Katie's Wand

A few weeks/months ago I posted pictures of a doll called Katie that I was asked to make. I only had the magic wand to finish. I think that the hardest part of making the wand was waiting until Katie told me what she wanted on the wand.

My friend Kathi Kuti, the doll maker I mentioned before, brought back little pebbles from the beaches of Australia and I used a few on the wand. I knew that I also wanted ribbons on the wand with bells on the end to match the bells on the toes of her shoes. My friend Deb found the bells for me in Toronto and I sewed them on the ends of the ribbons. Even tho they don't make a sound they look nice. Finally I found the star that I was looking for. There were no stars like I wanted in the Dollar stores but I did find a decoration in the Lens Mills store.  The Christmas decoration was of three stars and bells hooked together. I removed the smallest star and glued it to the top of the wand. Just what I'd been looking for. I put the star decoration - minus the smallest star - on the door of my neighbours apartment and pretended I didn't even know it existed. A little elf humour.

Finally the doll is finished and I can wrap her up and send her on her way. Too bad the picture is so dark.

Wishing you all the best of holidays and health, wealth and happiness for the new year. Have a good one

Back from vacation

Sorry I haven't been writing.

I returned from Florida a week ago and have been up to my old tricks of doing too much and resting too little.

My friend Mary Lee picked me up at the airport in Tampa and we went to her place in St Petersburg until 4am on Tuesday morning when we drove to Pensacola to visit her sister and family. We both swore we were on vacation and we were not cooking. Of course that wasn't the case. She made pumpkin bread for her nephews and families when we got there.

I had a wonderful time in the sunny south except for getting the flu for a few days. I spent American Thanksgiving in bed and feeling a little green. I'm glad to say it was only for the one day. I was back up shopping and visiting with my friend and enjoying the Gulf of Mexico in the cold the very next day. Yes, it was cold. Maybe it was the left over flu but I was chilled and other people on the beach looked cold as well. I did see some sting rays jumping out of the gulf and different gulls and pelicans.

On Friday evening our hosts, Lynn and Kathi drove us to Gulf Shores Alabama to a place called Lulu's.
I was still feeling a little green so I played it safe and had a burger and some ginger ale. I didn't want to try the sea food or the collard greens. It was fun and I enjoyed the little side trip.

Saturday we cooked the Thanksgiving Dinner (we were not going to cook) and all Kathi's boys and wives and children came over. Mary Lee and Kathi's brother Tom came in from Burmingham Ala. and we had a great visit.

On Monday morning my friend Mary Lee and I left Pensacola at 4 am and went back to her place in St. Petersburg. We walked the dogs and enjoyed the sunshine and I even saw an alligator in a little lake behind the gym that her son Tommy runs. All in all a wonderful vacation and I'm going back again soon.

Have a great one

Another Doll

Just read a post from an on-line acquaintance who may someday may become my friend. We don't know each other well enough to call ourselves friends but I just love her blog. I've posted before about her work.
She wrote about not liking Halloween and I responded that I don't either. I stayed home and worked on a doll and because I live in an apartment building I don't have the little trick or treaters ringing the door bell.

I got to the legs part of the doll - which I didn't photograph but here the preliminary pieces. This is my first time embroidering a doll face. This is also a doll from someone's pattern given to us by the head of the embroidery club. More challenges.
I will post the picture of her dressed and standing. Secrets!!!!!

The Katie Doll

Besides finding out how to download pictures from the camera to the computer the other frustrating thing about posting to the blog is trying to line things up and put pictures in where I want them. That is why I don't post very often. I want to have wonderful pictures in my blog like others but I don't know how to do it.
I just thought I'd post pictures of the trees that have changed colours.

Then I thought, I'll post pictures of the Katie Doll.

I've not finished her yet. She needs bells or decorations on her shoes.

She needs a wand in her left hand. But for the most part she is finished.

In this picture you will notice the lopsided wings. My choice to do that. She's a fairie/angel and she has struggled getting here so I figure a little bent wing isn't too bad. 

My frustrations with technical difficulties is because I've never learned properly how to do it. I need to have someone instruct me as I do the steps and take notes. I haven't had that opportunity yet. Maybe I just have to plug away at things and hope that I don't delete everything like I did twice this morning as I'm learning.

I found the same frustrations with the dolls using other people's patterns. If I have a question - who do I ask? It's hard to find the people when you need them to ask them. I need to see the finished pieces - step by step or to work with someone who knows what they are doing.
Otherwise I have to do my own dolls my own way and make progress little by little. I can then correct things as I make the mistakes or as some say - happy accidents.

So after three failed attempts at posting today I'm trying this. Type the words and leave spaces for pictures. If this doesn't work, I'll sit and whine and have a piece of chocolate and go for another walk. I've already been for one walk this morning but it doesn't hurt to do a couple more - while the sun is still around.

Okay my idea worked. The pictures are there. I did have the chocolate while downloading the pictures and now I'm going for another walk. Clear my head of technical difficulties so I can go back to sewing. Oh, did I tell you that I sew these dolls by hand and sometimes that can be frustrating too.
Well, time marches on and more will be revealed. Have a good one.

The Dolls

It is almost finished. I've got to make a wand, put some metal washers for weight on the toes of the shoes and she's done. No pictures until I'm finished. What am I talking about? The doll that someone asked me to make from seeing a picture in a magazine. I purchased the pattern and got started. Well, there is the challenge.
I might have mentioned before in another post that I make my own dolls from the ideas in my head. I've only made one doll from a pattern before and it was soft sculpture. This is a challenge because it has wood for arms and part of the body. I've been learning new things. She needs a few more things and it's a holiday here in Canada and so the hardware stores are closed as is everything else, hence no metal washers and other things. I can go shopping tomorrow.
In the meantime I've been washing and ironing some plain muslin/cotton material to make some new stuffed dolls. Kay, the leader of our embroidery group gave us a doll pattern to use to challenge us all to make dolls. It will be interesting to see what the end of the year will bring and the wonderful show of dolls because we will of course make the same doll but dress them differently. Now remember this is embroidery so I expect I'll see all kinds of fancy dresses and Kay has already said she's using silk.And we all said "well of course you are, we wouldn't expect anything else" because Kay does most of her work on silk.
She said she thought I could make an Indian Dress for my doll and I just said "or not" as she held up a picture of a dress from the Souix Nation. I am not of the Souix Nation or any of the nations out west. I'm from the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois Nation as the French called us. I'm thinking of a ball gown, or something fancy like that. I have some books with patterns as well as pictures so I'll spend some time looking through those.
I'm excited to get started but ... I have this other doll to finish.

Getting Corn Stalks and Taking Pictures

My neighbour and friend down the hall named Diane decorates her apartment for every occasion. She is getting ready for Halloween and has all kinds of things from the Dollar Store to make apartment Halloweenish. Today she needed corn stalks.
Now we are talking apartment here. One bedroom apartment with the kitchen and living room combined. I don't think there is room for cornstalks but I agree to help her. She thought I should go and get the corn stalks but I agreed to take the pictures.

She also needs a person to keep watch so that she doesn't get caught. (One person my daughter told me about was charged with theft under $5,000)
She told me that she's never bought corn stalks and didn't think she needed to. The stalks didn't have any corn on them - probably because of the lack of rain all summer.
So here are the pictures. Starting with her at the edge of the cornfield.

Here she is hiding in the corn field and of course, laughing while I stand on the road with the camera taking pictures.

Hugging the cornstalks

 And of course stuffing them in the trunk and showing them in the trunk below.

 After the cornfields we went to the farm market to look for "stuff" and she took more pictures.

A fun afternoon.

Vacation

I've been on vacation - in my mind. I'm sorry I haven't posted in over a month. I bet all those many millions that were following me got tired and went home. Oh well.

I took a trip a few weeks ago to Cleveland Ohio. Then last weekend I went to visit friends outside of Ottawa, Ontario and this weekend I'm taking a vacation to another part of Ontario with my sister and her daughter to shop. I don't know for what but I will have fun looking.

My friend Deb is on a trip to Scotland - the country, not the town in Canada. The next vacation I am going to take is with Deb and the Embroiderers group and it will be to Italy or Spain.

In October my sister Shirley is going to Rome with her church group and a lot of others to see the Canonization of Kateri Tekakwitha. Today my mom and four siblings have gone to Iowa to see my niece as she takes her final vows to become a Nun. I'm truly impressed with my niece - a young lady who actually knows what she wants and is sticking to her plans. I guess that is amazing to me because I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. I'm working on it though.

I have a memory of sitting at the top of the stairs writing stories when I was ten or eleven. I also have a memory of sitting at the bottom of the same set of stairs with my mom's sewing basking making "stuff" teaching myself to sew. I believe I am on to something here and although I won't write a pattern I can write stories and although I won't sew clothes for myself or family, I can make dolls and wall hangings. I prefer to write by hand - then type in stories and I also prefer to sew by hand - hence small stuff.

So, off to work on a doll before I do more writing and I guess later I'll be taking a vacation again - in my mind.