What is it with Fall

I don't understand why it is that as the summer weather starts to wind down or should I say chill down that I find myself with the urge to pick up my yarns and needles again!
I mean most days it's still hot and sticky and the thought of hairy yarns on my lap makes me shudder but I do sort through my yarns and get them all organized and am usually inspired to create something new.

I learned to crochet a few months back so have been practising that usually with cotton but I made a monkey and lamb hat a few weeks ago. And after a sort and clean up of my yarn truck I was inspired to make this wonderful neckwarmer, scarf wrap. I never know what to call these things... they are so soft and warm and with the addition of some felted wool flowers truly wonderful!!
I couldn't help myself... I posted it in my shop and am making another one just for me!

This is my friend Kate modelling. Kate's a co-worker or should I say traitor. She's leaving our office to follow her career path and grow. Good for her, but I'll miss her like crazy and not just for the modelling!

Red Riding Hood Completed

I finally got her cookies made and that completes my Red Riding Hood.  Just need to post her in my shop.

Look good enough to eat.

Base for Red Riding Hood Art Doll

Only enough time this weekend to do the base. I still need something to put in Red`s basket. I looked for a little wicker basket, but couldn`t find anything appropriate in scale. I decided I could make one. I crocheted it from cotton and dyed it to look like wicker. I love the way it turned out once it was all shaped up and stiffened.

 The base is wood, with a hole drilled for the leg armature. I added paperclay, gesso, painted it in several coats of paint. Then I added the moss and rocks. Once it has all dried I will add a matte varnish and a felt bottom with my signature tag.

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Red Riding Hood finally gets some hair

This is the moment... When Red finally gets her hair. Will she look anything like what I envisioned?
 I start with some Tibetan Lamb in a lovely auburn colour. When I look back and think this must have been the plan in my mind because I actually already coloured her brows and bought brown organza ribbon for her eyelashes. Scroll down to see how I did the lashes. But first her hair!

I use either griip glue or contact cement. This time I'm using contact cement as it seems all my Griip is gone. Must order some more! I coat the head first and set it aside to dry. Then I cut tufts of the lamb, pull out any stray hairs and trim the ends so they're all the same on the glue side. While I pinch this in my fingers I add a bit of contact cement to both sides.

I used more tufts of hair than actually shown here.
I took a pic before I got my fingers too messy.

Once the glue has dried, I start applying to the head in small pieces, starting from the back.

The last bunch of hair is placed with the hairs standing straight up. Before I press into place, I gently separate the strands so they go in different directions, then gently press them into place. You don't want your glue to seep through so do this carefully and set aside. Once it's set up a bit more you can press again and then style.

 

Ta-da!

Not sure if I want to put it in a pony or not. But the Tibetan Lamb can be kind of flyaway, and it isn't quite long enough to braid. I've just tied it back in a ribbon for now.

Now onto to how I did the lashes.
Here's the ribbon and how I use it. I cut the side of of the ribbon  and gently pull the threads away that run lengthwise with a pin. then gently pull them out of the cut piece. I trim the ribbon closer to the edge actually so I'm only working with will actually be the lashes. I think you can get the idea from this demo pic.

Then I add a thin line of glue to the lash line and gently coax into place with tweezers and a pin. In this pic the lash just needs another little nudge.

Red's Cape and hair choices

 

After lunch Daisy and I had a walk in the park. She wanted to chase the ducks but it was time to go home and have a nice cold drink!

Wicked hot and sticky today! Not a good day to be in the studio but it's worse outside. I made Red's hooded cape, long train. I love the cinematography in the film and hope to capture some of that with this doll.

Now I'm pretty settled on what colour hair I want to use but here's a sampling of the colours and types I tried.

White blond too anemic

Yellow blonde, much better
but I think I want to go Auburn.

Too short and way too brassy!

The black is nice but a little stark,
not quite what I had in mind.

Yes, I think this is the one I like.

I'd love to know what you would pick. 

Too sticky to add hair today. Time for a nap.

Costuming Red Riding Hood

After my bad morning on Friday I left the doll alone in case I damaged her in the costuming process. Yesterday I started up again. I began with her bloomers. They're not very full, I didn't have much fabric, but with a little silk ribbon they do the trick. You can just see some white ribbon that I used to cover the join between sculpted leg and stuffing. 

 

Then I started her underskirt and over skirt. Both are done the same way just thin chiffon fabric. I also noticed I broke a finger somewhere along the way. (dang!!!) I found it so I'll be able to correct the problem, but I'll wait until I'm just about done with her.

I remembered I has some wonderful silk in a light grey blue that I thought would make a wonderful bodice to the dress. Testing the fit and pinning in place. With a little lace underneath for some trim to the edge. I like it.

  I needed to make release cuts under the arms so the bodice would fit properly. It was a tight fit under the arms. That's something that can happen with a bust and shoulder sculpt though. I need to watch for ways to correct this in the future. The arms less close to body perhaps.

. Next the sleeves. I made them rather full, intending to add lace and gather them up in a couple places.

This morning I attached them to the bodice and they cover some of the awardness at the underarm.

The bodice needs a little extra stuffing to fill it out better. I think.

Now onto shoes!! I draw a pattern of the sole of her foot, upper and sides. Don't forget I need a hole for the brass rod when I mark them left and right. Contact cement, while extremely stinky, is my best friend for this job.

 

A test fit on her stand and I can trim the excess sole away and press the sole firmly in place.

Not sure that I'll get more done on her today though. I'm puppy sitting and Daisy needs a walk and I could use some lunch.

More on Red Riding Hood

Still pretty hot and humid here in Toronto and it's raining today but I've taken a few days off for an extra long weekend to play in my studio and continue working on Red.
I've wrapped her body up in quilt batting and have wrapped that again with some cheesecloth.

Now I'm going through my fabric and leather stash to look for appropriate costume materials.

 I seem to be having a bad day though, with my laundry getting stuck in the washing machine and having to call the repair man. Things just aren't going my way. I may have to set her aside and continue tomorrow. I don't want to break something! YIKES!

Work on Red continues

We're in the midst of a heat wave, like much of the U.S. I guess, so I haven't been working on Red much. She's got some hands and feet, her armature has been added and her pose set with apoxie. I found a wood base and drilled a hole for the armature support. A brass rod runs through her left leg and out the bottom of her foot. I'm not sure if she'll have shoes or be barefoot so I sculpted the feet.

I've also done the face up. I use soft pastels for much of that and use a bit of acrylic for the stronger elements like her eyes. She still needs a varnish and some lashes. I usually paint them on but I think she needs a fine fringe of lashes. Still trying a few things out. Fake eyelashes don't do it for me.  I'm still not sure if she'll be blonde or brunette.

More on Red

Between work and the other bits of my life creeping in, it's been a busy week but I managed to squeeze in some time to get her bust and shoulders done, and some forearms. The bust looks small in this pic, think it's the angle. It's waif like, but not undersized.

Tonight I worked on her hands again, first two attempts.... too big, too small, more like a story of the three bears than little red riding hood, but finally I think I got them just the right size.
I then attached and blended them into the forearms and baked them. I find it easier to bake a forearm and then add a hand, other wise while I work on the hand the arms get soft and wobbly. This way I have a nice strong arm I can attach a hand to and get the movement at the wrist that I want.

I have feet waiting in the wings, but first I had to find the pose. You can't have flat feet on a moving pose it just looks weird.  I also will need to figure out what kind of base I want to use before I bake said feet. I might need to insert a brass rod. Well, I will most likely need to insert a brass rod, so I have one taped on for sturdiness in my armature until I decide what I want to use for a base. I just need to figure out what I'm going to do yet. But at least I can move on to the armature for the body and legs to find the pose.

hmm... do I have it yet? Not sure.  

Gotta find what I want for to use for my base. 

I think I needs to be a dirt path. 

But I must find some wood that will work and drill some holes for her armature.

Red: A work in progress

Since the movie released in March I haven't been able to get this idea our of my head. So I've finally started my version of Red Riding Hood. I hope I can capture the image I have in my head. I rarely start out with drawings, they never seem to capture what I have trapped in my thoughts anyways. I look for images of what I'm thinking I might want the expression to be, or the pose, and even the clothes and colours I want to use. I use them for inspiration while I work, they can be illustrations, photos, movie posters, etc.
So here is Red's head. So far. Might live with it for a while before I bake it. I take photos in different positions, by looking at the photos instead of the head, I may see things I haven't seen working so close to it.

I've decided to paint the eyes in, instead of using glass. I want her to be looking behind her and the glass eyes I have a flat back so that's not possible. They're the wrong size anyway. I want to work a bit smaller for this one as it will be a full body pose, full of movement I hope. I'm really hoping I can capture the fear. It's hard to tell until I start painting in the features. Anyway's, here's the progress pics so far.