The Magic Bean

Meet Ascending in the flesh, or should that be, in the cloth?

I just finished my latest version of my newest cloth doll design "Ascending" just in time to exhibit her at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace in London. 

 
You can see Ascending up close and personal.

 
You can peer at her from every angle.

 
And take in all the tiny details.

 
 
You can ask me questions until you are blue in the face.

 
I promise, I'll rise to the occasion.

You can find me and my dolls, including this latest version of Ascending in the Cloth Dolls UK booth - marked TGD1.

If just looking at this doll is not enough for you, remember that I am teaching Ascending at Blue Haze Arts and Crafts in Chesham, Bucks on Friday November 11th and Saturday November 12th, 2011.  Click the link to find out more about this cloth doll course and to sign up online.  Or call and speak to Hazel at the shop on Tel: 01494 782030 or email: info@blue-haze.co.uk.

 
I'll also be teaching a one day course at Blue Haze in Chesham, to make this fairy bookmark called Dive Into a Book on Sunday November 13th, 2011.  This course is a great taster course for those who would like to dip their toes into cloth doll making, but aren't confident with their skills just yet or for more experienced doll makers who just need more practise needle-sculpting tiny toes.

Click the link to find out more about this one day cloth fairy bookmark course in the UK and to sign up online.  Or call and speak to Hazel at the shop on Tel: 01494 782030 or email: info@blue-haze.co.uk.

 
Before I close the book on this post, I want to remind those people on the other side of the pond that I'll also be teaching Dive Into a Book at the Creativ Festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Saturday, October 22nd, 2011.  Click the link to learn more about this course or for information on my other Creativ Festival course offering. To register for Creativ Festival classes. Simply click here for pricing info and call 1-800-291-2030 to register.

You can see me and my dolls in booth 202 at the Creativ Festival in Toronto. 

If I don't see you in the flesh at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace, I hope to see you at the Creativ Festival in Toronto.   

The Evolution of a Doll Design Idea

I'm a bit of an oddball.  If you hadn't already guessed that about me.  I hear many other designers and doll makers talk about their process of making and designing dolls and many of them talk about how much their dolls change during the process of making them.

And here is what makes me weird.  Once I have settled on how a doll will look in my head, they pretty much always turn out the way that I pictured. 

The thing is that I actually make the doll many times over in my head and it is there that the doll evolves.

I think that I ended up with this strange process because I had surgery on my right hand in 2005 with a fairly lengthy recovery process, so the only way I could design dolls was in my head.  After months of not being able to make anything and then years of pain I have perfected the technique of "mental doll making".  I can't waste my hands on ideas that don't work, so I try them out in my head first and discard them if they don't work for me.

That's not to say that I don't change my mind about how something will look.  I just change my mind, in my mind, and not while I am in the middle of making something. I do try out different techniques to try and find the easiest way to do something, but the look I pictured in my head, is the look I end up with.

Take the Bamboo Oracle for example.  The idea for this doll came out around the time that I had surgery on my hand in 2005.  I had intended to participate in the Hoffman Challenge for 2006 and had already bought the fabrics.  The main fabric for the challenge was a pink background with a bamboo motif (you can see it in the Bamboo Oracle's waistcoat lining and cuffs). 

As I sat on the sofa with my arm bandaged so tightly that I could only move my finger tips, I conceived of the idea of a miniature oracle who would hide amounst the bamboo stands in a bamboo forest.  But here is the weird bit - when I first thought about a little tropical seer who could read the future (if you could find them of course) "she" was a "he".

For some reason, when I first thought of this idea I was going to make the Oracle a male doll.  I had seen a picture of a doll by Cyndi Mahlstadt that inspired me.  If you click this link you can see him in Cyndi's gallery - look for the little rotund dude with a long staff and flowers on his head.  I wanted to create a rotund and characterful doll.

I drafted and re-drafted that doll in my head, but wouldn't you know it, it turned into a beautiful woman.  Not quite sure why that happened.  That's the mystery of creativity, I suppose.  As soon as I decided to try making a female doll, the pattern just presented itself in my head.

I did sort of come up with a compromise though.  I was looking for costume inspiration in books on Chinese history and in Chinese movies.  I ended up watching the film House of Flying Daggers .

The female character in this film dresses as a man at one point and it was that male costume that I used for my female Bamboo Oracle.

The shoes however were inspired by the little rolled toe shoes that the female character wears when dressed as a woman.  The curled toes were perfect for my intended purpose of using the doll as an eyeglass caddy - you could perch your spectacles on her feet and the curled toes would hold them there.

Funnily enough there is a stunningly beautiful scene in this film where a fight takes place in the most vibrantly green bamboo forest.  After I saw that scene I realised that the Bamboo Oracle was perfectly suited to the aesthetic of this film.

I did add one little extra twist - Chinese Opera style make-up.  During my university years, I saw someone apply this tyle of make-up as part of one of my theatre design and production courses.  This make-up look is very otherworldly and I thought it would make the doll look more magical without adding wings.

Bamboo Oracle never made it into the Hoffman Challenge because it was almost 4 years between when I conceived the idea for the Bamboo Oracle and when I actually made her.  But her mental image never really faded from my mind and she remains one of my favourite designs.

I am teaching the Bamboo Oracle as an online class on Doll Street beginning Friday, September 2nd.  So if you want to try making your own tropical seer, sign up and get more information on the course by clicking the link.

 

 

The Doll That a Riot Made

This is the doll that I made during and after the riots that hit my city of London, and my neighbourhood specifically.

When I conceived this design she was meant to represent rising above the ordinary, humdrum things in life, but as  I worked, I realised that she also came to represent rising above the terrifying and horrible things in life too.

This doll is called "Ascending".

as•cend•ing (/əˈsendiNG/)
adj.
1. Moving, going, or growing upward
2. Moving or progressing toward a higher level or degree

Sometimes it seems we are standing in one place, rooted to the spot. And many times we don’t like where we have planted ourselves. But if we are willing and are brave enough we can soar above all of the mundane, the ordinary and even the terrible things in life. And oh what a view from above.

But that magical lift isn’t the same for everyone and maybe it’s not the same every day. You have to search to find that updraft and hope you can ride it to new heights.

Will it be creativity that lifts you up? Or love? Or home? Or adventure? Or family? Or giving? Or belief?
 

What lifts you?

 

“Ascending” is an exclusive in-person workshop doll that was designed to allow you to express and explore exactly what it is that helps you to rise above the commonplace. This doll is made entirely of cloth and measures 15” tall from the tip of her toes to the tip of her chin. The doll’s wire and fabric stand lifts her a further 2” off the ground, letting her body float in space. In this intermediate to advanced level class, costume elements are kept to a minimum with only basic draping and simple beading, allowing greater focus on the creation of a beautiful cloth doll face and body. Particular attention will be paid to drawing, needle-sculpting, and colouring a serene face complete with applied eyelids and eyelashes. Instead of just letting the face express emotion, this doll’s entire body has been designed, with an arched back, outraised arms and pointed toes, to evoke a sense of rising above it all. You will learn to make this doll from the bottom up, including how to needle-sculpt bare toes, create beautiful smooth body parts, sew and wire articulated fingers, and use a separate neck and ears to create a beautiful, expressive form. Needle-felting will be used to create a smooth hairline and to root the doll’s long, luxuriant hair that will cascade down her back, adding to the sense of upward motion.

Finally, let your mind and creativity loose and explore what it is that allows you to rise up, by creating a wire and fabric mixed media stand that will both hold your doll up in the air and tell a story of what makes you ascend to new heights.

 

What the riots have taught me is that good things can come out of bad if we let them.

Nobody Likes a Four Eyes

 
I wear glasses.  I have four eyes and am proud of it.  So to stow my spectacles when on the move I made this bespectacled eyeglass case doll.  I was happy with her.  Her head shape is really different (I don't like designing even remotely the same head shape twice if it can be helped).  I went for the really big eyes and applied eyelids.  And the all important spectacles.

 
I even designed the eye chart style fabric.  Hint it reads:  "The best vision is insight.  Malcolm Forbes" - Some people who have seen her didn't get that.

In fact, when I took her from San Jose, to Eugene Oregon, to Victoria BC, to Ingersoll ON, nobody seem to really get her at all.  Don't get me wrong - nobody was ever mean or nasty about this doll, but nobody seemed really enthused either. 

That's OK.  I can't design the perfect doll, the doll of your heart's desire every time.  I'm OK with that, no really, I am.  I did post one picture of her on the blog when I featured free online tools and applications for crafts, but nobody said "Oh my goodness, what is this vision of doll loveliness that I see before me?  Where can I get the pattern? 

And although my friend Romona said that she wanted a pattern and my other friend Bex raved about how great the doll was - well, they're my friends and they are supposed to say that (thanks you two).  In the end, if I don't have plenty of people waving their hands in the air and saying "Oooh, pick me, I want to be the first in line for that pattern or class" then I will not spend the considerable time and effort it takes to write up the online class or pattern.

It turns out that girls who wear glasses don't get made into classes.

Uncap Your Creativity with the All Bottled Up Doorstop Doll

Free demonstration from Cloth Doll Designer, Colleen Babcock

Suitable for All Levels, including beginner to advanced doll makers and even people without any sewing experience

Make this extremely easy “stump” doll using largely recycled items.  Colleen will be demonstrating how to create a simple but effective doll body based around an empty plastic water bottle.  The doll can be used simply as a decorative item or as a weighted and functional doorstop. 

The unembellished doll is constructed without the use of a sewing machine and employs very minimal hand sewing. 

The face will be provided pre-printed onto fabric so even a fear of drawing faces won’t stop you from creating this doll.  Some simple tips for colouring faces on fabric will help to bring the doll alive.

 
Once you have the basic doll complete, you can embellish the doll using any number of fibre arts techniques.  Colleen will show you a few ideas to get you started but, you are only limited by your imagination.

 
Have you had your creativity all bottled up?  Uncap your creativity.

Visit the Fibre Arts Bunch at:

Ingersoll Creative Arts Centre

125 Centennial Lane

Ingersoll, ON N5C 0A5

Canada

For directions and a map of the Creative Arts Centre click here.

Wednesday May 4^th 10am

Even if you are not a member of the Ingersoll Creative Arts Centre you can attend this demonstration for free.  If after a couple of visits to the Fibre Arts Bunch, you decide that you just can't live without the inspiration and support of the Centre, you can become a member.  It's kind like a creativity test drive.

Don't forget that I am also teaching my exclusive in-person workshop doll, Stitch in Time in Ingersoll Ontario on May 6-7th, 2011.  I am able to offer the two day course for just $100 (CAD) per person, which includes a hot lunch on both days, prizes and goodie bags!

 
I have also been able to get an outstanding deal on hotel rooms in the Ingersoll Comfort Inn and Suites, (just $55 CAD plus 13% tax which would make the room - $62.15 CAD) but those rooms won't be reserved for much longer.  Book your hotel room before April 6th, or the block of reserved rooms will be released to other guests.  E-mail me at colleenbabock@uwclub.net for more information about this course and to find out how to get the special hotel room rate.  Or you can just write and say hi too.

If you don't live near Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada but your club or community group would be interested in learning to make the All Bottled Up Doorstop doll, I will consider offering it as a free demonstration to your group provided my expenses are covered. 

 
If you would prefer this doll as a full class rather than as a demonstration then my regular teaching fees will apply. 

To see where in the world I'll be teaching next, click the link to see my teaching schedule. 

First thing first...I'm sorry if you miss out....

In my continuing mission to find space where there isn't much to start with, I am selling three more dolls. 

And before I start telling you about the dolls I am going to have to part with, let me say this:  I am really sorry if the doll you wanted is sold before you get a chance to buy it.  The last time that I put two of my dolls up for sale, they sold really quite quickly and I received some e-mails from some very sad people who missed out.  No, I won't be making any more.  These are orginal dolls and there will be no more once these dolls find their new homes.  So the lesson here is - if you want one of the these dolls please move quickly or all I'll be able to do is send you a sad e-mail apology that you missed out.

First up for sale is Loiseau. 

 
You may recognise this doll from Patti Medaris Culea's book Creative Cloth Doll Beading.

What you didn't see in the pages of the book is the back view of this doll.

 

I can't even begin to articulate how long all this beading took to do.  With the wings beaded front and back and with a beaded tail, plus a beaded corset and cuffs I cringe to think of how many hours of work this doll represents.  Patti herself once asked me how long the beading took and I couldn't bring myself to estimate.

 
But I think she was worth it. 

There just isn't space in my home for Loiseau - is there space in yours?  If so, visit my Etsy shop to find out more about giving Loiseau a safe new home to nest.

Also looking for a new place to roost, is the Soul Whisperer. 

 
The Soul Whisperer remains one of my more popular original designs.

 
She really seems to speak to people.  This doll is now sold.

If like me, you don't have whole heck of a lot of room then this beaded face, based on Annie Hesse's design from Creative Cloth Doll Beading might be the way to own a bit of handmade beauty.

 
Again, each bead was hand sewn into this fun face design. This doll is now sold.

There isn't space in my home for these dolls - is there space in yours?

I'm doing something I rarely do...I'm selling some of my dolls

I don't tend to sell my dolls.  I keep them or I give them away, but I rarely sell them.  However, I live in a very tiny flat with very little space and so the time has come to sell a few dolls.  And the two dolls I am selling at the minute have both appeared in print, so they are not just lovingly hand-made, but they are also famous!

Both of these dolls are now sold - sorry if you missed out

Water Lily appeared in the Summer 2008 issue of Art Doll Quarterly magazine.  She is looking for a fairy loving someone to adopt her.  Can you resist that pout?  If not, go over to my Etsy shop to read all about Water Lily - this doll is now sold. 

Erin was featured in Barbara Willis' book Cloth Doll Artistry. 

 

 
Erin is now SOLD

Erin is a lovingly made Irish colleen (did you know that my name Colleen literally means "girl" in Irish gaelic?  I'm not making it up, I swear).  Based on Barbara Willis' design for Jolie, I re-interpreted Barbara's pattern to be featured in the book.  Erin is now sold.

While it is sad to see these little friends go, I know it will be to a loving home.  Will it be yours?

Baby It's Cold Outside

 
With the pond in my local park frozen over and a distinct bite of frost on the air, the arrival of this little Snowflake Sprite in my e-mail inbox couldn't have been more perfectly timed. Sally Leszczynsk (pictured below), one of the students in my Snowflake and Spider Sprite class at Blue Haze Arts & Crafts in Chesham, Bucks is the creator of this frozen beauty. 

I love the way that Sally positioned the legs to give the doll a really balletic feel.  The beautiful laces and silver paint for the shoes that Sally chose really add to the sparkly feel of snow.  Sally also drew a beautiful spritely face and managed to get some wonderful expression with the hands, something I particularly love to see in cloth dolls. 

It always gives me a warm feeling to see the finished dolls of my students.  Thank you Sally for the warmth on a cold day.

If you would like join in and take one of my doll classes here in the UK, I will be teaching Stitch in Time (pictured below) February 18-19th, 2011 and the About Face Pin Doll Class on February 20th, 2011.  For more information about these classes visit the Blue Haze website by clicking the link or contact Hazel on  01494 782030 or email at info@blue-haze.co.uk.

 
For more information about where I'll be teaching in 2011, see my schedule.  Or to find out more about hosting a class with me for your club or shop, click the link.

Once upon a time, magic made a cloth doll.

 
Once upon a time,  a doll maker felt compelled to make a medieval cloth doll.  She began the doll with a face.  The head pattern was different from anything else that the doll maker had ever seen, but it came together beautifully and as if by magic.

 
 
The body shape was based on a traditional "stump" style but with a fun wrapped twist.  And that too worked out like magic.

 
The face was different than the doll maker's usual methods with less sculpting, more colouring and applied eyelids.

 
 
The doll maker couldn't resist adding little details like a pair of mesh crispinettes covering the braided hair, a silk wimple and beaded "buttons" and belt.

 
And lastly, the doll maker even designed an original cross-stitch design for the doll to be stitching on herself, elegantly taking a stitch with her articulated and expressive fingers.

 
The doll maker loved her little creation so much that she couldn't wait to share the magic of making this magical doll with others and decided to offer the doll as an exclusive in-person workshop doll. 

If you want to make Stitch in Time with me, click the link to see the list of cloth doll classes that I teach in-person and to download my contract. I hope you think that this brand new doll is a magical as I do.

 

The Last But Certainly Not the Least

Romona King, my third and final tester has finished her version of the Snowflake Sprite.  Romona has been testing my patterns from the beginning.  I love Romona, can you feel the love?

And, oh boy, is this doll luxe!  Check out that rich colour and fabulously dyed laces.  Yum.

 
Romona's dolls is definitely ready for Christmas.  I just love her little spritely face.  In fact,  all my testers did a stunning job on their doll's faces (if you missed the other testers' dolls, click here to see them).

So with all my testers finished and their feedback taken into account, I will be sending this pattern off to the printers.  What that means is that this pattern will be available shortly.  Phew.  Can't wait to see what creativity this pattern kick starts.  As a designer, I can safely say that is the best part.