Lemon Tree Tales

Do I have Craft ADD?

  

Sometimes I wonder whether I have Craft ADD. I go from project to project at the drop of a hat - sometimes I even finish them but often it gets left behind while my attention flits away to the next shiny fun task. There's the gazillion bags of doll parts/fabric that's awaiting me - no, really, there are a gazillion of them, I counted! Most are hidden in the fancy boxes, but I know they're there - taunting me, telling me that I've abandoned them.

 

There's the knit hat that I'm trying to make but I'm only half way through. It was left in a bag for months before I picked it up again last week and knit a few rows. Knitting is still such an awkward thing for me to do that a few rows is all I can do before I get bored, tired, frustrated with it. Then it's off to the next thing.

 

What's that? Oh I have some quilting that is ready to go on the cutting table. String blocks, pieces for my quilting bee's auction project, an old top that just needs a border and then quilting.
  

 

In the midst of it all there's the mess from days of concentrated creating. I spilled the container of red sparkly beads on the floor. So far I've only rescued half of them. It's time to clean up and calm down - take stock of the situation and get to one of the above mentioned projects. Time to finish! Do you have Craft ADD too?
  

Meet the Bird Whisperer

She's finally finished! She would have made her entrance sooner but she's been entranced by her little robin friend. They've been having the most interesting conversations - mostly about nest building and the best places to find berries this winter.

May I present the Bird Whisperer:

The head/torso/arms are from a Becky Holloway pattern and the wrapped velvet was inspired by Cyndi Mahlstadt's costuming for her dolls. I've also made realistic fingernails by using Deanna Hogan's brilliant fingernails tutorial. I've learned that it's difficult to photograph the color burgundy but these aren't too bad. But I can't change it now because this beauty is officially on her way to the Alaska Fiber Festival in Anchorage. She had to wear velvet so that she'd be warm enough when she arrives. Hopefully she'll meet some lovely people there.

Skirt Stump Doll in Progress

I'm in the middle of finishing up another doll. This one isn't quite all from a pattern. I had originally sewn the head/torso and arms from a Becky Holloway pattern but then wasn't thrilled with how the legs were going. She's been sitting in a bag along with the fabrics for her dress. The other day I was wondering whether I should finish a planned candlestick stand for the Miss Molly doll but it just wasn't singing to me. It needed more of a base for support. While I was in Michael's getting one of those inexpensive wood plaques it dawned on me what I needed to do instead - combine the two projects into one!

I took the sewn n' stuffed head/torso and glued it to a cardboard base. Next I began an odd series of steps to make a sturdy skirt base support - winging it really. But I'm liking how it's beginning to take shape. It's off to the costuming part now.

It's hard to see from this angle but the top oval is much smaller than the bottom shape - they didn't have a larger oval in stock but I figured that this would also work.

Some leftover bamboo batting to fill the candlestick out. (I really didn't like using it for quilting so this is as good a use as anything else.)

I've glued down the torso (I colored her face in before doing so) and took a step back. Hmm, the transition is a bit abrupt from her waist to the skirt form. No worries, I just need to sew that.

Once I sew the darts and attach this I'll lightly fill the gaps with stuffing. I'm not worried about how this looks since it'll be covered with her clothing. So far it's an interesting way to make a stump doll. I like how solid she stands; and she's tall as well at 20"!

Yellow Rose Doll

Yippee! Over the last couple nights I've put the finishing touches on my Cyndi Mahlstadt Evie Mae workshop doll. The only thing I need to do is to get some strong fishing line to hang her up. (For the pictures I temporarily attached her with some Polyester Monofilament thread, but I doubt that it's strong enough for the long term.) She has sequins, beads and a wee bit of glitter on her legs - a subtle touch but nice to have some sparkle. I had so much fun working on her that I highly recommend taking one of Cyndi's workshops if you can get to one.

Now what should I name her? So far she's just known as my Yellow Rose doll and that keeps reminding me of Texas. Any suggestions?

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The other thing that's been keeping me busy is working on one of my resolutions - to get healthy. I've signed up for a health management class through our HMO (they're great and really want you to get healthy so they offer quite a few classes for little or no money). Part of our class is dedicated to getting out there and moving. So now I have a pedometer and have been adding a daily 20 minute walk around the park and neighborhood. You're supposed to get to at least 10,000 steps per day and I'm working on it. The first couple of days I didn't do much walking and it showed in the number of steps. My highest number was 6800 or so the other day but it tends to hover around 5000 steps. Next week I'm going to go for my park walk twice a day. No, I haven't seen any weight loss results yet, but I do have to report that I'm feeling so much more energetic. I've only had a couple days where I needed to take a nap. Plus I'm getting more things done. Whoo-hoo!

Scrappy string blocks

I have a container for all my scraps that is about to bust. It will only remain closed if I lay it on its side and don't have pressure on it's lid. It's nice to have a lot of little pieces to choose from, but this is getting ridiculous. So when Stephanie of Loft Creations mentioned something about a No Strings Attached Challenge I thought it was a perfect excuse to use up some of these scraps. So I'm going to work on a few projects and see how much of a dent I'll have made on the scrap box.

Scraps overflowing:

White muslin foundation squares and center strips cut from my stash fabric:
  

Two little 6 1/2" string blocks done (I'll square them up to a slightly smaller size once I've completed all 8 blocks necessary for this first project):

The idea is to use only what you already have in your scrap box or stash. Obviously if you're low on batting, muslin foundation fabric, or backing/binding you can purchase those. But the whole challenge is to really try to use what you have in your studio. So whenever I get bored of one of my other projects I can sew a string block or two.

Flower Felt Barrette

I made this little flower felt barrette (with beads and chain-stitch embroidery) as part of My Life Under the Bus felt smack down challenge. We were supposed to make something inspired by Salley Mavor's Felt Wee Folk book of the most adorable felt creations. In the future I may make some of the fairies, or even bring the supplies with me to make with Miss L and Miss J some future weekend. In the meantime I thought that barrettes are a simple accessory that all little girls would appreciate. Each of the little petals is individually cut and then sewn to the green base felt. It needed some glitz, thus the shiny seed beads for the final accent.