Ready for the show!

The Ottawa Valley Weavers and Spinners Guild Show starts November 5, 2010. I am busy creating little Christmas ornaments to sell. They are popular at this show. I've made some in hot colours, as well as traditional Xmas colours. I will have many of my figures as well as purses and supplies. the next week will see me dividing up wool into smaller amounts in all the colours I stock. What a mess of fluff I'm in when I'm doing that! Still, the fibre is soft and cosy to play with. It's a good chance to inspect my stash and evaluate what will need reordering after the show.

I have two closets full of wool in the basement of my studio. A rainbow of colour awaits every time I open the doors!

I have acquired some grids which I plan to use in my booth. A new look for this year. I plan to peg up my kits and samples on the grids, to make them easier for folks to see.

The show and sale is held at the Glebe Community Center in Ottawa and is always well attended, drawing many fibre type folks together.

Hours are: Friday Nov 5: 4 - 8 pm

Saturday 10 am - 5 pm

Sunday 10 am - 4 pm

Everyone is invited!

Learning online - Yvette, a period costume doll

This online class started last Friday. I am walking the students through the process of creating a free standing cloth doll, then costuming it in late 18th century style.

The transition from correct period costuming to a dolls' costume is an interesting one. Scale is very important. While keeping the lines of the original garments, they need to be simplified to make construction possible in the scale.

One place I did this was on the short gown. I eliminated the sleeve seams, which would have created bulk. I also faked the chemise and lace cuffs, which would have been part of the chemise sleeves.

Yvette is 16" tall and wears a corset, short gown and petticoat. She also wears bloomers. Strictly speaking, not accurate for the time. So why put bloomers? Because people always peek under the skirts to see if there is underwear. I kid you not! They do! To them, the doll is not complete unless she has underwear. So, modesty is another reason to add bloomers. The lace on the cuffs also helps the skirt stand out. So there's a practical reason, too.

The beauty of online learning is the teacher (me) is there to answer your questions, just like a live class.

The class started last Friday. It's a work at your own pace class, so no worries, you can still join in. Sign up at Doll Street Dreamers Creative College.