Dyna and Sadee go to Mardi Gras... 2014 Gypsy Challenge.

The 2014 Treasure of the Gypsy Challenge at the Houston International Quilt Show does not have a gypsy theme this year.
The theme is Mardi Gras.
There are a couple of ways to go with this theme. I chose to go with Fun...

Here are Dyna and Sadee. They are proof that you can have fun at any age:

Green and Purple look great on them and they have wonderful hats...

Dyna

Sadee

Here they are at all angles:

They can stand on their own although Dyna is a little top heavy but since they have to travel so far we added some stability

 Earlier I made and stuffed their bodies and sewed their pants and shirts but put them away and decided to concentrate on the Native American doll. Then the night before the deadline they decided they wanted to go to Houston too - they didn't have hair, faces or accessories. I stayed up all night and several hours the next day but got them mailed on time. My husband was shocked and pleased the next morning to meet them and their personalities.

They are on their way to Houston...

Celebration of the Doll Exhibit - Skye

I was pleased to be invited to show a doll in the Celebration of the Doll exhibit at the Houston International Quilt Show this year.
I thought about it for several months and I decided to make a large Native American doll in full pow wow regalia. I considered the fancy scarf dance but decided I wanted to make a Jingle Dress. I enjoyed researching and making the doll and regalia.

Here is Skye:

Skye is named for our angel granddaughter, Teagan Skye Walker.

Her feather fan is made from molted feathers from my sweet departed parrot, Nick.

The medallion on her dress, leggings, purse and hair is inspired by this necklace my husband gave his mother 45 years ago. 

The dress took a long time to make. All 200 cones had to be ties onto the little ribbons then glued and sewn onto the wider ribbon then onto the dress. My husband tied most of the cones to the ribbon. I really appreciate his help.

Here is a picture of Skye as I am sewing on her hair before her dress is even made:

And here is a close-up shot of her:

2014 Evergreen State Fair

This year's Evergreen State Fair went well. I thought I wouldn't have as many entries in the Food Preservation category because I hadn't done as much canning because I am serving a Family History mission for my church (LDS/Mormon) which takes a lot of time. But I was wrong...

All of my entries in the Baking Department did well:

I didn't make a new doll this year for the fair but entered my mermaid doll in a fish bowl with a story:

This is Arianna...I'm sure you've always thought it would be fun to have your own mermaid - especially a green mermaid like Arianna. But it isn't actually as fun as you might think. She doesn't seem pleased with anything we do for her. She has a lovely aquarium at home (this is her travel fish bowl) and we've filled it with seashells from the Atlantic to remind her of her home. And we even buy expensive frozen Mermaid food for her. She does sing for us but all of the songs are sad songs about lost love and faraway places. Lately she's been moping more than ever and she never even braids her hair anymore...

This year's theme was Animal Magnetism so I added some large farm animals that I ordered from Amazon.com to my dragon doll.

I took an online class through Doll Street Dreamers taught by Dawn M Schiller. This Pocket Fae is my first attempt to sculpt anything.

We entered photos, scarecrows, produce, and more:

And my name is engraved on the Pearl Hall trophy from last year:

Chienyi - Hoffman Challenge Doll 2014

In July 2014 I made and entered Chienyi in the 2014 Hoffman Challenge.
I made her in remembrance of the 230 School girls who were kidnapped from the Chibok Government Secondary School by Boko Haram Terrorists in Nigeria on 14 April 2014.. All 230 are still missing. #BringBackourGirls!
Here is a link to their Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/bringbackourgirls

The shawl is made from the Challenge fabric

Statement Banners

Chienyi is a Nigerian activist hoping to make a difference. 

Close-up shot of her face

Chenyi is ready for her head scarf/Gele

She needs a body... :)

 

Hope Earrings

I am proud that Chienyi made the Hoffman traveling group and is traveling in Trunk #C.

Little Turtle - My entry for the Cloth Baby and Child Doll Challenge 2014

I am a year behind with my cloth doll blog. So there will be several posts today...

This is my doll for the 2014 Cloth Baby & Child Doll Challenges!

I made her for the Child category.

This is Little Turtle.

She is a Pacific Northwest Native American doll.

Little Turtle is practicing the girls' shawl dance for the next local pow wow.

She loves to dance and is happy she has her own wool shawl like her mother's for the dance.

Little Turtle is made of suede cloth from Judi Ward's Bluette Manikin pattern. Her hair is a re-purposed Halloween wig. Her jeans are made of an old pair of mine, her tee shirt is cut from a larger white tee. She also has new wool dance slippers and a new wool shawl with salmon and sun appliques.

Little Turtle is based on the wonderful little girls I've seen dance with their mothers and the older girls in LaPush WA. at the Quilleute community hall.