Two Spirit Dolls Finished!

November 10th, 2008

I finished two new Spirit Dolls this weekend. The first is Not Quite Pink. It is 5 inches high and 3.5 inches across. It is beaded on cotton fabric backed with a stable-in-all-directions lightweight interfacing. I used paper backing for the first Spirit Doll I made, and I found it to be a little floppy. The extra stability of the interfacing seems to be easier for me to handle. The doll has a ribbon on the top so she can be hung up.

I used the same beads that are in the October BJP page. It was fun to use the beads in another project. There are more than 25 different kinds of beads in this doll. Why, exactly, does an otherwise reasonable and frugal person need so many different beads that are almost the same in color? Don’t answer that question! And forget that I had to order more beads to do the picot edging.

I decided to try hair on this doll. I like the effect. I also put teardrop beads on the bottom as a kind of fringe on the bottom. You can’t see it well on the photos, but the teardrop beads go all along the lower edge, with no spaces in between.

This is the back of the doll. I painted the light peach colored fabric with Lumiere Halo Pink Gold so it would be a better match with the beaded front.

Here’s the white Spirit Doll. I think of her as Snowflake. She is made in the same way as Not Quite Pink. There are at least 28 different kinds of beads on her. I am very pleased with the way she turned out. To make hair, I used tiny teardrop beads as part of the picot stitch edging.

Here’s the back. Creating it was a multi-step process. I didn’t think a stark white back would look good with the fancy front so I decided to try paint. First I painted the white fabric with Pearl White Lumiere. It needed more so I tried a little Silver Lumiere on the edges of the fabric. The silver looked very gray and dirty. So I tried Metallic Gold Lumiere. I used a stamp, but my technique was lacking and it blurred. But the gold was better. After it dried and was heat-set and washed, it still didn’t look right. So I put a coat of dilute Glittering Crystal Scribbles paint on it. Still not right. I then used Misty Fuse to fuse some slightly glittery polyester organza on the top. That did it.

With all of this paint and fusing, the backing fabric was a little stiff and difficult to push the needle through. I needed to use a thimble when I put the picot edging on.

I really enjoyed making these dolls, but now it’s on to other projects.

Practically Instant and Instantly Practical Knitting Project

November 9th, 2008

Here’s a little project I whipped up over the weekend. I bought the yarn yesterday, and finished the knitting before lunch today.


A knitted rectangle. What could be more exciting?

Actually, it’s a neckwarmer made of lovely soft baby alpaca yarn. Super easy to knit: Pretend I’m making a hat with K3P1 ribbing, and instead of decreasing to make it into a hat, just bind off.

I hate wearing turtlenecks, but I keep my thermostat relatively low during the winter and spend each morning wandering around with wet hair.* Wearing a scarf makes me feel much warmer and is quite helpful when I sleep strangely and end up with a stiff neck/shoulders, but scarves are not always practical for indoor wear. If I wear a scarf that matches my outfit, does that mean I also can only eat food that matches the scarf in case I dangle the ends in my soup?

*yes, I could buy a blow dryer, but I’d rather knit.

And, in use:

Yes we did!

November 9th, 2008

Can I just say how overjoyed I am to be able to post this picture?
Newspaper headlines from November 5

Oh hey, and there’s also this:

CNN_Obama_screenshot.jpg
(Note the time stamp in the upper right corner!)

To answer Ann’s question about posting about politics on a quilting blog: heck yeah! After all, when I think back to what Obama’s candidacy seemed like when it began, “crackpot project” pretty well describes it, don’t you think?

There are some terrific photos and stories out there, but if you want to get all goose-bumpy, I highly recommend these two videos from the campaign:
Signs of Hope and Change
We Have a Lot Of Work To Do

And if you haven’t seen this series of four photos from the crowd at Grant Park on Tuesday night, you really should take a look.

Last but not least, photojournalist Callie Shell has a page of photos she took of the campaign for Time Magazine. Keep clicking the link at the bottom of the page for “more photos.” My favorite is the one in the ice cream shop.

Completed Mermaid

November 8th, 2008

I’ve got quite the blogging backlog to get through, so there is hope for NaBloPoMo!

This is my birthday present from my parents. Or, more accurately, they gave me money and instructions to use it toward a sweater kit.

I finished it in July, but haven’t yet had an opportunity to wear it – whenever I’ve had a dress-up-for-work occasion, it’s been too warm.

Barack-o-lanterns

November 7th, 2008

Are Crackpots permitted to post political statements on a quilting blog? Of course! We’re Crackpots! Anything goes, as long as it’s not nasty. And besides, pumpkin carving can be at least a craft and possibly even an art form, although not in these hands. I am very proud of these. They lasted through election night and then were ceremoniously deposited in the compost bin the next morning.

Baskets Part 3

November 6th, 2008

These are the final two baskets I’ve made so far. I have two more in the works, and I think that will be all as I think there are only 8-10 of us who are participating in the swap project.

The Happy Hookers

November 5th, 2008

We had a program about rug hooking tonight at the fiber arts guild. I didn’t get my little pin finished so there are no photos. But, so far, NaBloPoMo is a success.

White Spirit Doll

November 4th, 2008

This is the White Spirit Doll–at least it’s the front. It is made the same way I made the Not Quite Pink one–on fabric with stable-in-all-directions interfacing under it. It is 4.75 inches tall and 3.5 inches across the arms. I think there are 28 different kinds of beads on this doll.

When I thought of making a white doll, I didn’t know whether there would be enough difference in the beads to show a pattern. But I think it turned out pretty well. Who knew there were so many kinds of white? The Yarn Harlot, that’s who.

It actually looks quite lacy in spots. The bottom part of the doll is covered with sequins, with a tiny gilt-lined bead on top. This is the first time I put sequins on any of my beaded pieces. I will try that again.

Next will be stitching back to front, stuffing, and putting the beaded edging around it.

So now I’ve got this humongous stash of white beads. What to do? What to do?

Not Quite Pink Spirit Doll

November 3rd, 2008

I’ve been working on a couple of Spirit Dolls. This is the front of the Not Quite Pink one. She is beaded on fabric backed by a stable-in-all-directions interfacing. The fabric without the beads looks strangely like James’ legs.

The beads are mostly size 11/0, with some 8/0, 6/0, and 15/0. There are also a few hexes and bugles. Nearly all the beads are sewn on with the backstitch.

I tried something new with this one. Rather than stitching around the edge of the shape to be beaded by hand, I did it by machine with a small stitch. It’s all that garment sewing that tells me to reinforce inward curves where I will need to clip. I did the same thing on the back. You can see it here.

The back is the same fabric, but I painted it with some Lumiere Halo Pink Gold, or whatever the official name of the color is. (You don’t want to make me go down to my laboratory to look for the official name, do you?)

Next I’ll turn the edges under along the stitched line and press. I’ll press the beaded side from the back, while it’s face down on a towel and covered with a pressing cloth. Then I’ll whipstitch the front and back together, leaving a hole for stuffing. After I stuff it with fiberfill, I’ll stitch the opening closed. The final step is to add a beaded edge. I’ll post another picture when it’s done.

For more adventures in beading (including my rant about not quite pink), see my Crackpot Beader Blog.

More baskets

November 3rd, 2008

Here are some more of the baskets for my quilting group. You can see I made a switch to brighter colors!