head first into the fray......

Now, this is the way to spend an hour working on a little bear.

Some patterns and some bear makers stitch from tip of nose down to the neck area first and then stitch in the head gusset.  Some stitch on the head gusset piece first..I guess it depends upon which you prefer after you have made a couple of bears, or which you learned first or whatever...I totally forget which I learned first or if I just followed directions for patterns and then... forgot about them and did it my way.  I seem to stitch up the nose to neck first a lot of the time.  But, then..it does seem to be a bit of a wrestling match to get the gusset to line up perfectly ...altough, it is tough either way.
Can't say one or the other is easier for me.

I stitched up the second side of the head on this day... which is always a bit of an eye opener.  You more or less have to stitch from the top side of the gusset down to the underneath side of it with each tiny stitch, as compared to the other side...which seems to be from the bottom to top if you get my drift.  It has to be because you are going in the opposite direction, but can't just back-stitch from left to right instead of right to left.  Hmmm...  maybe you could... you know what ?..I've never tried that.  Maybe I could some day.

So.. totally confused?  Okay then...I'll just show you my head so far then...

This is normally just how I work.  A tiny cluttered space with my light, my "stuff" ..oh, and on this perfect day... Mr. BumbleVee poured me a little drink to sip as well.  Perfect.

It was a cold, snowy day and nice and cozy in the house.... a perfect way to spend an afternoon.

It looks a bit cluttered on the actual head as well doesn't it?  With all those alligator clips.... but, that is an easy way to hold the seam edges tightly together without having to grip it with fingers and thumb and make my hands reeeellly sore.   You just remove them as you get stitched right up to each one..or move one and re-organize the next one if a pucker or ruffle shows up... it is an ongoing process to get a head stitched up the way I like it.

As I mentioned in my previous post..the head is actually stitched together now...and I put in some stuffing...but, I will have to load up some new pics ...so you can see that next.  Patience people.... patience.....hahahha... what am I saying?  I have no patience at all myself... ....I want things now and I mean right NOW! .. but here I am expecting everybody else to wait.  BAD me.... bad me.....

But, there was drama with the nose area.... trauma and difficulties ensued...problems were overcome and I am back in the driver's seat...

Off I go now to stitch up an ear ....

and...............next time I tell you the story of how I made the poor little guy's muzzle instantly bald with just a few plucks...

And sew, it begins......

After many years of not making any bears (or dolls either for that matter) ... and sort of letting this blog become a lot more about birds than bears..... I have begun a bear head.  Woohooo... the "Bearister" lives again!

My eyes have gotten a lot worse, but I can still manage to do a bit of stitching.  Alright!  So, Maggi, my bear making buddy, and I, decided on a short project.  Only a head really.

It is a freebie Andrea Brewer design for a Christmas ornament from an ancient bear making magazine.  A bear head with a ruffle.  So, it shouldn't take too long and maybe even a second one could be done before the big day.  I want to put them on the tree...and, it isn't that far off now is it?

I also have a wonky elbow and man, pinching the pieces together with fingers and also gripping my needle in the usual.... " grip of death"... neck and elbow were pretty sore after my first hour working on it.

Somehow, I need to give up worrying about every stitch being perfect and trying so hard to make sure every hair is tucked into the seams, etc... but, it's tough to do when you are totally anal.   Yeh....I know myself well.......

Click on any pic to see even larger...

Anyway... here is the pic of the pattern and also of the head I have begun..

The fur used on the pattern is mini bear fabric and although it looks very furry... that fabric is pretty flat unless photographed right up close.  And, I don't have a colour I like in that fabric anyway right now..so I chose this curly oatmeal coloured rayon instead.  It will be cute I'm sure even though it looks more like an Alpaca or a sheepdog at the moment...





It is now stuffed and ready for nose plucking before I embroider a nose.  She made a clay nose....but, eh...I still like to embroider them...so will do that.

Watch this space as they say...whoever 'they' is......

.. still playing with dolls....

... and, here are the new ones since I last posted the pink brocade one...

This one is a bit of unusual coloured, almost tie dyed, fabric.  I gave her turquoise, shorter, curly hair.. and named her Aurora.
                                                     

I didn't know how this fabric would look once made up, but I like it.  It has a more geometric look to it, but once the face and beading was added... it's great.  She is Olivia.

                                                   

















Then, in my stash, I found a bit of fabric with flowers on it...which I used over the Easter weekend... made things feel quite spring or summery.... hence her name.... Summer.

A piece of beautiful turquoise and brilliant lime green.  Another of the Hoffman fabrics ... please meet River.

Then, the Ice Princess arrived.  A piece of very thin flowery fabric with some odd dark areas on it.  (so thin I lined it) I did manage to find a beautiful icy blue area large enough to  make a body.  It has some factory machine stitch embroidery on it... which I placed in the centre so I could use it for the beading.  Only silvery beads on there ...  I've been mulling over some Nordic type names........... how about .... Astrid? .....

Here's the back...another area of the fabric and look how totally different it is.  I gave her a unique bead from the 'collection' .... blue with silvery coloured circles on it ..with some almost ... coppery colouration here and there ... all the rest are silver or blue... icy......... mmmmm.............



















I have a little plan for them all when I get to the end of the project.                                              
There will have to be 3 more than the original plan  ... because I got too eager and sent 3 away already... hahahaha....oh, well, .... what's 3 more when I already have so many babies? .....

Surprise!

Two more ... hahahhahahhahahhaha........wheeeeeee.....I'm losing it!  And, don't even ask what I'm going to do with them all!  I haven't a clue.....yet.

The purple one I made a few days ago..but, wanted to add some little bugle beads on the long strokes in the Pansy type flower...and, re-take the pics...I only had two on there and didn't really like the look of it.  I'm naming her Pansy ...of course.

Click on them to see some of the beads ... it will get you closer ...

They are both made from fabrics I received years ago from the Hoffman Challenge when Madame Pompadour took fourth place.  They sent me a pile of lovely stuff...

This one is still called "little girl" .... I'm thinking of names for her ... the fabric has a fall look to it... with some gold on the edges of the leaves... so I went with gold and green beads.

We now have septuplets.... they look like a bunch of Easter Eggs sitting on the table....

Dotee quintuplets

Did any of you notice there were 5 "danglies" in the photo last time?  No? ... Well, there were.

That means there were 5 Dotees to take pics of.. and here is the fifth...

I know, I know .....   I've gone crazy with them...but, they are such fun!  They come together quite easily (with the exception of the 'dangly'..   I still need to figure out a better system) and it is a great way to pass an hour especially at night before going to bed.  No computer screen glare depleting what little Melatonin my body possesses.  Actually I don't think I have any at all .. I never feel sleepy at night at all.  My eyes don't always want to do fine work ...but, my body never wants to sleep.

Then, in the morning... it won't wake up either.  I worked night shift for too many years back in the day I guess......

Roxy (short for Roxanne) ...  
As my sister says ...they all look like babies in their 'blankies'.  Yes, indeed they do.  All so serene and sleeping ... or, maybe they're smug and sleeping .... little buggers.... just teasing me cuz I can't sleep ..........  hmmmm...........

Dotee Dolls..... a quartet...

So far I've not heard them singing or anything ....but, there are four of them, so they could if they wanted to.  Unfortunately, I can't help them... I don't. Sing that is.  Can't carry a note in a bucket.

The new girl is Sunny.  My sister think she looks like her.  hahahah...I think they all look pretty similar... maybe she meant looks like "hers"... oh, yeh, that's probably it.

Please meet Sunny

I even found a little yellow flower to put in her hair ... along with some orange and pink beads..

A quartet of dollies...

I've taken to calling them the Dotee Divas........ or, the DDs for short....

Dotee Dolls .... ad infinitum.....

hahahhaha.... they're everywhere now!  the birds have tried to carry them off ..or at least carry them around.  Looks like storks delivering babies.  Yikes!  Please, no!!

                                                           


















The third is a little redhead.... with blues, reds and some lovely pale green beads ...

So, now ...we have triplets!

All looking so content and almost cosy and sleepy.... perfect.....

.... and, soon we'll have a quartet..... as a matter of fact, she's already in the works.  I hope she can sing because I sure as heck can't ....

Who was it that mentioned I was mad ..or that this could be come an addiction?  ...well, of course, all of you were correct..... I am and it has....... oh, well......it could be worse.

Dotee Doll (part three)...

Same day ... later.  You know I couldn't just walk away ... once I found some more 'stuff' to use.

I finished her instead of bothering with vacuuming, laundry, etc..  although I did do the treadmill and some other exercise.  So... I'm feeling okay about it. There's always tomorrow for the other things...

She is finished and I'm pretty happy with her.  I learned several things and will do them a bit differently next time..and, I will definitely look for some transparent beading line if there is any...or use white next time... but, other than that.... she's pretty cute.

That was fun.

The "Dot" pose...   this is always how she displayed them... oops... got her on the wrong finger .... okay, so .....close then, but not exactly, which is fine, because she is not exactly a Dot doll but similar, and that's what I was aiming for when I began this.

and...reclining on a chair.... you can see some colour on her cheeks and nose in this one....I used some blush on a Q tip.... instead of doing more beads..I thought there was plenty around her face already.  Next one I may not use quite that many...and, in retrospect... I wish I had used some greens on her face ... the purple seems a bit blah to me.  But, as I say...  not necessary for her to be perfect.... they are just cute, fun little projects.

Next ..... I'm dragging out my fabric and choosing a second bit of colour for a Ditto Dotee ..  ... but, first I must eat.

There is always tomorrow................................................

I

Dotee Dolls

Do you know of them?  They were really popular several years ago and everybody in the doll making world and also the embroidery and beading circles was making and trading them.

Dot Christian is the lady who first created them and they are named for her....  such sweet little things they are.... she said she liked to use them to spread friendship, love and joy.  They sure did a lot of that.  My understanding is that they were never to be sold....just traded or given as gifts.  She made hundreds (I wonder how many she did make?) and traded with people all over the world.

I wish her blog was still around...she had so many great photos of dozens of them and little stories about them and where they went and where some sent to her came from.   I have collected quite a few photos of the ones I really like and am always on the lookout for a pretty coloured one or a cute shape or the amazing beading work, etc....

Since long before Christmas I have been having fun making origami ornaments ... buying and using all sorts of pretty beads.  You can already see where this is going can't you? ....

Now... I really should be putting away the beautiful beads, pretty papers and gold and silver threads... ((OH< AND... may I just put this out there before I go on with the dolls??))

I have almost run out of single ply gold thread to hang up the origami ornaments.  I did manage to find 12 more rolls of the silver on an Easy site, but, gold is nowhere to be found.  It is a craft thread I suppose more than a sewing supply... found in bead shops.  All it says on the label is one ply thread made in Japan and the yardage .. sold for about $2.50 a spool.  The spool is a skinny cardboard  2 1/2 inches long with a 3/8 inch diameter.  If anybody knows where I might find some can you please let me know?  Or if you have some of the same stuff, do you want to sell it to me?  or will you trade it for something? .........

Onward...

I want to make a Dotee Doll.  I can still play with pretty colours but in fabric instead of papers... and do some fun beading... all around their little faces, on the hangers and the tails, and on the bodies and ... ..oh, the hair ...the list of supplies to use for hair is amazing...

Also, I had a thought about incorporating some of the embroidery techniques and fabric scraps from the classes I took with Karen.... I could make a white on white with lovely embroidery stitches and perhaps some soft pastels placed here and there .... I think that might be a great little dolly.... I'm "imagineering" even as I'm writing this.

Anyway,  most of these are Dot's own design and dolls... ... although, one of these is not like the others and is not hers ...but, I love the colours and so am showing you that as well....

Does anybody have an original Dotee Doll of their very own?   I would be interested to see a photo of it if you do.

So, as far as I know...the above dolls were made by Dot herself...that is her hand displaying them...

This one I think somebody made for her... the facial embroidery is so much different than her own.

I love the colours and beads... and, it seems to be a different type of body than her usual...but, I like it too.  Aren't they all so sweet? ...

Click them to enlarge for more detail..... and ...     stay tuned for my very own first Dotee doll... soon..... .

I am NOT a morning person...

...and usually when I do try to be more productive by 'doing' too early, or if I try something that calls for the little grey cells to be more active than they usually are before 10:00..or need my eyes to see something before they are ready to do that.... ..... ...well, let's just say ..sometimes it isn't worth it.

This morning I took my coffee into my sewing room and was eager to put together my latest little pincushion.. even had the machine all set up and threaded, because I was also trying some FME on open weave fabric yesterday ....easy right? ...just change feet, raise the 'dogs' and sew around the 3 sides of my pillow.


acckkkk!  .....wtfajita???.. ........ .....    dammit!!!   No way!!  I'm not picking out those teensy tiny stitches...NOT!

Obviously I wasn't even thinking, period; never mind thinking clearly.  Stitched around the 3 sides of what is going to be my newest pin pillow alright ... ..... but, totally forgot to put on the silk backing ...and the piece of thin cotton that backs the silk..... what a nimno!  I took it off the machine and looked at it and it still didn't even register ...'til I thought... now how do I turn this? ... there is nothing to turn...what have I done? .... Sheeesh...... So.... either pick it all out ..which did not happen, because it would have ruined the satin-one-side-crepe-y fabric, I just know it would've.  Instead...I put on the backing material..pinned and stitched it as I was supposed to do in the first place ...just barely inside the other line of stitching... whew!  It worked.  Happy camper, me. Saved my lovely piece of fabric and embroidering..

So, I have a slightly smaller cushion..but, not enough that anybody would notice or care... because there is no regulation size, of course......

I particularly like this little area of webs and detached chain leaves.. peeking out from under the lace that runs across ...

Now...just to stuff, close and stitch around the outside ...and my first off white cushion is a reality...

Blog fodder/embarrassing moment..

It's hard to know the difference.

Sometimes I used to think it would be almost too embarrassing to show you some of my erroneous or downright stupid stitching moments...but, hey, it's definitely nothing like all of Rob Ford's regular life ..so what's the big deal?  I'll just blurt it out and carry on like nothing out of the ordinary is happening.

Here's the morning's effort...

Merrily stitching away on the machine...which is not my fortè anyway...but...onward... it must be used for FME.  Well, I suppose you could spend all day doing backstitch by hand over a rather large area....but, no... not that necessary to waste time doing that.  I need a new 'master sheet' of fabric from which to cut some new pin pillows/cushions.... and I do need to get on with it...I want at least one finished before Christmas.

This sheet is off white compared to the pristine whites I used for my first sheet  ....   and I've found some lovely bits of fabric including a piece of satiny one side stuff...it might be crepe of some kind...I'm not all that knowledgable about fabrics.

Anyway..back to my story...which by now is reaching novella length and I'm not even into it yet...hahhaha.... I'm going to say it.....I sound like Karen.... whittering on at length... ooooh, there; I've done it...I'll be on the "naughty step" in our class for sure now.....

oh, sorry....another detour...it's like driving around our city..you can't find your way on any of the streets just now due to construction, road repairs and so called flood mitigation antics ...

Pay attention to where the edges and corners of your fabric sheet are once you get whizzing along, doing great circles and chortling to yourself about how wonderful it is looking..... with the stitching creating lovely artistic swirls and satiny bumps that look like little pearls......sigh.............because sure as the dickens, something like this will happen while you are congratulating yourself.

Can you see it?

Yes, I did.  Stitched the front to the back with FME .... and it's even stitched it into the darn hoop.  What the ?? .... aarrgghhhhhh!!!@%&*

Great.  This could take a while..... where is my trusty little picker thing-a-ma-jig?...

Found it.  Picked it and ..yes, I did say some blue words......but, mostly under my breath, while trying not to ruin my pretty satiny fabric... cuz it will leave marks if I poke around willy nilly.

HAH!! Salvaged it.  And, it looks fine if I say so myself.  Okay then.... now, I can brush my teeth and get on with the rest of my day.....

Tip of the Day:::  pay attention to what I am doing.    Think before pressing the pedal.

Beginnings...

... of my next pincushion... my fourth now... wow!.... not that I'm speeding along or anything.
A few little French knot flowers.  Look like Forget-Me-Nots..

It's so much easier and pretty quick too when I already have the 'master sheet' of fabric ready to go whenever the spirit moves me.  Remember the master sheet of pretty fabrics?  So much easier than putting each one together separately.                                                                     















Pick a nice area, figure out exactly the size and shape the cushion will be and begin embroidering..

Decide on some trims... embroider a bit more and soon, it begins to take shape... I love putting them together.  They are so tiny and dainty and I love working with tiny things.

What the?..

How did I forget to show you my second completed pin pillow?

You know me...all up in your face when I have little successes.... I can't believe I didn't blow my own horn the second I finished it.  Hmmm... must be getting old or forgetful or... something...

I know I showed portions of it...but, here it is now...all finished.

I gave it to my sister when I went to see her last week.  Her reaction was similar to mine when I held Karen's pin pillow in my own hand.    She said ... "I can't believe how tiny all the work and stitches are!" "It looks so much larger in photos" which is exactly what I said.  Even when we say the size..it just makes no impact 'til you see it up close and personal.  This little guy is 3 x 4...

Here are a few more views... this tiny edge on the lower corner (which I think may be tatting) is a tiny piece of a special hanky my Mom gave me when I was a kid...

As Karen says, for all of the projects we are making... why leave our treasures hidden in drawers where nobody sees them ... ever.  Even though we are cutting them ..  we are recycling and repurposing some lovely things...and lots of folks will now be recipients of the new items and be able to perhaps display them or use them.  It's a way to give new life to what was hidden treasure.

I'm thinking Mom would have loved to see these little creations and wouldn't mind at all that I've used my hanky to make them look beautiful.

Did ya miss me?

What??  You didn't even realize I was gone? ...hmpf.....Well.....

But, then, why would you?  I'm so irregular with postings that a week or two here and there wouldn't seem out of place.

So, I was away... visiting my sister in the next province... a 7 hour drive away....

Look what she has been saving for me... of course, for non fabric crafters it won't mean much...but, to the stitching group I belong to ..and those that know about fabrics and crafting with it.... it's a great find!

Two vintage blouses..one hand made.  She had very elderly relatives who used to make their own clothing... they were very frugal ladies ... pioneers in the area many years ago... and learned early on how to sew for themselves and get by on little or nothing, but, still look good doing it..

This one is a very soft cotton fabric in equally soft yellow colour, with an interesting panel down the front as well as on the sleeves.  You can hardly see the button ..but, they are all still there and are cute little swirls in clear plastic... still in perfect shape.  Somebody hand laundered this blouse at least 973 times, I'm sure. .... it is so soft and fragile feeling... the cotton is pretty much transparent now, but, still plenty sturdy enough to use for pin pillow trim and the like.

We also checked out her local thrift store in the tiny town she is near.  It's always very busy .. plenty of folks in the area shop at thrift and second hand stores... we love to shop there because it's so much fun and hey, we always come away with bargains and stuff we can use.  She likes to buy her "farm clothes" there.  Why buy new stuff to shovel poo or paint fences?  Pants, shirts, boots and jackets that are used but still plenty serviceable are a necessity to farmers.  I like to check out the corner with little trinkets and bits of sewing stuff...this time I got 5 metres of lace for $1.50 !  Then, we went to Winners and found Ralph Lauren slacks for $30 ... it was a pretty good shopping spree....

Then, we had a sandwich at a local little restaurant, went home to pet cats .... and went for a walk down the road to check out some cute crazy goats.

They look all civilized in the shot below...but, they are totally nuts!  they race up to the fence at breakneck speed... stick their heads out through the squares of wire up to their shoulders and their heads are hard as rocks... if you are standing too close? ... well, you could get hurt....

They just about had the fencing stretched out of shape...all for a bit of grass.... which, by the way...they had in their enclosure but, preferred the longer, greener, moister stuff...I guess.

Her grandson wasn't taking any chances and I don't blame him.... better safe than head butted...
one tried to eat my camera....