Livingston Mountain Studios

Christmas is coming!

2012-12-12T12:12:00.000-08:00

I'm obviously taking a vacation from the dolls, and instead starting to get ready for Christmas! (and a birthday or two....)

We found the perfect tree, and that's Ron underneath it to the left (green jacket) on the floor getting the screws tight in the tree stand. Mekayla is assisting.

Pillow for Judee...all pieced and ready to quilt.

quilted.

Finished.

Auntie June's lap quilt

and I'm starting to paint again...yes, these are cows. If I don't screw it up (there's time for that, since it isn't finished yet) it will be for Julie.

"Bad Papa" aka my brother in law, Steve. My sister needs something to put coal in.

Fleece jacket for my 2 year old niece, Kate, for her birthday.

also for Kate - pants to match.

Sooo, the hands haven't been idle - as far as my "mojo" is concerned, dragging out the paints is probably a good sign!

Trying to get my mojo back!?

2012-11-15T20:14:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been nearly a month since I posted. I've been feeling guilty about the lapse, so here's a bit of an explanation:
1. I got a freelance job with an apparel start up, so that took some time.
2. I'm discouraged that I haven't sold any dolls yet, and feeling guilty that I'm not spending enough energy to market them, so they stare at me with disappointment in their eyes.
3. I wanted to finish the quilt I started for Auntie June.

So, there you go...I'll be better - I promise!

Here's the rain gauge from the deck....rain from last week. You know you live in a damp environment when algae grows on your deck.

Short tutorial on half square triangles. If you're making a quilt and you want 3" finished half square triangles, you make a grid adding 7/8" to the finished size, and voila....

Here they are. You sew on the grid lines and cut them out afterwards.

I printed out a picture from Pinterest of a chevron scrap quilt. Based on that, I figured out how to make the quilt.

and here are the 6" blocks from those half square triangles.

And here is a wierd shot of Larry...love the foreshortening!

and this is random...got a neat candle holder from my cousin Judee several Christmases ago...one of my favorite things sitting on the coffee table!

No dolls to show this time...I have to conquer my guilt and get back to work!

Eartha, Quilts, and more distractions

2012-10-18T08:08:00.000-07:00

It FINALLY rained, so I get a vacation from worrying about my woods catching fire - what a relief! I have been alternating between dolls and quilts, but I have to admit, the rainy weather draws me to quilts for some reason. Anyway, Eartha is making slow progress. Her head below is finished, but no chest plate yet, and no painted details.

Eartha

And here is Larry, as usual, waiting to go outside and run. Now that it's rained, we're back to the mud being tracked in - I' m trying not to complain, but since my studio is their favorite exit door, it also serves double duty as the "mud room".

Dave, supervising as usual, and climbing allover everything on my work table. His strategy is to start knocking things down on the floor when he really wants to go out. I fight the irritation for the sake of the mice and birds he brings back - ugh.

Baking - another Fall distraction - Dutch Apple pie, in this case.

Getting back to Eartha - here she has one ear.

Chevron scrap quilt, made of piles of half square triangles.

Sewn together into 6" blocks.

Four of those 6" blocks = one 12" block. (I need to make 30 of those for a lap quilt.)

Sooooooooooo, that's what I have been doing to amuse myself, along with reading JK Rowling's new book (The Casual Vacancy), which is turning out to be a bit of a slog, and disappointing, because I loved Harry Potter books and her writing. I also just Kindled Nelson DeMille's new book, so if it gets any colder, we can light a fire in the fireplace, and I may just read.....................

Agatha, Eartha, and scrap quilts

2012-10-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit it - I am easily distracted. After spending nearly a year making quilts for all you nieces and nephews out there, I got a bit burned out. Now, since May, I have been focused on my dolls, but after no sewing for so long, I am kindof wanting to do that too. Also, by now I usually have figured out Christmas projects, and this year - not so much. So forgive me for my lack of focus, but this is the deal:

Okay - so here is Agatha the cat lady. (Susan - I need cats!)

Here's another view of Agatha with her glasses. (Yes, I have to label them to keep track.)

This finishing stuff before I start on something else is a bit of a bore, so here is Eartha...she has eyeballs and is startled.

Okay, better now with some eyelids.

More eyelids and the start of a nose.

Getting there...no mouth yet...perhaps a good thing?

Now she has a mouth...she's beginning to speak to me. (Poor thing, "Mother Nature" is her cousin - more about that later.)

And here she is after her first "bake" in the oven. Time to add neck, ears, and consider her back story more seriously).

Okay - here's the distraction part. Missing my sewing machine, I started a chevron scrap quilt - for a lap quilt I'm going to need to do 30 blocks...so far about 11 done. (Auntie June - your Christmas present is coming along. For the rest of you - ?)

That's it for now. I've been spending way too much time doing Mekayla's laundry and trying to get my house in some sort of order - finishing that task eludes me for now...

Agatha - Yoda's cousin?

2012-10-04T20:01:00.002-07:00

Sorry for the delay...I said I would post "tomorrow" (I lied)...so here is Agatha the Cat Lady.

Here she has a face but no ears.

and here she has one ear and the start of a neck.

tah dah! both ears and a chest plate, but no glaze or painted details yet.

She looks like Yoda's cousin or sister, or something...

Anyway...Agatha continues. I'm pretty sure she'll look MUCH better with hair and some color on her pale face. I'm hoping to hook up with Susan next week to discuss her cats. Her back story is still baking, but I'd really like to find some "hello Kitty" earrings....

Agatha is coming....

2012-10-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I go from posting once a week to twice in one day? I know...wierd. So here's Agatha the Cat Lady - there will be references to gin martinis and collecting newspapers, but I'm still thinking about her backstory.

Floral foam cube...about to be a skull.

aha! here's her skull.

...and here's her skull covered with tinfoil.

...and here she has eyes...creepy.

...and here is the first layer of eyelids.

...and here is the second layer of eyelids...

and here she has a nose.

more tomorrow....

Cora Claus is done, stockings are made, Agatha next!

2012-10-01T09:53:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy week with Mekayla starting college, and the multiple trips daily to downtown Vancouver to get her there and pick her up!

Cora Claus is done - all that is waiting is for her finished picture to be taken.

shoes and socks are finished.

Then I got side tracked again with stockings, when I realized that my sister and brother in law didn't have stockings! So here they are:

I'm thinking about finishing Harriet before I start a new doll. In her back story, she is fond of needlepoint, which means I have to make her a needlepoint pillow. Here is the canvas - about 4":

And here is the needlepoint done, all tweaked because of the stitching. I'll have to block it square before making the pillow.

I think the next new one will be Agatha the Cat Lady/Hoarder. My friend Susan has agreed to make the cats in felted wool, so I will get started on her shortly!

Finishing Cora Claus, Christmas stockings & elf shoes

2012-09-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

After all this doll-making, I got distracted and started thinking about quilts again...sorry for the lapse! It's been kind of a tradition with my family that they all are given quilted stockings with their names on them - I've been making these for about 15 years. My friend Michelle recently had a new baby named Cash, so to satisfy my quilting lapse, I made a couple of stockings for Cash, and his older brother Mason. Once that was out of my system, I was back to Cora and her shoes.

Here is Cora, waiting for shoes.

Once again, traced her feet, and started on the pattern.

I wanted them to look elf-inspired, so split the pattern down the center front and added a tip.

First attempt failed...looks like a blister or a pimple...?

I remade the pattern and added a bell...tah dah!? Now I have to make the other one.

Here's another shot of Cora.

And here are the stockings. I have several boxes of quilt blocks - either leftovers from finished quilts, or pieces of quilts I decided not to finish. These are pieced with other quilt scraps to make the stockings, which are quilted on both sides.

The names are appliqued and satin-stitched to the stocking cuffs.

Cora Claus is almost finished & house is coming together...

2012-09-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

I've had the luxury of spending almost 2 days on Cora, plus the upstairs is also beginning to look like home again!

Here is Cora almost finished. I still have to figure out what to put on her feet, wrap the gift, etc.

Look! New carpeting! Books aren't all in yet.

Carpeting! Furniture not all in place yet.

My anal-retentive nature got the better of me...I'm a Virgo, I can't help it. All books alphabetized by author. Non-fiction on separate shelf, etc. I know, it's pathetic.

Clora's skirt with apron and petticoat in process.

That's it for now! Cora should be finished by tomorrow, and I'm thinking that Cloris might also be a Mrs. Claus (or ex-Mrs. Claus) - I'm concocting a back story about their divorce.

Back to Cora

2012-09-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

After more than a week's absence, I'm back, trying to focus again on dolls. Since I last posted, dry wall and finish carpenters have been here, and finally carpeting that finished on Monday. I am taking my time putting things back together in the house, having made 4 runs to the Goodwill, etc., and with stuff still stacked in both bedrooms and the kitchen. It will probably be another 4-5 days until I finally finish that.

Drywall finally finished.

In addition, much drama with lost photo ID's, trying to get an ID that will allow Mekayla to get registered for school, and get enrolled in her classes, since school starts on the 24th. Thankfully, it was all resolved yesterday.

Finally a college girl!

I did manage to get a little bit done on Cora Claus. I made her a red sweater, and knitted her a green shawl. Here is the shawl before I added the fringe:

Here she is in her red sweater:

And here is her long underwear:

I'm going to make a skirt out of the plaid, with a white apron over it. Sketches from this morning, since I'll have to make the patterns once I figure it all out:

Hopefully I'll have more interesting things to show you in the next few days!

Working on CORA CLAUS

2012-09-03T10:51:00.002-07:00

Happy Labor Day weekend to y'all! I've been working on CORA, and am making some progress:

Here she is the last time you saw her - her hair started, waiting for a body.

Getting wire armatures ready to attach hands.

Starting leg/feet armatures, which consist of galvanized wire wrapped in finer wire to stabilize.

First layer of clay on feet, hands joined to wire arm armatures and wrapped with floral tape.

She will be holding a gift (I think) so I made a box the right size.

Head attached to wood body armature, waiting for the rest of her body.

Arms attached to body using teddy bear joints so there is some motion possible when I pose her.

Second layer of clay on legs.

Third layer of clay on legs.

and here are her skinny legs done, also attached to wood armature with teddy bear joints.

wrapping her in polyester batting to form "flesh".

and finally, she waits for skin.

CORA CLAUS and chaotic house...

2012-08-30T13:40:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted since Monday - as per usual, things are pretty chaotic around here. It's a little hard to focus when you're tripping over furniture and books. We picked out the new carpeting on Tuesday, signed contracts yesterday, and as can be expected, there are delays. The repair work, which was supposed to be done this week is delayed until next week because of the holiday weekend. Carpet installation is tentatively scheduled for late next week...soooo, another week of this - argh! I have been working on Cora in fits and starts...here is all I have managed to do:

Ellen - this picture is for you so you can get an idea of scale. Cora's hands just being started.

Here's another view of the same thing.

Cora's hands are finished.

Sewing tufts of roving together, so they can be added to the head in strips, rather than individually.

Cora's bangs - trimmed, waiting for the curling iron to give them a little "bend".

Cora's hair is started. I'll finish it after I finish her body.

Once again with the group waiting for bodies.

That's it for now!

Cloris or Claudia? Question answered

2012-08-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

First of all, RIP Claudia. Her head cracked in the oven and she fell victim to the hammer. Also, Green-eyed Santa is gone, with green eyes recovered. I'm getting more selective.

poor Claudia.

This is to be Cora Claus. Preliminary work including eyes, and lower eye bags.

Cora is progressing.

Here she is without ears.

And here she is with ears.

This used to be my hearth. It is now stacked two-deep with books from the bookshelves, and random furniture, which will also be moved again, as we prepare for the contractors, carpet installers, etc., to finish the water damage repair.

Soooo, that's it for now! Cora Claus' head is almost done, so I can proceed with her body, appliqued circle skirt and other Christmas accessories. Once I finish her, it looks like I'll also have to take a crack at finishing Santa, elves, etc.

Claudia or Cloris Claus - aka "Mrs. Santa"

2012-08-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to figure out what to do next. I started thinking about a conversation with my friend Ellen regarding the fact that there is no Mrs. Santa, and since Edith is finished, I am trying to decide whether to finish Santa and tackle the "elf problem", which dictates that Mrs. Santa is the logical next step.

Sooooo, I made a new head for Claudia Claus aka "Mrs. Santa".

Claudia in process.

Claudia has ears but no neck.

I don't want to do a standard sweet and boring Mrs. Santa, so here's her back story:

She and Santa are in couples therapy - Claudia thinks it's a little odd how much time Santa spends with the elves. After all, she's gone along with the program, even though dressing in Christmas colors all year long is a bit tedious. She doesn't mind his constant demands for Christmas cookies, but once in awhile she'd prefer a martini and artichoke dip. Although Santa thinks she watches the Cooking Channel all the time, the truth is that she prefers "The Real Housewives of New Jersey", and secretly longs to get her legs waxed.

I'm not sure if this head with be Claudia Claus - I'm thinking maybe Cloris should be re-tasked for this role, since she looks more like a Mrs. Santa should look:

So Mrs. Claus may end up being Cloris Claus - I'll let you know what I decide. Cloris currently resides for the group waiting for clothing and accessories.

So I'll work on Claudia some more and then ponder who gets to marry the fat man, what they will wear, and at the same time, finish Santa #1 and resolve my inability to make elves. Merry Christmas?

EDITH - is finished

2012-08-23T16:39:00.000-07:00

Here she is:

EDITH - has jewelry

2012-08-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

About all I managed to finish today was some of Edith's jewelry. The Serveco folks pronounced the dining room officially DRY, so came and removed all of their equipment this morning. The silence is deafening, since we had become accustomed to the white noise of the fans for the last four days. Given that, I spent most of the afternoon on the phone to about 1/2 dozen carpet suppliers, getting quotes on installation fees, etc., then more time with the insurance adjustor, negotiating their quote on installation fees...enough excuses, this is all I finished this morning:

Here are closeups of her lovely necklace and earrings:

I did also finish 3 bracelets, which you shall see tomorrow when I finish her hair, which will finish her!

No such thing as too much jewelry!

Clara and Flora are finished!

2012-08-22T08:16:00.001-07:00

See tab under "Finished Dolls" for pictures.

Edith today - tee shirt and sandals

2012-08-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

This morning, I finished Edith's tee shirt and sandals. I still have to do her hair, her jewelry, and her other accessories:

The rhinestone transfer looks pretty good!

Here is Edith in her teeshirt. (I should have taken the bag off of her head before taking a picture - !?)

I made a tracing of her foot, then made that into a pattern for the soles. The tape is going to be the pattern for the uppers.

...and as long as I had her feet taped down, I painted her toenails.

Here are her finished sandals, with more rhinestones.

and here are her polished toes/feet in the sandals.

On another note, the Servepro folks were here again this morning with their moisture meters. The area under the window is still damp, so we have another 24 hours of fans and de-humidifiers. We're all hoping it will be ready for the next step by tomorrow.

Gordie and Linda visited briefly this afternoon - one look at the mess, and they didn't want to stay too long!?! They are off to Portland, and then points south.

That's all folks! More tomorrow.

Edith has clothes (kindof) and more water damage updates

2012-08-20T19:15:00.000-07:00

The guys from Servepro showed up this morning at 9 am and demo'd the dining room floor. They found the subfloor to be wet as well, so we have another day or two of de-humidifiers and fans before we can start repairs:

Hardwood dining room floor is being removed.

wet sub floor...not warped, though, so I guess it's a good sign. They have equipment now running 24-7 , which makes yelling the standard decibel level in the house until everything is dried out.

Edith has jeans. I had to leave part of the inseam open to get it over her large feet.

Edith is reclining, as I start working on handsewing the lower inseams together.

Here's a close up of that.

She's happy to be no longer naked, especially with Santa Claus watching.

Fabric on the left is for her tee shirt. Peace symbol fleece is for her sandals, pink foam is also for her sandals.

Beginning assembly of her fake tie dye tee shirt.

More tomorrow. They are coming in the morning to check moisture levels on the sub floor. We can't get going on the repairs and the carpeting until that is totally dry. In the meantime, the entire upstairs is chaos...I need to take more naps until this is all over.

Harriet has eyebrows, Edith has skin

2012-08-19T18:51:00.000-07:00

Edith has skin. She is so relieved:

My friend Ellen suggested that Santa (standing behind Edith) might be having trouble keeping his hands off of her. I advised Ellen that Edith is a bit repressed, and would probably be a disappointment to Santa. That brought up another dilemma, which is that if there is a Santa, that there should also be a Mrs. Santa - guess I need to think about that!

This shows tedious process of sewing Edith's skin to her body...yep, took me most of the day.

I had a little left from Larry's donation to the eyebrow fund, so I added eyebrows to Harriet, as she waits with the rest of the group expecting to have bodies soon!

Well, that's it for today - more tomorrow.

Fake tie-dye & Edith's body

2012-08-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

All the "drama" is over with the water damage (at least until Monday- I'll post more pictures of that situation), so I managed to get Edith wrapped in polyester batting strips and waiting for skin.

Here she is with "flesh" - skin manana.

Here is another view - she has her head in a bag, and her hands and feet wrapped in bubble wrap to keep her appendages safe while her body is finished.

Here Edith is reclining, while I hot glue the first layers of batting to her armature.

Making progress....we're in the sewing stage of the batting, which consists of needle sculpting her body's contours.

Pinterest again - showed a method of doing fake tie-dye with Sharpies and rubbing alcohol.

I'm going to keep repeating motifs with this method until all the fabric is covered with fake tie dye. Takes a bit of time, since the fabric has to be semi-dry before doing the next motif.

Looks like I have a lot more to do before this fabric is totally covered, and I can use it to make her tee shirt.

Edith will get skin tomorrow, and maybe even underwear! (Perhaps a thong, just to be risque?)

Edith has to wait

2012-08-17T16:53:00.001-07:00

I worked on Edith's body for about two hours this morning before the repair people started working on the water leak damage from the air condioner. As you can see, the carpet and pad were pulled up, part of the wall removed, etc. The wood dining room floor will come up on Monday so they can look at/or replace the subfloor before recarpeting the living room, dining room, hall, and front stairs. I'll post more about Edith tomorrow.

Edith's progress today - legs & joints & the beginning of a body

2012-08-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

This morning Edith started resembling an actual character. Here she is - staring at me - wanting to know where her legs are.

Here is where her legs are:

Another layer of clay, waiting for ankle bones.

And here her legs are finished - with ankle bones and calf muscles.

Completed legs, waiting for glaze to dry so they can be added to her body armature.

...and here she is, with her legs, wondering where the rest of her body is - she'll have to wait until tomorrow, since I have to stop early today.

More tomorrow!

Speaking of large unattractive feet...EDITH'S progress today

2012-08-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

Edith start to finish...today's entry.

These are the hands I finished yesterday, attached to arm armatures, ready to attach to the body armature.

Wire armatures for the legs and feet.

Leg/feet armatures wrapped with floral tape.

Foot on the right is the first layer of clay. Foot on the left, has the second layer added. These have to be cured/baked between each layer of clay so it hardens properly.

Sooooo, that's it for today! By tomorrow, Edith should have the start of a body with everything attached. Stay tuned!

EDITH - fingers, eyebrows & hands

2012-08-14T12:35:00.000-07:00

Okay - I promised Edith from start to finish. This morning I finished her hands and added her eyebrows. Except for the armature process which I've shown you before, this is a little more detailed regarding the actual sculpting of the hands. Keep in mind that these hands are only about 2 1/4" in size.

Edith's eyebrows compliments of Larry

wire armatures wrapped in floral tape

beginning to cover armature with clay

armature fully covered with clay - "gumby" phase - not yet any sculpted details.

Palm side of hand sculpted shown vs "gumby" phase.

Knuckle side of hand sculpted vs "gumby" phase.

This shows the layering of the clay on the knuckle side of the hand to indicate tendons, before the details are smoothed and blended.

Here the hands have been baked and glazed and are drying waiting for arms .

More of Edith's progress tomorrow!