Madame P has returned....

She's been travelling for a year.  In a trunk.... or so they say.  It is called a travelling trunk show, so I guess they are actually in a trunk.  With many other dolls.  And.... I have to say that somebody, or more probably, many somebodies, have handled her very carefully.  She looks as good as the day she left home.  Her hair has hardly even moved.... oh, sure it was a bit staticky (is that a word)? ... just from the plastic bag she had wrapped around her...but just smoothed it down and voila.... good as new.  Here was the itinerary.  Did any doll makers happen to see her in person?

I admit to being a bit concerned... last year.  But... had to tell myself whatever happened, happened.  I wanted to enter the Hoffman contest... and I did.  I was hoping for big things...and that happened too.  She received Honourable Mention in a world wide contest.  I was thrilled.  However, when that happened, it also meant that she would have to travel.  I was a bit worried about her then...

But, somehow, they do manage to look after them very well.... and for that I am thankful... and may I just say, a happy enough camper to be getting excited about making a doll for the Hoffman Challenge 2011.  I didn't do one this year because my wrist was bad...and .... well, I admit it....  I was actually waiting to see what shape she was in after a year of travelling.

  Look at the fabric for next year!  Wow.  What beautiful colours.  Hmmm.....  I want to sit right down and just do some dreaming about dolls .... but, tomorrow... a consult with a surgeon about my wrist.  Guess we'll hafta see what he says first.  Who knows what will be the next step or how long things will take to organize and to heal.

Madame brought home the bacon...

well, ...some bacon anyway .... ..... of course, not the actual bacon, you understand .... but, at least a sampling of the loot that was distributed to winners and in Madame's case...for honourable mention... .... .. 5 fat quarters and 8 full square meters of Hoffman fabrics ... there are several that I quite like and the others may become giveaways ... more to a quilter's liking perhaps...











it is quite a bit of fabric ....
























she's pondering it ....
















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....... and......I tried this wonderful recipe day before yesterday..... definitely wanted to make sure you checked out my other blog to get it.... you have to make them! I'm serious. That good. I can almost taste them with a bit of maraschino juice added and a couple of bits of cherries in the mix as well as on top for the festive season. It's not too far away to begin the testing........you have to know which will make the cut in the baking department long before you begin ... and it will soon be time to begin the "can-be-frozen-for-up-to-a-month" type. I know it isn't even Hallowe'en yet...but, you know how the downhill slide picks up pace by beginning of November... I'm not waiting... even if we are still painting and fixing...

I'm baking to save my sanity..and sipping wine out on the patio just to celebrate the small jobs we are constantly ticking off the long list.... enjoying some absolutely stunning days of a great late summer. It was +31 C yesterday...whew... hotter than some middle of the summer days.....the house was still up at +24.5 this morning.....

Madame .....

...... managed a place on the Hoffman page. That's kinda cool....she'll be there as long as the page is there....






















































.......... the results are in and you can see the winners here .

Click on each to "bigify" as Daisy says.... that way you get to see a bit more detail...those thumbnails are pretty small.

If you want to see a few more pics of her just scroll backwards through a few posts .... you will find one with several pics... and, I also have a few more on Flickr along with some info on how I did various things...... click here or go there from the sidebar badge...

the green fairy......

Her little shoes are finally trimmed...but, not without mishap. Even though I glazed them with a protective lacquer.... the Scotch tape I held on the decor with while the glue set...peeled off some paint....sigh. Well, I say a mere sigh now...but, that isn't what I said at the time, believe me@! I've been mixing paint to try to get the exact match...and so far so good...but, need another coat on one spot.... then I paint a tougher glaze on top....















....a glass of Absinthe was in order.... hahhaha....

nawww....it's just my cute little liqueur glass of dipping water...but, it does look a bit like Absinthe, slightly louched....
on it's way to the "perfect opalescent milkiness".....


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Yes.... that is Mickey Maria! My sister's beautiful quarter horse. I hope to be petting him one day soon when I make my annual trip to her little farm in B.C. Click on each of the "Mickeys" to hear some of his story.... he is a great horse. A stoic as Vikki calls him.. and right now she is working overtime to help heal a deep gash that he got on one leg months ago... something scared or chased him and he injured his leg on something.... it is healing, but slowly... and she is playing vet as most folks do with animals. The vet comes a few times...shows her what to do and ...then, she just does it. At the moment, that includes cleaning and cutting away the remnants of unhealed flesh or crustiness... applying salves, dressings.... etc..... what a gal...and what a trooper Mickey is to let her do it.... it has been a long road on this one... and not his first leg/foot injury...















Mickey last year...

the reason the hair goes on last!

I'd like to put on her head nearer the end too.... cuz it must take a bit of a beating being wrestled all over the table......but, I need it on for other reasons before the end stitching.... just a minute...why do you need it on before this?... I forget now.... but, there must have been a reason or I certainly would have waited.... wouldn't I? Man...now, I'm scratching my noggin..... maybe it'll come to me about 4 a.m....

By the time I had all the inside lining of her skirts stitched into position...more gluing done... .. had her legs and feet pointing in very direction and balanced on every thing within reach,...and had used her bum as a pincushion several times...I did apologize....
























she seemed
unfazed......











....good thing......

a fun Friday.....not to mention productive....

Tea dying..... fun, easy, and it turns out so pretty. From stark white to any number of lovely shades of pinky beiges in minutes.... Love it. That's what I did first thing.











Then I got my "right attitude" on, and found a perfectly matching heel in a little chunk of Apoxy Sculpt... in minutes! I should have quit fiddling with yesterday's clay long before I did. Sometimes it is better to quit, if at first you don't succeed, and try again another day... I must remember to do that more often. Why waste hours struggling when it just ain't happening? I even got the sole on one of the shoes...but, now..have to wait for the heel to dry on the new one before I do the second sole; hopefully I can find a bit of play time tomorrow. Somebody has plans for us to do a few things that include hardware and plant stores .....











Hey, I even found a tutorial on French seams....and made her some bloomers. I wanted to use this gauzy soft fabric...but, it frays like crazy..so hid and protected that problem in the seaming. I can't claim I didn't have to do one of the legs twice. Silly me.... I was reading the wrong step and didn't I cut my beautiful seam after I stitched it all up perfectly. So.. began again at the step that said... cut to 1/8" after stitching the seam....














Speaking of bloomers..... look what I found in the garden this morning. It looks like a fluffy type of narcissus.