Ned of the Navy - Male Doll Challenge

This is Ned of the Navy. He was my entry for the "Man of a Decade" male cloth doll challenge at dollnet.com .

Here is his backstory:

He is a young man of the 1940s. At 17 in 1945 Ned dropped out of high school and joined the Navy. The war ended when he was in basic training so his aircraft carrier was refitted to transport the troops home. (His story is my Dad's and he is named for a friend who served in Vietnam.)

This year's Gypsy Doll Challenge's theme is "The Renaissance Gypsy".

I made a guy this year. He is now in Houston waiting for the show which is the first week of November.

He is the gypsy prince, Aden with his pony, Dawn Treader.

I sent the name, Dawn Treader, in with my insurance paper last summer but since that time I read a series of books with a Gypsy prince named Aden as a minor character so the pony became my Dawn Treader.

I used the "Dude for All Seasons" pattern by by Mary Ann Kaahanui and Bonnie B. Lewis for Aden and the horse from Susan Barmor's pattern, "Joeiel."

I didn't shrink the "Dude" pattern enough so the perspective is off but I love the pony even if he is too small. I'd never made a painted cloth animal before and I had fun.

I got carried away and even made sculpey arrowheads to make my own arrows.

I only make five or six dolls a year though so I had fun and I am always learning so much.

Dolls I've made so far in 2011

I haven't been on here since last October. I haven't made many dolls since then but here is what I've made so far...

I made baby Easter Lilly for the babydoll challenge at FOCD this year. I crocheted her dress, booties and headband flower, this was a first for me. I also wove her little Easter basket.

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I used the same Darlene Rausch pattern from Soft Dolls and Animals magazine to make Riley for the Cloth Doll Artistry Baby Doll Studio Nursery Rhyme Challenge. He has a bit of an attitude...

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In July I made a doll for the Hoffman Challenge. I made a pretty fairy doll named Ariana. She didn't get packed right or her base was too heavy because she didn't arrive in the best of shape. I have fixed her wing and hair and she is sitting up straight again.

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The doll I made for this year's Evergreen State Fair in Monroe WA (the closest town to us) is Hope. She is a pioneer doll, I made her clothing from leftover fabric from Alex's trek costume.

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I now need to get busy and make my doll for this year's Gypsy Challenge. This year's theme is "Renaissance Gypsy".

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.