Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and 

a Healthy Happy New Year!

"Sim Shalom"

("Let There Be Peace")

The Making of the Quilting Queen - Part 2.

Last week I posted photos of the making of the quilt blocks for the Quilting Queen.  Here are some photos of the details that finish this piece.

Making the shoes:

shoe parts

attaching to foot; painting grommets to match

her sensible shoes

Auditioning hair:

Every queen needs a crown:

and the tools of her trade:

needle and thread

And scissors, of course. I bought a pair of vintage Barbie scissors on ebay.  They were wonderful – they opened and closed just like real scissors.  When I tried to place them in her hands they broke in two places. 

:-( 

So I had to make my own.  I started by tracing my own scissors, then shrinking them down.  I cut them from cardboard....

 Then foiled them silver.

The last step was to make the base and label.

And she is complete!

And I am happy to say she has found a home with one of my very favorite collectors!

The Making of Quilting Queen - Part 1.

Last fall TAODA had an exhibit titled “Block Party” at the International Quilt Festival in Houston.  The idea was to use a quilt block somewhere in the doll.  I immediately thought of a ‘quilting lady’ proudly wearing her creation.  I thought she should be dressed in a garment using multiple quilt blocks and that’s when the “Quilting Queen” idea was born.  Now, I am not a quilter so this was definitely a challenge.

I found lots of help on the internet.  I decided I should use a technique called paper piecing, which made working with these small pieces of fabric do-able.

The first block I chose was log cabin because I read it was the easiest one to begin with.

sewing from the back

log cabin in progress

I made 32 of these and they formed the bottom tier of her skirt.

The next block I chose was spools.  Another 32 of these will form the top tier of her skirt.

         you can see my queenly inspiration on the bottom right :-)

The middle tier of her skirt:  32 pineapple blocks

quilting "in the ditch"

Her sleeves consist of fan and Roman square blocks.  There are 44 blocks in the sleeves.

It's coming together:

Her bodice is a single floral appliqué block.

Every queen needs a mantle, right?  Her mantle is 76 blocks of Ohio star (24 star, 52 plain).

And the finished mantle:

In total, there are 165 patterned blocks in the Quilting Queen's ensemble.  In the words of a popular song: Does that make me crazy?  Possibly…..  ;-)

Next week I'll post photos of the little details that finish the piece.

International Quilt Festival 2013

Another Quilt Festival has come and gone.  This year, with so many shows in the month of October, I only managed to get two dolls made for the International Quilt Festival.  One for the "In Celebration of the Doll" exhibit

"Sim Shalom"
("Let There Be Peace")

and one for the TAODA "Block Party" exhibit

"Quilting Queen"

This doll has 165 patterned quilt blocks in her outfit.  I used Log Cabin, Spools, Pineapple, Fan, Roman Square, Floral Applique, and Ohio Star.

Ohio Star quilt blocks on the Queen's mantle

Check out the TAODA blog for lots more pictures of the dolls.

Preview night is always the most fun.  I added to my Elise Peeple doll collection

and made some nice purchases of fabrics and trims

Just for fun, I took a ribbon dyeing class with Christen Brown

Here are some of the ribbons I dyed in class using different stitching and folding techniques.

Another successful Quilt Festival!

It's a Balancing Act

If it's October, it must be "show month"!

I'm excited to be participating in FOUR shows in Houston this month.  The Texas Association of Original Doll Artists' Persons of Interest continues through November 2 at Hanson Galleries on Westheimer at Post Oak.  This is a beautiful gallery full of fine craft, something for everyone, including our art dolls!  My pieces in this show are "Forest Sprite" and "Angel of Glad Tidings".

"Angel of Glad Tidings"

18 Hands Gallery on 19th Street in the Heights is hosting Interwoven V, a juried fiber art show.  I'm pleased to have "Orelia" (meaning "Golden One") in this show which opens Saturday, October 19 (reception 6-9 p.m.) and runs through October 27.

"Orelia"

Also on 19th Street in the Heights is M Squared Gallery, which is hosting the Houston Area Fiber Artists' juried show Art for Art's Sake, October 23 - November 10, with the opening reception on Saturday, October 26, 6-9 p.m.  My piece "Balancing Act" is in this show, as well as an educational vignette of the steps I use in creating another art doll "Possibilities".

"Balancing Act"

Finally, the International Quilt Festival, open to the public October 31 - November 3, will once again host In Celebration of the Doll among the many exhibits.  I will have two dolls in the show this year: "Sim Shalom" (which means "Let There Be Peace") and "Quilting Queen".

"Sim Shalom"

Happy Autumn!

TAODA Reception at Hanson Galleries

We had such a nice reception for TAODA's Persons of Interest show last night at Hanson Galleries!

The piece I had been working on with all the individual embroidered silk leaves (scroll down to see August 9 post) is in this show:

"Forest Sprite"

And another piece: 

"Angel of Glad Tidings"

The show will run through November 2.