For the first time in five years, I have decided to work very hard at getting my two entries for the State Fair finished before the actual day of entry! Well, I've been working at it since January, and I finally finished a second doll.
This doll is based on Thorin Oakenshield as played by Richard Armitage in Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" Trilogy. Thorin weighs 3-1/4 ounces, stands 9-1/4" tall and took 61 hours to complete. He is needle-felted out of Merino wool roving (with a little Cotswold for the skin tone) using .40 and .42 gauge needles. The wool in his pants and overcoat is a Merino/Silk blend of black and navy blue. His boots are felted from dark brown Corriedale roving, and they are completed with Rabbit fur and leather thong. He has a lighter-blue tunic, then a grey-leather piece of "chest armour". His short sleeves and the bottom of his armour tunic are felted Merino in two colors. The dark blue is put on the bottom and felted up into the light grey to give the modeled effect. His next coat is felted from dark blue Merino roving, and the belt is navy blue leather that Elizabeth painted with Thorin's designs. His "arm guards" are made of black leather with real metal "buckles" (also made by Elizabeth!). His overcoat is felted with real Mink trim sewn on and trimmed to shape. His face is completely felted wool (no paint or anything), and his hair is made from Mohair Kid Locks. Elizabeth also made the metal bands in his hair, which I think is just the perfect finishing touch. :)
I've been making Middle Earth themed dolls for Elizabeth over the past two years, and after seeing Tauriel (the first doll that I have been totally happy with in a while!), I thought that it would be fun to make a doll for myself. After all, years from now, I would like to be able to show my kids a nice doll that I made --- not just the photos. The only doll that I've actually kept is Carmen Miranda (which is one of the best, I think), but, since making her in 2012, I have improved a lot of my felting techniques and proportions on the figures.
Once I have finished a doll, I really like it for three days. I look at them all the time and just enjoy each one, but on the fourth day I am ready to get on to the next character. This is the main reason that I don't keep any dolls. I like them for a few days, but it is really the making of them that is the fun part --- not the owning of them. It seemed like a fun thing to make one that I would want to keep at this stage in my felting. Each doll is better in some way than the previous one, since I am always trying to work on some aspect of the felting or construction. Being the year of the final "Hobbit" film coming to disc, it seemed like a fun idea to have a Hobbit character of my own! We're also a bit "Hobbit crazy" right now, and it's always fun to work on a character that you are really inspired to make.
My two favorite characters from all six of Peter Jackson's Tolkien films are Bilbo Baggins and Thorin Oakenshield. Bilbo as a "hero" and general character and Thorin as far as character portrayal and acting. Bilbo didn't seem like he would be challenging enough (from a felting perspective), so I waffled for a few weeks about doing Thorin. Would he look good in felt? Did I think that I could make him? How would his armour piece work on a doll?
Mom and Elizabeth really encouraged me to go for Thorin, and I had a package of Mohair Kid Locks that looked exactly like Thorin's hair. They convinced me, in the end, and I started on him. Elizabeth had made the "chest armour" for Tauriel out of a piece of leather, and that gave a really rich effect to the finished doll. What appealed to me were the metal hair bands that she had made for Tauriel's braid. Thorin had four of those, so that was a real deciding factor in choosing to make him. Well, Elizabeth offered to try some more detailed leather work for Thorin, and it certainly made Thorin look really grand.
Once I have finished a doll, I really like it for three days. I look at them all the time and just enjoy each one, but on the fourth day I am ready to get on to the next character. This is the main reason that I don't keep any dolls. I like them for a few days, but it is really the making of them that is the fun part --- not the owning of them. It seemed like a fun thing to make one that I would want to keep at this stage in my felting. Each doll is better in some way than the previous one, since I am always trying to work on some aspect of the felting or construction. Being the year of the final "Hobbit" film coming to disc, it seemed like a fun idea to have a Hobbit character of my own! We're also a bit "Hobbit crazy" right now, and it's always fun to work on a character that you are really inspired to make.
My two favorite characters from all six of Peter Jackson's Tolkien films are Bilbo Baggins and Thorin Oakenshield. Bilbo as a "hero" and general character and Thorin as far as character portrayal and acting. Bilbo didn't seem like he would be challenging enough (from a felting perspective), so I waffled for a few weeks about doing Thorin. Would he look good in felt? Did I think that I could make him? How would his armour piece work on a doll?
Mom and Elizabeth really encouraged me to go for Thorin, and I had a package of Mohair Kid Locks that looked exactly like Thorin's hair. They convinced me, in the end, and I started on him. Elizabeth had made the "chest armour" for Tauriel out of a piece of leather, and that gave a really rich effect to the finished doll. What appealed to me were the metal hair bands that she had made for Tauriel's braid. Thorin had four of those, so that was a real deciding factor in choosing to make him. Well, Elizabeth offered to try some more detailed leather work for Thorin, and it certainly made Thorin look really grand.
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