Tag: folk-art

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Angel or Devil?

Naughty Kitty: “Psst! Listen…I’ve got a plan for world domination!”

ER: “Given the current economic crisis, is world domination even feasible right now?”

ER: “Wait, why are you girls even talking to me?”

Good Kitty: “Don’t listen to her, Elizabeth…follow your heart, follow the good…”

Naughty Kitty: “You’d get to be 50 feet tall and wreak havoc.”

ER: “World domination does sound kind of fun.”

Good Kitty: “No! Elizabeth, no! Spread love and understanding. Think of your family, your friends.”

Naughty Kitty: “No, Elizabeth…think of your ex-boyfriends!”

ER: “Hm…”

ER: “Yeah, that might be kind of fun.”

Good Kitty: “Elizabeth, please, we need you on our side. Someone’s got to look after the bunny…”

ER: “Oh, you’re right. Beulah Bunny, new this week. World domination will have to wait.”

Beulah is by Max Bailey and is a companion for Beatrice Bunny.

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Cats without clothes

Well, Heidi, the tabby cat folk art doll, does have clothes, as you’ve already seen. Loretta, the Siamese is still in need. These are the first two folk art cat doll collaborations between myself and Max Bailey. We did a sunflower fairy way back when. That was our first joint art doll venture, aside from the trading of tips, and my sculpting lessons. We have a bunny and a Maine Coon cat in the works next.

Max gave Loretta and Heidi amazing painted eyes.

I knitted Loretta a sweater and planned to sew a skirt to match. I adapted a Fuzzy Mitten knitting pattern, and it came out really cute. I’m learning as I go with the knitting and crocheting. So, I guess I shouldn’t be too upset that my sweater came out to be too large! I thought I had it right, but it was too bulky for poor Loretta, who looked like she was swimming in it. It wasn’t a happy moment 🙁

But…I did manage to knit a sweater. I’d only ever made a scarf before. It does fit a larger doll I never finished. I have a small pile of those. Sometimes I want to make all the things I started and am not sure how to finish disappear, because I hate to let anything go to waste and the clutter starts to annoy me. There are times when you just have to move on though, or you spend more time, get more frustrated, and never end up with something you are satisfied with.

I am rethinking Loretta’s outfit now. I’m not even sure of my fabric choice anymore, since the sweater isn’t involved. Could it be an excuse to visit a quilting shop? Maybe it’s better not to add to the clutter!

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Heidi’s dress fitting and blueberry muffins

At first glance, it may appear from this photo that my kitty assistant from my last post has been magically transformed into a doll, but this is not the case. He would never fit in that dress.

This is Heidi, the tabby cat. She is Max and my first collaborative original folk art cat doll. I did the final fitting on her dress today. If you look closely, you will see the pins holding it together here. I sewed all the finishing details by hand. It’s a real challenge sewing little things on a machine. Now I have to get our Siamese’s sweater and skirt set assembled. It’s going to be fun photographing them together.


I also made my blueberry muffins that I had planned to make along with the last batch of muffins I made. These are from the same book, Deborah Madison‘s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. They are made from the Basic Buttermilk Muffins recipe. I added a cup of thawed blueberries and a teaspoon of orange zest. These are so good! I ate too many.

I had them with the orange I used for the orange zest for breakfast. Really good.

And thanks, Eric, for sharing an inspiring site…it’s our cosmos, with a new view of our universe every day. Check out Eric and Melissa’s music too. They’re putting together an LP of their own original songs. Pretty exciting. It’s great to see other people pursuing their dreams too 🙂

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Original folk art cat doll in progress, the dress muslin

Here are some photos of the muslin of the doll dress I was working on, completed. It is entirely hand sewn using cotton quilting thread to make a basting stitch.

I draw any adjustments in fit and length that I want to make directly onto my dress muslin with a mechanical pencil. Before I assembled the dress muslin, I traced the original version of my pattern right onto my fabric using a permanent black marker. Generally, I use a pencil to mark my dress muslin while my doll is wearing it to make sure I don’t mark the doll.

There are some minor adjustments to make. There was a small pucker in the bodice at the underarm. I will deepen the bottom of the armhole to compensate for this. I also added a quarter inch to the length of the skirt, and widened the back of the bodice slightly.

I used a single strand of thread for my stitching because it is easier to pull out, which is the next step. The muslin is next carefully disassembled using a seam ripper. Then I trace each piece, refine each one on paper, and make a final draft of my pattern. I haven’t pressed the dress muslin at all, to minimize any distortion of the fabric pieces.

Incidentally, although the rough draft of a dress is called a muslin, I don’t use actual muslin fabric to make my dress muslin. I used cotton sheeting on this one. The important thing is to use a fabric similar in weight and drape to the fabric you will use for your real dress.

We’ll be adding these new collaborative dolls to our online doll gallery once they are completed and photographed. I’m brainstorming on my navigation ideas for that main doll gallery page. There are so many original art dolls now, they’re divided into four subcategories, jointed cloth and paperclay art dolls, art doll figurines, soft art dolls and art toys, and already adopted dolls. Be sure to come check them out.