Began carving January 2006
Mrs. Plum introduces the first new class of 2006
They begin to learn about caring for a Hitty Household right away.
1. Mahogany...2. Mahogany...3.
Butternut...4. Butternut...5.
Butternut...6. Basswood
I love carving the mahogany. Not only is it a gorgeous reddish wood, but it
carves easily
and doesn't splinter as much as I have noticed the basswood can. The butternut
is similarly carve-able.
Basswood is the easiest I have found so far to carve, but it can splinter
or get fuzzy.
One through five are the newer blank patterns. Number six is my original blank
pattern.
These are the last blanks I have on hand, and I intend to modify the next
blank pattern a little more.
The more Plums I carve, the more I discover new ways to make them better.
The first rough carving has been done. Next, sanding and more shaping.
The arm and leg holes have been predrilled, and are small, as I have come
to prefer elastic jointing for the Plums.
They prefer it too, as it gives them a much greater range of motion.
I am experimenting with t-jointing on the legs, and so far--I like it better.
Most of these above will be carved down more to fit the legs as I make them.
Mrs. Plum tends to have rather stout friends. (Which should speak well for
their cooking skills!)
Ok, I forgot to take the 'before' picture, and started roughing out a pair
of legs!
The basswood square dowels on the end were purchased at Michaels, and carve
very nicely. (Under $2.00 for a two-foot length.)
Each Plum will have limbs of matching wood, although on this batch,
the feet will need to be made of basswood pegged and glued into place.
Here the feet have been glued and pegged in place. I use rubber bands to help
hold them firmly against the legs.
The red ribbon you see threaded through the holes is where I have tied each
pair together,
so I can work on two at a time and make them match. Once all of the arms and
legs are done,
they will all go together on a ribbon with the body to which they have been
matched.
This avoids confusion (a state of mind to which I am naturally inclined.)
Here are the carved Plums with matched arms and legs. No sanding has been
done yet.
At this point, the arms and legs are 'jointed' with toothpicks, to check for
fit.
They will later be jointed with elastic to allow for a greater range of motion.
Mrs. Plum instructs the newly carved Plums in deportment.
Good posture is an important requirement for someone who will be in charge
of impressionable Hittys.