OOPS! Credit where credit is due

Yikes! I forgot to credit the pattern designer for Batgirl in the last post. That is SUCH a bad thing! If not for all the great pattern designers, I would not be making dolls at all.

Batgirl is an adaptation of Mary Tressler's "Real Women Have Bellies". In fact, seeing her pattern is what made the whole idea gel. When I say "adaptation", it can mean just about anything. Sometimes I just tweak a pattern a little bit - and sometimes it gets modified so much the designer may not even recognize her work. BUT, if I even took the pattern out of the package, then it is an adaptation. So, I want to thank Mary for her great designs and if anyone is offended because I did not give her credit in the original post - well, I'm on my knees - please, please forgive me. I'll do better from now on, I promise!

By Special Request

My good friend, Recie, asked if I could post individual pictures of a couple of the dolls in Show and Tell (see Nov 16). These pictures were taken using my older camera, so the color is not as accurate, but they are not too bad after all.

This is Duchess Honeybee. I made her as part of a "bottle challenge" with the Doll Hags club in Goldendale, WA. Yes, her body is a 2 liter pop bottle. This was shortly after the movie "Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood" was showing and their web site had a feature for creating a yaya name. My YaYa name is Duchess Honeybee - and it just cried out to become a doll! I had quite a time searching for bee-themed fabric, though.

The other doll is one I call "Batgirl . . . Plus 50". I leave it up to you to decide if that is 50 years or 50 pounds - or maybe both. Have you ever wondered what happens to superheros (and superheroines) when they get older? Wouldn't they be subject to the same problems of aging that the rest of us are? Extra pounds, sagging chins, etc. Well, this is my interpretation of what might happen. At least the costume seems to stretch pretty well!

One of the reasons I enjoy making dolls so much is the research that goes into planning the costume details. I searched the internet for pictures of Batgirl - from Julie Newmar to Alicia Silverstone. What fun!

My New Best Friend

Yup - it's a seam ripper. My adventures in quilting have taught me several things so far. Today I was reminded that ripping out and re-sewing is not a bad thing. In fact, it appears to be part of the quilting process! Many years ago, when I was learning to sew, I hated having to rip something out and do it over. It felt like punishment of some kind and I hated admitting I made a mistake. Obviously my attitudes have changed (see, I can grow up!) and today I just sighed and reached for the seam ripper. It is always near by. Sometimes I can sew a new patch without having to rip out a seam - and that's when I wonder what I am missing. Must be something wrong here somewhere!

Well, the binding is stitched on one side of the big quilt. Now to begin the hand work. Fortunately, I enjoy doing handwork. Although I cannot watch television while I stitch anymore. I have to wear different glasses for close work and the TV set is a big blur when I'm wearing them. Man, this getting old stuff can be a real pain!

Busy Week

Thanksgiving is over and the Christmas madness is officially started. I am working on Christmas projects right now, but nothing much ready to show off yet. Besides, I wouldn't want to spoil any Christmas surprises.

One person I know won't be reading this blog is my mother. So, I will show you a quilt I have been working on for her.

I got this back from the quilter today. The fabric is something that Mom bought many years ago, thinking she would make a simple quilt to match one a friend gave her. When they moved to a retirement facility (in 2004, I think) all the materials were neatly folded and waiting. I took them - along with a good portion of her unused stash - and finally decided what to do with it all. It's "whole cloth", meaning no patchwork, but I did seam together two pieces to make it large enough for her bed.

Now it needs binding and finishing. This is without question the biggest piece I have ever worked on. If I'm not heard from in a week, send a rescue party!

Show 'n Tell collection

I am getting ready for tomorrow's doll club meeting. It's the last meeting of the year and coincides with the local Holiday Bazaar. We will be displaying dolls we made recently and hope to generate a bit of interest in dollmaking and - maybe - attract some new members. Otherwise we just want to see what everyone has been up to! I gathered all my girls together and they are so-o-o-o lovely. I couldn't wait to show you their picture! Now, these are not ALL the dolls I have by any means, but I guess they are close to my favorites. They represent work I've done from 2004 to last week and are from patterns including Ute Vasin, elinor peace bailey, and Patti Culea, and others - and my own originals! Quite a group, isn't it? Do you see what my poor hubby has to live with? LOL!

Haggard Hattie

She isn't exactly beautiful, is she? This head is made of paperclay and I made her specifically so I can practice making hats. (Get it? Hattie? SO-O-O original!) She stands about 6 inches high and I thought it would be easier to start the hats at a larger size while I am learning. So, she looks a bit worse for wear, huh? Wait til you see what she looked like before!

One problem I still have with sculpting heads from clay is that they come out really masculine. Fine if that is what I am wanting, but not so fine for Hattie! At least the hair helped.

Speaking of hair, there it is on the right. I crocheted a lop-sided circle out of eyelash yarn and then knotted individual lengths around the edge and up toward the crown. I love using the eyelash and heavily textured yarns - you can't see the sloppy stitches at all!

Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post. Reading comments is so much fun it could become addictive. So keep it up, folks!

Meet Birdie

This doll is from our club's "parts" exchange. We all made doll parts for a twelve inch doll. To exchange, we put parts into paper bags and each member drew parts for the person sitting next to them! The parts were all colors and shapes - and even sizes. It appears that "twelve inch doll" is a pretty broad designation for some people! I think I made out pretty well. The doll parts I got were closer in size than just about anyone else's. Mine sure looked closest to a conventional doll! I can't wait to see what the rest of the dolls look like! Saturday after next - a long wait sometimes!


I'm slowly learning about blogging. This one is pretty simple so far, but never fear. Eventually it will be slightly overdone like the rest of my work! Today I learned to put titles on each blog. Nice little box at the top marked "Title:" - duh!