Lace Square

Well, I gave up on the sewing. The thread is too fine to hook with the tiniest crochet hook in the world. Don't look too close at this--there are mistakes! I think I'm happy with the thread weights. I wish the ground were lighter, and I could accomplish that by making the pattern bigger, but I like the smallness of it.

I will endeavor to finish the lace in a manner that would be appropriate for doll use. One of the reasons I gave up on connecting the two edges was that there isn't really this sort of application for my dolls. If this were going to be a collar, there would be an opening in the back. So in this case, I could have finished the two ends like the footside with the thick line. Next time, next time. I think next time starts tomorrow. Today I will read a book!

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!

Child Proportion Chart

I have a PDF of the child proportion chart that many artists use. I hope it will be helpful. It is from an non copyright source called How to Draw and Paint Children by Viola French. I don't know how to post it here, but if you e-mail me, I will send it to you. I won't keep your e-mail address. jsimonpurple@gmail.com

Lace Lace Lace

It's all about lace lately. I've been working on my bobbin lace. I'm going to try the finest thread on my next lesson. I hope I like it! I may have to increase the holes-per-inch, but we'll see!

Also, during the move, I found this piece of tatting. I don't think the scale is too large for my doll ideas, so I'll finish it out eventually and use it.

And this also shows the fabric color I finally got right!

Dye Experiment

I made my mold this morning and then went right to dyeing. I usually use 1/8 teaspoon of dye because I like just hints of color. But I was using a light color and thought, gee, maybe I need to double it. That was a bad idea. I do not like the way the color came out. So straight away I dyed another piece with 1/8th, like normal. I still don't know if it's as pale as I want it, though.

 

I use Dharma Trading fiber reactive procion dyes. Here are the quantities I use--instructions on are their website:

2 gallons of water for up to 2 yards of pre-washed fabric

1 lb non-iodized salt

1/8 teaspoon dye dissolved in water

1/2 cup soda ash

Every time I've used 1/4 teaspoon I've been unsatisfied with the result.

New Supplies!

I've been working on my lace skills lately. I have a book called A Visual Guide to Bucks Point Lacemaking, and I worked up to number 9 when I first started about eight years ago before I gave it up. It takes patience! I think I'll stick with it this time. I'm planning to spend half my day lacemaking and half my day dollmaking. Yesterday I woke up at 3:30 and wanted to make lace! I worked at it for ten hours. I think it will be perfect for my dolls. I have reduced the pattern 67% and switched to the next to finest thread. I ordered the finest, just so that I can say I use the finest cotton thread available. I can actually see the pattern with my regular glasses, and the fine thread looks so beautiful.

Why haven't I started my dollmaking yet?! I've been unpacked now for two whole days! I needed some PFD Kona Cotton and it came in today from Dharma Trading. They have new dyes in skin tones and I picked them up, too. I have planned from the beginning to dye my own fabric, but I was going to use RIT. RIT has recipes on their websites for hundreds of colors, but they are given for 1 cup measurements. I already know how to use Dharma dyes, so I feel much more comfortable with this method. I'm washing the fabric now and maybe tonight I'll dye it. Tomorrow I'll make my mold.

I'm wishing now that I wasn't taking Spanish, but at the time I really needed a big distraction from dollmaking. Now I want less distraction! I'm totally going to get an A, so I'm not going to drop. I've just lost all interest in the subject. Although it's a good thing to know Spanish in Texas.

Here are my supply links:
http://www.vansciverbobbinlace.com/
http://www.dharmatrading.com/
http://www.ritdye.com/

Name Change

Well, I decided to change the name of my business, since it hasn't really established itself yet. I'm going to call it Simon Purple instead of Purple Dolls. I might like to make other things, and I think it sounds nicer. I created a logo idea and a friend made it professional looking. I have little labels with it. I did all this before my hiatus.

My hiatus. I suffer from a few mental illnesses. It makes it very difficult to keep a "real" job, but it also makes it difficult for me to follow through with my doll work. I had to take a few months away from it. I did some cross-stitch. I'm taking a Spanish class. I'm just chilling and recharging. I start some cognitive-behavioral therapy this week. I'm really hopeful that it will help me.

My first doll, however, is very close to completion. I've finished sculpting the head and I have it all ready to make a mold. I'll only make one doll from the mold. I've designed the cloth body, too. I'm using an artist age progression chart for children and tried to make the doll in the correct proportions for a six-year-old. My plan is to make dolls in lots of different ages, all in the same scale.

I'd like to make furniture for the dolls, too. I'm going to start a woodworking program in the Fall. Don't know how soon or even if I'd be able to make this furniture. It's just one of those things I really like to dream about, like bobbin lace. Actually, I would like to learn to make bobbins, too! I like the square ones because they don't roll around on the pillow. I have a long piece of lace made that I would like to put on a very special doll sometime, and hopefully make more lace for dolls. Maybe one piece a year. Bobbin lace takes me, at least, a very long time.

Anyway, I moved this weekend from a first floor apartment to a third floor apartment. I have a lot of pain now! I have the muscular pain, but I also have a pain called claudication which comes from poor circulation. I'm hoping the claudication resolves soon because it makes it very difficult to move around my apartment. I'm on Spring Break at school, so I have a whole week to unpack and get settled.

We're in a much larger apartment--300 extra feet!--in a pleasant neighborhood, up on a hill, facing the city. I have a huge window in my workroom (the master room, of course--why sleep in such a beautiful room when you can enjoy it all day?) and I can see downtown in the distance. It will probably be very hot in the summer!

Well, that's enough. I'll change the name of the blog soon to reflect my new dba.