Nancy-Michelle-Christine

My 40th high school reunion is tomorrow!! I have helped with this reunion even though I live 1200 miles from home. Today's technology makes it so much easier...
I have spoken to many of my classmates on the phone during the last month and it has been wonderful - I went to school with good people. These conversations make it easier to miss the actual reunion - I've already re-uned... (not a word, I know).
I did make a doll that is going to attend. I still had my old pep club uniform in my cedar chest and even with lots of discouragement from friends I cut pieces out of the back of the vest and skirt and made my new doll, Nancy-Michelle-Christine, her own pep club uniform. She is already on her way to St. George via UPS. I didn't cut through the lining of the uniform so it still looks okay from the front....

Emmeline in her Gypsy Costume

This is my 2010 Gypsy Challenge doll.

This year's theme is "The Magical Gypsy Carnival"

I decided to have her going to a Halloween Carnival because I always dressed as a gypsy on Halloween when I was in elementary just like my brother was always a hobo. This was in the days before you could go to the store and buy a Halloween costume and we wouldn't have had the money anyway. I would wear a long skirt, my grandma's beads, and a head scarf with canning rings sewn on for earrings.

I loved being a gypsy just like Emmeline does. She is named for my sweet granddaughter, Emily.

Violet Dawn, a Purple Faerie

I finished my latest doll and she is at the fairground.

We had to submit fair entries this weekend and the fair doesn't start until August 26.

I hope someone is there watching the entries for the next two weeks...

My doll is named Violet Dawn, I just read a free book on Kindle called that and that seems to be her name although the book has nothing to do with faeries.

Violet is a purple faerie and she is my first fairy doll ever.

I really like her she is much nicer than I thought she would be. :)

In the pictures she looks bottom heavy but I don't think that she really is.

I entered a couple of photos in the fair but didn't get my crocheted squirrel finished.

It is really hot here this weekend, 95 degrees. But I am enjoying the sunshine we haven't had much this summer.

Just a quick update:

My doll for Dimensions in Dollmaking/Comic Con won a prize!! "Best Adaptation of a Pattern."
My Hoffman Challenge arrived a day late and didn't even make the traveling show. :(
I am working on a purple fairy for the Evergreen State Fair.

My 13 year old granddaughter and I took a little adventure/vacation last week.
We flew to Las Vegas, rented a car and drove to St. George UT then drove my parents to eastern Utah (Blanding) for my mother's family reunion. We had a great time and I got to show Alex the red sand/desert of my childhood including Lake Powell, Monument Valley, and more.

The picture above is of Alex and my parents as we were driving through Monument Valley.

My Hoffman Challenge Doll

I finished my doll for the Hoffman Challenge today. I brought her stuffed body parts to St. George with me. We enjoyed Michael's family reunion over the weekend but as soon as it turned midnight Sunday I started working on the doll. Mom came down and visited with me while I sewed on Monday and Mike hiked down to the Indian writing with Dani, Travas and family Tuesday while I sewed. I finally finished her and took her to the UPS store this afternoon to send her to Colorado.It was too late to send her today (the deadline is earlier here) and they wanted $91 to overnight her so I just paid for regular shipping and hopefully they will still accept her if she gets there too late.

She is Lady Lana a woman from Venus. I made her in memory of my cousin Lana who died last year. The doll is blue and I made her hair from Sulky thread which didn't turn out the way I'd hoped so I added braids which I do like. I didn't realize that I didn't get good pictures of her until after I'd mailed her so this is what I have.

Summer is finally here!!

Last Sunday the temperature didn't even get up to 60 degrees and then yesterday it was over 90. The weather up here in the Northwest always keeps us on our toes. It usually does stay below 80 in the summer so very few homes have any kind of cooling system. We have a few window air conditioners that have been helpful through the years.

We put the window air conditioner in the living room last night. The hydrangeas had grown so tall during the last year that we had to do some pruning to make room for it. So now I have a pretty bouquet on the table. We moved the birds in front of the fireplace, they'll miss the window but it's better than the stair landing where they had been living. And they'll be cooler too.

Hydrangeas are mostly blue up here because of the acid soil. The ones in the alkaline soils of my hometown are all pink. We bought a pink one to plant up here once, the first year it was purple and since then it has been blue too. The ones I trimmed are supposed to be blue they are Nikko Blue Hydrangeas and are one of my favorite flowers.

I'm almost finished with my doll for Comic Con-San Diego. I need to print a few pictures and tie down more of the props then she will be put in a box and begin her trip to San Diego.

Quilt top is finished - part 2

Here is a closer view of the quilt.

Here is a closeup of the fabric.

Last year's quilt. I really liked it. I hope that someone is enjoying it.

The Quilt Top is Finished

This has been a really rough week at our house.

My brother was lifeflighted to Salt Lake City from Cedar City with what they thought was a double aneurysm. It turned out to be bleeding in brain but from an old injury. He was just released from intensive care today and still has a long road of recovery ahead and maybe another surgery.

My mother-in-law fell in a parking lot three weeks ago and has gone downhill quickly since the fall. She is at my sister-in-law's home where Darlene and her wonderful husband, Gale are caring for her with the help of the wonderful hospice people. My mother-in-law had a good day today, was cognizant and took care of some of her own needs including dressing and feeding herself. Hopefully this is good news but just may be a one day thing. Only time will tell.

I finally finished my quilt top for the "Quilt for our Heroes" contest at Ben Franklin. I took the quilt in today and it will hang in the store for a month then it will be quilted and donated to a wounded soldier at Madigan Army Hospital. I did one last year too. I've decided that I will piece one quilt a year for this at least.

I am somewhat happy with the quilt. It has the required red, white and blue but I don't think I got the color value in the right order so the 3D doesn't show up the way that I'd hoped. I used a Kaye Wood wall hanging pattern and just kept going until it was a quilt...

Another Beginning

This new blog is to chronicle my little creations.
I enjoy making cloth art dolls. I also make a few quilts a year and enjoy weaving baskets especially out of the willow and red twig dogwood growing on our property.