Pocket Doll meets Spirit Doll

With or without faces, these dolls garner praises from family and friends.  I've made some version of these little treasures for years.  I also make a similar version (with legs) with school children when I travel to teach at the Bapagrama School in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Everyone loves these dolls.

Three dolls with stuffed felt bodies and glazed polymer clay faces.

You can get directions and a full-size template by pasting this link into your browser:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/44589719/Felt-Dolls-Ornaments

Enlarge it, shrink it, tweak it--make it your own!

Fabric from a generous Bangalore tailor

The tailor gave us bags and bags of fabric scraps for our sewing projects.

Wanda, a visitor and volunteer, was overwhelmed by the rainbow of silks and cottons.

Ganesha's Gardens, Summer of 2010

Ganesha is a skilled, hard-working gardener at Bapagrama School.  Since I last visited in 2006, he had put in several vegetable plots and many colorful flower gardens. The grounds provide a tranquil setting for walking, reading, and meditating.

Sewing with School Children in India

In July and August, I returned to India for the third time, and to the Bapagrama School for the second time.  I brought materials to sew with students in Eight, Nine, and Ten Standard (similar to 8th, 9th, and 10th grades in here in the States.

                            

                Students sew dolls at the Bapagrama School, Banaglore, Karnataka. See the link for "Educational Praxis" under "Giving Back" to learn more about the school.

                                            

Jeremia helps school boys make dolls.

                                            Sister Ruth sews with the children.