Friday, February 24, 2012

Mish Mash

I've been working on a doll in approximately the same style as my Halloween ragamuffins, Bitter & Boo, although they are reversed in the picture.

 Of course, there will be a lot of changes including the color scheme.  I'd planned to make one of these  out of some Valentine fabric in my stash, but never got around to it.  Still, the basic idea is great for seasonal changes: Valentine, spring, July 4th, summer, Halloween, autumn, Christmas fabrics.  The body of this one sews up so quickly (unlike many of the others) and the only thing that takes a lot of time is building up the clay face, layer by layer, sanding, applying gesso, and painting.

No name yet, very androgynous so far.  Typical.




Top right:  A bunch of waste floss from all of the embroidery (there is a weird satisfaction as I pile it into the little peat pot and think about making fabric from it using water soluble Solvy) and some fabric beads that need to be put away again--although it may be time to make some more as they prove useful when least expected.

This little sewing/needle kit that I made several years ago is something I use regularly, but never look at.  Yesterday, I looked at it and realized that I still like it...and it gave me some ideas.  

I've finished a couple more prayer flags.  This afternoon, after my errands, I'll take some pictures.




I'm finished with the encrusted piece and will take pictures of it this afternoon, too.   This picture was taken several days ago, and I've added more to it--a few more enclosed items, more stitching, beads.

This afternoon, I'm going to trim it down and make a patch for a cuff (or something, I'm not really sure).  I love it now that it is finished and beaded and thick and heavy and really feels "encrusted" in some Renaissance sense.

Fee has only been home one night this week, and will not be home until Sunday.  He will be back from south Louisiana today, but the guys are having a hog hunt down at the cabin.  The wild hogs are causing problems, and weighing in at between 100-300 pounds, are extremely dangerous.

We kind of ignored them for a while, but after Amelia found Oscar (or the other way around--a long story) and spent a fortune in vet bills, the guys decided to do something about them.  See where he has all of the hair shaved around his middle?  He has spent a lot of time at the vet.  Even after he was home, the wound had to be drained daily.  Not pleasant.


I found this pic on the internet to give you an idea of why these creatures are so dangerous.  They are very fast and aggressive.  Texas has been battling them for years, but they've only appeared on our land in the last couple of years.

At any rate, hopefully there will be fewer after this weekend.

10 comments:

  1. We had wild boars in the state park adjacent to our home in California. They are bad boys and no longer have enough natural predators.

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  2. Ewww--those wild boars look mighty scary! Love the way your encrusted piece turned out and am looking forward to seeing your next prayer flags.

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  3. Some of the guys in my office go to South Carolina to hunt these wild boars. They are really dangerous. Can't wait to see the new dolls!!

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  4. Gerrie - They evidently reproduce at a rapid rate, too! Ugly critters...

    Judy - Aren't those teeth intimidating? Poor Oscar saw them up close and personal.

    Thanks for the nice comment on the encrusted piece! I started working on trimming and edging it about an hour ago and am almost finished.

    Sherri - I may get names of your boar hunters and hire them as mercenaries!

    Hope to get back to work on this doll shortly. Dolls are hurry up and wait, even if I sometimes stick them in the oven to speed up the drying of the clay. (clay-dry-sand-clay-dry-sand until eventually it is gesso-dry-sand-gesso, etc.)

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  5. That boar gives me the heebie geebies! So sorry for the poor pooch! I love, love, love your dolls and am so envious of your talent with the faces. So very cool!

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  6. Stephie - The hogs are scary and travel in packs, so Oscar was a lucky pooch in a way.

    :) Thanks for the nice comment about the dolls, Stephie!

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  7. Oh my - YIKES! Glad your doggie turned out ok and normally I'm kind of a pacifist when it comes to animals, but it's a shame when animals like that can't be kept in control naturally - you have to do something eh?
    LOVE the dolls! Can't wait to see the new one!

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  8. While I was commenting on your T.S. post, you were here!

    Although I'd hoped that there would be fewer hogs after the hunt, I just talked to Fee who said that they saw a bunch of wild hogs Friday afternoon late, but not a one on Saturday while they were hunting. I really may have to hire Sherri's N.C. hog hunters!

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  9. J'aime vos poupées, et j'ai hâte de voir la nouvelle terminée. Et votre ouvrage brodée en blanc ;-). Je vis à Abu Dhabi en ce moment, mais dans mon petit village de Provence en France, il y a des sangliers, mais il me semble beaucoup moins dangereux que chez vous, la photo est très impressionnante. Pour les frais vétérinaires, je vois que c'est international. Que je sois en France où aux Emirats Arabes Unis, ça coûte une fortune. Aujourd'hui, je peux laisser des commentaires, j'en profite.

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  10. I have a good time playing with dolls! This latest one is taking more time than I expected because I've been adding embroidery and other embellishments, but maybe I'll get more done tomorrow.

    The boars have wicked teeth, don't they? Our hunters were not successful, though.

    J'ai un bon moment en jouant avec des poupées! Cette dernière est une plus de temps que je m'y attendais parce que j'ai été l'ajout de la broderie et autres embellissements, mais je vais en faire plus demain.

    Les sangliers ont des dents mauvaises, n'ont-ils pas? Nos chasseurs n'ont pas réussi, cependant.

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Good to hear from you!