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Crybaby, Original One-of-a-kind Tabby Kitten Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max Bailey

Crybaby, Original One-of-a-kind Tabby Kitten Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyShe used to have another name, but nobody remembers it anymore. Everybody calls her “Crybaby”.

Crybaby, Original One-of-a-kind Tabby Kitten Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyShe cries when she’s too hot. She cries when she’s too cold. She cries when her mother leaves the room, and she cries when her mother comes back.

Crybaby, Original One-of-a-kind Tabby Kitten Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyShe cries when her bowl is empty, and sometimes she cries when it’s full.

Crybaby, Original One-of-a-kind Tabby Kitten Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyNo one ever asks “Where’s Crybaby?” They know where she is.

Crybaby, Original One-of-a-kind Tabby Kitten Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyThere’s just no stopping her. Poor Crybaby!

Crybaby, Original One-of-a-kind Tabby Kitten Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyCrybaby’s little tabby cat self is painted in a multitude of tabby colors…silver gray, buff, ivory, and gold, with lots of black stripes on her head and tail. Her eyes are blue-green with a touch of yellow. The top of her nose is wrinkled and she has her mouth wide open so you can see her little tongue. Her white whiskers (made from stiffened cotton thread) stand out from her face as she wails away.

Crybaby, Original One-of-a-kind Tabby Kitten Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max Bailey

Crybaby, Original One-of-a-kind Tabby Kitten Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyCrybaby holds an empty yellow-green bowl. She wears a pink polka dot pinafore that is tied in a big bow at the back. Her blue blouse has a white collar, white cuffs, and little gold buttons, and her vibrant rose and blue petticoats can be seen below her dress. Crybaby rests firmly on a turned wooden base that is stained and sealed in golden oak.

Crybaby, Original One-of-a-kind Tabby Kitten Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max Bailey

Crybaby, Original One-of-a-kind Tabby Kitten Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyI hand sculpted Crybaby from paperclay, and she is an original one-of-a-kind work of art. No molds are ever used in my work. She is hand painted using acrylic paints, and is signed, dated, and sealed with matte varnish for protection and preservation.

Crybaby, Original One-of-a-kind Tabby Kitten Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max Bailey

Crybaby, Original One-of-a-kind Tabby Kitten Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyCrybaby is 8 inches tall. She is a work of art and is meant for display only.

Crybaby, Original One-of-a-kind Tabby Kitten Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max Bailey

Crybaby, Original One-of-a-kind Tabby Kitten Folk Art Doll Figurine by Max BaileyUpdate: Crybaby has already been adopted. Thank you!

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Blue and Yellow Quilt, November Block

I took the weekend to just goof off and I did my quilt homework too. I thought I might have trouble with this block because it looked intimidating, but hand piecing really levels the playing field as far as difficulty goes. It is great for accuracy since you have more control than you have with a sewing machine.

Figuring out how to draw the templates was a bit of a brain twister, but once I realized it was just a twelve inch square divided into fifths, it came together. The only frustrating thing is that twelve inches doesn’t divide so conveniently into fifths, at least not for me 🙂 This is when I go metric. Metric is so much easier. A fifth of a twelve-inch square is 6.1 centimeters, which is 2 3/8 inches. It’s just easier to do the math that way for me. Once you draw out a grid of five by five 2 3/8 squares, you can see how to draw the design. The long pointy blue triangles in the center part cross the span of two squares on the grid, with the longer diagonal line going from one corner of one square to the corner of the second square. The shorter diagonal line just spans one square on the grid. The block is assembled using the same techniques as the previous one.

I also made vegetable soup. This is when I take all the leftovers that are reasonable to use for soup stock, and dump them in a couple pots of water some onion, garlic, celery, carrots, and bay leaves. It is not an exact science. I let it simmer for a couple of hours, and then I strain it. I took about five cups of stock, a big can of diced tomatoes, 28 ounces, I think, and about five cups of sliced vegetables. I used carrots, celery, peas, green beans, corn, and parsley. I meant to add the parsley to the stock too, but I forgot. Now I have half a bunch of parsley in the fridge, and I’m not sure what to do with it. That kind of negates some of my satisfaction at using up the leftovers, but what do you do with parsley? I also added some macaroni to the soup. I added everything according to how long I thought it would take to cook, and let it boil until it was done.

Other than that, we have been editing more cat art doll photos of Max’s. We have more to do. I’ve let the web site updating go because I can only spin so many plates at once, but I really have to get going on that too. Sigh. Oh, I won’t even mention all the other things I have going. We’ll see what I get done!
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Doll Surgery

I hope everyone is having a pleasant holiday weekend. I sneaked a little work time in yesterday and started on some doll surgery. I am glad to say the crack turned out to be a surface wound and not something deeper. I removed the papier mâché and the paperclay in the neck area using a battery-operated manicure gizmo, er, um…”power file” I found at Target. I got it as a cheapo alternative to a Dremel kit, which I still hope to have one day. It works just fine at chipping off the above aforementioned materials.

Once I got down to the fabric of the neck area, I sanded it smooth. I then reinforced it with acrylic molding paste, which is somewhat flexible, as opposed to the papier mâché and the paperclay, which are strong, but not flexible. I even repeated the procedure on a second doll-in-progress, just as a precaution. The dolls are still not meant to be poked, prodded, or picked at, but I’m hoping this will make the area where their cloth necks meet their papier mâché and paperclay heads a little more resilient under accidental pressure.

I also decided that my repaired doll is going to be given away and not sold. I know just the ninety-two year old doll-lover with whom she will be going to stay. In light of the fact that both my doll and my grandmother have suffered recent injuries, and that they are both, thankfully, on the mend, I think they will make a good match. I hope they will bring each other some good cheer.