Indy Cloth Dollmakers

In Memoriam

2012-01-19T21:42:00.000-05:00

Our friend and club member Bonnie passed away yesterday.
We will miss her, and remember her always.

Round Robin Doll links

2012-01-16T20:58:00.000-05:00

Happy January, everyone!

We will be starting a new Round Robin Doll this month, and since I won't have any pictures to post until after our meeting, I found some links to what other doll clubs have done with their round robins.

Romona of Northbrook Designs posted this from her club's project last spring. Her club uses a very similar process to ours.

Here is a cool article titled 'Making Art Dolls in the Playroom of Life' from a small-town newspaper in Washington state in 2010.

Lucy Landry posted her Folk in Fabric club's round robin here.

And finally, a fabulous artist named Erica in Sydney, Australia posted a lovely long bit about her turn, complete with art journal and gorgeous pictures. (Can you tell I enjoyed her blog?) Click here, and stay to check out her recent stuff, too!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T22:22:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas! Joy and peaceful holidays to all of our members, and to all of our readers and followers who keep up with our little blog.

Christmas is about so much more than presents, but thoughtful gifts are such a fun part of the season. Above is the 'before' picture of the presents in the gift exchange during our club's yearly Christmas party. And below is the 'after' picture, after we opened them all!

We found ribbons and lace, fabric and supplies, books and patterns, vintage dolls and handmade needlebooks. Everyone put so much care into the presents they brought, and we all left very happy with what we received in return.

Being a party, we obviously had delicious food, too. However, the photographer was much too busy snacking, and got no pictures at all of the feast. Happy Holidays, everybody!

2011 Show and Sale, part 2

2011-12-05T22:18:00.001-05:00

So, we are continuing our tour around the display table at our 9th Annual Show and Sale. In the center of the picture are two dolls from last year's White-on-White or Black-on-Black Challenge.

Lady Gaga by Mary McNeely and
Percival Poulet by Julie Gausvik

Next, seated on the leafy vine (sculpted from wire and Apoxie Sculpt), is the original GwynnEllen doll that Leslie taught in the fall of 2010. The lady in blue with the pink headdress is Gabby's Night Out, created by Nita from a Jill Maas pattern. Martha made the green and peach doll seated on the wooden box -- the green body fabric is a polka-dot print, and each dot is covered with concentric circles of beads!

dolls by Leslie, Nita, and Martha

Continuing around the corner, we find another nativity set by Sandy. The polymer faces are set in silver spoons, and the robes are made of painted, embellished Tyvek.

Nativity, original design by Sandy Wildman

Next are two dolls by Katie Jones -- the tall one is a wrapped wire armature as taught by Ray Slater, and the other is from her class with Leta Benedict at AFIC last spring. The matroyshka doll is a collaboration between Leslie and her granddaughter Rebecca, and is the first doll Rebecca has made.

The very friendly-looking dog is a sleeve puppet (like a sock puppet, but different) with needle-felted eyes and features. He was taught at another AFIC class, this one by Esther Bechler.

Brody by Andrea Baughman

The last dolls on the table are the smallest dolls in the display; 6-inch dolls designed to teach the basics of dollmaking to a beginner class.

Betsy, Bitty, and Betty by Andrea Baughman

From the smallest to the tallest -- at 4 feet tall, these members of Sandy's most recent nativity did not fit on the display table, and in fact, only three pieces would fit in her tiny Miata to travel to the show. Sandy created an entire breast cancer nativity, complete with wise men and a camel. The scene below depicts an angel bringing a new prosthetic breast to Mary.

And last but not least, our People's Choice table, with all nine of this year's challenge dolls. The next post will have the results of the challenge judging.

Thanks again to everybody who came to our doll show. It was a wonderful day, and we truly enjoyed the opportunity to share our love of art dolls with all of you.

2011 Show and Sale, part 1

2011-11-24T13:26:00.001-05:00

We had an amazing turnout for our 9th Show and Sale this year! We all agreed it was our biggest crowd ever. Thank you so much to everybody who came, and to all of the dollmakers who worked so hard to put it all together. Now let's look at some pictures...

Indy Cloth Dollmakers
9th Annual Show and Sale 2011

We'll just start at this end and walk around the table. On the corner are two very cute Allison Marano pixies by Nita Butler.

Gillie Gherkin and Ivy

Above them you'll see Nita's Sherry Goshen doll, and a GwynnEllen fairy made by Katie Jones. Katie's Aquarius doll is in the foreground; her full-length view is in the next photo.

N'Ambessa by Andrea Baughman was started in Leta Benedict's Bastet class at AFIC last spring. (Her name comes from the Ethiopian word for lioness.) Next to her is Dande's Dance by Katie Jones. And beyond her, in blue, is Katie's doll Aquarius the Water Bearer, from our Zodiac Challenge with the River City Guild last May.

A lion woman and a dandelion woman

Next is one of Sandy Wildman's nativities, from a pattern by Barbara Shoenoff. This is the first of four nativities that Sandy brought to display this year.

Nativity by Sandy Wildman

Her second, smaller nativity is made of painted gourds -- you can see them to the right of the seahorse, made by Erin Fry.

Weighing the Possibilities by Julie Gausvik and Lorena by Leslie Wright

Leslie's original doll Lorena is seated on Ann Reddick's hand-pieced diamond quilt. Leslie also brought a photo album of the Izannah Walker-style dolls she created for her antique doll club.

display table and Annie Hesse workshop dolls

We've walked around the first half of the display table so far. We'll finish our tour in the next post!

P.S. This is our 50th blog post -- I'm glad we have such a great event to share on such a momentous occasion!

TV interview with Katie and Martha

2011-11-21T22:55:00.000-05:00

Indy Cloth Dollmakers: wishtv.com

This is the tv spot that two of our members did with Indy Style on Channel 8's morning show to promote our club and the doll show. Great job, Martha and Katie! (Also, a small hooray for your humble blogger who figured out how to embed things.)

Challenge dolls!

2011-11-06T12:00:00.000-05:00

As promised...
Here all all nine entries in this year's Fassett Fabric Challenge, so named for the Kaffe Fassett 'Radiation' fabric that was chosen for the dolls to use. We're not putting the dollmakers' names on them at this point, since we want them to remain anonymous until the People's Choice judging during our show and sale on November 19th.

Poppie

Fidel (rhymes with idle)

The Frustration of Challenge

Rosie the Raggedy

Greater-Crested Ruby-Throated Dream Chaser

Dream Chaser, close-up of her face

Ayanna

Gilda Gardenia

Radiate

Abigail Bubbles

Look for a poll at the top of the right sidebar. We'll try an online People's Choice this year, too, in addition to the voting at the doll show. This is the best turnout of challenge dolls we've ever had, and we are very proud of all our members who created something with this very challenging fabric!

Goodman Jeweler's featured artist of the month!

2011-10-22T19:33:00.000-04:00

Just a reminder that our club is this month's featured artist at Robert Goodman Jewelers in quaint downtown Zionsville.

Dolls on the walls!
Dolls by Katie, Martha, and Julie G.

As you can see, we've got a lovely layout, with an excellent view of all the comings and goings.

Our dolls look very classy next to all the elegant jewelry on display. Of course, Martha's dolls usually wear some pretty nice jewels, too.

We've even gotten into the holiday spirit. Nita's little witch is just one of the beautiful dolls who will be on display and for sale until the end of October.

Busy month of October

2011-10-19T22:31:00.000-04:00

The end of the year sees us picking up the pace, and finished dolls are trickling in as we prepare for our fabulous Show and Sale next month! We had two dolls to share besides the Challenge dolls, which will get their own post very soon!

First is Andrea's, who brought her flower-themed doll Posie from last spring's Annie Hesse workshop. As usual, her doll was made in a slightly smaller scale than the original pattern called for. Her skirt is made of innumerable yards of ribbons and lace., and she has beaded elbows, too.

Posie, by Andrea B., from a pattern by Annie Hesse

a closer view of her beaded face

Julie G. brought a new dollie, too. She knit the Miranda pattern from Fiona MacDonald's book Babes in the Wool.

Miranda by Julie G., from a pattern by Fiona MacDonald

The textures on this doll are wonderful. The different yarns are very touchable, and the button belt is playful and musically clink-y. Her hair came complete with wild dye job, since it started life as a hair extension for big people.

Check back soon for pictures of all 9 (yes, 9!) of this year's challenge dolls!

September show and tell

2011-09-21T18:25:00.000-04:00

So here's the stuff from our very fun September meeting -- show and tell is always the best! Katie has once again brought a stunning, original, finished creation to share. This one is a tassel doll named Gorgeous Greta.

The base of this doll is a beautiful antique tassel. Her head, hands, and feet are sculpted by Katie from polymer clay, in scale to match the tassel. Her hat and stole are real fur, darling, and she has a beaded purse to die for.

Also, check out her shoes!!! These beaded sandals are just amazing. Please visit Katie's blog to see more in-progress pics.

Next up is Martha, who brought her finished doll from Leslie's GwynnEllen class last fall. Her name is She Sells Seashells. Martha has a small fondness for beads, so please note the beaded seaweed fringe, as well as the individual beads on her stockings -- very sparkly.

Martha also brought a few of the scarves she has been knitting in all her spare time. It turns out that sock yarn is good for more than just socks. Look for some of these scarves for sale at our November show.

And lastly, Andrea brought a sample of the little cloth doll she will be teaching next weekend as part of the State Museum's annual 'Stitch In Time' series of fiber art workshops.

Don't forget that our Fassett Fabric Challenge Dolls are due next month!

It's the end of August

2011-08-31T23:21:00.000-04:00

On August 20th, the Indy Cloth Dollmakers participated in WAMM Fest, an outdoor art fair in Greenwood, Indiana. Check out our tent!

The sky was grey, but the weather stayed warm and dry. Katie, Nita, Julie, and Martha brought most of the dolls, and put in an absolute ton of work to make the day a success. We met a lot of talented people, including some potential new dollmakers and at least one new teacher.

We also came away with lots of ideas about displaying our work at the next event. We will definitely add some hanging displays from the roofline next year (look at all that extra space above the dolls!), and we would like a banner to go across the front of the tent.

Below you will see a photo collage that Erin sent. She offered to send each picture separately, but it looked so good all together that I just left it as it is. Also, you should go see Erin's new blog at http://littlelottohandmade.blogspot.com/!

If we met you at the festival, we would love to see you at our September meeting. Click on the Meeting Topics tab at the top to see what we're doing, and the Club Info tab to find place and time.

No meeting in August -- going to the Art Fair!

2011-08-06T22:10:00.011-04:00

Just a reminder -- we will NOT have a regular meeting this month.

Instead, we will have a tent at the

Wine, Art, Music, and Microbrew Festival

in Greenwood, Indiana

on Saturday, August 20th.

Click this link to learn more about WAMM Fest!

We will be one of about 50 artists, mostly local.

The art ranges from pottery and photography

to glasswork and jewelry to book binding and metalwork

and, of course, dolls!

And as the name says, there will also be wine

(from some very well known local wineries!), and food, and song.

The entire festival is a charitable fundraiser, so there is an admission fee of $10, but all the proceeds go to local charities.

Check out the map link here, with parking info: Craig Park in Greenwood

See you there!

July 2011 Show and Tell

2011-07-27T22:31:00.002-04:00

We had some very nice show-and-tell dolls for our July meeting. The showstopper was undoubtedly Katie's finished class doll from AFIC; her Vivian's Masquerade, started in Leta Benedict's class. Katie's version is a little more colorful than the original, done in bright sky blue and apple green with touches of golden brown. Her hat is made of polar fleece, and her mask is paperclay.

Vivian's Masquerade by Katie Jones

Martha brought a work-in-progress -- an embellished flat doll from a Loralie fabric panel. She is adding beads all over, including tiny ones on the sleeves, and the effect is really sparkly and elegant. Unfortunately, this particular fabric doesn't seem to be made anymore, but the designer's distinctive, feminine style shows in her other patterns, too. Click on the "Loralie" link above to go to her shop!

Our last offering is a labor of love, for a video-gaming husband who had no childhood toys to share with his new baby. Vault Boy is a mascot from the retro-futuristic world of Fallout. Erin created this happy thumbs-up guy, complete with embroidered smile, from soft and huggable polar fleece.

In other news, Erin and husband will look into making screenprinted t-shirts with our club logo for club members! They are still working out details, but Erin will let us know when we can bring our own shirts to be printed, and how much it will cost.

Our official meeting topic was a discussion of doll joints, with examples of lots of different ways to make knees for our dolls (and hips, and shoulders, and wrists...).

bead joints, tab joints, and button gussets

We also discussed the continuing awesomeness of Susanna Oroyan's books, and how much we have learned from Judi Ward. Here's a link to Judi's Invisible Jointing Video on YouTube.

Don't forget, there will be no regular August meeting. We will be at the outdoor art fair WAMM Fest in Greenwood, instead!

Bea's Baby Shower!

2011-06-24T13:09:00.006-04:00

We celebrated our newest honorary member -- Beatrice, daughter of our vice-president Erin -- at our June meeting with a tea party and baby shower. Being only three months old, the guest of honor slept through part of the meeting...

and was not allowed to eat any of the cake...

but she did get lots of presents!

We also had a very relaxed ordinary meeting with show and tell and such. Finished projects are trickling in, as Mary got her groovy tie-dye etui done

and Julie G. brought her finsished Annie Hesse doll, complete with arms sewn on and everything.

Ann Reddick brought her not-very-old antique shop find: two Palmer Cox Brownie dolls that were made in the 1990s. The Brownies themselves were illustrated characters who appeared in stories and advertising from the late 1800s into the early 20th century.

And Andrea brought a sample of the doll she will be teaching at the State Museum in September.

We even managed to fit in some new business, between the tea and the crumpets. Katie found us another outdoor art fair to participate in, since we were sad to learn that Irvington's Walk in the Park will not be held this summer. We are applying to be one of the juried artists in the 3rd Annual Greenwood WAMMFest. WAMM stands for Wine, Art, Music, and Microbrews, so a pretty fine time should be had by all. That would happen in August, so make stuff to sell!

10th Annual joint luncheon with River City

2011-05-29T11:04:00.000-04:00

For our May meeting, we traveled to Batesville, Indiana, which is about half-way between Indianapolis and Cincinnati, for our annual (and much anticipated!) joint meeting with the River City Figurative Artists' Guild. We determined that we have been breaking bread together since 2001, which made this fancy luncheon our 10th. (The meeting was made even fancier by a visit from the Fancy Nancy tea party next door -- four- to seven-year-olds decked out in tiaras and tutus and other such fancifulness!)

The first order of business, obviously, was ordering the food while dolls looked on from both ends of the room.

The Sherman House staff took very good care of us.

After catching up on all the news from both groups, we introduced our challenge dolls. Every year, one club will challenge the other to create dolls based on a theme.

The 2011 Challenge theme was the Zodiac -- create a doll based on an astrological sign.

This year we decided that we needed prizes, so we each cast a ballot for our favorite. The voting was almost evenly balanced between four of the seven dolls.

Pisces by Jude Hernly, Scorpio (pin doll) by Liz Marten, Aries by Cody Goodin, and Aquarius by Katie Jones

Aries by Mary McNeely, Cancer by Martha Jungclaus, and Leo by Andrea Baughman

With a very close tally, Martha's 'Cancer' doll won the ribbon by one vote. She was perfectly executed, and really showed off the water sign's attributes with her sea-green costume accented with silver and pearls.

After the challenge came show and tell! We all brought dolls from recent classes to discuss.

Below is a close-up of the middle of the table, showing off several of Liz Marten's dolls from AFIC classes with Monika Shedden and Leta Benedict.

The picture frame laying flat holds a fabulous beaded face made by Martha J., who has been applying what she learned in Annie Hesse's class to create a beautifully shaded realistic face with bead-loop fringed hair.

The next picture below shows more dolls along the back of the show-and-tell table, including Kathryn Walmsley's wonderful 'Sing a Song of Sixpence' piece from her nursery rhyme series. Kathryn lives nearby, and so comes to hang out with us when we meet in Batesville as 'a friend of the club(s)'. She is very gracious and let us play with the hand crank on the table that moves the blackbirds up and down.

After show and tell, we traded pin dolls (which I have no pictures of whatsoever!) and gift bags, and received our Challenge for next year. River City has challenged us to create a Recycled Doll -- made of reused items or materials -- for May of 2012.

Winning Awards at AFIC

2011-05-14T23:24:00.002-04:00

A little more catch-up from AFIC: after the banquet, there were dolls -- lots and lots of dolls! (Which was kind of the point of the whole enterprise...)

In addition to making new dolls in wonderful classes with amazing teachers, we also got to show off our previous creations, both singly and as a group. Cyndy and her set-up crew gave our doll club display a really fantastic space. It did make all the work of schlepping them there in boxes and suitcases very worthwhile. They also let us put our club sign and some flyers with our display, which was much appreciated.

Indy Cloth Dollmakers display at AFIC
Dolls by: Jude, Mary, MaryJane, Nita, Julie G., Erin, Andrea, Ann R., Leslie, and Katie

There was also a challenge, called "Look Ma! No Stand", and two of our members entered their dolls. Denise brought Blu, made from Allison Marano's Gwendolyn pattern. Blu was chosen as the 1st place winner among the pattern dolls! (There was also a category for original designs.)

Blu by Denise Dodd

Our other challenge entry was from Leslie, who entered her original fairy and won the People's Choice Award! Instead of a doll stand, her doll is seated on a vine made of Apoxie Sculpt and wire.

GwynnEllen by Leslie Wright

And finally, because finishing a doll is almost as good as winning an award for it, honorable mention goes to Barbara, who finished her puppet from Esther Becher's class while actually still in the classroom!

Barbara Schoenoff and her Fellow of the Felted Sleeve

We are very proud of our talented dollmakers, and we are forever grateful to Cyndy Sieving and her family and friends for putting on such an amazing convention!!!

The Most Wonderful Time at AFIC

2011-05-09T22:17:00.000-04:00

We cannot say enough good things about AFIC, which makes us just like everybody else who went! Seven of us, all told, made the trip to Columbus, Ohio for the convention. Our far-flung members from southern Indiana and Illinois came too, and it was delightful to get to hang out with Denise and Barbara and Liz -- we don't see them nearly often enough.

Here's our 'local group' at the Hat and Heels Banquet on Thursday night, wearing very sedate and tasteful chapeaus. Leslie won an award for the unique placement of her heels (no way was she putting them on her feet!).

Leslie, Katie, Andrea, and Jude

We also had a great time with the planned entertainment of the evening, which was to sew a dolly outfit in as confused and unorganized manner as possible, very quickly. (Disclaimer: the event was planned very well -- all confusion was solely due to the participants!)

Hard at work

Working on Denise's idea: turn hair scrunchies into fashionable footwear.

Sewing so fast the fabric is a blur!

After not nearly enough time, and a rule change or two, we created this little lovely. Our table CEO, teacher Patti LaValley invented a utterly impromptu story about our blue-haired granny, wearing her fuzzy slippers and her so-old-it's-retro ball fringe skirt while rocking her grandbaby.

Fortunately, the rest of our creations in all of the fabulous classes came out with a little more style! Check back soon for more.

The Lady Gaga edition of cloth doll show and tell

2011-04-23T12:20:00.004-04:00

So our April meeting last week was packed absolutely full, with tons of show and tell, plus a swap meet, plus a photographer and a light tent to play with. Altogether it will take two or three posts to share it all! (We could actually have used two or three meetings to share it all, too, come to think of it.)

This post will feature an over-the-top original creation by Mary McNeely. The doll was originally designed as an entry in the Black-on-Black Challenge last October. Lady Gaga, for those who don't know, is a singer/songwriter who is also known for her edgy fashion style and her nearly impossible shoes.

Lady Gaga by Mary McNeely

A closeup of her fabulous eyelashes, as well as her button eyes, embroidered mouth, and star earrings

The pleather Lobster Boots (!), with chain loops above and beaded heels below

The "Bad Romance" pose

The next posts will have to wait until after AFIC -- five of us are going to attend the convention (and are sewing like mad to finish our homework!!!), and a few more are driving over just to see the exhibits, which will include our own club exhibit along with all the other fabulous dolls. And vendors. And more dolls. And then some more shopping. And probably even more dolls after that!

March 2011 meeting

2011-04-01T22:06:00.080-04:00

We should go back and catch up with the March meeting from the 19th, which took place before our weekend workshop with Annie. We started the felt etuis (see this post from March 9th) and had a pretty good time with them. Here's the first finished one, in cheerful, spring-y colors!

Ann R. has the first finished sewing kit from our March meeting!

Inside and outside are equally pretty

We also had some small but sweet dolls for show-and-tell. The first is a special doll that Mary made to remember a friend who would ride her bike in astounding outfits, including this red tutu with zebra leggings!

Mary McNeely's Wild Woman tribute to Pansy

Nita brought two new dollies, including this original sweetie made in bright colors to chase away the winter blues.

The appropriately named Sunny! Designed by Nita B.

Nita also brought Olivia, shown below in beautiful lace with a delicately drawn face. Olivia was made from a Miriam Gourley pattern.

That should hold us for a while! Don't forget to bring 'stuff' to swap at the April meeting swap meet.

Beaded Faces from Annie Hesse's class

2011-03-29T15:07:00.001-04:00

Well, it has been a long time since the last post, due to the icky flu and other life complications, like trying to do homework for upcoming doll classes, and there are probably other things I should post first, but... we have fabulous pictures from our Annie Hesse workshop this weekend!

faces by Julie G., Bonnie, and Lynn

We just had Annie here for a 2-day workshop, and everybody finished the beaded face in class (although there may have been some midnight oil burning too!). Most of us also got most if not all of the doll finished as well.

faces by Leslie, Martha, and Andrea

Annie taught a seated variation of her Spirit Walker doll; the doll is named Garden Party and has wonderfully extravagant ribbon skirts! She had nice patterns printed up for us, but they are not up on her website yet.

faces by Nita and Liz

Many of the dolls were still armless at picture time, but Ann R. got her doll's arms attached in time to hold Barbara's beautiful-but-bodiless face for the group portrait!

faces by Mary Jane, Ann R., and Barbara

Annie was a great teacher, and we all had a really wonderful time with her! She had traveled directly from teaching her Raggedy doll in Detroit (we should have asked her the name of the group there) to teaching in Indianapolis. Even doing two different dolls in two cities in 5 days, she was totally organized. AND, she remembered every person who had been in a class with her before, and asked about family members and projects and was just super to hang out with.

Project for the March 2011 meeting

2011-03-09T21:37:00.001-05:00

You asked for it, you got it! After seeing one of these cute etuis (by Willow Hill Quilts), there were several requests, so the meeting in March will feature this very useful little sewing kit. Below are pictures of the ones that Andrea and her mother Dale made, so you can see what we will be doing. The finished size is about 5 inches tall, and 8 inches wide when open. The supply list was sent out by email, and will also be in the newsletter.

Andrea's is the blue one with embroidered felt flowers, and Dale added tatted lace medallions and a vintage button to her elegant red and black one.

Everything is very secure inside, so you can just toss it into a bag anytime you need to have the basic sewing tools with you.

Andrea added embroidery stitches, vintage buttons, and a touch of beading to hers. The scissors are held in place by a snap sewn to a ribbon loop. The thimble pocket flap is decorated with a band of fancy flowered ribbon.

Dale finished hers much earlier than Andrea did by using purchased trim for embellishment! Her scissors are held in place by ribbon looped over a large bead. The red ribbon on the left holds a bobbin, so she can easily cut off just the thread she needs -- great for hand-piecing on the go.

We originally found the pattern in an issue of Quilter's magazine, but the designer Becca LoGiudice of Willow Hill Quilts also sells the pattern for her 'Wool Etui' on her website. Becca has been very nice to work with in setting up a way for us to make her pattern as a group. Thank you!

Pin Doll Sneak Peek

2011-03-01T21:23:00.034-05:00

As you may know, we have been talking (for a couple of years?) about putting together a book of original pin doll designs. It has taken a long time, but it looks like the club will finally, really have our very own pin doll pattern book! The show-and-tell at February's meeting included some of the entries.

Want a sneak peek of some of the lovely designs that will be inside? First up is Nita's very useful doll, Ima Pinkeeper, standing by with scissors at the ready.

Ima Pinkeeper, by Nita Butler

You will also find two sweet designs by Leslie. Rosie has a definite Kate Greenaway air about her, and Punkin is a very tiny Waldorf-style baby doll.

Rosie and Punkin, by Leslie Wright

We can't share any more details than that, because they'll all be in the book!

Our hope and plan is to have some books ready to sell at the Saturday night swap meet at AFIC. So, cross your fingers and think good thoughts for Katie, who has volunteered for the formidable task of organizing our creative ramblings into something book-shaped. (Thank you, Katie!)

February's meeting

2011-02-21T22:02:00.002-05:00

We had a good club meeting on Saturday, although we missed everyone who was traveling or sick that day! We had TONS of good information to share, with discussions about:

our March workshop with Annie Hesse (we're getting very excited!),
a club display of dolls at AFIC in April (everybody should send one doll),
our May luncheon with the River City doll club (don't forget your Zodiac-themed challenge doll).

And all of that was before we even got to show-and-tell. Katie showed off her new needle-sculpting DVD from Gloria Winer. We all agreed that the features were amazing, but the dimension of the eyes was most impressive.

Leslie also shared some 'doll-by-the-yard' panels that Anne R. bought for her. I don't know exactly where Anne found them, but they are also available from different suppliers online. Just do a search for 'malinda dalton doll panel'. You can dress her with other panels that have pretty Civil War-style dresses.

But wait! There's more! We also had a mini-workshop presented by Katie, who shared Cyndi Mahlstadt's method of making wire hands. This one was made by Ann Chulk, who got very nice proportions on hers on the first try. The first picture shows the palm side, and the bottom picture shows the back of the hand.

Check back in a week or two -- the next post will have pin dolls!

More of January's show and tell

2011-02-05T15:02:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post here to finish up the show-and-tell from January's meeting. First is Katie, with a 'play' swatch of woven fabric strips, which was then stitched and embellished. She was thinking ahead to our 2011 Challenge, which will feature a large-scale fabric print, and finding ways to break up a large print for use in a smaller doll-sized scale.

Katie's experiment

Next is another project from Denise. And yes, that is two finished objects, but she doesn't make the long trek into town every month, so she has to prove that she's busy even when we don't see her! In theory, this sculpted head is ready to be painted, but it is so awesome 'as is' that it will probably stay this way, at least for a while.

Denise's sculpted head from a Susie McMahon class

Finally, we have not a finished project but a birthday haul! Bonnie made her first trip back to doll club after a serious illness (just to get the presents?), and we were all so happy to see her walking around again that we brought the good stuff from our stashes at home to share with her.

Bonnie's birthday presents

That's all for January. Everybody sew like mad so we can have another lovely round of show and tell!

January 2011 Show and Tell

2011-01-21T21:26:00.001-05:00

We had a wonderful meeting in January. Everybody has obviously been busy in their sewing rooms, and actual finished projects were present in abundance!

Gwendolyn by Allison Marano, made by Denise Dodd

This stunning doll of Denise's probably garnered the most 'oohs' and 'aahs', with good reason. She was started in a class with Allison in the fall of 2008, and features heat-distressed fabric and free-motion embroidery.

Weighing the Possibilities by Cindee Moyer, made by Julie Gausvik

Julie G. finished her doll from last August's workshop with Cindee. Julie's favorite muted colors are really showcased in the delicate color blending in the bodice and sleeves.

Harlequin quilt, original design by Ann Reddick

Ann used the same paper foundation technique she has used on hexagon doll quilts in the past to create this amazing quilt. There are nearly 150 diamonds in a design only about 12 inches wide, floating on a border print background of teal and gold.

We'll save the rest of the pictures for the next post. Keep up the great work, dollmakers!

Upcoming January meeting info

2011-01-10T09:51:00.001-05:00

We have a busy meeting planned in January -- so everybody should bring a sack lunch and we'll get lots done!

Nita will be our monthly workshop/demo presenter: this month's topic will be lambskin wig making. This will be mainly a demonstration, but if you have a doll (or a doll head) that you want to make a wig for, bring it! You can get help making a custom wig template for your doll.

Also, Pin Dolls for the Pin Doll Book are due (really, actually due this time)! Bring what you have done, and we'll all help with writing instructions, taking pictures, etc.

Bring your finished Charity Dolls, and Erin will make a delivery for us :-)

Bring the usual stuff - nametag, show & tell, and a birthday gift for our January birthday girl, Bonnie.

Bring $5 for a piece of this year's very challenging Challenge Fabric.

And last but not least, don't forget that the Raggedy Ann and Friends exhibit is still going on over at the Bona Thompson Center from 1-4 on Saturday. Here's a link with all the info.

Remember, you can always find the general meeting topics on the tab at the top of the blog!

Tutorial for a doll-sized book

2011-01-02T15:54:00.003-05:00

So the doll that was waiting for her cookbook is now officially complete!

Secret Keeper pattern by Julie McCullough, made by Andrea B.

Since other people might want to know how the book was made, there is a tutorial posted on the right-hand sidebar. Also, you can click here to get to it as well. In case you're curious, the cookbook is open to the Seafood Gumbo recipe!

December 2010 show and tell

2010-12-27T22:41:00.004-05:00

Sorry for the long gap between posts! We hope that everybody who celebrates it had a wonderful holiday.

Let's see a work-in-progress from our December meeting. Here is an original design by Peggy Smith. He is Horus in his falcon persona as god of sky and protection.

His metal birdcage is covered with kimono silk and decorative fibers.

His head is sculpted, painted clay, and his feathers are ingeniously created of upholstery fringe.

The cage unlocks to reveal the reason for Horus' protective stance, a fabric-lined nest!

Peggy says Horus still needs some work, with maybe a little 'bling' added overall. He looks great so far, and we look forward to seeing his final finished self!

Here's another doll that is almost, but not quite, finished...

A kitchen doll, complete with 'wooden' polymer clay spoon, but still missing her cookbook.

Made by Andrea Baughman from Julie McCullough's Secret Keeper pattern (and yes, she is shrunk to only 8 inches tall instead of 12!). We'll just call her cookbook 'backordered' -- who hasn't had that problem with Christmas presents?

People's Choice Award Winner

2010-12-06T23:18:00.001-05:00

Remember the challenge dolls that were judged in October? Well, they had their very own table at the doll show.

Our White-on-White or Black-on-Black 2010 Challenge Dolls

We collected nearly 90 votes, and the winner was.......

Percival Poulet! shown here with his chicken fan club also made by his creator Julie G.
Percival is made from elinor peace bailey's Chicken Shaman pattern
His harem are really pincushion chicks from a pattern that Katie figured out. Percival also won the judges challenge and was Judge's Choice as well. He is our club's first 3-way winner -- he really does just make you smile to see him in person!

Here are the other challenge dolls:

Count Vladimir Blackula made by Marti, and Snowflake made by Ann R.

Quiddity by Erin

White Winged Wishes by Julie W., and Lilli White by Nita

Lilli White and Quiddity tied for second place; I think this is the first time that has happened, too. Here are our proud winners:

Nita, Julie G., and Erin

Display table of 2010 show, 2nd half

2010-11-26T20:31:00.001-05:00

We'll continue our walk around the display table...

The end of the table features a Jane Austen doll (pattern by Gail Wilson) made by Julie G., as well as Morris the Butterfly Dancer (pattern by Babara Schoenoff) made by Andrea and an original doll from Nita, among others.

Must be time for a break -- the dolls are all sitting down! We'll fill in more class doll descriptions in a later post.

More lovely groupings of various class dolls

A closeup of the end of our circuit, featuring several of Katie's dolls, and an original doll, Leilani by Mary.

Display table of 2010 show, 1st half

2010-11-24T19:58:00.004-05:00

Here is the first group of amazing dolls on display at the Indy Cloth Dollmakers 8th Annual Art Doll Show and Sale.

When you walked into the library auditorium, this is what you saw!

Harlequin and Columbine, made by Ann C., based on a Mary Tressler pattern

Here is last year's People's Choice by Leslie (original), and a Pam Grose gargoyle by Julie G.

Also by Ann C., a wooden 'antique' doll, from a pattern in a 1950's magazine

Walking around the table, you find the GwynnEllen fairy class dolls

After the fairies were 4 dolls from last May's Herb Challenge

Setting up for the big show!

2010-11-21T22:11:00.001-05:00

Our Doll Show was a great success! Lots of dolls were displayed, lots of people came, and lots of art appreciation happened! But before any of that, there was a lot of work involved in the set up.

Tables and chairs

Need to remember this configuation for next year!

Finally, some dolls!

Starting to fill up nicely now...

How did that go together again?

Lots of helpful advice!

Since the blogger took a gazillion pictures, we'll have to see the show itself spread out over a couple of days. Check back soon to see more.

Library Display Case

2010-11-03T22:05:00.010-04:00

Today we set up a small but impressive "Show and Sale Preview" in the display case at the Irvington Library. Club members brought in some of their taller dolls to show off, and they make a big impact.

Leslie's 'Matra', last year's People's Choice Winner

Some Julie G. dolls, at least one from a Pam Grose class

a new fairy and a White-on-White challenge doll

Some 'previous' dolls from Julie G. and Andrea perch atop the right-hand side

Don't forget to check out the tab at the top of the page for info on our upcoming 2010 8th Annual Art Doll Show and Sale!!!

Cloth-Over Fairy Faces

2010-10-23T22:22:00.002-04:00

As promised, our October meeting show-and-tell had some finished fairies from Leslie's September workshop. For her class, Leslie not only designed an original fairy body. She also sculpted a head for the body from scratch, and then made a mold of the head, and then made copies of the head for everybody in the class. Then they covered their fairy heads with cloth to match the bodies and colored them.

Nita's purple, green, and teal fairy has beautiful details everywhere you look!

Julie G.'s fairy has a more wild and windblown woodland look!

We'll have more pictures in a week or so, when the library display case goes up. Don't forget to check out the show and sale info on the tab at the top!

October Challenge Dolls

2010-10-17T14:55:00.002-04:00

October's meeting was very busy, as it was our first regular meeting since July. We chose our slate of officers to vote on in December, and caught up on lots of planning for our big show next month.

We also had some beautiful show and tell, but those pics will have to wait for the next post, because 6 talented club members finished their Challenge Dolls!

As you can see, everybody did a fabulous job of sticking to this year's theme:

White-on-White or Black-on-Black.

This picture has two dolls -- Percival Poulet and Snowflake. The photographer apologizes profusely for not having a full picture of the lady Snowflake, complete with her tatted namesake.

Lilli White on her Wedding Day

Count Vladimir Blackula

White Winged Wishes

Quiddity

For those who like to look things up, here is a 'quiddity link'.

Aren't they all fabulous??? You will notice that there are no dollmaker's names attributed. That is because these dolls (and any other challenge dolls that are finished between now and then) will be part of our annual People's Choice Award, and we don't want to bias our voting public.

Please come to our November Show and see these stunning dolls in person!

Leslie's GwynnEllen class

2010-10-01T21:51:00.004-04:00

For our September meeting, Leslie created a original fairy doll to teach some new techniques, especially a cloth-overlay on a clay face. Quite a few dollmakers journeyed to Leslie's house, where she hosted the two-day workshop.

Check out these work-in-progress pictures!

a picture from early in the class from Julie W.

Julie G.'s nearly finished fairy, sporting angelina wings

check out Martha's tattoos!

Nita's demure fairy hair-do

Katie's berry fairy

Ann R.'s rainbow fairy, sitting on her own custom leaf

We are missing pictures from two class members. Denise could only attend the first day of the weekend workshop, and therefore missed the group photo below. And Lauren, who is not a member (yet?), but who by all accounts did an outstanding job on her first doll ever in this class!

a group shot - Ann R., Martha, Julie G., Nita, Katie, Leslie, and Julie W.

Check back later for show-and-tell pictures of the finished dolls. I'm sure we'll see them all completely done by the November Show. (and if you believe that...)

September 2010 meeting reminder

2010-09-15T21:40:00.000-04:00

*** We get a lot of web traffic to this old post. We don't know why, exactly, but welcome to our doll club blog! Please hit the 'Home' tab above, or click here to see our latest news and lots of gorgeous pictures. Thank you for visiting! (added Nov. 2011) ***

Remember that our September meeting will not be at the library! We will join Leslie at her house for a 2-day workshop -- her original doll pattern focusing on a cloth-over-clay face.

Random tidbits

2010-09-05T21:40:00.006-04:00

Our blog was mentioned in Robyn Coburn's wonderful site, All Things Doll. Look for us in August's posts. Here's what she says about how and why she puts her list of doll links together.

What's new out there in the many splendored world of dolls?
A new place to visit every day, I hope, chosen by me, just because I like the look of it.

How cool is that? She liked the look of us.

Also, go look at Andrea's PictureTrail site to see pictures of her playdate with an indigo dye kit from Dharma Trading Co.

And lastly, Cyndy Sieving has the schedule for Artistic Figures in Cloth 2011 posted. Go check it out!

Cindee Moyer class

2010-09-03T21:10:00.005-04:00

In August, several members of our club got to attend a special one-day class with Cindee Moyer. She had created a doll, "Weighing the Possibilities", for the River City Figurative Artists' Guild, and it sounded so cool when they told us about it at our May luncheon that an encore presentation of the class was arranged and 10 lucky Indy ladies made the road trip to Cincinnati.

In a perfect universe, those who got to go would send pictures to the poor blogger who could not go... but as it is, you'll have to hop over to Katie's blog to see her created fabric and her elegant finished doll, Isabella. Then we'll wait for our next show-and-tell.

Our day at Walk in the Park

2010-08-27T23:16:00.000-04:00

We had a wonderful time at Walk in the Park -- it was NOT 98 degrees this year and it only rained for those couple of minutes (a brief but very exciting few minutes!). People did buy some dolls, too, so our economy seems to be slowly returning to normal.

Here's our tent, complete with our club logo sign that Leslie rescued from her house flood two years ago. I love our sign, but maybe we also need a banner to go across the front edge of the tent -- what do you think???

Of course, sales are only a part of why we do this art fair. We also get to talk to people about our club and our dolls, especially the classes we get to take.

For example, here's a doll from our Dancine class with Fran Parrigan Meehan, a Candlestick Diva by Arley Berryhill, and a Pop Up Puppet by Kathryn Walmsley, all made by our very own Julie G.

Here are some tassel dolls made by Katie and Jude in (and after) a class with Cyndi Mahlstadt.

And our 'display corner' has another Dancine, a Morris doll made by Andrea in a Barbara Schoenoff class, and Martha's Duchess doll made in Adele Sciortino's class, just to name a few.

All of the best pictures from the day are in the new slideshow over in the right hand sidebar - try it out!

Katie's new blog!

2010-08-19T22:01:00.001-04:00

Our prodigiously productive member Katie has started her very own blog! It is already gorgeous, with a great banner featuring some of her beautiful doll faces, so go check it out.

Needlefelting ladybugs!

2010-07-30T22:56:00.001-04:00

At the July meeting, Katie taught our mini-workshop. She made up kits for everybody that included two colors of wool roving (she over-dyed the red to get just the right shade) and a felting needle, as well as a pinback, beads for eyes, and some wire for antennae.

From these fluffy beginnings she walked us through the basics of needle-sculpting. Fortunately, we did not need the first-aid supplies she brought, as we got through the class without puncturing anybody's fingers! After an hour or so, our roving had been transformed to this:

Ladybugs!
While most of us were complete beginners, we did have an expert in our midst. In honor of the class topic, Bonnie brought in a superb little needle-felted bear she had made. Isn't he perfect?

July 2010 meeting

2010-07-23T23:18:00.002-04:00

Attendance at our July meeting was still a little small this month, as many of our members are busy with summer activities. But, those of us who were there had a wonderful time. Show and Tell featured Julie G., who brought in her finished doll from the class with Leslie Molen at the Doll Gatherers GALA 2010 back in May.

The one-day class means she is a simple doll, but we all enjoyed her lace underskirt and the beautiful use of dyed lace on her head - it complimented her kimono fabric perfectly. Nobody will ever know that she is wearing Fruit of the Loom briefs under that very proper and ladylike dress!

Nita also brought the Americana doll that she made for a Cloth Doll Artistry challenge. This dollie is pictured in last month's Featured Artist bio of Nita, and she also talks about her inspiration on her own blog.

Next post -- Katie's lesson in needlefelting!

Featured Artist - Nita

2010-06-30T20:55:00.002-04:00

In order to share some of our dollmaking history and get to know each other better, we will have a sort-of-regular 'spotlight' on different club members. This month's featured artist is Nita! (And pay attention - it might be your turn next!)

Name: Nita
City: Indianapolis
Club Member since: Approx 2004 (I think)
Picture site or blog: needlepullingthread@blogspot.com

How many dolls have you made? Too many to remember!

When did you start making dolls? Approx 1995, after I retired. (The picture at right is of her 2nd dollie ever.)

What other crafts do you ‘do’? embroidery, beading, crochet, mixed media art, jewelry making
Do you combine your other crafts with your dollmaking? Yes, I often use beading, embroidery and crochet in my doll making.

Why did you choose dollmaking? I love working with fabric and making it into a 2 or 3 dimensional object.
What is your favorite part of making a doll? I really don't have a favorite one, but if I must choose it would be creating the face.

Which of your dolls is your favorite and why? I have 3 or 4 favorites, I like the Humpty Dumpty we made with Katherine Walmsey because it awakens my inner child. I like my Peacock Dancer, she reminds me of my long ago dance teacher. I like my raggedys becasue they are huggable and make me feel good.

Did you play with dolls as a child? Yes, loved them literally to death.

What would you like to learn next? I would like to learn more about cloth over techniques, more about trapunto and more scuplting.
Do you like using patterns or making your own designs? I do both but prefer to use other designers' patterns because I do not like the trial and error of creating a pattern.
Do you have any favorite designers? These are just a few... Barb Schoenoff, Barb Willis, Patti Culea, Deanna Hogan, Allison Marano.

June 2010 Meeting

2010-06-21T10:30:00.000-04:00

Our June meeting was very small, with only 7 members in attendance. So, we had a very cozy swap meet. We also tried a critique of each other's dolls, to learn more about the artistic theory that goes into doll design as well as to get feedback about our dolls. It's definitely an idea that needs some tweaking, but hopefully it was useful to all who participated.

We also had some wonderful show-and-tells! Katie finished her Patti Culea class doll from Magic, Mischief and Mayhem of Spring 2010, Xuiying. And Jude brought her Holly doll, from Cyndi Mahlstadt's class at the same MM&M retreat.

Herb Challenge Dolls

2010-05-31T09:31:00.008-04:00

Here are a few of the dolls that our club brought to the May luncheon with River City for the Herb Challenge. First is Martha's doll, Cha-Cha Cilantro! She wears actual dried cilantro leaves in her headdress, each leaf individually wired with great care.

Next is Katie's dandelion doll, Dande's Dance. The leaves this time were scanned and printed on silk, then cut out with a heat tool. Her grass base is upholstery fringe, hand-sewn into a beautiful lawn!

Last are Andrea's little flower fairies, Chamomile and Calendula, made with Sally Mavor's pattern from her Felt Wee Folk book. They are about 4" tall and wear real acorn caps above their felt tunics and faux petal skirts.

May meeting

2010-05-23T11:37:00.004-04:00

For our May meeting we had our annual luncheon with the Cincinnati doll group, the recently renamed RiverCity Figurative Artists' Guild. We met at the historic Stream Cliff Herb Farm again this year, and had the most beautiful weather for our day out. Do to a mental 'flake' on behalf of the blogger, we don't have pictures of the grounds, including the beautiful roses blooming everywhere. But we had a very nice meeting, with lunch and comraderie in the large cabin/classroom:

Our challenge dolls this year are all Herb Dolls, in honor of our location -- they are visible on the table to the left in the photo above. We also, of course, had presents! Pin dolls to exchange and beautiful gifts of fabric and beads and books!

P.S. To the visitor who drove from Bloomington to Indianapolis hoping to attend our meeting -- we are SO sorry we missed you! If it makes you feel better, Andrea's first attempt at attending a meeting happened exactly the same way in May of 2001, but she came back and has been a member ever since.

April 2010 Meeting

2010-04-25T17:56:00.002-04:00

Our April meeting featured Marti from The Blooming Dragon, her studio/shop across the street from our library, showing us how to work with silver clay. It turned out to be easier than many of us thought it would be, and we made some beautiful doll-sized buttons, pendants, and charms for our dolls.

We also added a few charity dolls to our collection.

Lastly, we got to see a few finished show-and-tell items. Julie G. brought in her Jane Austen doll from Gail Wilson's class...

and Katie brought in her Cyndi Mahlstadt doll from the recent MM&M workshop! Katie also had her tasssel doll from the same weekend.

Last of Adele's dolls in progress

2010-04-15T10:28:00.001-04:00

Here are all the rest of the progress pictures from Adele's workshop. Hopefully the next meeting will have some finished dolls at show and tell!

Jude used a heavy green satin brocade to complement the pink dress. This picture just hints at the jeweled additions to her headdress. Later on, a matching green purse was added to the 'ensemble'.

Leslie gave her mannequin high-heeled feet before the class, and will undoubtedly show them off in fancy shoes. The leaf motif fom the bodice is reused as hair. She made the most of a small amount of the dark fabric to make the twisted oversleeves.

Ann used a different doll pattern as her mannequin, but the same purple-orange-green color scheme as a few others in the class. Adele encouraged us to work with colors we usually avoided, so we had to really stretch our comfort zones.

Lee chose monotones of cream, gold, and brown, which is a different challenge. She's really playing up the different textures (check out the gold lace headdress!), and had some faux pearls and more gold braids which will add the rich effect.

The sleeves and the center skirt panel of Andrea's dress all came from a sheer print that Barbara brought to share (thank you!). There's a ruched orange ribbon edging the green Texture Magic upper sleeves, and a yellow ribbon rose in the hat. The green hair is a loopy home-dec trim.

More dolls in progress

2010-04-11T12:54:00.002-04:00

Here are a few more of the dolls in progress from Adele's workshop -- with 15 dollmakers attending, we had a wonderful turnout.

Bonnie may have come closest to finishing her entire costume -- complete with an ostrich feather and veil in the very fancy hat! Some of the fabrics used started life as Halloween costumes and curtains.

Lynn is not a club member (yet?) but joined us to make her very first cloth doll ever. She worked out her theme of Central Asian folk costume beautifully. The jacket fabric was supposed to be for her, but she's sharing it with her doll.

Next we have another guest, Julie from Illinois, and another new dollmaker, Pam. Pam's costume is 'in the planning stage' in this photo, but Julie's loose flowing dress is augmented with ribbon and trim.

Last for this post is Liz's doll, in muted colors but very rich textures. The plan was to add some of Adele's small ribbon flowers to the lapel.

Dolls in progress from Adele's class

2010-04-10T10:30:00.004-04:00

During Adele's workshop, we started some really fabulous costumes. Here are a few:

Barb started her costume with overlapping bias strips, borrowing a technique she saw in Threads magazine. The high collar uses some of Adele's shibori pleated ribbon.

Denise used several of the new techniques from class, including fringed dupioni for hair, and the Texture Magic on the lower sleeves.

Katie is our resident dressmaker, and she made a couture dress with princess seams and pink piping along the collar and peplum!

Martha's doll is draped in a fabulous pink hand-dyed velvet. The overcoat might be shortened to let more of the dress show.

Finally, our Julie G. tried another new technique and created a bodice of painted Textiva. There's an awesome coat in the works that will be layered over the bodice and velvet pants.

Adele's class

2010-04-06T08:28:00.013-04:00

Our club invited Adele Sciortino to teach our Spring Workshop this year -- Creative Costuming.

The middle of the room was piled high with gorgeous fabrics -- slinky, silky, shimmery material with velvets and brocades and... And then there were the ribbons!

Adele brought the most sumptuous ribbons to sell. It would have been hard NOT to make a beautiful costume with all this to choose from.

This is a partial sampling of the techniques we would learn during the class. A lot of them were about manipulating ribbon and material, and how to create different effects with them.

Charity Dolls

2010-03-23T09:12:00.008-04:00

Our March meeting was devoted to charity dolls. Member Leslie created a small washable fleece dolly pattern, and we try to make up lots of them to give to children in need. This small group will join a bunch of others and go to the Children's Bureau.

The fleece is fun to play with, and Jude made 'critters' on her embroidery machine. Katie made up matching green 'siblings', and Martha made some aliens :-)

First Post

2010-03-21T09:56:00.004-04:00

This is the very first post of our new blog. We hope to share our club with each other and the world at large. Stay tuned for meeting notes and club member profiles, as well as pictures of dolls.