"Do Less, Be More"

I was reading over at Nesting Place about what she's not going to do for Christmas. "Do Less, Be More", says she. I liked the idea very much - the idea of choosing simplicity in this very busy season. Her post is encouraging. You should read it. I especially liked her reason for why she doesn't have a nativity set....

Izannah Walker Workshop Update

In later December, my Izannah Walker type pattern will be ready for release. Then in January, I will be offering a workshop for those who would like an in depth tutorial on making the pattern. If you'd like to see an example of the detailed tutorials, then click here to view my hand tutorial.

One of the fun things about developing a pattern is getting all those doll bodies out of the process! I really enjoy drawing faces on the dolls - even if I'm going to gesso over it or add paperclay to it. You can get particularly silly with it if you know it's going to be covered. Hence the one with the moustache. I'm on my 10th head prototype and I'm pretty close with one of them for what I'm shooting for. What fun!

If you'd like to take the Workshop in January, email me and I'll put your name on my Izannah Walker Workshop contact list. Thanks for stopping by! ~ Dixie

What to Think About

Each day we have a choice to make. We can dwell on the bad things that have happened, or we can focus on the good things. In preparing an Izannah Fashion Show for the Izannah Walker Dolls group on ning, I found an Izannah Walker Doll picture that R. John Wright shared a little over a year ago...it reminded me of acts of kindness and the power they have. And how they can keep on giving. Because his act of kindness set off a little chain reaction of joy in my house. What a great thing for me to remember on this day!

Worth Thinking About

You cannot hope
to build a better world
without improving individuals.

- Marie Curie, Nobel winning chemist

Edyth's Brown Dress

The amazing thing about the internet is that I have friends I've never met. :-) Edyth O'Neill is such a friend - she sent me a box of stuff a couple of weeks ago, and in the box was an antique dress for me to study and make a pattern from and then return to her. This was challenging to do as I didn't want to use any pins. Edyth also sent me a similar dress to keep and an antique paper doll, and a lovely pottery frame to put a picture of my Queen Anne painting in. Edyth's doll Ursula had been wearing the brown dress.


The opportunity to look at this old dress was so fun for me. As I usually do, I took loads of pictures so that I could refer to them later when I make the dress up. If you are an antique clothing buff/expert, I welcome any feedback you have about the dress and it's age. It is a fairly basic princess seamed dress style. My guess after looking at the online collections at Wisconsin History.org is that it's from the 1870's. The brown dress seems to be constructed by machine, but there is also a lot of hand sewing in it's construction. The seams have a kind of twill tape which was attached at the time the seams were sewn. I'm assuming this was done to give stability to the curved seams.

The twill tape was basted to the outer part
of both sections jointed together
and then pressed to the side.

The charm of the dress
is the simple style,
and it shows how applied trim
can transform a basic dress.
There are bias tape bands
sewn at the hem
of the skirt and the sleeves.

There is shark's tooth trim at the neck,
and the buttonholes are done by hand.

I welcome any feedback you have
about the dress and it's age.

Making Christmas Ornaments

Vintage Ornament
from Granddad's House

Some of my favorite Christmas ornaments are those I've made myself or ornaments which hold some nostalgia, such as the Made in Japan Santa above. My first year out on my own after college, I had no money to buy ornaments so I made ornaments out of cornstarch dough and cinnamon dough. I cut the dough into shapes using cookie cutters and painted all the ornaments red or white. It was a very simple tree, but one of my favorite trees. And the beauty of making cornstarch or cinnamon dough is that it's a great project to do with kids of all ages.

An artsy group I'm in recently had a discussion about making Spun Cotton Ornaments. I've never made one, but they are adorable and oh-so-vintage looking. Old ones are highly collectible. I've never made one, but the supplies at this shop make it look very fun. Sarah Neuberger has a fun Snowman Sled tutorial here that is a spin-off (yuck-yuck) of making spun cotton ornaments. Visit Sarah's blog - she has many tutorials listed there.

The group also discussed making Batting Ornaments. If you're interested in trying it there's a tutorial by Lucy Webber in this video on Youtube. Lucy also sells batting ornaments she makes at her site.

What are your favorite ornaments to make?

Eat Your Frog

Start your day by eating a frog??? Really??? Well, if you read this article you will understand what the phrase means. The article is on a 'momming" site, but really the principle applies to anyone who wants to increase their productivity. That would be me. Is it you?

Worth Thinking About and Doing...

We cannot do everything at once,
but we can do something at once.

Calvin Coolidge

I've been rearranging things here on my site - adding buttons for items available for sale - art, patterns, classes, etc. See the buttons at left? They will take you to different categories. Now to fill them up with art and stuff. I have a couple of paintings which I will be listing in the next day or so. Under Sundries I will be listing great stuff I've decided I don't need to keep. If you're an artist/doll maker you'll want to keep your eye there for books and supplies.

Links I like are now on a separate page. So click on "linkalicious" in the horizontal navigation bar at top and you will find a whole lot of fun there. I'm focusing right now on getting organized in life, so there are lots of organization links there....one of my favorites is Simple Mom. There is also a section for tutorials which is fun to check out.

Works in Progress

The above doll is made from
my new Izannah inspired pattern.
She is painted with oils for the final painting.
I really like her scuffed and old look.

All the prototypes
are becoming different creations,
which is kind of fun.

I've finished the doll in red!

A Piece of My Life 2

It's not autism awareness month, but we are still aware of autism in our house, to be sure!

A Piece of My Life popped up in the links below one of my newer posts. I read the post again, which is about autism, and see that a huge piece was missing in the write-up about autism, and that was how my husband worked together step by step. I had written it from my own point of view, and because my husband is a private guy, and I don't usually write about him. It doesn't mean I don't have a lot to say, though!

When you get married you have no idea some of the struggles you will face in the future. You're young, and you figure you'll face it together. I'm thankful to say, that's been true for us, but it hasn't always been easy. In the early years after our son was diagnosed with autism, we were both so exhausted it was hard to get regular life done. My husband would come home after work at night, I would (sometimes) give him a kiss or a wave and then out the door I would go. We were kind of like wrestling tag team partners - not in the ring at the same time - but oh so dependent on the other's strength. I don't know how parents who are single raise a child with autism. I know I couldn't be the mother I want to be if it weren't for my husband. The old fashioned term "helpmeet" is applicable in our relationship. We help one another, and rely on each other. (U-huh!). He is a great husband and a great father!

Work in Progress

I've been working on a companion doll
for the larger doll I'm finishing up tonight.
The spool of thread gives a hint of her scale.
She has very large ears.

Links I Like

A while ago I decided to shift the links to other artists, sites, etc. to another blog called Links I Like, as it was getting kind of crowded looking on this page. While searching for some solutions to templates, etc. I found a great site called Tricks for New Bloggers. So I've on the page I have a section called "Blog Spice" which has some great sites with tutorials for making changes that work for you on your site. If you want to spice up your blog, check out my Links I Like page. There's a lot more there that's interesting if you're an artist so have fun.

One Person's Plan....

There has been a conversation on the Vintage Cloth Dollmaking list about making shoulderheads. I mentioned that I had a way to make shoulderheads I discovered my accident, and Mary N. said that my accident was her plan. ;-) Isn't that funny? Another discussion with Mary was about fabric choices and we were getting practically giddy. I said, "Isn't it great that we can get excited about fabric and twine?" It really is true. It's the simple things that really bring joy in life.

Above is one of my experiments. I lost the head (yes indeed, I lost my head) to one of the smaller dolls I was working on so am beginning again on a companion for the larger doll at the top of this post. Experimenting is fun!

Squirrel Taking Over My Sewing Room?

I was talking with a photographer friend and said, "I need to go down and see what's been going on in my creativity zone." As if anything would be happening if I weren't doing something. But when I went down to my sewing room and saw all kinds of my old drawings had fallen off a tall bookshelf onto my sewing table I thought something was up. My sewing room does not look like this right now. It's an old picture. Anyway, when I looked on the floor I saw a small acorn on the ground which had been cracked. Do you think we have a friendly squirrel there? Yikes. OTOH, maybe the squirrel will be more productive than I have lately. It needs a visit from Clean Sweep. But when it's cleaned up it's a very nice place to create on a cold winter day. :-)