Doll rush to TRXC

The Region X Championship (TRXC) was held a couple of weeks back on November 3rd and 4th in Albany, NY. As usual I made a whole bunch of dolls to bring to sell. And for people to play with. That is one of the things people like and have come to expect. The first year I brought dolls was 2008 (I believe) My name was still St.Onge so that is my guess.

 The dolls and the people playing with them got sillier throughout the day.

 And these are just a couple of the silly photos, I have more and I know my friend Corrie has even more silly pics.

This years I completely forgot to take any photos at the show. And no one came to play with the dolls. They just did some shopping. Maybe that's because I was judging and it's more fun to play when they think it will annoy me (it doesn't annoy me, *shh* don't tell).

 

So how do you get a good stock of dolls together for a big sale and still keep the quality of each piece up? You start early and you work really long days. This first doll was a bendy neck hunt seat doll. She was made in mid-September.

 I wanted to include some dolls with sculpted heads so this guy was done pretty early on. He ended up being the only doll with a sculpted head but perhaps when I get better there will be others. I am starting to think there is a cowboy curse as they don't often sell well. Which is a bit surprising to me because a cowboy is just about the most versatile western doll there is.

 I actually made a list of all the dolls I wanted to make for the TRXC sale because it made it easier to see what I had done and how far I still had to go. Showmanship dolls are not overly complex since they don't need to ride and I worked on this lady...

 ...and this young girl at the same time. I often will make several similarly styled dolls in the same time period and then do something different. I do like the ribbon designs and may do more of that in the future. I will probably also work on mixing some ribbon designs with freehand swirls.

I wanted to have a good variety of dolls so I also made a shorted, bendy leg, bendy neck hunt seat lady. And I changed her coat color as well. These dolls are interesting because the shorter thigh makes it so they fit better in most English saddles.

In sticking with the variety theme I also worked on This casual hunt seat doll...

...and this casual western doll. This lady actually got partially redone since she was originally wearing a turtleneck and I really hated it. She wasn't going to be good for anything other than trail riding. And while that is fun, it's not all that fun. So I changed her shirt to a nice button down with a bit of glitter. Lots of people wear sparkly clothes on a daily basis so I figured that would work. She can also do games and could even be a judge.

 Youth dolls are often pretty popular so this little gal was created. I think she is going to stay in my doll crew. I "borrowed" her for NEPC and she and Just Because got along really well. So perhaps she will just stay with me. She has slightly longer thighs than often end up on my rebuilt youth dolls. She looks like a young but not super young girl to me. And my niece is easily this skinny (she's 13) so I think he size is believable.

I really enjoy doing freehand swirls. Not only are they pretty, trendy as well as classic but I am pretty good at them and I get a big kick out of that. The asymmetrical style of these tops makes it possible for me to do them freehand and still have them come out well. I heard about a trick for doing the symmetrical, mirrored designs and will try it out sooner or later.

 This pink and silver lady was not actually made specifically for the TRXC sale. While working through my list I was also working on a few orders and some random sales dolls. She didn't sell when I listed her so she came to TRXC.

I also made this upper level dressage rider. Not all that many people do upper level dressage as the tack and the patterns are much more complex than the lower levels. But for those that do, a doll is becoming a must (because everybody needs dolls). I think this lady has a very sweet face.

 Saddle seat is another style of riding that not a whole lot of people try. For the most part it's tack and a doll that can be used for only one class. I have seen some very creative people do much more with their saddle seat stuff but it is not super common. I wanted to make a doll that was fun and a bit different. The rules on color seem to be getting more lax with saddle seat. I did double check, there are tweed and plaids in real saddle seat coats these days.

I had fun with this western lady. She is in a mix of styles I have been working with this year. Not only does she have asymmetrical panels of printed fabric on her top she also has printed peacocks. I did several dolls with pictures on them in the early part of the year. Being able to print my own fabric makes for some very unique dolls.

 This lady was done in the same style as the pink and silver doll. This top actually matches the reference photo I used pretty well. I think she is super eye catching and though the pictures show her crystals as sort of orange they are in fact red and a pretty good match to her leaf patterned top.

 I wanted to make a western doll that was less blingy because I know that not everyone loves super blinged up dolls. This lady did not want to photograph well. I tried on two different days, with two different horses and she always looked somewhat yellow. I am not really sure how to fix that.

 After I made all these dolls I wanted to take a nice new group shot as I have been using the same one for years now. So I got everyone together and set up for a photo shoot. This is the first time I have horses in my group shot and I do like it, though I think next time I will turn them all the other way. The cowboy in navy blue on the far left was a TRXC doll as well. When I was getting ready to take his photos I noticed his hands were on the wrong side of his body! I had to do a rebuild on him (he is a super bendy cowboy) and I put his arms on the wrong side when he was rebuilt. Luckily I could pop the pins out of his hands and switch them around. But the result is that is the only photo I have of him.

 So there is the rundown of the TRXC dolls. Working 10-12 hours a day four days a week for 6 weeks made it happen. Several of the dolls are still available for sale and are listed on MH$P under Anne Field.