Givaway doll!

Wee Witch doll making class by June Crawford

Our teachers are so amazing! June Crawford is teaching Wee Witch this month and she is giving away a doll! Read all about the Giveaway!

Fabric sale this Saturday!

There is so much to offer you this Saturday! Fabric from dress and costume making, silks, laces for bridal wear and trim. Books on dressmaking and crafting, patterns galore! Say you'll come! So many deals to be had!  

Cash only, please!

A successful show!

A big thank you to everyone who came to our Art and Tea in the Garden last Saturday. It was a fabulous day all round: perfect weather, perfect food and tea, wonderful friends dropping by and new people to meet! I was surrounded by inspiration and the  warmth of friendship all day. How perfect is that?

To me, these events are a little holiday. A chance to just be an artist for a whole day, to be in the company of other artists, with time to talk; it gets the creative juices going. I look at what I've brought to offer and ideas come. "Maybe I could try this, or make that." I have to keep notes, so I can use them for my next show. That will be FiberFest in Almonte this September. 

Since the move had absorbed so much of life, I haven't been to my creativity table much. But that will change!  My storage closet has begun to take shape. I am categorizing and sorting my stash. My aim is to have the categories well defined. For the stuff that must remin in boxes a bit longer, I plan to get it all out, take a photo and paste it on the box. It's the best way to keep a visual inventory that I know!

On to the next show! See you there!

Art in the garden

Won't you join me?

Fairy tales come true!

Wow! It has been a busy few weeks. You may have noticed my absence from the blogosphere. Moving house has taken up much of my time and I am heartily sick of boxes by now! I can't wait to pack the last empty one into the recycling pile. 

Life has not been all about moving. I have also been teaching. The Canadian Embroiderer's Association held their annual conference in Ottawa and I was invited to teach there. I had a fun time with my great group of students!  It was like a holiday in the midst of all that's been going on lately. To dip back into my wools and show people the joys of needle felting. 

The class was called Fairy Tale Felt Folks. We had two days to get all the wonderful characters to emerge and progress to being finished. I'm happy to report that nearly all of the pieces were finished. That left everyone with a good sense of accomplishment. Me too! It didn't take long before the students opted to stay in the classroom over break times and keep working. I love it when people get keen right away!

So here are the results. My own character was Puck, but while he made a great demo piece, he has yet to be finished!

We had a couple of Puss In Boots, and Crooked Men, some mythical figures and loads of imagination!

Friday pattern review

This just came across my desk. It's another of Linda Walsh's lovely Colonial dolls. This one is a partner, indeed a twin, to Peter, that I talked about last week. She's 16" tall, a cloth doll with an embroidered face and a pretty costume.

Linda has designed a doll that is simple to make, even for cloth doll beginners. The face is embroidered, so those who love to use their needle will be happy! You could also paint the face, if that's your preference.

The pattern has complete, full sized pattern pieces, with detailed illustrated instructions. Linda also creates wonderful stories for each of her characters.

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So get out those pretty prints and start sewing! Here's where you'll find the pattern.

Let's hear it for the boy!

In the doll making world, the guys are under appreciated. First off, there are fewer male doll artists. Those who do create dolls are excellent. Then there are fewer male characters produced. I can tell you from experience and comparing notes with my peers, that the male dolls don't sell as well. Even when part of a pair. I can't explain it really. Less glamour than their female counter parts?

Here's a new cloth doll pattern by Linda Walsh. Linda's patterns always come with a complete story for each doll. Peter here is no exception. Dressed in Colonial style with those big brown eyes, who could resist this guy? You can read his full story on Doll Street Dreamers.