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All the upheaval in the world right now is taking its toll. A side effect of all this is to put us in the position of living in the present, which is A Good Thing in the grand scheme. We are in another lockdown, which gives me plenty of reasons to spend my days in the studio making dolls. It gives me joy, and who doesn't need that in their lives?

At the end of 2021 I was keen to finish a lot of UFO's. I had completed a doll inspired by the portrait of Mademoiselle Riviere by Ingres, but she was not dressed. I made her undergarment, then her stockings, and researched chemisettes, because the dress I made was very plain. I love the ruffles on the chemisette I made. She is dressed now and only needs a stand so she can be displayed to advantage. It has been started, but I ran out of steam.




At the same time I got all excited about making my own design for a doll with a baseball head, or a ball head. There is a doll on the mollychicken blog that is adorable and I made a version for myself. Here she is in progress, in the company of Mlle. Riviere and the latest Izannah Walker.


 
I want to create my own original dolls, yet I very much enjoy the dolls I make in many different styles and materials, influenced by the work of other dollmakers, past and present. I decided that I would make another Izannah Walker type doll using the description Dixie Redmond gave in Art Doll Quarterly a few years ago. This time I would not agonize over getting her face to look like the originals, but go my own way. This doll has a sweet expression that has gone to my heart. She is getting a wardrobe! She has all her undies, a dress, an apron, a bonnet and cape. She is getting fitted for another dress, too. All this has involved a great deal of hand sewing, as well as research into cape patterns and bonnet tutorials. The cape was an opportunity to practice Slow Stitching. Very soothing!   This block of text refuses to go back to Arial plain! Sorry!




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