GingersDolls: August 2006

I suppose I really should start journaling in this thing.

I will start by covering the past two weeks. My home is very small and I have a lot of stuff. I cleared out a room (10 X 10) to free up area for my computer away from the sewing and crafting area. What a nightmare that was. When you have a room piled to the ceiling where does the stuff go?

I began by putting it on the patio under cover in hot weather. After I did that we got heat to 108 and I could only work out there for 3 hours a day. I did have this empty room so in the 3 hours I sorted out what should go back into the room for an office. Well that was a chore as well. After I got the room looking like an office (with some crafting items in it). I invited Geoff over to help me clear out the garage to give Hubby more room for his hobby.

Geoff found after 3 hours of hard labor that it was too much work so he called in two friends to help. Well I guess what I did I organized their work and set off to the computer and began designing a doll. With two at 15 and a 17 year old on the job it only took 2 more hours. NOW all I have to do is sort out the patio. Where the boys put the stuff from the garage along with my store room stuff.

For a week I spent 3 hours on the patio sorting and separating things in the mornings and then putting the things away that I brought in be for the heat hit in the afternoon, every day. It is 2 weeks later and I now have only a small amount of stuff to sort and put away on the patio.

This work only took up 5 hours a day so I played the remainder of each day. I managed to put the Embroidery doll together and paint her after teaching a class on fabric painting that took up 5 hours of my day in the Lake Oswego area. One of my passions is teaching people how to play. I also designed and put together several Spirit dolls and while showing one off I was asked if I would teach a class on the spirit doll so now I need a pattern and instructions written.

Another afternoon writing the Spirit Doll pattern and I am ready to begin. On Monday this week I received a call from a friend that she needed some embroidery designed for a girl's 15th birthday so I put together a few ideas and she came by. They were okay she said but she wanted something a little different and could I make something that looked like the invitation? I agreed and proceeded to make the bride design she had shown me. I worked up a prototype for her. Also another friend called that afternoon asking if I could print off 100 invitations for her 50^th anniversary.

Tuesday I began to make the angel doll. This is a rescue doll from the Goodwill store near me. She had a soiled body and one broken foot. She came with no hair and was a fright to see. I love a challenge so I tore her apart and disposed of her old body and leg. Now I have a fresh canvas in which to paint on. I designed a body and legs for her and upper arms. Instead of having her standing as so many of my dolls do I wanted to be different so I thought she should be flying. The easy part is making and stuffing the doll. The hard part is embellishing the doll and figuring out how to hang her. You can view all the photos at my site on Picture Trail. (http://www.picturetrail.com/glxmas )

It took all day to design and stitch the wings. I began by drawing one wing in ink so that my scanner would pick it up. Next I scan the drawing. Then I bring it into the software for the embroidery machine (Palette 6.0) and convert it to stitches. This may sound easy but I really have to re-draw it in the computer software so that it has no broken lines. Then I have to create a running stitch of the complete wing so to have one that I can use as redwork and then another with the satin stitch so I can use it for appliqué work if I need it some day. Why do it twice. The next step is to create the fill stitches for the wing to make it look more 3D. After all this I bring each step into the main program in the size of hoop I desire. As a designer I make it in 4 sizes ( 2x2, 4x4, 5x7, and 6x10) that way I can have it available for any size hoop. The stitching takes 4 hours per wing because I placed two parts together and glued pipe cleaners between the layers to make them bend and stay in position. Now I have stitched 2 sets of wings and glued them. I mane a mirror image of the wing to create the second one so they look alike. That took up my day after my 3 hours of sorting on the patio in the morning.

I printed out the invitations and called the lady on the artwork for the pillow for the 15 yr old and managed to get those orders finished on Wednesday.

I got up on Thursday, mixed and poured the plaster casts of 4 doll heads so I could try a new method of Felt doll making. Then I cleaned off my quilting machine. I had found 4 wall hangings that had not been finished, while sorting the patio so now was the time to stitch them, and out comes the thread and batting and I work them up. One piece I did up months ago looked rather plain so I laid it aside for further thought. Not a bad days work after sorting more stuff on the patio.

On Friday I got up and painted that wall hanging I had not finished on Thursday. It is called Illusions of Shore Birds and I quilted it on Friday. What with errands and shopping my day was rather full.

Here it is Saturday and I am stitching out the bride in colors. Pics will go up when she if finished. Hubby is home today so heaven only knows what we will manage to do today. I still have some sorting to complete.

Next week I have a Quilt and Textile show in Tillamook where a dozen of my dolls and one wall hanging will be seen.