Trouble Maker
(30 in/77 cm)
I named this doll Trouble Maker because she gave me such trouble at the beginning. I started out with a drawing of the body and head shape I wanted to make. This is a departure for me, as I usually start with yarns, crochet a bunch with a basic shape in mind, and ten maybe draw an outline and try to fit the pieces to it. I started with a set of colors that I just couldn't make work; I think there were too many disparate colors: oranges, pinks, corals, blues, greens, variegated yarns with those colors. I've used similar colors before and have been pleased with them, but this one just wasn't coming together. So, I decided to change course. There was one variegated yarn, actually it's a thick thread, that I really liked and decided to use the tried and true method of matching colors to it. It's Caron Watercolours (which I LOVE because they make it in such luscious color combinations, though it's pretty pricey). This yarn is the variegated that you see here and there in the hair and also in the body.
I wouldn't normally put this set of colors together, but I found it to be pretty comfortable to work with them. Still, I had lots and lots of pieces and they sat in the bag for the longest time. I woudl arrange them, and just not be pleased, over and over. I finally made up my mind just to go forth over the fourth (sorry for the bad pun) because I had some time to devote to it. It finally started coming together and I'm pleased with the result. Her shape got adjusted a little during the course of piecing it together, but she's basically the shape I started with, except for her hair.
So, the hair. At least that's what I intended it to be, but some have thought it's a hat. That's OK too, I suppose. I was thinking of ringlet curls when I made the hair -- aiming at just the suggestion of curls.. Not sure I got that effect, but I really like how the hair turned out. I made zillions of rings, PAINSTAKINGLY sewed them together, and then crocheted a solid blue piece to sew behind it. The blue piece is structurally necessary (but I also think it brings out the texture of the hair), as it enables the supportive book board between the front and back to be hidden. The back is polar fleece sewed to the front.
