Remember the pile of stuff a couple of posts back? (I'd link to it, but I'm way too lazy this evening . . . ) Anyway, here's what I made from it: The Butterfly Queen. (I did add a few beads and a piece of ribbon, but the rest is what I was given to work with.)
Finished!
Those little 'gold' discs on the headpiece have words on them: one says 'dream' and the other 'create.'
Here's what I'm working on:
Bella's clown costume, to [sort of] match Eliza's—I still need to dig around in the ribbon box and see if I have some red I can make a neck ruff from, or possibly just sew one, since I have scraps . . .
New jester (made from my favorite pattern, Julie McCullough's Jess). Pink cotton velvet suit, with the last of a half yard of the pink/purple print. I have no idea why I bought it, but I've finally managed to use it almost all . . . 
Closeup of his/her head . . . these were taken last night, so they aren't terribly good. Better ones will be forthcoming when I finish! 
I've finished the pixie (more easily since Kai sent me a tiny brush . . . thank you!). I'll tell you one thing, embroidery is NOT like riding a bicycle! I haven't done any since I was a Girl Scout (away back in the dark ages, children, before the dawn of electricity. . .) and I definitely used to do a better job! Practice . . . which means I must make more pixies, doesn't it?
It was so beautiful outside today! (especially after two days of rain and clouds)
And it was cold—winter is finally coming, perhaps. We went yesterday to deliver eggs and jam, and to get three bales of straw: one for under the chicken house, so the geese will have a nice thick layer to burrow down in, since they don't go in the house at night, and two for the goat-and-sheep shed. When I went out to break the ice in all the waterers and feed this morning, everyone was all snuggled up together, burrowed down in the straw. Wonderfully bucolic and seasonal—unfortunately, the camera was in the house.
The lenten roses are coming up in the side yard; there's a large one that's been here for several years, and we bought another last year. The blooms on both are that greenish-white color; I want one of the new rose-colored ones, but not until the price comes down! Maybe next year. . .
Inside, my paperwhites are coming up nicely:
I love the smell of daffodils: clean and astringent. If I could, I'd sow the entire yard with them, just for those few days in the spring.
This is my peppermint geranium; it doesn't smell until you break off a leaf, and then it smells just like peppermint! I have no illusions about being able to keep it alive all winter (I don't have much of a track record with geraniums wintered over; I'm not sure whether it's that I don't have a bright cool place, or that my geranium karma is bad . . .), but I intend to enjoy this one for as long as possible.
Remember the headless doll? Well, she's bald, but at least she has a head and face now. . .
And, just as if I weren't already drowning in fabric, this came today:
It will become Eliza's birthday present: a mermaid costume. I have the pattern, and all I have to do is make a quick trip to the fabric store for a zipper, some boning, and yards of sequined trim . . . and, yes, that is silver lamé, no matter how many times I swore never to sew with it again. (The darker is crushed velvet; the light piece is a glittery knit of some sort. It was on sale.) I hate sewing on sequins, too, so what am I doing?
I'm just a masochist, I guess. Or a fool. Or both.
And she's been in that state for a week now! I'm hoping to finish up all the October swaps (which are somewhat late, I realize) this weekend, stick everything in the mail on Monday, and return to dollmaking.
And the six floppy cats and/or dogs I promised to make for Mom's church bazaar next Saturday (ack!), and the overalls I promised to make for Emma, and the dress for Eliza . . .
And I thought I was chronically overcommitted when I had a real job!
My witch for Mary Tressler's Halloween Challenge is finished! (And I got the picture in just before the deadline, too, as usual . . . ) Here's a closeup:
It took me a while to get a decent photo to send in—I had help:
and more help
But finailly . . . here's the picture I sent her:
Maude, who had promised to cook the annual Halloween Soup, was preoccupied with her new hat and failed to notice that supper was crawling out of the pot . . .
I haven't quite decided on her hair yet (it's just set on her head at the moment): I like this pale green, but I might like the standard black better. I think I'll wait until she acquires some clothing and then see what I think.
otherwise known as "that which I am attempting to do, but I am thwarted by a sleeping cat."
Ocie has adopted my stuffing as her bed of choice for today, so I am having to pull pieces from around the edges . . . No one wonders who's in charge here, do they?
I have managed to get my witch's legs stuffed, in spite of having way too much "help." Her boots are drying. (I used Liquitex Glossies black; isn't it beautifully shiny and witchy?)
This is what I was working on a couple of weeks ago . . . she's a test doll for Mary Tressler's new pattern, which is a class just up at DollStreet. Her feathers are silk flower petals. Mary will have other photos posted at her site, ClothDollClassroom, as soon as they all get in. I've seen the ones she has so far . . . they're all different, and all wonderful.
I'm not sure just what sort of bird she is . . . perhaps a bird of paradise!
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