Progress!

I've been working away at my special project, apart from a couple of trips to Hobart and a week away at music camp (which was awesome.......and I started learning the viola) Progress has been slow but steady because with the good weather we've been having, I'm spending more time in the garden, which is producing wonderfully at the moment. I'm also dealing with gluts as they occur.

Oh yes - I now also have a puppy - a beautiful kelpie girl called Maisie. She's a treasure, but what a time-waster!

So, back to the project: I've drafted a body pattern and made up the parts and tried everything together for size. So far so good. Of course, I had to make the legs and feet the right size to fit those beautiful little boots, while allowing a bit of room for the stockings I'm planning to knit. 

I underpainted the head with burnt umber acrylic paint, prior to the first layers of oil paint. Oil painting takes time and the way I do it, I like to work in multiple thin layers, with drying time in between. I'm reasonable happy with the head as it is, but I will probably add more to it as I look at it and think about what needs doing. Next step will be to assemble the doll and finish the lower limbs with size and paint. I will then be ready to give some serious thought to the clothing.

Cherry Pie!

This is "Cherry Pie" - she's the fourth doll made using the "Pipkin" pattern and mould. I've had this print fabric with cherries on a black and white gingham background for quite some time waiting for the right little person to come along......and she's it! So naturally, I had to make her a little basket for carrying her own sweet little cherry pie! Like all the others she has a jointed cloth body and a cloth over clay head. She is dressed in a simple cotton frock, with matching bloomers, knitted cardi, hat and socks and little handmade leather shoes. I have a kit for making this doll available in my Etsy store.