Friday, January 18, 2008

Northern Mermaid

I am not getting very far very quickly with my mermaid from Judi's pattern....but here is what I have so far. Her hands are pretty small...so I began with them just to make sure I was able to stitch and turn them. I used some fairly lightweight black fabric... it was easy enough. Chenille stems actually still fit into each finger even if they are tiny... just crimped them pretty firmly with my needle nose pliers and slid them in gently with the help of hemostats.










Usually I begin with a head.... I figure if I can get a head and face I am happy with, I can always manage a body to follow. But, this time I just had to try the hands first.










Here are the basics of her face... beside Judi's "covergirl"... lovely lady of the cold northern waters. She includes needle sculpting instructions with the pattern. So far in my doll making I haven't done much with needle sculpting; preferring a flat face and the painting to give it the 3 dimensional look. Or sculpting a face of clay and overlaying fabric to paint the face on. But... this is perfect to give her some nice definition.. .. I wish I had managed to get her eyes a bit closer together....not with the sculpting, but in the drawing stage. I think in my mind's eye that was the problem...I was thinking that when I did the needle sculpting the eyes would move closer to each other .... but, in reality, with it only being enough to slightly indent the corners... they did not. Live and learn...that is what this doll and bear making is all about. I still love her little face. Perhaps I will try a second mermaid another time just to see if I can manage to make myself draw them closer together..... .










Because I have given her green eyes, I'm going to use lighter hair ....this is cushion fringe..... .... so far so good..... onward! Parka material.....










... and in the same breath..... get my own parka and get out there to shovel some snow. Yep... had about 2 inches overnight.... must be winter.

11 comments:

Susan said...

Wow Vee she's turning out beautifully. I haven't seen the movie yet, only the trailers but could she be a little Golden Compass-ish ?

Carole Burant said...

Omigosh, she's beautiful!! What a wonderful job you've done so far with her...I just love her face. Can't wait to see the finished product. You truly are a talented artist:-) xox

Judi W. said...

I think she is just stunning. Better to have wide spaced eyes than too close together .. then she would look cross-eyed! Hope your fur gets there soon!

Folksie Linda said...

Hi vee, sounds like you are having fun...your mermaid is coming out wonderful! You are a marvelous artist with those faces..amazing! Hope all is going well there and you are having lots of time to craft and create! Thinking of you! Hugs, Folksie Linda

Tina said...

Your mermaid looks amazing and wonderful. Can´t wait to see the rest of her. Hugs, Tina

BumbleVee said...

tx for the comments everybody.

Haven't seem the Golden Compass yet either Susan... so can't say for sure.

Yep... looking forward to my lovely fur Judi... not so sure about seeing any of it looking back at me though.... uhm..... well, u know what I mean.

Jennie said...

Thank you for your comments on my blog!
She is really beautiful, you are very talented! Your bears are gorgeous too.

Vee said...

She really looks adorable...those faces that you create are pretty incredible.

Now what's this about Stanley finding a baby?

Laura Lynn said...

Vee you are doing a wonderful job! She is beautiful.. can't wait to see her when you are all done!

Linda Fleming said...

Vee, is she is looking beautiful! I don't think her eyes are too far apart at all! The hair you picked for her is perfect to go with her pretty eyes. I can't wait to see her finished.

I don't envy you shoveling snow, bundle up and keep warm!

Yvette said...

What perfect hands! And her face is beauriful too! She is going to be stunning! :o)