Pajamas for Pink Haired Phoebe.
My Speed Bump
After the holidays were over, I was looking forward to using any free time I found to sew more dolls. The Etsy shop looks a bit sad and depleted, and most importantly, it is what I love to do. I had a vision of having a few more dolls ready by the new year.
But as I contentedly stuffed limbs and heads, I saw that my large tuft of lofty stuffing wool had shrunk to only a puff. Although I like to stash my materials, surprisingly, there was no stash for this, one of my most essential components. I guess during the flurry and chaos of holiday and school vacation activities, I hadn't been paying attention.
More is on the way, and it may even arrive Monday or Tuesday, but until then I need to pivot and refocus, which sometimes for me is a challenge.
I like to make my dolls in a very certain order (the subject of a whole other post either about my OCDish tendencies or doll-making). Making the faces, clothes and hair before the body is entirely complete feels a bit discombobulated to me.
I am hoping maybe I'll learn something more about the process by switching up the order. Maybe one of those happy accidents will occur that so often do when you are creating something.
Off to Australia
Not us. We are home for the holidays. But Phoebe is traveling. She's off to Australia to join her new family.
A Few Goals for 2014
- Learn to spin. Handspun yarn makes great hair.
- Improve my yarn dying skills. A very certain type of hand-dyed makes good hair.
- Try making a Tibetan Lambskin doll wig.
- Learn Lightroom. iPhoto has terrible photo organizing capabilities.
- Interview other doll-makers on my blog.
- Get a better grip on international shipping so it doesn't stress me out.
- Design a few simple sewing patterns (for Phoebe and Egg) to sell.
- Continue to learn Photoshop. Again, iPhoto has its limits.
- Try Twitter.
- Make some Twitter friends.
- Like Twitter.
- I actually have a few specific dolls I can't wait to make, but those will be a surprise.
Off to a new family
Pink-haired Phoebe is very excited to fly off to the middle of America and spend Xmas with her new family.
Pretty in Pink
My pink-haired Phoebe doll was sold before she was even finished. Here she enjoys a few minutes on a photo ledge in our guest bedroom before departing. Next to Phoebe are the Chinese baby shoes my youngest daughter (Egg) was wearing when she was placed in my arms.
Sneak peak: two new dolls
Two new dolls patiently waiting for doll clothes.
Trying to resurrect a bad hair day.
Today was a bad hair day. I decided to give up on two wefted mohair wigs I started for two dolls on Thursday. I abandoned the project after hours and hours of work, but I have convinced myself this is not a complete loss.
I'll explain.
The black wefted mohair wig was created from a beautiful soft wefted mohair, that I had spiraled and carefully stitched into a wig that I was completely proud of. I thought it was perfect for an Asian doll. I even sewed it on to the doll.
However, it shed. Not terribly, but enough to make me nervous. It's one thing for a pale blond wig to shed a bit, blonde hair will not make a doll's skin look grungy, but the black mohair strands on skin colored wool felt, let's just say it is not a good look. The more I brushed and plucked, the more I noticed. I tried washing the wig, shaking it, combing it and finally stitching in a head band. The doll looked pretty good (see photo), but there still was a slow steady stream of mohair migrating onto her skin.
I decided to cut my losses. I did not want to create and sell a doll that I would worry would shed and make an owner miserable.
The second wig, a strawberry blondish color, was never right in the first place. It never made it to a doll's head. The hair just didn't fall right when I tried. I played with hairstyles for a bit before realizing , all the hairstyles were just trying to compensate for some flaws in the long run I could not live with.
Yes, it is frustrating to have wasted so much time (and money wefted mohair is expensive), but I feel relieved. This failure with wefted mohair has taught me a few things:
1. Dark wefted mohair on wool felt dolls won't work.
2. No amount of work will remedy this fact.
3. I don't need to worry whether a future doll owner will complain or how I will describe the delicate hair situation on Etsy. I won't need to.
4. I am happy to have faced this doll-making truth at this stage rather than as a complaint.
5. I have plenty of other hair options, I do not need to revisit this.
6. In addition, I have learned how to make wefted mohair wigs, if I make another, It will be blond.
Most importantly, I revisited the fact, that any crafter knows, which is that part of crafting, is knowing when to cut your losses. and that failure is part of any craft.
I would love to hear about other crafters experience with cutting their losses or with wefted mohair.
Shipping my first Egg
At the end of today, Egg is off to her new life in British Columbia. She takes one last look at the box she will be traveling in before she goes.
NYC for those who sew and knit (me)
I took the train to NYC this past weekend and enjoyed time with my two older children and managed to find time for my two favorite craft shops--Mokuba and Purl Soho.
Mokuba is a Japanese trim shop in the Garment District with every kind of trim I would ever want. Amazing and overwhelming. Not an ugly trim in the entire store. You need a business card to shop and although the retail prices are in line with the quality, you can also buy wholesale (I think 30 yards or more).
Purl Soho is a landmark for every crafter that travels to NYC, the sweetest collection of yarns, fabrics and embroidery supplies. A crowded small piece of crafter's heaven in NYC.
I did not leave either store empty handed.
