Log Cabin Hitty Day Five ~ Hitty Elsie Is Born

Today I completed Hitty Elsie, and am extremely happy with my new Hitty.  She turned out much more beautiful than I imagined she would.  The process of taking 151 year old wood from an old log cabin has been very exciting for me, and to finally see the end result of my labor is a very wonderful feeling.

The birth of Hitty Elsie does not end my work with the log cabin wood, it’s just the beginning of what I hope will become a fascinating journey.  Now that I have an unlimited supply of wood, I plan to experiment with my carving more than I have been able to do in the past.   I plan to eventually carve more Hittys and male and female Hitty friends.  I also wish to attempt making an “Uncle Sam” Hitty friend for my FIL who is a very patriotic man (having served in WWII) and since he’s not into “girlie” dolls, I think an Uncle Sam Hitty friend would be perfect for him.

I also plan to make boxes and furniture, but right now I just wish to share the final steps in the creation of Hitty Elsie.

During the creation of Hitty Elsie, a Hitty Girl member Ann S. and the Bonsai Hittys suggested naming her Elsie because Elsie sounds like L.C. for “Log Cabin”.  I loved the suggestion so much, that I began thinking of her as Hitty Elsie before she was even born.  Thank you Ann and thank you Bonsai Hittys for the wonderful name!

I left off yesterday with the arms, legs and body shaped, with the hair and face left to carve as well as the final sanding and polishing of Hitty Elsie.

Here I have drawn where I want the nose and mouth to be.

Here I have carved her face, it’s not complete yet as it still has to be sanded, but here we can see her personality emerging.

And here I have carved her hair.

And here she is, assembled with her dowels.  She’s now ready for the final sanding.

Here she sits, sanded and polished to a nice smooth, glossy finish.  The wood is beautiful when polished, I love how it glows!

She is now ready to be painted.  Here is a leg with my liquitex paints, I’ll be painting the socks first.

Here are the legs hanging between 2 diet coke cans as they dry.  Once dried, I will need to paint a second layer of white paint to complete her socks.

While waiting for the socks to dry, I paint her hair and hang her body upside down as well for the hair to dry.

The socks are dry by time I complete her hair, so I then paint her shoes.

Once her hair is dry, I then paint her face.  This is when I consider her as being “completed” once her personality shines through with her sweet expression.  But I still have a few more things to do before she can be considered fully born.

Here I have painted small button on her shoes, and a red line over her socks so that they will match the socks that the real Hitty wears.

I then attach her arms and legs with dowels, and Hitty Elsie is now ready to begin her adventures!

Hitty Dot is so excited when she sees her that she greets her with a great big Hitty hug.

Here Hitty Dot and Hitty Elsie pose for the camera.  Hitty Elsie sits in a dress that she borrowed from Cadaver Hitty until I can make her a dress of her own.

There’s many exciting adventures planned for Hitty Dot and Hitty Elsie, and many new Hittys to carve.

Upcoming posts will show the boxes as they are being made, spoons and dolls for Hitty as well as more family History about the log cabin that Hitty Elsie emerged from!