Fiona, the Moulin Rouge Dancer!

Presenting... Fiona!

Except for the red velvet gloves that simply were not turning out and were not looking nice, she's pretty much how I imagined!

For the sake of interest, here's a list of the materials that went into her creation:
German mohair
ultrasuede
Flexlimb, 3 rods
wire
thread
floss
paint
German glass eyes
eyelashes
pearls, 2

wig
shoes
fabric for "invisible" under suit
feather head-dress
feather 2-tail boa
beads, small and large, 13 mini strings
Rhinestone earrings
antique head-piece jewelry
tail-piece jewelry
doll stand

All totaling $119.51, and that doesn't include the labour, lots of it! Yicks! She's the priciest piece I've made...

So what is a reasonable adoption fee?

What's up!

It's Friday, the weekend is here and Fiona was born, on January 30th! She did not want to be photographed nude, so you'll have to wait as I create her costume... inspired by these lovelies!

In other news, I enjoyed a wonderful birthday! Cake, presents, cards, dinner, more cake (including a triple chocolate cheesecake that a colleague said "made men redundant"!) I am grateful... and quite stuffed!

PS Kathleen, do you remember giving me this card years ago!? :)

Almost there!

Ta-Da! She's really come along! Her ears and breasts need to be sewn on, and then let the costuming begin!

And Willow is allowed to go out without any bandages or socks! While still a little red and sore-looking, the cuts are all closed up and we're beginning to take regular walks again! And I'm happy to report with all her forced in-activity, neither of us gained any weight! Phew!

She's really fed up with our fussing over her paw, though! I can't blame her...

Celebrate!

Willow's stitches came out today! Yippy! To celebrate I'm going to... go to work so I can pay the vet bill... oh well.

How about this: until February 14th, take 15% off any critter on my available page! That's a way to celebrate Willow's recovery and Valentine's Day all at once!

Today the arms were finished... with the wires inside stuffing is very much slowed down. And yesterday Fiona's face was completed, and I must say she's lovely, don't you think?

She's really coming together!

Canada in January! Brrr!

Today wasn't as productive as I'd hoped, mostly because of the weather. At -22C, do you know tape doesn't stick?! This made protecting Willow's wound difficult, and frustrating! After several failed attempts, we managed to construct a booty that wouldn't come off so easily... argh! Unfortunately the top stitch got a bit pulled and doesn't look so nice anymore.

I did finish Fiona's feet, a bit tricky as they had to fit firmly into the shoes, to look good and be stable.

I think they look elegant, don't you?

Progress!

What a great day! First off, I started on Fiona's arms, wiring them and then referring to the Moulin Rouge pamphlet concerning her finger nails. Surprisingly, the ladies have relatively short and unpainted nails! Perhaps this is because of the frequent costume changes? So I selected a pale pink for the bear's claws.

And Willow? She's doing great, with the bandages off. You can't beat this view from my chair in the studio!

After lunch, I felt it was the right time to try Fiona's nose and Wow! It's always a surprise for me when a nose turns out nice on the first try! Noses are so tricky... Her's became a very classic shape on her rather pointed snout, very fitting for her character. Then she got her red-lipsticked lips and brown eyes, just like her namesake. While she's not ready for her close-up yet, here are all the body parts, almost ready for assembly! (There are two sets of ears because I'm not sure of the size so I made a smaller pair just in case and painted the inner ears all in one shot.)

Hey! Looks like she's ready to dance!