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We went for a little drive to Prince Edward County yesterday - mostly to enjoy all the lilacs that grow there - but also to enjoy the shore of Lake Ontario. So I brought along a couple of dolls just in case an opportunity would present itself. Nowadays, with so many of them in my collection, I try not to play favourites, but just grab whomever is dressed appropriately for where I'm going. So Lonnie and Byuri came along...      I finally got to photographing the two ball gowns that I finished last week. They were designed to fit an Iplehouse EID with large chest, but they also fit my SID with large chest. I just laced the bodice up differently, so the back edges overlap instead of butt together. They are both made from the same sari. Only one dress has the black print, since it was just at one end of the sari.        When I was little we used to pretend that if we blew on the dandelions after they'd gone to seed, all the little fluffs would go flying off like tiny fairies. Well, all the carpets of yellow flowers are gone for another year, and all that's left are fields of fluff-balls everywhere. Some of the girls went out to "send off the fairies"....   Winston came along to watch....  The girls demonstrated how to blow....  Winston thought he'd give it a try....  Oooops!   Well, those fairies aren't going anywhere!  Later in the afternoon, Emily was all dressed up, having just come home from a birthday party, so we did a second photo shoot with the fairies, in a different spot this time....       When we were almost done, Elliot came to see what we were doing.....  This past weekend was the Victoria Day long weekend, and Jan and I went to Windsor to visit our daughter and her family. Ever since our new little granddaughter was born seven weeks ago, my son-in-law has been hinting that I should bring my dolls along for some fairy pictures with the baby. I don't usually like to take doll photos around people, especially family, but this was a special request, so I packed along all my small dolls that had fairy costumes. When I told my daughter that I'd brought my dolls along, she was very excited, so I figured I'd better just go ahead and do it. Their backyard backs into a forest space, and the woodpile under the honeysuckle bush seemed like a good place to set up. I'd brought along a basket for little Emily, and found a good sturdy spot for it, and positioned all the fairies around it. My camera was still in the house, so my son-in-law took it and snapped a photo of us setting up.  When we were all set, we placed Emily in the basket.....  ...and everyone took lots of photos....     It must have been comfortable, because she quickly dozed off....    This week has been very busy. We finally have 'spring' - for a few days at least. On the weekend we go straight into summer, and that means sewing the liners into my sleeping bags. It's too much trouble to make a proper bed in the RV every night, so I have two matching sleeping bags that get zipped to each other to form a nice big, comfy bed. Problem is, I hate the feel of flannel, so to make the sleeping bags more comfortable, I sew fresh sheets into them, with the longest stitch on Jan's old sewing machine, so they are relatively easy to remove for washing.....  I'm also working on the second of two ball gowns being made from the first sari. The two dresses, although similar, are also quite different due to the print of the sari. The first gown is red and black, while the second is the same red, but with emphasis on the yellow and blue flowers in the print. So, for the second gown I'm making fabric flowers for embellishment. I cut fabric circles, fold them in half, and gather along the outer curved edge of five to make a flower. The yellow and blue flowers are for the dress, and the red ones will be for the hair.....  And of course, no fancy gown would be complete without a nice necklace....  The necklace with the black and red beads is for the first gown, and the red and
green one will be for the second gown. Hopefully I'll have pictures next week. A few more photos of some of the kids outside with their toys. Coco went out to join them, but wasn't especially interested in the dolls and bears.    It was still a bit cool out, but with the violets starting to bloom, the girls wanted to take their dolls outside and have a tea party in the back garden....  Erzulie brought along her buggy with her porcelain doll...   On May 16th twenty six years ago today, we lost one of my favourite people - Jim Henson. So I thought I should take a new photo of my Jim Henson doll to commemorate the day. Surround him with some of his adoring fans, including two of the characters from his 'Storyteller' series; the Griffin who appeared in the opening sequence, and was a major character in the episode entitled 'The Luck Child'; the Storyteller's Dog; and Zoe from Sesame Street. Then add Winston for good measure, since it was Jim Henson and his magical creatures that were a major inspiration to me. Everyone is getting a lesson in puppetry....   He would have been eighty today. Who knows what other wonders he would have created, had he not died so young. *My Jim Henson figure was made in March 1991, as a tribute to Jim Henson. He was the first male head Marianne ever sculpted. She brought the head over on a Sunday afternoon, and I spent the rest of the day glueing on his hair and beard. I used little bits of mohair, synthetic hair, and real human hair, to give him that 'salt and pepper' look. Then I made his body, sculpted his hand (he only needed one) and shoes, knit him a sweater, and made Kermit. Jan made the director's chair.  |
AuthorMartha Boers is an award-winning Canadian doll maker and costumer specializing in fantasy and historical-style costumes. Archives
September 2024
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