more protoyping and even more patience

Thanks to a little help from Susanna Oroyan, I am four torsos, five heads and three arms into a new doll. Lots of expensive wool felt and tracing paper in my trash cans. But I am close and am feeling on the brink of something good.

She is more three dimensional from head to toe with jointed arms, elbows and hips. The knees are yet to be designed. I am waiting for upholstery thread and 2cm wood beads to arrive to try an internal bead joint for the knee.

Photos tomorrow hopefully.

Patience and Prototypes

UGH! No pun intended.

This pair of doll boots, made from wool, fleece and coconut buttons, is my fourth attempt and they are still not right. When I flipped them right side out for a final time, I realized the buttons were on the front flap and the elastic loop button holes were on the back boot flap. Exactly opposite from what a real boot has. They also are a tad small.

The first feeling that hits is... really? I cannot use these, but need to make yet another pair. Slightly bigger and reversing the loop button situation.

This is often the case when producing the first of something a sweater pattern, a shoe, a dress or a doll. Some things still need to be corrected.

I have to remind myself I am working on a prototype. And prototypes take patience. I create a prototype not just to work out the big things, but also all the details. To have the patience to work these all out ahead of time, actually saves time. You kind of front load your errors in the prototype stage. The trick is to have the patience to stay in the prototype stage until you have ironed out all of the serious kinks.

Once in rare while, your very first attempt is exactly what you imagined. Yes, enjoy the euphoria when this happens, but also take note the euphoria is because this is the exception.

Four tries at dolls boots made me think.... I might have rushed through the prototype stage with my dolls too. This morning I started working on a more three dimensional head for the dolls. I am also rethinking how the arms work.

So nothing on Etsy for a while. Just patience on my part. Stay tuned for a bit of rethinking.

Opinions are always welcome!

Winter and White

The blog got cast aside again, due to the bronchitis that has gone viral around here. Hacking temporarily won out over sewing.

But winter and white have inspired me. Above a white dress to accompany a faux-isle cardigan and boots. Below a winter wool pea coat to accompany a corduroy jumper, leggings, t shirts and boots.

All almost ready to list on Etsy.

Some small favorites

This sweater was inspired by another sweater and another blog. It is a small simplified doll version that I drafted from a sweater I love on a blog I love. It is derived from the Playful Stripes Sweater on Never Not Knitting. If you have not visited this blog before, I highly recommend checking out the link to Alana's podcast. 

A Nature Spun version above. 

The first sweater was knit with St. Denis Nordique. Below is my stash of St. Denis Nordique yarn. Why do I have so much? It has been discontinued AND is on sale. Enough said. The yarn was created by the knitwear designer Veronik Avery. It is squishy, yummy, fun to knit with, and, as you can see, has  amazing colors. 

Hoarding or Collecting?

My obsessions generate a lot of stuff. Skeins of yarn, stacks of fabric, spools of thread, rolls of trim, jars of buttons, patterns, books, etc… Fellow crafters might call this a stash.  When I’m honest with myself, I’m not so certain. Is it a stash, is it hoarding or maybe, could it possibly be elevated to a collection?

And exactly how do you draw the lines between any of these terms?

A stash seems simple. Having a supply on hand in case you run out. Enough yarn to make a quick gift or pair of socks on a sick day without going on a search for a “good” yarn. A stash is easy to justify and if small enough may not require a justification. I realize it is a current knitting trend to push the limits of what can be considered a stash.

Both hoarding and collecting mean acquiring more than you will likely use. Maybe hoarders imagine they will use what they obtain and collectors actually try not to. In that case, I’m somewhere in the middle.

Maybe hoarders cannot organize their loot and collectors relish the organizing and displaying. In that case, I am the latter. I love arranging my buttons, trims and fabrics almost as much as I do eventually using them.

For the most part, I am inspired by my stuff. I love piecing together the components of a project—the trim, the buttons, the lining, the threads. Each selection propels me into a deeper trance with the project. 

But I only feel inspired when I have the time to sew or knit. When I don’t and I see all of my fabric and yarn, I just feel deprived of time--the one thing that cannot be hoarded, collected or stashed.

Play

When my oldest daughter was a baby, our first American Girl Doll catalog arrived. Back then they were Pleasant Company. The dolls and their stories sprung from a vision of Rowland Pleasant.  As soon as I saw that catalog, which at the time only showcased five dolls, I wanted to be Rowland Pleasant.

Since I was a child I have miniaturized life through the creation of dolls, their clothes and accessories. Her vision sparkled with charm and a freshness that I imagined captured what a real doll should be.  They looked like dolls that would be treasured and passed down to daughters and granddaughters. Of course, I bought one for my daughter, well before she was close to the suggested age.

By the time my youngest was old enough for one of these dolls, I no longer felt this way.  Although I am still charmed by the miniaturization of life that bubbles out of American Girl catalogs, the dolls and their accessories are everywhere--boxes and boxes of them in playrooms, basements and yard sales.

Not all girls play with dolls. But those who do, I am fairly certain, want a doll that has an essence that speaks to them and provokes their imagination. A doll that is somewhat unique. She has enough, but, not everything.  Dolls whose sweet classic (yet simple) features will span decades and will always evoke the cherished feeling of childhood play.  

I will never be Rowland Pleasant.

However, I am hoping my dolls and their wardrobes will spark such feelings.

Still just warming up

Still playing with the camera setting, lighting and background.

A more cheery than usual Monday morning

Daughter is off to school with none of the usual Monday morning grumpiness, a warm run in the fog and good daylight for photography. A better than usual Monday morning. Knock on wood.

progress

Here's my first try using the Nikon and white fabric. Yes, it needs ironing, but I am inching in the right direction.

details

Why is it I so love sewing on buttons and hate sewing on snaps? Maybe because buttons are fun to choose and add that final touch that makes the item speak to you. Snaps just keep it from falling off.

the debut

Finally, the last snap has been sewn on. All four dolls and their wardrobes are ready to post on Etsy.  

I'm not yet happy about the photography. It's not there yet, but I had to start somewhere. I'm thinking I need a white muslin backdrop for starters.