TRAVEL DOLL SWAP

 ... Do you enjoy making dolls?  Do you enjoy the anticipation of receiving a swap?  It is like Christmas several times a year!  Click the title and travel over to  Cindy's ThimblePrims Studio blog.  You have until February 1 to sign up!  So, come on and play!

THE MESSAGE

I've been thinking about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and  how his mission and life impacted me.  I remember listening to my parents talk about this very dynamic and charismatic Southern Baptist minister and how he was teaching that we should love our enemies and later on about how he led peaceful marches in protest of how our people were being treated.  I listened to his "I have a Dream" speech many times and always I had this thought.  It seems in all cultures periodically, men and women are born and spends his/her  life as a messenger to the world.  Thoughts of the stories told of the great prophets, Moses, Abraham, Issac, Solomon, David, on down the ages to Jesus Christ - all came to teach us some specific lesson.  Mohammed and others I cannot recall at this moment have lived their lives or died to take our collective conciousness to an elevated level.  A level of compassion for our fellow man.  We must heed the messages for in the totality of all these lives, it is clear to me that we must LOVE ourselves and others...by treating people with the respect, honor and love as we treat ourselves.  I don't think anymore that we can excuse our "bad" behavior behind some old ancestor or where we are in the world or on ignorance or because no one told us - we must strive to truly LOVE one another and to treat others with love by our actions daily.  We must be patient and understanding first...we must forgive those who haven't realized this yet and we must tell all who would hear the message... I am not an eloquent speaker or a knowlegable, learned professional so I will guide you to a person that I really admire and believe that he is THAT eloquent speaker and STILL has the message....

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Just my humble opinion.... you may or may not agree.....

that is okay... I love you!

FAT again.....

Here's another project that started out being for a trade in the Fiber Arts Trade yahoo group.  My lovely dd spied them and since she likes very little of my latest endevours (hates dolls), I gave these two to her!

Wise old owl!

The turtle....both are her favorite animals!  The owl is also her college mascot!

A JANUARY CHALLENGE!

Okay...I was NOT able to make a doll a day...NOT EVEN CLOSE...lol!   In any case here is the pic of the two dolls that I've completed.....WOWEEEEEE!

Here is the doll for the oldest granddaughter of a very dear friend!  She is doing the "Marilyn" thing!

Here is the other little doll!  Both were made from Judi Ward's Napkin Doll pattern...  a free pattern here!

Here they are standing together.  The Dolls do stand by themselves.  The dresses are my design and they have real hair sewn onto their heads.   I hope they make my friend's granddaughters happy....

MY FIRST BLOCK...

Well alright, I figured that I should start this BOM before the next block arrives!  It's been prepared for at least two weeks and yesterday I started the stitching on it.  No go, the seat cushion is moving around too much! yikes!  Off to the fabric store to get something to keep this little bugger in place.  Stitch witchery will do the trick and it did.  Now mind you, I've not embroidered in years.  LOL!  So out comes some old embroidery flosses and such.  Wait!  I brought some stuff last year...oh yeah, some DMC linen thread...new stuff!  Well, no that just will not work.  Not only can I not find my beeswax...the linen thread seems too delicate to ... it just doesn't stand up to all the pulling...yikes, guess its back to the craft store (AC MOORE, MICHEALS)  to buy some new threads!  Oh well, so much for stitching on a rainy day!   Here is a pic of my work so far.  I will just have to replace the stitching on the chair.... 

FAT JOURNAL

Thank you very much for this wonderful journal.  I haven't done my first page yet (still collecting things to go on it); but I do get your wonderful art!  Take a look at this beautiful  journal that I received from needlewings...isn't she sooooo talented? 

This is the beautiful drawing that graces front of the journal along with some papers and things to use when creating more pages!

I love peacock feathers!!!  sooooo beautiful!

inside back cover!

A beautiful and snazzy back cover to finish off my book!  Did I say that I love this book? ... lol

MORE CHRISTMAS LOOT!

Presenting MARINA!  made from a piece of silk that I hand dyed a couple years ago.  I started to throw it away as one of my failures...NOT!  That silk was splotched with green dye and my daughter Laura fell in love with it...soooooo, I decided to make the next "Pumpkin" doll - a great Christmas present!  She was "over the moon" about her doll.   Yep, used Claire Pruitt's Penny Doll pattern again!  Marina's bodice is of a lavendar silk dupioni; her legs/boots - a striped silk.  The bloomers are made from a lime green silk charmeuse and the sleeves and over-skirt is from a decorated lavendar organza.  Her shoes were first painted with black acrylic paint and then topped with "sparkle purple"!  Her vest - a crazy print.  I topped her off with some real hair...surprised?  I think not...love the real hair! 

view from the back!

MARINA, another "Pumpkin" doll ... from Claire Pruitt Penny Doll Pattern

LOVE THE MAILMAN!

because this is what he brought to me today!

I'm a member of the Vintage Cloth Dollmaking yahoo group and for the Christmas Challenge we were to make a doll dressed in Christmas attire.  Laura, in the header of my blog, is the doll that I made for that group challenge. Her dress is from Maison de Noel by 3 Sisters for MODA and the bodice of her dress is a red silk dupioni, with a pair of matching boots made of the same silk.  I used Judi Ward's  Isabella Helen pattern, a replica of a vintage doll.  Of course I broke the tradition of painting on her hair and used the real hair that I love so much... (next time - paint) lol!  I was among a group of winners and KathyM sent me this awesome package.  THANK YOU KathyM!  You ROCK!   Included are three (3) vintage patterns, some lovely trims/lace, and a couple yards of gorgeous fabric!  I love it!

CLOSE UP OF VINTAGE PATTERNS!

FROG SWAP

OOMG!  OMG!!!!!  Look at this wonderful "real" frog that hopped right out of the box!!!!  Lyn, you are some kind of wonderful artist!!!  I LOVE HER!!!!!   ABSOLUTELY G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S!  Okay, you Prim lovers....back off, she is MINE!!!  lol!

oh and I love the cute little froggy keychain and the rippit tape measure!!!!

....ONE MORE THING....BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!

See those frogs below this quilt ... she really didn't want me to take this picture.  I finished it and gifted to my darling daughter at Christmas and boy was she excited!

...MORE

GIRAFFES ARE CUTE!

2009 STUFF!

IT'S A FROG!  HEY!

FIBER ART TRADERS...

I was unable to upload these photos of my finished journal to the group picture.  There is a box where I can opt not to use the premium yahoo photo file and the option to say NO THANKS...well, the box cannot be advanced far enough up the page in order for me to click onto the NO THANKS option...oh well, here are the pictures

Journal front....

front inside flap

 back inside pocket

Journal back cover!

It was a fun project to make a cover for the black and white marble composition book! My girls both want one now!!!!!

QUILT CHALLENGE 2010

Sue Bleiweiss of  3 Creative Studios  is hostess of  Quilt Challenge 2010.  Every 2 months beginning January 1, 2010, a new theme is announced and quilters have two months to produce a quilt representing the theme.  That means by January 2011, I will have six (6) new quilts!!!  lol...If I can keep up!!!   Interested?  Click on the title and go over to  3 Creative Studios

...AND ANOTHER THING!

that I meant to mention is a month long Doll-A-Day Challenge....lol... okay, so I probably won't get a doll done each day of the month of January, but you should know that I am working hard to get the first two done!  lol... So there is hope that at the end of this month, I will have created a large assortment of doll and/or doll related items.  Maybe some paper-dolls as well, not to mention some doll trading cards... Oh, the short project list could go on!  I will come back and post the dolls here - I think...lol!  We shall see how much space I end up needing!  COME ON!  JOIN IN!  Just click the title!  Happy Dolling!

SO MUCH TO DO!

Hey! Its a new year and new beginnings!  I am working on several things at the moment, but wanted to make sure to save this new BOM from  Angie's Bits and Pieces.  She has wonderful designs and quilts and this will be the first time that I am able to catch her free block of the month quilt from the beginning!    MORE TO COME!

I've a question for my visitors.   In order to make it easier to view the items on this blog; dolls, quilts, handbags, and other assorted craft/fiber pursuits, would it be easier to

1. view separate blogs, each dedicated to a particular art;  doll blog, quilt blog  OR
2. one picture file via picassa, picturetrail, etc  OR
3. MAYBE YOU HAVE A SUGGESTION!

Thank you for leaving your comments as they are very valuable!  Also I would like to thank all of you who stop for a look even...I really appreciate it and please, please leave a piece of your mind as you fly by!  :-)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!