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Monday, December 28, 2009

Grace is home!


Grace is home and sleeping now. She is pretty good to stay quiet when she needs to. Poor pup, she just had back surgery in August. Now she will have a scar on the topside and the underside. Actually, the topside back surgery scar can't be easily seen now, but it sure could at first. See pic. She is now one expensive doggy!!

I guess I was wrong! and My Dogs

Toys are still being dropped! Perhaps until New Year's Eve? Here are the latest places: Seattle, WA, USA; Winslow, Maine USA; Stockton, Ca, USA; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
Our dog Grace is in the hospital today for teeth cleaning, hernia repair, microchip, and toenail trimming. As long as she's "out," might as well get everything possible done!! I hate leaving my babies at the vet, but sometimes it has to be done.(sigh)
In a few weeks, our dachshund population will grow to three; we are adopting another female mini who was hit by a car and had her two hind legs broken. She is still recuperating in foster care and will have another surgery to remove the external metal brace from one leg, and to be spayed. I will ask them to put a microchip in at the same time, too. Her name is Poki, short for Pokahantas, and both Wiener and Grace liked her when we took them for a visit last week. I'd like to visit her again this week, but with Grace having surgery today, and DH having surgery tomorrow (and having to return for Xrays on Wednesday), the only day we could visit would be Thursday, New Year's Eve, and I think Poki is visiting foster mom's relatives with her that day. So it looks as if we'll have to wait until next week.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Done with World Wide Christmas 09 Toy Drop...........

...........but not with this year's toy drops, of course. There is another six days of 2009, so I'll do at least one more, before the curtain drops on this year, 2009. The "aught decade" is leaving us, friends, and the teens are coming--well, the PREteens, I guess---have to have three years of preteens before we reach the teens. I hope the preteens are better than our last three aughts!! Can we just toss those last three aughts away??!! No, guess not: people have been born (our Ellie), married, graduated, etc. these last three years, so we HAVE to keep them, even though they have been very unkind to us (the years have, that is, NOT the people!).
I am having to postpone celebrating my mom's 93 birthday with her next Wednesday, as DH is having a medical procedure on Tuesday, and Grace, our doxie, is having surgery on Monday. Not a good week for us to leave town! I'm hoping we can go see Mom the following week, and that I can do a few toy drops at her senior apartment building--I will get Mom to help me--I think she'll enjoy that.
It is cold here in the NW this Christmas Day; cold enough that any wind at all makes it pretty uncomfortable outside. I'm sure it is a lot colder where lots of folks are and many have snow to deal with, too, which we don't. So I'm not REALLY complaining, just "whining a little." That's a family joke: when my husband got off the bus after his first day of kindergarten, his mother asked him if he'd cried. "No, but I whined a little," he replied. He was only four and had ridden the bus to school all by himself, because his mom had no car and a toddler, and new baby to take care of.

The 8 O Clock Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

The 8 O Clock Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Last Day for Toy Society Christmas Drop 09



Here are the latest drop locations: Oss, The Netherlands; Plymouth Devon, UK; Windsor, NSW, Australia; Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Argentina; Coonabarabran, NSW, Australia; Blacktown, NSW, Australia ; Sydney, NSW, Australia; Las Cruces, NM, USA; Benthuizen, The Netherlands; Oosterheem (Zoetermeer, The Netherlands); Ljubljana, Slovenia,Europe; Brigham City, UT, USA); newnan, ga, USA; Costa Teguise, Lanzarote, Canary Islands; Piscataway, NJ USA; Eureka, CA USA; Perth, Western Australia, Australia.

Last year 105 toys were dropped for Christmas 08; we are up around 175 so far this year. Wouldn't it be nice if a last sprint carried us to 200? I have a couple more to drop today.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

World Wide Toy Drop Continues......

......with these places reporting in: ACT Australia; NSW, Australia; Sydney NSW, Australia ; Las Cruces, NM USA; Melbourne, Australia; London (England); Asheville, NC, United States; Gouda (Netherlands),
The course of my day took me past some of the sites of my Saturday drops. Two, at area high schools, were still where I put them, because, unbeknownst to me, school let out on Friday for the holidays. If I had known the schools were not in session at all this week, I wouldn't have left toys there.
So I fetched them, and have already redropped one. Now I have to get the picture out of the camera. Tomorrow, I will drop the other one, plus a couple new ones I made Sunday and Monday night. Hope someone finds these. Others I dropped on Saturday were picked up.

Yet Even More Toy Drop Locations



Venezuela; Vancouver BC CANADA; Paynesville VIC Australia; Burlington, Washington, USA; New Zealand; Caballito - Buenos Aires – Argentina; Iowa City, Iowa (USA).

AND!!!!!!..................................Ta dah!!! My first Finder reports:
Found: 09 Christmas Drop # 72
09 Christmas Drop # 72 has been found!
************************************************************
From: Mike
Date: Mon, Dec 21, 2009 at 11:46 AM
Subject: I got a toy
To: "thetoysociety@gmail.com"


thank you BARB i got a toy at the dollar store taped to a cart. I think it was 19.

Monday, December 21, 2009

More Toy Drop Locations


Lone Pine, California USA; Davis, CA, USA; Stockton, CA, USA; Owens Valley, CA, USA; Domzale, Slovenia, Europe; Long Beach,Ca. USA

No Found posts to any of my drops yet; maybe later this week!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Cute Little Amigurumi Star


http://arpelia.blogspot.com/2008/03/super-mario-invincibility-star-crochet.html

Yet More Toy Society Christmas 09 Drop Locations

Queensland Australia; Viewbank, Vic, Australia; Santa Monica, California, USA; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Des Moines, IA, USA; New Richmond, WI USA; Plzen, Czech Republic; Kennesaw, Georgia, USA

A couple of finders have reported in, but none for my toys yet.

More Toy Society Christmas 09 Drop Locations

Kennewick, WA, USA; Fishtoft, UK; Mandeville, LA, USA; Slidell, LA, USA; Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

Makes me feel good, knowing I'm not the only one in the world who loves The Toy Society!!!

She paints the cost of war in sand. You'll be blown away!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=vOhf3OvRXKg

I've never seen anything like this! Barb

Places where Toy Society Members Dropped Toys this Weekend


It's our World Wide Christmas 09 Toy Drop, and here are the places toys have been dropped, in no particular order. You can see pictures at The Toy Society site: http://thetoysociety.blogspot.com/
Kessel, Belgium: Ocean Shores, WA, USA: Hoquiam, WA, USA: Aberdeen, WA, USA; Santa Barbara, California.USA; Lisboa, Portugal; Nowra, NSW, Australia; Nowra., Australia; Brunswick East, Victoria, Australia; edmonton, alberta Canada; Werribee, Victoria, Australia; Canberra, ACT Australia; San Francisco, CA, USA; Glenroy, Victoria, Australia; Silverton, Oregon USA; Altona Vic Australia; Portland, OR, USA; Mount Vernon, Washington, USA; Peterborough, UK; West St Paul, MN, USA; Dulwich Hill. NSW, Australia; Maracaibo (Venezuela); Fort Wayne IN USA; Iowa City, Iowa (USA); Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Leeds, UK; Superior, Arizona, USA; Sydney, Australia; Clearfield, Utah, USA; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Leiden, The Netherlands; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Nottingham, England; Viewbank, Australia.; Mitchell Hwy, NSW, Australia; Bathurst, NSW, Australia; Millthorpe, NSW, Australia; Elmshorn Weihnachtsmarkt, Schleswig Holstein, Germany; Centerville, Utah, USA; NJ, USA; Kingsville, Maryland USA.

Shown is one of my drops in Ocean Shores, WA yesterday. Hope he didn't have to stay outside all night!!!

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Scotty dog is by Jenny B. Harris

The little Scotty dog pattern is by Jenny B. Harris. The pattern can by found at this address:
http://allsorts.typepad.com/allsorts/2006/05/softie_scotty_d.html#comment-6a00d8341c5c8953ef0128766c4b3e970c

Thanks for sharing this cute Scotty pattern with us, Jenny. My friends loved him and so did I.

Friday, December 18, 2009


Only one more day until The Toy Society's World Wide Christmas Drop!! I would have called it "Holiday Drop" but they didn't ask me. I am excited, as last year at this time I wasn't a member, so didn't get to participate in this.I have 30 toys to drop and plan to leave them in as many different locales in Grays Harbor County as I can tomorrow. They are all bagged and numbered, but I need to put the Take Me Home labels in each bag and also the note asking them to report their find to The Toy Society. This is a street art project that began in Australia and traveled all over the world. I learned about it on another's crafty blog, and I was off. Wish me a dry day for dropping!!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

My First Viola Ruth


This is a small Alabama Indestructible Baby Doll, designed by Deanna Hogan (Blue Heron Dolls) as part of a challenge of the Antique Cloth Doll Yahoo Group; the original Alabama Babies were made by a lady back in the early 1900s--I've forgotten her name at the moment--as a more child-friendly doll than the china-head dolls of that time. I have made bigger ones from directions in a doll magazine, and I've made smaller ones by shrinking Deanna's pattern (tea cup Alabama babies, if you will). These are cloth dolls with a molded mask under cloth, and are a lot of fun to make. This one now lives with my 93 year old mom; another one the same size lives with my friend Joanie, and I have a one the same size that is still undressed, several big ones that wear vintage baby clothes, and the little tea cups, only one of which is partly dressed. As you might have concluded, I like making the dolls more than I like making their clothes.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009


Gee! Wish I'd wiped down the microwave before taking Mr. Scotty's picture!!! He is made from wool from a pattern whose designer I will credit in a minute. I'll have to track down the pattern, as I downloaded it from a blog a few weeks ago, and I firmly believe in giving credit. The designer made it from felt, but as I mentioned, I made mine from reprised wool and needed to add seam allowances so that it would not turn out emaciated because I was using his girth in seams. I think he's quite the charmer!


This guy makes me laugh every time I look at him! Maybe it's a face only a mother could love?! He's quick to make from a glove, those kinds you can get for a buck a pair. Here's what to do:
Push the two middle fingers and the thumb into the glove, and, on the right side and by hand, sew the resulting openings closed (use double thread throughout these directions)--the index finger and the pinkie will make his dorky little ears. Then go inside the glove and trim off the unused two fingers and thumb 1/4 inches from stitching--you will use the two fingers later.
Next, go to the cuff of the glove, and inside, on the cuff only, trim close to the stitching (through inside layer only)so you can fold out the entire cuff part and make longer legs. Now, stuff the ears of the rabbit and then the body; how firmly you stuff him is up to you--mine is plump but soft.
Pin closed right where the cuff starts, and, using a running stitch, sew through both front and back, where cuff joins the rest of the glove. This will separate the legs of the rabbit from the body and allow him to sit comfortably. If you don't WANT him to sit, omit this step.
Now, starting at edge of cuff and through both thicknesses, cut straight up the middle to within 1/4 inch of the stitching you just did. This will divide the cuff for the legs.
On the inside, sew a scant 1/4 inch seam up one leg and down the other, leaving bottoms of the legs free for stuffing. Now stuff each leg. Stitch a running stitch around the raw edge of each leg, turn it in, and pull up, so the leg is closed. Knot securely, run thread through leg, and trim off where it exits the leg.
Now, find those two glove-fingers you cut off earlier, stuff them, sew closed as for the legs, and sew in place to the rabbit's body wherever you think they should go--you can pin them in place if you find that helpful.
Now, how you finish your goofy rabbit is up to you; if it's for a baby, it should NOT have button eyes, beads, or any other trim that a baby could pull off and swallow--embroider features instead. If it's for a grown-up, you shouldn't have to worry about this, but if you do, don't put them on! Every rabbit you make ( I KNOW you'll at least make two--what good is one glove? Michael Jackson fans should ignore this comment) should look different, as each is his own little person and they don't like feeling as if they've been cloned. How would YOU feel if you looked around and saw a whole hoard of people who looked JUST LIKE YOU!!!!???? Ooooh!! CREEEEEPY!!! Have fun with this. If you have kids ages seven and up, they can make these, maybe as gifts for their friends. These rabbits make good computer pets.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Another Toy Society Toy


This is just a little cloth doll, about six inches tall, that I made for the Christmas Drop. Today I will start numbering all my toys, so that I will be able to report my drops accurately, and planning my locations. Saturday will be a fun day.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Swap-bot swap: Green Knitters Club
I swap with Swap-bot!
I have recently joined SwapBot after noticing them mentioned in a Toy Society Post. I have bought a thrift store sweater and am in the process of reknitting into something new. I had read a long time ago that Chinese grandmas did this all the time. They'd knit a sweater for the grandchild and then take it apart when he/she'd outgrown it, and reknit it, with a little added yarn, into a bigger reincarnation. Very green, very smart to me!

Sunday, December 13, 2009


The reason I need to number them is not only to keep track of where I dropped what, but several are alike, and it would be confusing not to know which was which. Now, with this one I'd have no problem--there's only one of him--some would say that's good!

New Doll from Reprised Materials


Made this doll today from old cotton sweaters. He's not the best thing I've ever made, but a nonjudgmental baby might like him. He's for the Toy Sociey's World Wide Drop this coming weekend. Soon I will need to stop making toys and package the ones I've made--a couple need to be finished, too. I think I will number them, as we're supposed to post pictures to the blog of the toys and where we dropped them. I'll never be able to remember; I think I have twenty or so.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

A Cute Little Blue Bird


It's a chilly, but sunny Saturday morning/afternoon here on the SW coast of Washington State--not to be confused with our nation's capitol, Washington DC which is 3,000 miles away, although I understand it's cold there, too.
I made a cute little amiguruimi bird from Kristie's free pattern(http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...tiechicken.jpg); she shows hers in yellow, but I used blue, as my blue yarn was right close. I think he/she is about as cute as she/he can be, and so tiny, too. Mine is baby-friendly, as I embroidered all the features so there is nothing to come off. I'd better make a couple for my little granddaughters. Red ones would be very cute as Christmas tree ornaments. He/she is very quick to make, too. Zoom, zoom and you're done. I love these little amigurumis--they'd make nice "computer pets" for grown-ups and teenagers, too. Gotta make a whole flock!!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Okay, I'll try to keep this up better.


I'm trying to figure out if I can add pictures. I THINK I can. Yay, I DID it!!! Here is one of the several Knitty Kitties I've made for the World Wide Christmas (probably should be "Holiday" to be more inclusive, but I wasn't consulted!!) 2009 Drop by Toy Society Members all over the world (next weekend). Go to toysociety.com to learn more about this cool street art project. I'm a fan of street art--I think art belongs EVERYWHERE!!!!! It's inspiring, and will lure closet artists out, I'm sure. The world needs more art--I'm sure of that, too. These are pretty significant atatements for me because there AREN'T a lot of things I'm sure about. For an older person, I've got a surprisingly open mind (maybe stuff is falling out?), because it's still not made up about a lot of things. But it IS made up about art. I LOVE all forms of art and want to see more of it everywhere. I've loved being part of Harbor Art Guild and our Six Rivers Gallery in Hoquiam. Art lights me up--it lights up the world, too, I think. I hope it lights up YOU, too, my friends. Everyone should feel "lit up" by something; for me it's art.

Cold today!

It's gotten ALL THE WAY UP to 36 Degrees F by 3:00 p.m. today. Sun will go down soon, so that's probably as high as it will go. At least we have no snow to contend with, as so many others do. I think it got down to 15 or 16 last night (I have started sleeping with a pillow over my head, to keep that part of me warm), cold for here at the coast, but I realize that would constitute a heat wave in many places now. So I'm not complaining--what is more futile than complaining about the weather or any other condition you can't change!!!
I have been knitting little Knitty Kitties for the Toy Society World Wide drop next weekend. I have close to 20 little toys to drop now and plan to drop them all around our county, which is bigger than RI, I think. Will try to post pictures of the kitties, but I am new to Blogger, so will have to see if I can do that. I'm "OLD" in some peoples' eyes (not mine, of course!), but luckily, I have some computer skills thanks to working for the Aberdeen School District for 11 years--without that experience and training, I'm not sure I'd be able to do much on a computer, but then again, maybe I would have gotten skills anyway, as I DO like computers.