Selling on eBay?

I think I may have sold my last item on eBay. Their new policy prohibits payments by check or money order - or at least it will come October. I happen to use PayPal quite a bit, but don't feel particularly warm and fuzzy toward eBay when they put a halt to these other legitimate methods of payment. I guess they don't feel they make enough off the listing fees and the final bid fees. EBay owns PayPal, so they get a percentage of those payments as well. I dislike the controlling and greedy feel of this.

With the economy taking the turn it has, you'd think eBay would do whatever necessary to keep the customers they have. I'm not the only one disgusted with the new rules. I see many artists are turning to etsy, so I may look into that.

Trying Something Different

While I've really been working on my Verity pattern (up to page 15 now), this doll has been on the back burner for a doll club challenge. We're making Izannah Walker inspired dolls, so I'm trying something different .

This doll is made from my Verity design, but with some differences. This is actually the first prototype of the design (when I was figuring out what to do for 2006 Hoffman Challenge). Well, the head is, anyway. I whacked the head off the original body, because the body was too small. Incidentally, this first doll was made from knit fabric, so her head is much rounder. Her replacement body is made from muslin.

I needle sculpted the face and repaired some blow-outs with paperclay. Next came the tricky part. I coated her head, neck and upper chest/back with blue and covered everything with a knit fabric. Next, I'll gesso and paint her. And she'll need ears, and maybe some dimensional curls or ringlets.

You can see more photos of this doll's progress at my picturetrail site. Click on the Izannah Walker inspired album: www.picturetrail.com/blueherondolls

An old doll pattern, revisited

It's mid September already, and I thought it was a good time to brush the dust off my Hazel the Witch pin doll/ornie pattern. It's been out of print for quite some time, due to lack of a decent cover photo.

This is one of my earliest patterns (copyright 1999), and the original cover photo was one taken with my 35mm camera (pre-digital!). Well, I have no idea where that particular negative is, so had to make do with this digital photo of a later doll. But this Hazel had some needle sculpting that the original doll lacked. So that meant I had to include those instructions.

Now it's time to made another Hazel (this was was given away in a pin doll swap). Maybe I could make some improvements, too. I'd love to be able to make one in the coming week, as there's a doll show in Portland next Saturday. http://www.dolls4all.com/

The Boys in my Life

These are the boys in my life. I had such a great time with my boys this past weekend. My youngest and his family were here for a 3-day visit. My oldest came on Saturday to visit, too, and while here the four of us (two sons, husband and I) went for a bike ride, then out to dinner.

Sunday was good, too. Got to see my grandson again, and my how he has changed in just a month! His mom is looking good, too.

The top photo is Ivan, looking very thoughtful. The next is of my youngest (Ivan's daddy). The third is of my two sons. The fourth is of my oldest, and the last is of my husband and sons.

A Quality Weekend. How lucky am I?

A Tandem for Christmas?

Last week we decided to sell our old tandem bicycle, so pulled it out of the garage where it's been hanging for years, dusted it off and tuned it up. We took it for a test ride to a downtown coffee shop, and found that it was more fun than we'd remembered.

Then we rode it to work.

Then we rode it a little more - a 12 mile ride we call "Walluski Loop."

You know, it got us to thinking that we'd like to ride tandem more - but with a better bike. So after some research, decided to buy a Cannondale tandem. This will be the 2009 model, which won't be available until November or December. Sounds like a good Christmas present to ourselves. Pictured below is the 2008 model. Our new biked will be white.

My husband actually suggested we do Cycle Oregon again, this time on a tandem. They aren't called "divorce bikes" for nothing. A week long ride may be pushing it.