Cool Cat

I just have to share this wonderful birthday surprise that arrived in the mail yesterday. My good friend and glass artist, J, made this kitty doll just for me. All from odds and ends found around her house, including real kitty whiskers from her cats, Dickie and Harold, and even a red whisker from her Golden Retriever, Lilly.

She sculpted the head and the paws from Fimo polymer clay. It's all neatly hand stitched. I really appreciate this gift because it was fiddly and time consuming to make and requires a lot of patience. It's not the kind of thing J likes to do but she did it for me anyway. I suspect she must of had a bit of fun making it though.

Poor kitty suffered a bit in transit. Two whiskers are missing and one of the bells on it's toes was squashed courtesy the Post Office. But these things can be easily fixed.

I just love this doll.

When J and I next get together, under her guidance and supervision, I want to try and sculpt a face from polymer clay.

Finally, today is my RVing friend, K's birthday. K, if you are reading this, Happy Birthday. Hope you are enjoying the good California weather.

About Susan's Angel

On the first anniversary of my friend Susan's death, I wanted to post a picture in memory of my friend. I made an angel for her.

The body is cut from a single piece of fabric with a large, floral print. I wanted to make an angel in white or ivory, but couldn't find anything I really liked in my stash. And then I saw this floral. I didn't even know I had this. Someone gave it to me.

Her face has been sealed with a coat of glitter paint. The wings you see here are her third pair. The first two were too heavy so I opted for the light and airy netting with built in glitter.

Part of the background is the same gorgeous cotton that I used for my Woodland Doll and my Green Man.

This is going to end up as a wall hanging. It's not finished yet but far enough along for today's purpose. The final version will have another pair of wings and I will probably cut the background fabrics into 2 or 3 inch squares and sew them together. And perhaps I will add some text too.

This For Remembrance

A year ago today, my very dear friend Susan succumbed to ovarian cancer.

1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2A time to be born, and a time to die...

4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance...

from Ecclesiastes 3

Today I will be thinking about Susan, her parents and her sons. And to our friend, Karin, if you are reading this in your travels, call me today and we can remember Susan together.

Susan Morin, 1947-2007

Happy Birthday To Me

Even though we're still buried under a lot of the white stuff, there's a spring feel in the air already.

Today is my birthday and I've always been happy to have been born this time of year.

Here is a picture of the trilliums that I look forward to seeing in my yard every spring.

Happy Easter to all.

Belinda's Art

Belinda at Metallic Dreams and I did a Doll ATC swap. Look at these beauties I received from Belinda. I am so taken aback, I don't know what to say.

There is so much lovely detail in both of these pieces. The sculpted faces, felted hair, glass beads, seed beads, metallic turquoise and purple, gold metallic thread and rice paper are some of the elements that have been so artfully arranged.

I had to go back and take a second look at all the art that Belinda has posted on her blog. After seeing her work in person, I see the photos on her blog in a new light and now have an even greater appreciation for what she does.

I've had a few days away from my own creative endeavours as other things demand my attention right now. I am currently working on something I wish to post on Easter Sunday, and if time permits, I may have something else to show before then.

Belinda Butterfly

Now that the above ATC has reached it's destination, I can reveal her. I did an ATC swap with Belinda at Metallic Dreams and suggested we use dolls (what else?) as the theme.

Someone gave me this gorgeous piece of orange/rust quilting cotton with all these beautiful butterflies. Right away, I thought "Butterfly Doll". I can almost feel the warmth of the sun when I look at these colours.

ATCs are pretty small and I was just lucky enough to be able to cut out one of the butterflies to fit. When you have such a striking design on fabric, you can't do much to it if you don't want to lose the design. Aside from the beading around the face, I dabbed on some glitter paint and a few hanging threads for decoration, and that was it.

Belinda is such a pretty name. I decided to name her "Belinda Butterfly".

I haven't made that many ATCs, but so far, I have to say, this is my favourite.

Woodland Doll Finished

I almost didn't post pictures of the completed doll today because the camera was not co-operating. When trying to snap the photos, all I could see was black. Then I discovered that the camera takes much better pictures when you remove the lens cap first.

I took the top photo in good light to show the detail and true colour. The bottom photo shows how the doll is supposed to hang on the wall.

Woodland Doll In Progress

For my next to last swap committment, I decided to work in woodland greens and browns as these are the colour preferences of my swap partner. I am giving up swapping for a while and concentrating on creating art dolls for my own pleasure and education.

My enthusiasm got the better of me and I ended up joining too many swaps. The cost of postage in Canada is quite high. The money I save for the next while can be put towards art and sewing supplies.

I also want to sew spring and summer clothes and use some of the vintage patterns in my collection.

The doll you see here is going to look quite different when I'm done. I am very pleased with her shape and will use this template again in the future. I love it when an idea comes together.

Celestial Blue

Recent Work

Matryoshka Style Doll

I needed a quick gift so I made up my version of a little Matryoshka style doll. She is only 3¼ inches long. Her body is made of new quilting cotton which has a very old fashioned feel to it with the burgundy, pink and cream colour combo. I sewed on pink beads for some sparkle.

I am so pleased with the way this turned out that I will be making more. I have some gal friends who have birthdays coming up.

Spring Icicle Doll

This Icicle Doll is made from a beautiful vintage fabric, a border print that I inherited from my mother. Since there was less than a yard, I suspect it was meant to be an apron that never got started. The flowers were already arranged in an icicle shape. All I had to do was cut around them.

Because the print is so pretty, I didn't have to do much other than embellish with a few beads. The "hair" is pale yellow baby yarn.

Easter Dotee Preview

Here is a preview of the Easter Dotee I am working on. I wanted to photograph it flat, before I sew on the back and fill it with batting, because I will use this image for my Easter Card. Now I can finish up the doll and mail it out to my swap partner tomorrow. The background is scrapbooking paper.

All I could think of for the Easter theme was a regular Dotee with bunny ears. This lovely tightly woven cotton is from my late mother's stash and I am absolutely in love with it. It must be anywhere from 30 to 50 years old. Just perfect for Easter.