Averill, Doll 2 of 4 DONE!

Well, I guess those errands last week were a bit more involved than I'd expected, and my doll did NOT get done like I'd hoped. I was able to work on her yesterday and today, and just finished.
I don't think I'll get a start on number 3 tonight, but I've got everything ready to go.

Productivity Stalled?

It's pretty clear my productivity in the doll department has come to a halt. Just too much to do and too little time. This is Averill number 2 (of the 4 I've got lined up). Really don't have all that much left to do - just finish stuffing the limbs, joint them to the body, and sew the clothes. I haven't picked out hair yet, but will when I see how things come together.

If I devoted all of today to working in the studio, I think I'd be able to get her done. But first I have to do a little of this and a little of that; errands downtown and such; bills to pay.

The fabrics I've chosen for her costuming are perfect for this time of year. The leaves are starting to turn and the air is crisp and cool. My favorite season.

Fantastic day for the GCX

Today was perfect for the 29th annual Great Columbia Crossing. Last year was clear and cool. This year's overcast skies made for a slightly warmer day. Here's a photo of the first mile - the runners, naturally, take off first. My sister and I are toward the back of the pack of walkers, as we had to use the "blue rooms" before we got started. There were 3000 participants this year; sold out before the event. I believe it's always held the first weekend of October.

Sister Debbie is on the left, I'm on the right. Here we are on the Washington side of the bridge. My phone takes pretty decent photos. It makes it so easy to send photos to friends, etc. ( I never promised Deb I wouldn't tag her on Facebook ...evil cackle).  

The sun did poke it's head out for a little bit. We saw quite a few pelicans, and a couple of seals in the river.





Here we are, maybe 4 miles into the walk and looking toward the span of the Astoria Megler Bridge. This walk/run is 10k. I know we said we'd do the run this year, but neither one of us had to time to train. Maybe next year?

Great Columbia Crossing 2010

Tomorrow is the 29th annual Great Columbia Crossing. It'll probably rain, but that'll be ok. Anyone who lives in this neck of the woods has appropriate raingear. There are 3000 participants this year; a sold-out event. My sister and nephew will be joining me - I'm expecting them any moment. It should be a fun day. Last year I took a photo of the most gorgeous sunrise. It was clear and quite chilly. This year I'm bringing gloves and a hat!

Check out the website for more information: http://www.greatcolumbiacrossing.com/

Echelon Gran Fondo - Hood River Bike Ride

Yesterday, a group of friends and coworkers participated in an organized bike ride to raise money for the Livestrong Foundation and cancer research, called the Echelon Gran Fondo.

Six of us rode the various distances: 30, 60, and 100 miles. The ride began and ended in Hood River, Oregon.

This is a photo of Janice and I at one of the Columbia River Gorge viewpoints. The Gorge is absolutely beautiful. You can see Washington on the far side of the river.

Halloween Queen's Giveaway

You all should hop on over to the Artistic Halloween Queen's blog and check out the giveaway. The drawings will start on October 1 and run through October 31 ~ a prize giveaway for each day. Just click on the badge or the link below it.

http://artisticthalloweenqueens.blogspot.com/2010/09/queen-for-day-giveaway.html

A Good Day

Yesterday was a good day. We took advantage of a day off work to take the boat out for a fun sail. The wind was just right, and the river flat. There were two or three other sailboats out on the river, very little ship traffic, and quite a few small fishing boats to avoid. I saw the occasional seal and a few pelicans.

While I'm dying to finish the doll I've been working on, I'm committed to finish painting the living room and returning to some semblance of normalcy in that space. It's a large room, which apparently becomes even larger as I paint.

Three to Go

Remember a few years back when it was all the rage to be classifed as spring, summer, winter or fall people? And clothing and makeup were selected based on our seasons? Well I sort of do the same thing with dolls. Using natural light as much as possible, I pull fabrics and place them next to the stuffed doll. In most cases, you can tell right away which colors your doll needs to avoid and which are flattering. So I've lined up some fabrics to go with the remaining three Averill dolls I'll be working on.

I think this will be the next Averill doll I finish. I've always been fond of autumn colors (and wear them myself much of the time). The top fabric with the leaves and swirls will be the skirt. The bottom fabric is a very dark brown, and will probably be arms and legs. Her eyes will be green.
I chose these fabrics because they complemented her skin tone, and I wanted to use colors I don't usually select. I think her skirt will be the red print (second from the left), and her sleeves will be the cream print next to it. She will probably have blue eyes.
This selection of fabrics is a work in progress. The skirt (and possibly the sleeves), will be from the middle fabric. I'm not sure what color her eyes will be.

I haven't even thought about hair yet, but it will all work out in the end.

One of Four Done

Today I finished one of the four Averill dolls I started last week. Naturally, I took the photos before realizing I forgot to poof up her sleeves a little. Oh, well.

While I dislike the sheen of the craft velour, the camel color is nice. This doll is the third from the left in my previous post.

I used some velvet I had on hand for her slippers (only because it went with her coloring), and I'll never use it for this purpose again! In the past I've used a thin stretch panne velvet which has worked really well. This stuff had no stretch at all, was very hard to keep aligned (even with lots of pins and basting), and took much longer to sew.

Itchin' to make some dolls

My day-to-day schedule is still just as hectic as ever, but since coming home from ODACA Day I've been so wanting to work on dolls. I decided to start by making a set of Averill dolls, using my new and improved mold. I thought it might be interesting to use a variety of skin colors to hone my paint blending skills, though I really don't care for the sheen that the craft velours have.

The baked polymer clay faces have been covered with knit fabric and are ready for gesso. I've also gone through my fabric stash and picked out fabrics that complement each skin tone.

Now all the faces have been gessoed, and the first one has been painted to match one of the bodies (hopefully, the paint always dries just a bit darker).