My workroom doesn’t always look this chaotic. I decided I felt like making some fabric art toys today and yesterday. I kept pulling out boxes of quilting cottons, combining them, cutting out bits and pieces, and fusing them together. Then I’d see another combination of fabrics that I liked, and I’d do the same thing, again and again. By the end of the day, I had sixteen toys waiting to be sewn. I had been aiming for twelve. It remains to be seen just how many of these I will actually sew. Of course, I plan to sew them all. I still plan to sew a lot of things I have waiting around. At the moment, I’ve resolved to work on this the issue steadily, or at least frequently 😉
Month: July 2009
Raining on my photo parade
I think there just might be a conspiracy against my getting the rest of these doll photos done. It’s crazy how many things have stopped me lately, with all that’s gone on these past few weeks. I’m now even more determined to get them done a.s.a.p. My mom was actually well enough to give me a hand today, helping me set up and holding things steady. So, I ironed everyone’s doll dresses, and set them on their stands.
I gathered up all their friends and accessories, and ironed our photo backdrop too. We set everything up outside, and I got some photos of Emily and Edwin taken. I was just about to go for some group shots, which was my main objective for today, when the wind picked up and started blowing things around.
Then the rain came…ugh. Well, we got everyone back inside and no one got wet. But, by the time the rain stopped, the light had faded too much for our photo shoot. Hopefully the stars will align for us tomorrow, or at least the wind and the rain will wait until we are finished.
Pixie Kitten in progress
A kitten in a tutu. My latest project. She has hand-quilted wings that I borrowed from another project that I hadn’t finished. Max is going to work some magic on her next. She’ll be taking on some Siamese (or Himilayan, or Ragdoll…not sure yet) kitten features soon. We were thinking “fairy kittens” but then I liked “Pixie Kittens” better. It sounds more mischievous. There may just be a “Pixie Cat” to follow…
Dealing with the tulle has been hysterical. Purchasing it was interesting. We piled the bolts up in our arms, and when we got to the cutting counter, the guy there seemed really angry to see us! He looked up and said, “Oh, you’re killing me!!” After the twelfth bolt or so, cutting half yards at a time, he seemed to recover a bit. Maybe that was because the end was in sight, or maybe he was due for a break. I prewashed the tulle, and then had to fold and iron it. It does take some patience. It’s true.
I cut strips with my rotary cutter, each half an inch greater in skirt length than the next, and basted them together, two at a time. Then I basted the two sets of two together, and pulled up the basting stitch to gather the edge. The longest skirt length goes on top/outside, and the shortest goes on the bottom/inside, so the tutu fans out from the body. The whole thing is sewn to a band, which is then folded under and hand stitched closed. I closed it with a snap in the back, and added a ribbon rosette in the front.
I got a couple of new presser feet too. On the left is my new clear 1/4 inch piecing foot with guide, and on the right is my new clear edge joining foot. The first one allows you to butt your 1/4 inch seam up against the guide, to keep your seam even. I used that when I sewed my doll body. Being able to see through the foot helped me make those tiny, sharp turns. I did mess up the bottom surface of my new foot a little when I sewed over some Fray Check that hadn’t dried yet. So, I will avoid doing that again. I tried removing it with some alcohol, but the surface seems a little damaged. It may have reacted chemically with the coating of the foot somehow.
The clear edge joining foot will help attach lace to dresses, and it also acts as a guide for sewing a decorative stitch down a center line.
I used the clear edge stitching foot I bought before to sew my gathered tulle onto my waistband, as I wanted to sew past my gathering stitches, which had built up from so many layers of basting.
To those of you who sent your well wishes for my family, and your kind sentiments, thank you very much. My mom is doing much better, and hopefully she will be all better soon.
A ride in the countryside
My mom is still under the weather, but getting a little better each day, just slowly. I thought a drive might provide an enjoyable change of scenery, and so we took a tour. We drove past such a pretty pasture, with goats, horses, and cattle, all on a hillside. I couldn’t get a good vantage point for a photo of all the animals, but I did capture a shot of this pasture-guarding kitty. She even has plastic eyes, like a doll.
We saw lots of green, green fields. Very pretty and peaceful.
I found these bright pink zinnias and got them as cheerful, get-well flowers for my mom.
I have a couple of new doll ideas I’m working on, in addition to trying to catch up on the photos for the dolls we have already. I just might snatch these fairy wings from an older project to use on my new project. You never know when a new idea might seem even more appealing than the first idea you had. It’s the same thing that happens when you buy fabric for something, and as soon as you get it home, you think up ten more exciting somethings to make with it.
