20th November 2008
I am all over the place at the moment but it feels ok. I go where the mood takes me (which is quite often to the top shelf of the fridge door where there is a block of Green and Black’s white chocolate). So what am working on? From top to bottom: The hand quilting on Amelia’s quilt - that’s taking me a while. And I am still making lots of those punkdorf dolls. One for new baby Georgia, one for Lily, one for Amelia, a tiny one for Mirabel, one first cousin once removed Baby X and so on. The doll pictured is for new baby Georgina - the other’s neck was way too floppy and the puckering really annoyed me and this one is a vast improvement, (although, very annoyingly, the string inside the head which squeezes the face into the correct shape seems to have come adrift so she is still kind of wonky looking). Her name is Tali (until otherwise named) which is Tongan for “waiting”… she was almost entirely made while I waited for news of her birth. And under that? I am always working on the garden these days and I am waiting on capsicum seeds to germinate in my biodegradable toilet roll pots… I may have inadvertently overheated them. And below that are a couple of pieces of trashy old ebay finds which are waiting on the back porch for a lick of paint.
But the project that is exciting me most today? It’s not exactly a craft project, it’s more an exercise in project management. Here’s a little clue:
More to come later.
12th November 2008
…I have three 14″ dolls that I bought from Nova toys in the US that I would like to sell - I bought them thinking I would never actually get around to making my own version, and here I am making them. These are the dolls which “are made by Quechua women who participate in a social outreach cooperative in Peru… The dolls’ bodies are fully jointed for posing and sitting and their hair is hand-stitched to their heads and forms two braids which can be undone to have pony-tails.”
They are quite lovely, in the true, classic Waldorf sense. If you are a fan of Amanda’s SouleMama site, you will probably recognise these dolls from appearances around chez Soule.
I bought them without clothes (thinking I would at least do that bit on my own) though they do come in their underwear as pictured. They have been sitting in the box they arrived in, still in their cellophane bags for the last month or so. I bought them when they only cost $99, so I am very happy to send them on to someone who is interested for the cheaper price of USD$99 plus postage (through Paypal only).
Rather than selling them on ebay I thought I would give Loobylu visitors an opportunity to buy them so please email me ( loobylu at gmail dot com ) with your order of hair colour preference (brown, black and red) and it will be first come, first serve. Thanks!
*** Updated to say they have all gone to good homes! Thank you! ***
5th September 2008
Look! I’m twittering (as of 22 minutes ago)! I seem to think in tweets these days so it suits my style.
Look! I’m making another Waldorf doll (I have been calling them punkdorf dolls due to my very un-Waldorf kind of approach. Lots of swearing and seam ripping).
Look! I found a very nice blog - beautiful dolls - and I wish I looked so incredibly gorgeous (and French) as I sew up my little creations.
12th August 2008
Yesterday I finally took a little leap of faith and starting working on a Waldorf doll.
I am calling her Prudence because if it hadn’t been for the gorgeous Waldorf dolls which Prudence makes and sells on Etsy, I would never have attempted it. Prudence, the doll, is a big tribute to Prudence in Montana, who inspired me to ignore the “rules” of Waldorf doll making (something which I have found very intimidating hence the reluctance to ever attempt this before) and do an alternative interpretation.
I like that she has injected huge amounts of personality into these dolls. They are a little bit Waldorf, a little bit Raggedy-Anne. Each one looks so incredibly sweet and endearing. I love their distinctive faces. Quite obviously I was very taken with her idea to use multiple soft and stretchy fabrics to make up the body rather than the traditional skin toned fabric. This is the bit that really appeals to me - lots of nice texture and crazy colours.
The head construction was challenging. I gotta tell you - if the Steiner ideal is to create a unique doll full of love, with a specific child recipient held lovingly in mind etc etc, then this poor wee doll is going to have to be stashed away in the cupboard because not a lot of love went into that head. A lot of “frigging” fleece went in, but not a lot of love. That being said, don’t let me put you off. Once I finally finished it I felt pretty sure I could do it again with far less struggle.
I did some free form cutting (that was fun) based losely on my rabbit pattern and came up with something that does quite well… if a tad derivative and just a little wonky.
Is there a way to avoid those little gathery puckers around her neck? I am hoping that goes with practice.
Yes - I want to make more now - I can see how people get quite addicted to it. I was thinking it would be fun to make each one without a pattern so no two are the same. That would be pretty radical for me - a person who has been making rabbits and cats from the same pattern for the last four years!
For those who might like to try it — I got all my supplies for the head from Winterwood here in Melbourne where I also got the book Making Waldorf Dolls by Maricristin Sealey which has very clear instructions. This tutorial helped a lot too - and Sooz has a great tutorial for a simple Steiner doll to get you started. Magic Cabin looks like the place to get your supplies in the States.
