Because I didn’t have enough going on . . .

I proposed a class on hand embroidery to the Fairbanks Folk School, and it was accepted! Yea! I get to teach grown-up people! Who are not my children! (Well, the class is open to people 12-years old and up, so I might be teaching somebody else’s kids, but that’s ok.)  Here’s the class description, as well as a few pictures:

Hand embroidery is an easy and enjoyable way to decorate your life. You can embellish clothing, make art pieces for your walls, and produce lovely gifts for friends and family. You can spend hours or minutes, pennies or big bucks on your projects – no matter what your commitment level or budget is, once you know the basic stitches, you can create beautiful items easily.

In the first session of Easy Embroidery, you will learn basic hand embroidery stitches, including running, back, chain, and blanket stitches (and some variations), and the French knot. In the second session, we’ll add some simple filling stitches to your sampler and begin work on a small embroidered picture that you can frame, or mount on a pillow or greeting card. You will learn how to choose the correct fabric and thread to create the look you want for future projects. In addition, you will learn several ways to transfer a design to fabric: tracing with a lightbox or window, using an iron-on transfer pen, and using dressmaker’s carbon paper.

Samples – different fabric and thread weights = different results.

Close up daffodil

Close up doll eye

Godiva

Stitch sampler

Big Red

 

Yea! Go me! (It has been awhile since I did anything creative, so I’m pretty psyched about this class.) The Folk School is interested in a class on making rag dolls, as well as possibly something with polymer clay, so I’m working on putting together a couple more classes for them.  The embroidery class is 2 2-hour sessions, 6-8 pm on October 14 and 21, 2016.  Click here to sign up!

I managed one other little creative thing last week, too.  My sister needed a pair of earrings for a friend’s birthday.  The birthday was on September 8, which was the date of the debut of the original Star Trek series in 1966.  The friend is a fan, so here’s what I came up with:

Dangly Starfleet Insignia!

They are a little wonky, but I love them.  I’m gonna make me a pair!  If there’s enough interest, I’ll make a bunch and list them on my ArtFire shop.

 

Some New Dollies

So, here is part of what has kept me from my keyboard the last month or so…these dolls were supposed to be Christmas presents, but they just would NOT cooperate.  Fortunately the lady who ordered them is very, very nice.  She told me she wanted happy dolls, with no stress sewn in to them.  At last they are done and delivered. (Actually, they’ve been delivered for a week or two…I’ve not been on the ball with uploading photos, either.  Sigh.)

 

It always amazes me how they come out with their own personalities, even if I’m using the same pattern!  I used the same basic pattern for the three smaller ones, and they couldn’t be more different.  The two henna dolls started out the same, too – but the blond is definitely sassier than the brunette, don’t you agree?

Finished Dollies

Five in a Row

I finished my big doll order last week!  Yea!  I finally got around to taking some pictures of the completed dollies.  The lighting isn’t very good, but you get the idea.  I was experimenting with the kuspuks, and I didn’t realize how varied the lengths were until I saw this ^ picture.  And somehow I missed getting a close up of the one in the middle.  Oh well, I don’t really want to see any of them again for a while anyway . . . .

More Kuspuks, and Doll Hair

I made this sweet little doll in a kuspuk as a donation to my daughter’s school fund-raiser. I think she came out really well – and my daughter’s teacher was the winning bidder!

Kuspuk Dolly No. 2 and her clothes

With her hood up

Now, I really have to finish up a custom order of dolls. A local lady gives handmade dolls to her 5 nieces every year for Christmas, and this year, I was lucky enough to win her business. The 5 dolls I’ve made are about 18″ tall, with embroidered faces and black velour yarn hair. They will all wear socks or tights, undies, shoes and a kuspuk (a traditional garment worn by some groups of Alaska Natives). I found instructions for human-sized kuspuks, then scaled them down for my dolls’ proportions. All 5 doll bodies are sewn and stuffed, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel on the kuspuks. The undies and footwear won’t take long, but I’ve been pulling my hair out over the dolls‘ hair! When I was a kid, I always disliked doll hair that was only sewn down along a central part, the way rag doll hair usually is. If I untied the doll’s braids or undid her ponytails, I then had a doll with a long mohawk – the sides of her head would be bald. I preferred rag dolls to baby or fashion dolls, but the plastic dolls had rooted hair that could be brushed and styled. And what little girl doesn’t want to styled their dolls’ hair? So, now that I’m making rag dolls, I’ve been trying to solve this problem, without buying doll wigs. So far, I have one doll with the traditional central part and one with a crocheted cap with strands of yarn knotted all over it. (The doll’s scalp showed through the cap, so I covered her head with some black fabric.) And 3 bald dolls.

1 kuspuk, 3 wigs, 5 undies, 10 socks and 10 shoes to go!

By the way, sorry about the crappy photos – natural light is pretty hard to come by in Fairbanks in November!

Grandmom’s Birds

Today, July 3, would be my Grandmom’s 101st birthday. She was one of my favorite people, and though she’s been gone 10 years, I still miss her. Sometimes, I smell her perfume when there is no one around, and think she must be visiting. I am lucky to have this beautiful crewel embroidery she did, a long time before she died. We had it framed and gave it to her on her 85th (I think) birthday. She was impressed with her own ability as a stitcher…she hadn’t been able to see to do such fine work for quite a while. I have it hanging above my dining table, where I see it every day, and it always makes me smile. Happy Birthday, Grandmom!