December 2018 Newsletter

December 2018 Newsletter

Upcoming Meetings

December 15, 2018 - Annual Christmas Party and needlebook exchange
January 19, 2019 - TBD
February 16, 2019 - TBD

Member Birthdays

Birthday wishes to Sue, Leslie, Ann C., and Jude.  What a wonderful time of year to have a birthday!  Hope you all have or had a great one!

November Meeting Minutes

There was no official meeting in November due to having our fantastic Show and Sale.  There was a huge display of one of a kind artistic dolls.  Displays included our challenges that were created this year and dolls from the workshops we have had.  Sales tables included a variety of items with something for everyone.  We thank the Irvington United Methodist Church for allowing us to use their beautiful room for our Show and Sale.  And a big thank you to all who helped make it happen.  Maggie did an excellent job of organizing everything and making sure it all went smoothly.  Thank You, Maggie!!!

We were honored to have two instructors with Show and Sale items.  Kathryn Walmsley had a very nice display of her work and patterns.  She will be teaching the making of an adorable Paperclay doll at the John C. Campbell Folk School February 3-9, 2019.  Click here to go to that site.  Kathryn is a great instructor and very personable.  If you have an opportunity to take one of her classes, you should do so!

Kathryn Walmsley

Kathryn's Doll for John C. Campbell Folk School

Barbara Schoenoff is another excellent instructor who had a table with her fiber art village of "Wood Wives" in their habitat.  You should hear her story about the inhabitants! You can find many of Barbara's patterns on the following websites:  DOLLMAKERS JOURNEY, Doll Street Dreamers, and A for Artistic. 

Barbara Schoenoff with her Wood Wives

This year's challenge theme was Advanced Style: Aging Outrageously.  There were ten entries that visitors voted on for the People's Choice award.  Martha's "On the Road to Sturgis with Frank and Dolly was the winner of the People's Choice.   Martha's "On the Road to Sturgis with Frank and Dolly" tied with Katie's "Sophie" for first place in the judging!  Judge's second went to Nita for her "Meet Lillian Page" and third went to Virginia for her "Her Majesty goes for a walk".  Martha's "On the Road to Sturgis with Frank and Dolly also won the Judge's Choice!  Great job Martha!!!  Congratulations to all of you.  Well done!  All of the entries were exceptional this year as can be seen in the photos.  Many of these dolls are currently on display at the Irvington Historical Society building, for the Bona Thompson Center's Holiday Fair until January 30, 2019.  The theme for the display is "Dolls Make the Best Story Tellers" so if you didn't get to come to our show and sale, you still have an opportunity to see these fabulous art dolls.

Martha's On the Road to Sturgis with Frank and Dolly

Katie's Sophie

Nita's Meet Lillian Page

Virginia's Her Majesty Goes for a Walk

Jude's Hazel

Maggie's Carrie

Ann C.'s

Mrs. Isabelle Bugatti

attends the opening night

Gala at the Met

Elena's Queen of Pop

Andrea's When I Grow Up

Sue's Agnes

Next Meeting

December 15 is our next meeting at which time we will have our annual Christmas Party!  There will be a pitch in brunch and an optional gift exchange.  We will also be voting for next year's officers.  All of the current officers are willing to continue in their current roles if the membership wants.  Certainly if anyone desires one of the positions they may contact one of the current officers so they may be put on the ballot!  We will be discussing programs for next year's meetings.  One suggestion has been a sew along based on one of  Patty Culea's books. Many of us own some of her books and they are also available in the library.  Patty's books have lots of inspiration and several different skill levels. Let us know of any other suggestions for programs you might have.  Bring your ideas for next year's Show and Sale Challenge and we will also vote on that.
If you would like to participate in the gift exchange, bring a needle book you have made wrapped up with your name on the inside of the gift bag/box.  Our exchange is optional, don't feel obligated!  It will be a fun day.  Hope you all can make it!

Upcoming Challenges and Events

Dec. 15 - Christmas party and needlebook exchange

April 25-28, 2019 - AFICC in Columbus, Ohio

May 18, 2019 - River City Challenge "Cage Doll"

December Checklist

• Nametag
• Show and Tell
• Covered brunch dish
• Ideas for 2019 Challenge
• Ideas for 2019 meeting programs
• Nominees for officers
• Needlebook gift (Optional)

If anyone has questions about our doll club or would like to contact us, please email our club at Indyclothdollmakers@yahoo.com.

November 2018 Newsletter

November 2018 Newsletter

Upcoming Meetings

November 17 - Annual Show and Sale 9-4

December 15 - Annual Christmas Party and needlebook exchange

Member Birthdays
Birthday wishes go out to Maggie and Edie this month!

October Meeting Minutes
Present this month were nineteen members and one guest:  Martha and guest, Ann C., Julie G., Ron, Kathryn, Nita, Sue, Andrea, Denise, Vicki, Janet, Maggie, Julie W., Leslie, Ann R., Jude, Katie, Mary and Elena.

Show and Tell
Julie G., Virginia, and Sue all took a one day class with Beth Anne  Darr.  Amazing ladies!  Check out Beth Anne on facebook Wymplewary.

Julie G.'s Darr Doll

Virginia's Darr Doll

Sue's Darr Doll

Julie G., Nita, and Kathryn all made Wee Folk Flower Fairies at a recent retreat at Threads of Time.  These Dolls are based on  Felt Wee Folk  dolls designed  by Salley  Mavor.

Julie G.'s, Nita's, and Kathryn's Wee Folk Flower Fairies

Kathryn recently has designed three new cloth doll patterns:  Leaf, Violet, and Cornflower. They are adorable!  Kathryn's website is full of useful information.  Be sure and check it out!

Virginia was unable to attend (darn that work thing!) but her wonderful mom brought Virginia's Beth Anne Darr doll AND her Completed Sleeping Mermaid from Marla Niederer's recent class.  Thanks for sending them, Virginia!  We really enjoyed seeing them and missed you.

Virginia's Sleeping Mermaid

Sue brought one of her Ohio State Fair dolls and of course the Beth Anne Darr doll shown above.

Sue's Ohio State Fair Doll

Janet has been busy knitting and also made a very nice carry-on bag.

Janet's Carry-on bag

Elena was proud to announce that she is now officially a U.S. Citizen!!  Congratulations, Elena!  We are so happy for you!  She brought her scary creatures to show.  How appropriate for the month of October!  Elena sells many of her dolls on Etsy.

Elena's Beastie, Bogeyman Doll

Elena's Corpse Dead Bride Emily Doll

Business
Andrea is working on displays for our dolls.  There will be a library display October 29-November 16 and the Historical Society display at the Bona Thompson Center November 21-January 30.  The Bona Thompson display is entitled "Dolls are the Best Story Tellers".   You may leave your dolls at the Irvington Library and Andrea will put them in these displays for you.  Each doll needs to have a small tag or sign or label including the doll's name,  whose pattern, and your name and any other information you want to include.

Maggie and Katie shared an article in the Carmel Monthly about our doll club highlighting two of our members from that area, Maggie and Denise.  Very nice article.  Thank you Carmel Monthly!

Our annual Show and Sale is November 17 from 9-4 at the Irvington United Methodist Church. Set up will be on Friday November 16 from 3-5. The church is holding a fundraiser auction for their preschool on Wednesday, November 14.  There is a dinner at the church starting at 5:00 pm. Our club is donating items for the auction.  

Our Advanced Style:  Aging Outrageously Challenge Dolls were due this month for judging.  Cyndy Sieving was our guest judge.  There were nine entries this year and how delightful they all were.  These dolls will be on display at our Show and Sale.  Be sure and come and vote for your favorite who will be given the People's Choice Award.

Cyndy brought samples of AFICC class projects.  AFICC will be held April 25-28, 2019.  These classes will be fantastic. Thank you Cyndy for bringing them and telling us about the classes. Registration can be done online on the AFICC website.  Some of the classes are already full, so sign up right away so you don't miss out!  There will be ten teachers and 22 classes to choose from.  There are scholarships available for club members.  Let one of the officers know if you are interested in a scholarship to help offset the cost.

Cyndy and her AFICC display

We finally had our reveal for our Round Robin/Brown Bag Dolls.  Dolls were returned to their original makers who were amazed at the transformations.  These dolls will be on display  at the Show and Sale. Another must see at the Show.

2018 Round Robin/Brown Bag dolls

Next Meeting

There is no official meeting in November because of the Show and Sale.  The next official meeting will be December 15.

Upcoming Challenges and Events
Nov. 17 - Show and Sale
Dec. 15 - Christmas party and needlebook exchange
April 25-28, 2019 - AFICC in Columbus, Ohio
May 18, 2019 - River City Challenge "Cage Doll"

If anyone has questions about our doll club or would like to contact us, please email our club at Indyclothdollmakers@yahoo.com.

Marla Niederer Sleeping Mermaid Workshop

Marla Niederer Sleeping Mermaid Workshop

The Indy Cloth Dollmakers hosted a workshop presented by Marla Niederer September 29 and 30.  Marla is such a great teacher and filled the two short days we had with her with many of her techniques.  Her sleeping face is beautiful and the painting of the mermaid's body was a new experience for many of us.
Thank you to Julie G. for hosting Marla in her home.  The meet and greet on the Friday night before class was a relaxing evening and gave us a wonderful opportunity to get acquainted with our teacher.  Members came from Illinois and Ohio to take the class.  Marla is from New York, so we had four states represented in this class including our Indiana people.
After class on Saturday we had a pitch-in dinner in the classroom.. The food was delicious and prepped us for the next day ahead.
You may want to check out Marla's Blog to see more of her work.  She also has online classes with A for Artistic.  If you are going to AFICC in Columbus, Ohio in April 2019, she is having a 3 day class for her Moulin Rouge Dancers!  Our club was honored to have her come!  Thank you, Marla, for a wonderful weekend!

October 2018 Newsletter

October 2018 Newsletter

Upcoming Meetings

October 20 - 2018 Challenge Doll Judging

November 17 - Annual Show and Sale

December 15 - Annual Christmas Party and needlebook exchange

Birthdays
Happy fall birthday wishes go out to Barbara who is forever young at heart which shows in her creations!

September Meeting Minutes
Twelve members were present at our September meeting:  Joan, Ann C., Anita, Mary, Andrea, Denise, Julie G., Sue, Virginia, Jude, Julie W., and Ron.

Show and Tell

Joan shared some pieces she produced from a metal working class she took that could be used as embellishment on journals.  They are made of copper.  Beautiful work, Joan!

Joan's metal work

Ann C. was excited to tell us about being introduced to Cartonnage, a method of applying fabric to chipboard to make all kinds of things.  We hope to see some things she makes in the future.

Nita had downloaded a simple doll pattern from etsy which is really cute.  (Of course we all had to check out her (the doll's) sexy underwear!)

Nita's Simple Doll

Denise showed us a wonderful book entitled "The Healing Doll Way" by Barb Kobe.  It tells the process of creating art dolls for self-discovery, awareness and transformation.  You may want to check it out at your local library!

Jude showed her state fair ribbon winning Faery doll from Barbara Schoenoff's pattern "Backstage at the Faery Review".  These dolls are adorable and can be made in a number of different poses.  you can find many of Barbara's patterns on the following websites:  DOLLMAKERS JOURNEY, Doll Street Dreamers, and A for Artistic.

Jude's Faery

After Show and Tell we settled down to discuss upcoming events.  Coming up on November 17 is our annual Show and Sale.  We are hoping to have a display table of some of Barbara Schoenoff's fabulous creations as well as our other displays of dolls our members have created this past year and challenge dolls that have been created.  Jude distributed Show and Sale cards and bookmarks for members to pass on.
Next year in the fall our own Suellen Odell will be teaching our workshop on her "Margo" doll, a blue ribbon winner at the Ohio State Fair this year!  In the spring she will be teaching the making of three dolls, Kitty Kat, Darling Dot, and Sweet Bunny at AFICC.  If you are looking for a one day class at AFICC, any of these cuties would be great!

Sue's Margo

Darling Dot

Kitty Kat

Sweet Bunny

Our October meeting will be one you won't want to miss.  We will have the reveal of our Round Robin doll and our Advanced Style challenge dolls will be judged by Cyndy Sieving who will also be bringing her AFICC dolls to preview. We are honored that both Suellen and Barbara will be teaching classes at AFICC in 2019!  Barbara has a one day class on her "Victorian Mermaid" and a two day class on her "Fleur".

Victorian Mermaid

Fleur

If you plan to have a table at the November Show and Sale, please pay at the October meeting.  Items for your table should be hand-made by a member and not of resale nature.

After all the business was taken care of , it was time for our program presented by Joan on making a travel cutting board/ironing surface.  She gave us a detailed demonstration so we could each go home and make one of our own.  These are definitely perfect for travel and workshops and not difficult to make.  Thank you, Joan, for an excellent program!

Upcoming Meeting
Our October 20th meeting is going to be so much fun!  Those participating in the Round Robin/Brown Bag Challenge will get their original dolls returned to them in all their glory!  Those participating in the Advanced Style Doll Challenge will present their dolls for judging by Cyndy Seiving and Cyndy will give us a preview of the classes for 2019 AFICC which is in April in Columbus Ohio.

Upcoming Challenges and Events

Oct. 12-14 - Retreat weekend at Threads of Time in Danville, IL

Oct. 20 -  Challenge Judging - "Growing Old Outrageously"

Nov. 17 - Show and Sale
Dec. 15 - Christmas party and needlebook exchange
April 25-28, 2019 - AFICC in Columbus, Ohio
May 18, 2019 - River City Challenge "Cage Doll"

October Checklist

• Nametag
• Show and Tell
• Round Robin/Brown Bag Doll
• Advanced Style Challenge Dolls

If anyone has questions about our doll club or would like to contact us, please email our club at Indyclothdollmakers@yahoo.com.