Balanced Out

Drill bits and stuffing don't mix! I got the courage to try to add the brass rod to the 'Last of the Faeries" doll yesterday so she wouldn't tip over again. It was an interesting process.

She is made with two layers - muslin, then lycra, then painted with tinted gesso so she is fairly rigid. As I posted previously I thought I could drill right up through the stuffing to make a hole for the rod. Didn't work. The stuffing caught on the drill bit and when you pulled it out the stuffing just moved right down into the hole that was made by the bit. Rats! So instead I used a whole bunch of a various tools to make the hole. First I used an awl - that made a hole but it wasn't big enough in diameter. So then I used my little embroidery scissors - that made it a big longer and wider, but I could still only get about an inch of the rod up her leg. Next I used a pair of hemostats that are really thin and sharp - ah ha - worked great! Now I am able to get a couple of inches of the rod inside her leg. I really would have liked to get about four or five inches up there but I didn't have anything else to poke up her leg. I think what I have will be enough to stabilize her as she is pretty well balanced but next time I think I will insert the rod before I stuff instead of after. Oh well.