Rita's co-star....

Did I say that I made two of these new sirens. Here's the other one:

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Remember Rita? Siren of the silver screen...

I made two of these for the craft fair too. And nobody bought them either!



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I wanted to try out a new body pattern. I felt that my mermaids should be a bit more 'voluptuous', more in the siren luring sailors mould. I made the body in flesh coloured polyester suede, rather than colouring it. The tail is handpainted white polyester suede. First I roller'd it with a sponge roller loaded with a wash of pigment powder. Then I stencilled a design on with fabric pens. When it came to the face and hair, I was thinking 1940s screen idols. I wanted a sort of 'come hither' look. Not sure I managed that. I fastened the tail with covered button joints for a neater appearance. The bodice, skirt and headdress are silk and organza scraps run through the needle punch machine and decorated with beads. The seaweed is scraps of an embroidered silk gauze sari, also run through the needlepunch machine, cut out and stitched on. More beads for a bit of glitz and glitter and she was done!


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This version is quite big, she measures 2ft (60cm) from top of head to tip of tail.

It's my bruvver..............

I meant to post this earlier. After I made my version of Raggedy Annie, I made an Andy too!


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Simple Stanley grows up, and a disappointing day..

I called my simple doll a Stanley after the small person I made it for. Now I've designed a doll for when he grows up a bit, a Sitting Stanley.


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This doll has legs, a painted, lightly needle sculpted face and the hair is knitted from fluffier yarn.

And as it is near Christmas, I designed a Special Seasonal Sitting Stanley:


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I was asked to take a table at a local Christmas Craft Fayre, so I made a dozen of these and took them along with a dozen Simple Stanleys. Lots of people stopped to look and commented on their cute faces, but I was there all day, and I didn't sell a single one! And I only sold two Simple Stanleys. Maybe Craft Fairs aren't my thing!!!