  Thanks and THANKS AGAIN!

Now, I need to go put my treasure in the bookcase with the other treasures.  Hmmm, maybe on the bed. 

I had a barrel full of doll fun today!  Thanks for stopping by, and now I'm going to monkey around in the doll room - Julie

Cute Alert

Hot off the presses - or guess I should say, the sewing machine:  A carpet bag designed by Sarah C. of Two Sister's Fancy Goods for my yet unfinished Izannah Walker doll from Dixie Redmond's online class.  Here's a picture of the carpet bag I made this afternoon - it was FUN!

This was a practice version, to get the feel of how to make it. It is lined, has a pocket and real leather trim.  I wanted to get over the learning curve before I used real nice tapestry fabric and this is not bad for a first try.

 This would be a wonderful size purse for American Girl dolls, too.

   For info about the pattern for the doll's bag, visit Sarah's storefront: http://twosistersfancygoods.weebly.com/

Sarah also has a blog: http://www.cremnrabble.blogspot.com/ 

 

For info about Dixie's online Izannah class, please visit: http://www.izannahwalkerworkshop.blogspot.com/

The online class registration for 2011 is closed, but there is rumor there might be a 2012 class.

I had some doll fun today! Hope you got some too - Julie

New York Doll - turning fingers

New York Doll designed by Gail Wilson, made by me years ago in an online class.

Hello doll makers!  Today I am working on finishing up the NY doll bodies and turning them outside right.  Tomorrow will be the second class at Attic Window Quilt Shop for Gail Wilson's version of the doll that graces the front cover on the book by Wendy Lavitt.  For more information about the doll, please click on the title of the link and it will take you to Gail's website.  The New York Doll is in the historical section.  I have one kit left over  from a prior class that I would like to sell - if anyone would like more info - please email me.  Yes, it comes with a set of pre-sewn hands.

 I have found a short cut for the hands!  I scanned the hand pattern into my embroidery unit on my machine and I just let the machine sew the hands for me.  I also do this for all my students who ask for them.  I try and turn them outside right before I give them to the students as this is one of those tricky areas that takes a bit of practice.  Sorry about it being sideways!  I can't seem to find the way to turn it.

click on any picture for a closer look

Once the machine has sewn them, I start by doing a preliminary cut out that goes around the fingers as a whole. 





Then I clip between the fingers close to the stitching. This ensures that the hands will lay nicely after they are turned; no hitching up in the crux of the fingers.  Then I do another pass around with the scissors close to the stitiching, but not as close as the slips in the V's of the fingers.

  I  fray block the fingers, starting at the wrist, going around the fingers, and then ending at the other side of the wrist. You can do the fraycheck at any stage after you sew the fingers to just before turning.  I have done it both before and after the final pass of the scissors.  I have noticed that it is a bit easier to turn the fingers if they are not totally dry.  

Now comes the not so easy part: turning the fingers. This is where it really pays to have the tools. Years ago, I purchased tiny turning tubes on the recommendation of a fellow doll maker I met at a GW retreat, and boy I am so glad I did! They make turning tiny fingers a lot easier. If you don't have the brass turning tubes, you can also use the tube on a small paint brush and a tooth pick with a flat edge.   Any tube that will fit into the finger will work, even coffee stir straws.

brass turning tubes

tube from spotter brush

Finish the raw edge by turning over and basting.  How much to turn over will be in the instructions from Gail Wilson.

I like to turn up a cuff, to make it easier to hold the tube.   Slip the tube up inside one of the fingers or the thumb and then open the side seams and flatten them as flat as you can against the finger.  I have a video that shows how I turn the fingers, please excuse the background noise, I was listening to a movie at the time.   After you have the first tube in the finger, place the other tube or the flat end of a tooth pick on top of the finger over the fabric so it nestles in the first tube with the fabric between them. Think of a sandwich of inside tube, fabric, then flat toothpick.  Don't try to push the tooth pick down, but instead slip the fabric up over the toothpick. In the video it looks as if I am pushing down, but I am really mostly slipping the fabric up over the toothpick while holding the tubes against one another.  Hard to explain, but it works.  It's also important not to have too much of a seam allowance. 

The important thing is to take your time and to back up and start over if things are not moving along well.   

The pinky finger is the hardest because it is the smallest, so start with the thumb to get a feel for how it works.  Then move onto the smaller fingers. Also, if things are not going as well as you wanted, try getting just a tip of the finger turned and then try and pull it out the rest of the way after you have the others pulled. It only takes a bit of turned fabric for the hemostats to grab to be able to pull the rest outside right. Having said that,  BE CAREFUL not to put holes in your fingers unless you are going for that really antiqued/worn out look.   Holes in fingers are another accidently on purpose thing that happens in doll making. If it happens you can get a really sweet look by darning said hole and it makes the doll look well loved.

After they are turned, I like to use my hemostats as fingers and finger press the seams flat - not open, just flatten them out.

Here is my stash of doll body parts, ready for stuffing tomorrow.

Some of you probably noticed the open back seam in the body. Yup, I tweaked the pattern because I really like being able to stuff from a seam instead of from the bottom. To do this, make an extra body back pattern and cut in half down the center where the center back seam would be.  Then when drawing the pattern on the fabric add a seam allowance to the cut part (the center back seam).  Then sew the seam leaving a section of the back unsewn.  Press open the seams and voila, you now have your back piece with a center seam to stuff from. 

 If you want to, you can leave two areas in the center back seam open, one in the center top half where shoulder points are and one in the center bottom area, say where a tail bone would be.

Run a gather stitch around the butt section and pin to front bottom matching centers. Pin the important parts first: center head, sides of head, neck, center and side of bottom, waist, neck, shoulder points, and then some additional points halfway between what you already pinned. Easing where necessary, sew all around the body.   Where did I get this open area center back seam idea from?  Many of Gail's patterns use this technique - the cloth fashion doll for one.  I learn something new with every one of her patterns that I make.  This is why I like the try them all!    

  Have some doll fun today - Julie

Accidently on Purpose

Gail Wilson's Pincushion doll with a few tweaks

You know how it goes, right?  You make the bodice a bit bigger because in the past you have issues with clothing being a tight fit (you stuffed a bit too much). Then come to find out, you should have just left it alone and it would have fit perfect.  Then you add some darts in the bottom to fit it better and then the top half is just a tad to big.  To fix that, you add a bust with some roving laying around on the crafting table (see, there is a reason for not putting it away so fast).  And you gather up the top of the lace and voila, you have tweaked your creation to stand out from all the others.  Accidently on purpose. 

While you are checking everything over,  you hear that little voice say "I'd like a belt please".  So you pull out your tiny buckles  -  a treasure you found while on errands.  This is why you always keep your eyes peeled; searching for good doll sized items because you never know when those little voices are going to pipe up. 

 While you are poking thru the doll treasures box, the little voice leans over and says,  "Hey, doing anything with those keys"?  So you add some keys and even a small pair of scissors to the mix.  She might need those scissors and keys when she finds her new home.

  Finding that just right shade of pink in felt can sometimes be an issue.  Sounds like a good excuse to visit my favorite fabric store. They have a very large stock of felt and wool felt in a wide range of colors. 



And a lady always needs a hat. Sometimes with braids, or flowers, or feathers and sometimes with them all!

To see the Etsy listing, just click on the title of this post or visit my Etsy Shop at: http://www.etsy.com/listing/50698732/the-pincushion-doll-with-tweaks?ref=ss_listing



For more information about purchasing a kit for this pincushion doll, please visit Gail Wilson's website at:http://www.gailwilsondesigns.com/catalog/oldfashdrygoods.html

Thanks for visiting  - Julie

Upcoming classes

New York Doll - black version

Hi dollmakers!  What a good day for ducks!  It's raining and looks like an all-day rain: good for putting on a pot of soup (pea soup) and dollmaking.   I am finishing up my class list for the second half of the year newsletter at Attic Window Quilt Shop where I teach doll making.  The classes all start at 10 am, but we are ok with come when you can if you can't make the 10 am.  We usually go until 3pm or so. 

We are also aok with anyone who wants to jump in last minute - you just need to already have or get your doll pattern from Gail by phone or ipad when you jump in.  Once you have paid for your pattern, you are ok to participate in the class.  All you need for the first class besides your own pattern is your sewing machine with an open toe foot (or clear) and your basic sewing items.  The doll body fabric is available at the store. You will get a supplies list the first class for next time.  Here's a list of the classes:

GW New York Doll -  May 19 & 26 and June 3 & 16, 2011 at 10 am.   This is Gail Wilson's version of the antique doll that graces the front of Wendy Lavitt's book "American Folk Dolls" .
 She is a 16" all cloth doll with an embroidered face and has a folk art cloth cat to hold.

At the June, July, and August bees (second Thursday of each month) we will reuse our kits and patterns for the "very smalls" - a collection of small table dolls including a snowman, angel, and Santa. 

Our adventure into making the 6 & 1/2"  GW Hitty begins June 23 and continues June 30, July 21, and 28.   The original Hitty lives at the Sturbridge Village Library in Massachusetts and has a world wide following.  There are links to various Hitty sites at the bottom of my blog. One of my favs is Esther Robertson's Hitty.     

 If you are looking for a wonderful series gift for a special little girl, this would certain be a good choice as she has many kitted (or finished) items for you to gift over a series of years.  She also has a book written about her that won a Newberry Medal back in 1929 called "Hitty - Her First One Hundred Years".  Rachel Field wrote the story imagining what Hitty's life would have been considering she believed the doll to be over 100 years old when she found her in an antique shop.  For the Hitty items, visit Gail's website by clicking on the post title above, or go to www.GailWilsonDesigns.com ,  and then click on Hitty on the side bar. Be prepared to ohh and ahh.

Starting August 4th, we will try our hand at Gail Wilson's Columbian doll. The original Columbian doll resides at the Wenham Museum in Boston.  She traveled the world raising money for Children's charities in the early part of the 1900's. You can follow her travels via her journal at the museum's website:    http://www.wenhammuseum.org/misscol.html

At the September bee, I will demonstrate how to carve an apple head doll.  The following Thursdays in October, we will carve an apple head, make an armature, and make clothing for the apple heads.  By December or so, the heads should be dried enough to put them together at the December bee. 
Whew!  So many dolls, so little time. I am glad for the rainy days to work on the class sample dolls.  oh -  First, I have to clean up my work table, it's so messy I can't find the table just yet.  And there is the pincushion doll in pink waiting for final items before she gets listed on Etsy. She is haggling with me over the bodice and the peplum. She says they don't match and she wants another matching set. Oh dear, and all those doll faces waiting for eye white.  Gee - I better get to work on all that! 

Thanks for visiting and have some doll fun today! - Julie

What a fun day

What  a fun day we had today at doll bee at Attic Window Quilt Shop on Alpine at Six Mile Road here in Comstock Park, MI . Barb H showed us how to make miniature clothes line and fabric bowls.  Then later we discovered these little bowls might be used for doll hats!

 Barb H

Here are Barb H's GW fashion doll in her basket hat and my finished fashion doll with Darlene in back at left and Barb V at right.

Maggie is painting her GW fashion doll's face. She did a marvelous job.  And yes, the doll has whispered her name to Maggie - it's Scarlett.    We have good hopes that Scarlett will get out of the cup soon.                            Shirley (in purple shirt) is working on her fabric bowl.  We discovered you need a short sewing machine foot for these mini bowls.

Barb V is working on her waxed linen flower basket.  Earlier in the day, Barb V painted skin color on her Queen Anne doll head that was hand carved and has bead eyes. 

I missed taking a picture of Pat, as she had left already - she was working on her GW Pincushion doll.  I'll have to snag a picture of her and her doll next time. 

Come join us for the next doll bee for some fun!  Bring anything you want to work on.  We meet every 2nd Thursday of the month at 10 am. 

Thanks for visiting and have some doll fun today - Julie

psssst - you know what's really nice about doll bee?  There is no kitty face in your face.

I need to redo my button loops - they are too thick.