Transitioning from Facebook

I've decided that I post way too much on Facebook about dolls and lace, so I'm going to try to move that stuff over here to my blog.

I decided not to follow up on the tatting. It takes a long time to get any length on it, and I would rather read in the evenings. I have a whole stack of brand new "new age" books just waiting to fill me with healing energy and boost my creative mind, lol. I think the tatting is beautiful and would look great on my dolls, but my eyes aren't really good enough for it anymore (and bobbin lace is?), I was only working on it in the evenings, and like I said, it was taking all the time I would have spent on reading. I can't work on work ALL the time.

I finished that mold and made an impression. It was too big for ALL my doll bodies. Turns out Premier doesn't shrink much at all. So I can go back to the first heads I made, work them over, and use those. I have one that looks pretty good, actually, and it fits the body I've made already, which is great! I'll finish her up this week and try to start the mold before next weekend.

I made forms for all the doll ages I'm going to work with: 4, 6, 8, 10, 12. I made a base from Apoxie Sculpt, because I have it and I need to use it, plus it saves my Premier. Then I sculpted the features in Premier over that. Basically, I sculpt half of the body and then use the form to drape a body pattern. It's the only way I can get the precision I want in a pattern. Other people can just do this in their heads--I have to do it this way.

Anyway, the body forms are ready and I will work on making the patterns this week when I'm not practicing my bobbin lace. I may be able to do one a day, and I've already done the 6-year-old (and have a head almost finished for her!).

So I'm working from a bobbin lace how-to book, called A Visual Introduction to Bucks Point Lacemaking by Geraldine Stott. I got it when it first came out for a reasonable price. If you want it now, you can get it on Amazon for $179. But it's the best book and I have to recommend it to anyone who wants to learn Bucks Point. I've gone through the manual, decided how much time to devote to each lesson, and mapped it out in my calendar. I can finish the book easily by the end of the year. Then I can make any lace pattern I want for my dolls. What I like is called Floral Bucks. I may only be able to finish one doll a year with hand made lace, but it will be worth it to me to see my vision in a form I can touch and share with people.

I'm using the finest thread now and really like it. Another thing about tatting is that I'm already using the finest thread, so I can't really scale it to the dolls.

I have lots of ideas for lace. I would like to design my own after I learn everything. There is even a lace software package, but I don't know if it works for Bucks Point. I want to learn to make bobbins (special bobbins!) and to make custom lace pillows. And I want to make doll furniture to suit my dolls and maybe even custom furniture to fit other dolls. Did I mention I going to start taking woodworking classes this fall?

I'm filled with ideas right now and it's very exciting! I'll finish a little piece of lace tomorrow and I'll post a photo. It's my first piece with corners and with a sewing (finishing the ends). I'm a little scared of the sewing, but I'll tackle it tomorrow morning. Then hopefully I'll do some sculpting!