Rainy Day Doll-er

The Bad Things About a Cluttered House (besides not being able to find anything.)

2012-02-13T16:14:00.000-08:00

Sadly, the kitchen table is still not all the way cleared off--I really AM sorry about that-- but I'm definitely making progress in that direction. I can tell you that three people ate dinner on it last evening, so that is a big improvement

Decluttering is not something I can do very fast or efficiently. I have to decide for each item:
1. IF I'm going to keep it
2. Whom to gift it to if I am NOT keeping it or WHERE to store it, if I AM keeping it.
That's two big decisions before I even pick up the item, and those decisions can be very difficult for me to make--sometimes it makes me tired just THINKING about it.

Another step forward is that lately I have allowed three of my closest friends to see the inside of my house. This is a big step for me and to me, it means that I have come to the point where I am no longer allowing the state of my house to dictate ALL of my actions.

I also took two boxes of vinyl dolls to the Salvation Army this past week, and given one handcranked sewing machine to a friend. Wednesday I will give a couple boxes of fabric to the Lutherans. I figure if I collect at least one small box or bag of items to give away every few days, sooner or later, it will make a difference. I told one of my friends that my situation is sort of like a person who has a large number of pounds to lose; you don't really notice much difference until they lose about fifty pounds. I will not notice much difference until I've given away about fifty boxes of "stuff." It can be discouraging, even overwhelming if you don't have patience with yourself and do it in "baby steps."

There are two especially bad things about having a cluttered house (other than having to have to look at it and live in it) First is the feeling of shame and embarrassment that results from it and this is huge for me. It's really hard to think very highly of yourself when your environment is cluttered and you feel powerless to change it.

Another very bad thing is that because of the shame and embarrassment, I really don't want my friends/relatives to see my house, so I don't invite them in or encourage them to visit, even if I'd love to. When someone DOES come for a stay, I totally exhaust myself working for long hours for several days getting the house decent enough to allow them in. Fast uncluttering like this usually results in stuff being put in places that are nonpermanent and it hasn't really solved the problem. To do it "right," in my book, takes more time and more thought.

A person that doesn't have the "packrat" mentality often has difficulty understanding how people who DO have it think/work or what we are up against. It is actually a "brain thing" if you can believe that--most packrats are very right-brained and extremely nonlinear, and some actually have ADHD or some other disorder. "Fixing" the situation is not as easy or straight forward as the "normal" person might think. Friends often understand better than family members do and don't get so angry as the latter. That said, I am not trying to excuse myself, and don't intend to "let myself off the hook." I'm just saying that it's not an easy thing for a clutterer to part with his/her "stuff" or to decide where it should be put. The process of decluttering is not easy--if it was easy for us to put our stuff away, we'd not be in this fix in the first place, right?

For me, it was a pretty traumatic personal event that set me on this course; I imagine most clutterers can point to something that precipitated their decline, and what it was and whether it should have is totally beside the point. It did and eventually the person has to face the clutter and deal with it (or die and let someone ELSE deal with it--this is no doubt on the minds of children of clutterers everywhere). I might also add that "cluttering" is only one manifestation that trauma can produce--other things such as various addictions or compulsions can also be a result. The accumulation of clutter can also be considered an addiction or compulsion, I guess. I've always had a tendency to accumulate collections and supplies, but for most of my life, I controlled it, not the other way around.

It can take awhile before an affected person feels UP to dealing with their problem, whatever manifestation it takes. In the interim, criticism, judgement, anger, and ridicule are attitudes a person often encounters and endures, periodically if they're lucky and continually if they're not. Added with the self-recrimination mentioned above, it's not an easy place to inhabit, physically, mentally, or spiritually. When you add the negative feedback mentioned above, it can become a really dismal, discouraging place. Not a place a person would ever set out to create for oneself.

And so I, at last, have come to the point where I want to confront my clutter, and banish it from my personal landscape; it has damaged me enough and I am not willing to just look at it any longer. It has taken me a journey of over seven years down this path, and I have reached a point where I want to turn it around. It is important to mention that, in my opinion, a person has to determine for themselves when this point comes for them. Other people can encourage, enlighten, and support, but they cannot tell you when you've reached the Turn Around Point or force you to go through your stuff. This can be really frustrating for onlookers, but this is the way it is. It's also very unfair for other people who might share a home with the person. A lot of Life is not fair..

So I will occasionally chronicle honestly, my return from this place of ClutterLand--perhaps it will help a reader who really doesn't understand the clutterer in his/her own circle, or a fellow clutterer who is also dealing with clutter. If that should happen, I would be glad. To end on a postive note, the trauma that induced my clutter has also resulted in some desirable results in my life. But my cluttering doesn't fall into the "Good" category and so I'm out to eliminate it. Come along for the ride if you want.

OK, Folks! Enough of this Messy Kitchen Table!!!

2012-01-28T11:26:00.000-08:00

     I have HAD it with my messy kitchen table and I"m saying good bye to any pride I have left and showing you the state of my table. Truth be told, this isn't even the WORST it's ever been! I've actually been working (albeit, half-heartedly) for the last few days. But, as you can see, it's still looking pretty awful.
     It's the table of a person with ADHD, but that's no excuse for it. I CAN keep it clean and pretty!! I've done it before, and I can do it again and for longer. So, here's my promise: it WILL be clean by 5:00 PM PST, and I'd like you to check back in later today (Jan 28) and see the picture of my CLEAN TABLE.
     This is known as the General DeGaulle Method. When he wanted to quit smoking, he announced to his entire staff that he already HAD, and then he, indeed, DID have to, or disgrace himself in front of the people who mattered to him.
      So, bye for now, I've got some cleaning to do. See ya later!

Threatening Black Sky

2012-01-16T15:53:00.000-08:00

Glad I'm not in Kansas!! I'd run for the cellar!!!! LOL!! This was taken just before one p.m today.

Snow, January 15, 2012

2012-01-15T11:00:00.000-08:00

It's pretty.

Winter--It's been cold but this is our first snow. 1-14-12

2012-01-14T16:44:00.000-08:00

The snow that was forecast is just beginning here at sunset. We aren't supposed to get very much--maybe an inch, they said. I know the area's kids will be glad they have the day off on Monday and will be hoping for more snow than an inch!

LaMont and I are going to join a ukelele band! Can we PLAY the ukelele? NO! But we bought vintage ukeleles this afternoon and plan on joining a group of our friends who just began to play. The name of our song will be "Catch Up" for awhile!

First Toy Society Drop of 2012

2012-01-08T16:57:00.000-08:00

It is a little white knitted bunny with big eyes:

I dropped him/her at the Aberdeen Timberland Library--taped him to the glass case on the right as you go in the front door. I was on my way to a meeting, and two hours later, when I came out, he/she was gone. Maybe the person will let the Toy Society know that White Bunny has been found.

Done At Last and in the Show!

2012-01-06T20:45:00.000-08:00

Well, I am happy to announce yet another project finished! I am SO MOTIVATED by deadlines, even if I usually miss them, but only by a little. Luckily, I am also blessed to work with folks who tend to work with my disablilities and give me a little extra time to finish. It's sort of like having a 504 Plan, if you're familiar with educational jargon.
Here is the finished doll, in her undressed state:

I considered putting a wig on her, but decided that I liked her just fine as a little baldy. I will buy her one of those cute little girlie headbands that mom's buy for their bald daughters, to keep people from saying, "What a pretty little boy!" At a future time, she will probably get more weight, longer legs, and bigger feet, but for now, she is going to the show just the way she is.
Here she is with her outfit on:

I bought her outfit yesterday, before her body was completely finished, so I was very happy at how well everything fit. You can see that the "hair" on her head is very light--I wanted it that way. I painted small sections of her scalp at a time, and wiped off most of the paint. I liked the way it turned out.
Here she is at the galley, between a couple of very interesting art pieces:

She is holding a little booklet that shows what she looked like at the beginning of this project. She has been a lot of fun to make and I thank Judi Ward for generously sharing her technique of cloth over vinyl which I used for inspiration.

My ReCycled Doll is Nearly Done

2012-01-05T21:12:00.000-08:00

This is the vinyl thrift store doll head, I began with. I had already covered her face with Elmer's Glue, ready to cover it with T Shirt knit cloth, when I remembered (!!!) that I wanted to document the making of this doll. SOOO, I wiped off most of the glue--it's still on her eyes and lips--and quickly took a picture before continuing. I wish I didn't do this so often--start without taking pictures. The head WAS on a doll, too, but, of course, I took her apart before thinking to take a really "Before" picture. I'll try to do better next time.

The next step was to brush the glue back on her face and begin to put the cotton knit fabric over the vinyl:

Now the head is nearly all covered with the knit. I did put some batting, over the eyes/under the knit, so the eyelashes didn't show under the fabric. I could have removed the eyes completely, but chose not to. I have done that before, to use the eyes for something else, but it involves damaging the face quite a bit. I suppose heating the head in an oven might allow you to remove the eyes AND preserve the integrity of the face/head, but I've never done that. I only know that people who do reborn" dolls put them in the oven to set the heat-set paint and the vinyl doesn't melt at 225 or whatever.

I covered the top of the head with a circle of knit fabric, and then the head needs to sit until the glue is dry.

One important thing to remember in covering the head is to use one brush to put on the glue, and another, clean, dry, stiffer brush to enourage the knit to cling to the indentions on the vinyl--you do this by "poking" at the fabric-covered indentions with the stiff dry brush. The fabric stretches quite easily to cover the head without wrinkling, but you don't want to stretch it TOO tightly. Practice will allow you to tell how much you can stretch the fabric. Judi Ward says that the T shirt cotton that is 5% lycra stretches a little better. Where there is excess fabric, you trim it so that edges will butt together, rather than folding under or overlapping layers of fabric. You are aiming for as smooth a surface as possible

The next step is to paint the cloth-covered head with gesso. Gesso fills in the airspaces that all fabric has between its threads and it seals the surface so the paint won't soak into the cloth--it will now stay on the surface where you want it to.

Once the gesso is dry, sand any rough areas, and put on more coats of gesso if you think it needs it. Always allow the gesso to dry and then sand lightly between coats. When you are pleased with the smoothness of the surface, you can then paint the head. I use acrylics although some people prefer oil paints. I usually am happy with two coats of gesso but I've heard of people using 20 coats or more. (I wish I could insert a cross-eyed face here, but I can't.)

Here is the (almost) finished painted head--she still lacks eyelashes (and a body!!):

Her head sat in that same shape for some months while I worked on other necessary, more urgent projects. Finally, I bought a pattern for her body, Judi Ward's ByeLo pattern, and that gave me a basic, simple pattern to use, although I had to enlarge it quite a bit. Once I got the body sewn together, I could see that it was too short for this doll's head, so I lengthened it three inches by cutting the body front and back in the middle and inserting a 3" band between the tops, and bottoms of those pieces. THIS IS NOT THE METHOD I RECOMMEND for getting a doll's body the correct size, but sometimes I just estimate wrong and this is my own doll, so I don't have to please anyone except myself and I'm not a perfectionist---I prefer this situation. If I had been making this doll for someone else, I would have felt it necessary to cut an entire new body in the proper length.

As I type this, her arms have an initial coat of gesso and are drying on our fireplace (natural gas); the first coat of gesso takes awhile to dry, as it is soaked into the threads of the fabric. The second coat dries quickly as it stays on the surface. The paint will also dry quickly; sometimes I hurry things up with a hair dryer. Some people pop things in the microwave to dry, but I really prefer not to do that. I like to keep kitchen utensils and art utensils separate.

I WILL need to lengthen her legs later, to make them proportional to her lenthened body, but she has an important appointment to appear in a ReCycle, ReArt show tomorrow, so her too-short legs will have to do for now. As usual, I'm "pushing the envelope" on this project--it's the only way I seem to work, although I don't recommend this way to anyone else.

Luckily, this baby, yet unnamed, is big enough to wear real baby apparel and so I do not need to sew clothes for her!! Yay! Carrying her, it occured to me that I should have put some sand in her behind, to give her a more realistic weight. I know Waldorf "heavies" weigh about five pounds, and kids like carrying them around because of the weight.

Anyhow, this is where I am on this project now. The next picture you see, she will be just about done. This is the third rather big project I have finished lately. You can see the other two on Thursamknitters.blogspot.com That's my other blog. Happy New Year; I'm on a roll!!

Sister-in-Law Nancy's Tilapia

2012-01-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

He's quite pretty for a dead fish!! She wasn't sure how to go about eating him, but once she started with her fork, he wasn't hard to eat:

My Friend Nancy's "Fiorella"

2012-01-02T17:22:00.000-08:00

Nancy says, "She's about 20 inches tall in her heels (painted wine cork glued to her feet). Rita and I decided on Fiorella for some reason. Rita is a writer and wildly imaginative. But the original Fiorella is a third grader I met while volunteering in the school library. Just like the name. I like her...she turned out colorful but earthy."

I like her, too. Nancy's dolls always have such wonderful clothes; Nancy had James Christensen's book and said she looks at it for costume ideas. I bought a copy too, because I need help with ideas for doll clothes.

Ten Christmas Toy Society Drops, 2011, on a road trip to Bellingham (dropped a little late, on Dec 31)

2012-01-02T10:52:00.000-08:00

Left in Mount Vernon, WA.

At Skagit Valley Hospital, Mount Vernon, WA.

South Evertte, WA.

At West Oly McDonalds, last drop of the trip.

At rest stop in Federal Way, WA.

At Samaritan's Counseling Center, at Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church, Mount Vernon, WA.

At Bow Hill rest top, near Bellingham, WA. This is the only drop where I actually saw a lady approach the drop and look at it. Then she left without taking it. Then another woman approached it, but we were just leaving the area, so I didn't see if she took it or not. Sometimes adults are observed finding a toy but not taking it. I think they want to leave it for a child to find, but they are welcomed to take it for themselves. Many toy drops are found by adults who are as excited as kids when they find a toy. Some of them are so taken with the concept that they go on to become Toy Society members themselves.

At Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church, Mount Vernon, WA.

At Silver Lake rest stop, near Lynnwood, WA.

Another drop at Skagit Valley Hospital, Mount Vernon, WA.

As always, I hope that those who find my toys are kind to them--one member saw her toy tossed into the street by a couple of teenaged girls. I hope that this doesn't happen often, as all of us hope our toy brings a little bit of joy to someone who needs it. I also hope that some of them report their find to the Toy Society as the note inside asks. It's so exciting to go to the Toy Society site and see that someone has found your toy. This has only happened twice for me, but it meant a lot! Last Christmas, a mom posted a pic of her little boy who found one of my toys in a grocery cart at a local supermarket. She said he was SO excited to find it! This is why we do what we do.

Happy 2012 to everyone. Keep an eye out for my toys!!

Toy Society 2011 World Wide Christmas Drop, Toys 9 and 10

2011-12-17T22:37:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm happy to announce that I have NOT fallen in love with these two toys and that they are going where I PLANNED them to go!! Yay! I was afraid I had somehow gotten "soft" and would love ALL the toys I make too much to give them away. Not true. SO glad!!

Here is toy number 9; he is made of velvety fleece. I wish I could say that he went together without a hitch, but alas there were TWO hitches: one is that I forgot his left ear, so I will need to fix that tomorrow!! The other is that I sewed his feet on going the WRONG way!! I was ticked, as I'd sewed them on REALLY WELL. I sewed around the ankle twice as I didn't want to worry that they'd fall off. SOOO, I had to cut them off carefully and resew them. Which proves you're never too old or too smart or too skilled to make stupid mistakes!! It keeps us humble and our heads from getting big, should we be tempted to think we are better than we really are. Trust me: we aren't!!!

Here is number ten: She is a very simple doll, the kind mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and aunts have made for small children since Time Immemorial (however long that is--forever, I think). Her head and body are made from a black twill. Her arms are made from velvet and her legs from a discarded tee shirt. When I am at a thrift shop, my eyes are set for STRIPES and I never have to look far to find them. I love stripes of all colors and widths and I like nothing more than to have a big box with lots of them to choose from. I like her blond hair too--makes her a little contemporary and "edgy" if that's possible.

With Christmas Eve falling next Saturday, I'm not sure if the Toy Society is calling this weekend (17/18) the "weekend before Christmas" or whether that weekend is NEXT weekend. Guess I'd better check the site and see what they are saying.

Well, This IS Embarrassing!!!

2011-12-16T20:55:00.000-08:00

I was making this little doll for the Toy Society's World Wide Christmas Toy Drop but I unwittingly fell in love with her!!! And so, I am going to give her to myself for Christmas.
     She is made from such small scraps, that most people would have thrown them out--or given them to a real ECCENTRIC like me. I don't know why I love her so much; I just do.
      Her head is one of those high-bouncing little "SuperBalls." I tried just centering the ball in the middle of a square of sweater around the ball, but didn't like the effect, so I sewed a little longer piece of sweater to make a rather large "thumb" shaped piece. It was just large enough for the ball to fit easily in the end, without stretching the fabric much. Then I tied off the head part snuggly, and stuffed the rest for her body. You can pretty much tell how I made the rest of her. The orange embroidery thread hair is partly what charmed me, and the ribbon was the right touch. Just a short time ago, the ribbon shoulder straps were sitting in a Joanns in Olympia. I bought 3 spools of it.
   And so my doll collection increases by one more doll. Now I need to finish a couple more dolls for the Toy Drop, to appease my Guilty Conscience!!!

A Sad Tale of Disappointment and Dashed Hopes

2011-12-15T20:08:00.000-08:00

My pink and white yarn was lost. I looked for it all over the house and it refused to show itself!!
So, defeated, I reordered it and paid for two day shipping. That was last Thursday. I was given a tracking number and on Friday morning my yarn was in Wyoming, which pleased me because I live in WA (state) and Wyoming is fairly close; I expected that my yarn would be delivered on Saturday morning.

However, I checked on Saturday morning and my yarn was now in LOUISVILLE, KY!!! Dismayed, I realized that I had wasted $ and hope on Two Day Delivery. It wasn't going to happen. (sigh)

I had hopes for Monday delivery, but Monday evening arrived as scheduled with no sign of my yarn. It finally arrived late Tuesday afternoon. I was glad to see it, but sorry it didn't arrive in two days and that it was forced to cross the country TWICE. Evidently Saturdays and Sundays don't count when promising two day delivery, but it still took three entire days, not counting the weekend days. I guess they could plead "Christmas Rush" but why did my yarn go from Wyoming to Kentucky?!?! I guess it got on the wrong plane.(sigh)

And, while looking for the knitting book for the garment the yarn was intended for, what should I find but the Original order of pink and white yarn!!! I don't know whether to scream, laugh, or cry. Maybe I'll do all three. (SIGH)

Three More Sock Monkeys, plus Canine Friend

2011-12-13T22:27:00.000-08:00

These monkeys are "standing in the wings," waiting to see if they are needed tomorrow for a big project undertaken by our DKG chapter. The canine, Grace, is not part of the deal, however she DOES like to smell them and pose when they are being photographed.

I wish I had kept track of how many of these monkeys I've made in my life. The first two were made in about 1968, for our oldest children, Connie and Steven. I also made one for Kevin and Corey, when they were grown. No telling HOW many I have made for others. It must be around 30, I'm guessing. Usually, I enjoy making them, but I think I need a break from them now for awhile.

Toys 7 & 8

2011-12-12T19:46:00.000-08:00

Moving right along: here are toys seven and eight. They will be followed by other toys wearing the same outfit, but also not necessarily looking a lot alike.

Sock Monkeys RULE!!!

2011-12-06T23:30:00.000-08:00

This monkey may very well be the 17th monkey in our project to provide a Sock Monkey Christmas for the COPE students at Harbor High this year; our Delta Kappa Gamma group has adopted these students this Christmas and is helping their teachers with Christmas gifts for the children and their student-parents.I love to make sock monkeys, and have hopefully converted a few more sock monkey afficionados in the process!!

Two more Toy Drop Toys

2011-12-06T17:25:00.000-08:00

These dolls are made from scraps that I'm quite sure sensible people would toss!!

Toy Society 2011 Christmas Drop, Toy # 5, Little Striped Guy

2011-11-27T20:37:00.000-08:00

This is my all time favorite kind of toy to make. He is made of pieces of fabric and scraps of stuffing that 99.9% of sane people would toss into the round file. But not me! I have this overwhelming compulsion to make "stuff" out of "nothing." Thus, I save everything and throw away nothing!!! I am every neatnik husband's worse nightmare!! (Bwah ha ha ha ha!!!!)

Now She Has Arms and is Done

2011-11-26T21:08:00.000-08:00

Toy Society 2011 Christmas Drop, Toy # 4

2011-11-25T23:44:00.000-08:00

This is my unfinished fourth toy for the Toy Society's 2011 World Wide Christmas Drop. She is made mostly from scraps, with a little of my hand-dyed fabric for her body/shirt. Her dress is made from a cut-up baby dress from a thrift shop. I look at thrift store clothing with a different eye than most: I see them as raw materials for my toys (I am partial to stripes and polka dots), whether it be a wool cat or a small doll, or doll clothes. I really don't like sewing doll clothes, so if I can shorten the process by making the clothes from other clothing, with ruffles already sewn, that appeals to me. All she needs now is arms.

She is a "keeping doll" as the pocket from the baby dress forms the front of her dress. It can hold all sorts of things: baby teeth, rings, coins, pictures, notes, etc.

Blue Sock Monkey Ballerina

2011-11-25T14:31:00.000-08:00

I'm leaving her at Six Rivers Gallery tomorrow.

This Year's Christmas Drop Toys, one, two, and three

2011-11-23T23:26:00.000-08:00

Here are my first three toys for the 2011 Toy Society World Wide Christmas Toy Drop:

I thought a baby might like this silky kitty toy.

This chubby softy was made from little scraps of fleece someone gave me to stuff dog beds with, and some of it WILL go there, but some of it was meant for a higher purpose, I thought.

This funny girl was made out of repurposed materials, too. Her hair is made of fleece "strings" also meant for dog bed stuffing, but hey, it made great hair for her!!

I don't spend more than a couple hours on each toy, but making something out of nothing is a habit of mine, and I find it endlessly entertaining and challenging, too. What can I say?! I'm easily entertained!!

My Third Christmas with The Toy Society

2011-11-22T17:13:00.000-08:00

This will be my third year participating in The Toy Society's World Wide Christmas Drop. I have enjoyed doing this so much! I make small toys that I can finish in a hour or two, and I leave them around our town for people to find. Last year, a little boy found a toy I left in a supermarket shopping cart, and his mom sent a picture of him with it to The Toy Sociey. It made me feel so good to know that I'd made that little kid's day! Here are some of the toys I've dropped before:

http://thetoysociety.blogspot.com/

It's a Snowman Invasion!!!

2011-11-20T22:50:00.000-08:00

Only one snowman is finished, and I'm sure you can tell which one that is. These are fun and easy to make: just get a jar, paint the inside white, allow to dry, fill halfway up with sand, paint a styrofoam ball white, glue to top of jar. (The short snowman is an old-fashioned light bulb, covered with PaperClay.)

I made the noses with PaperClay, and I poked a toothpick up inside them while they were still soft, (and then removed it). When the noses were dry, I glued a tooth pick inside each one, and painted the nose orange.

When the paint was dry, I put a little glue on the back surface of the nose, and pushed the toothpick inside the head. Using a toothpick inside the nose takes a little longer, but you will be rewarded with a nose that will not break/fall off easily.

Do the rest as you choose. Some of mine have cloth hats (toes of socks make great, no-sew hats), some have mouthwash cap hats with margarine-tub plastic brims. You can also use premade straw hats, cowboy hats, etc. You can make neat hats out of felt, too. Or you can leave your snowman hatless. I like mine to have pink cheeks, so they look healthy! I like buttons on the front of mine--you probably noticed that.

Anyway, have fun with these! Do them with kids! Everyone will have fun.

Cloth over the PaperClay Shouldhead Now

2011-11-19T17:27:00.000-08:00

You will laugh when I tell you what I used for her cloth overlay. I wanted the thinnest knit fabric I could find, so I went to my underwear drawer and found the rattiest, thinnest, most worn pair of underpants I could find. They were pretty shabby, but just what I needed to use on this shoulderhead.

I use a brush to spread Elmer's Glue on the head, making sure to get the glue in every crack and crevice. Then I lay on the fabric and stretch it just a little where it needs to be to lie pretty flat. I trim off parts of the fabric, and make the cut piece lay against the adjacent piece as well as is possible.

I will use gesso next, perhaps a couple of coats will be necessary, and sand lightly in between coats, and after the final coat.

Made a Hitty Shoulder Head tonight.

2011-11-18T23:41:00.000-08:00

The head part is about an inch high, and the measurement from chin to bottom of shoulderplate is probably an inch and a quarter. She's going to be a Hitty so she should be about seven inches high when done. I will make her a cloth body and probably cloth arms and legs, too. I will probably cover the head and shoulder plate with thin cloth before I paint it. Cloth adds strength to the Paper Clay.

A New Peg Wooden

2011-11-17T16:07:00.000-08:00

I have added another peg wooden doll to my collection (of two).These dolls were also, mistakenly, called "Dutch ' dolls," a misunderstanding of "Deutch" dolls, meaning "German" dolls. They were made in Grodner Tal (valley) in Bavaria, which, at times, has been part of Austria and other times part of Germany. They were made in sizes from 1.5" to 17" and I believe that one person painted them all, as they all certainly look "related." The two dolls I own are both 11.5" tall, and many I've seen for sale are also this size, so I am assuming that perhaps more were made in this size than any other. The dolls were quite crudely made, turned on a lathe, of wood that reminds me of kindling! They were always sold without clothing. The paint used contained lead, and, according to an article I have, the woman who painted them used one color a day, so the paint had time to dry overnight.

I had never seen these dolls before I was shown a couple by a friend, but later, in reading Beatrix Potter's Tale of Two Bad Mice, I noticed one of the doll house dolls was a peg wooden named "Jane." So I named my first pegwooden (below) "Jane," too. She was given to me by my friend, who had two, and she gave me Jane in return for making an outfit for the doll she kept.

These dolls were often sold in "Penny Stores" in Britain, the equivalent of our "Five and Dimes." Queen Victoria and her governess dressed many of these dolls after characters they saw in plays or operas. I really like these dolls because they are quite simple and were made to be purchased by "regular" folks who could not afford the more elaborate china head dolls that were available during the same time period (1850-1900).

Funny Duck!!

2011-11-04T00:05:00.000-07:00

Actually, this duck is not left over from Halloween, nor is he traveling incognito. What he IS doing is holding a Hitty Face until it dries (I hope I can get it off easily tomorrow--I didn't put any plastic wrap under the clay like I usually do). I use PaperClay because I really HATE Sculpey. I don't like having to bake it and I don't like how brittle it becomes, either. I also don't like how hard it is to wash off my hands or how heavy it is. Do you get the idea that I REALLY DON'T LIKE SCULPEY??!!

I DO, however, LOVE PaperClay. It is light, it air dries, and although it has a tendency to crack, this doesn't matter to me because I always use it under cloth. I am also experimenting with using a face mold lined with knit cloth soaked in gesso and with just a thin layer of paper clay over that--the paper clay will be BEHIND the face when I remove it from the mold. I have used PaperClay behind my last couple Alabama Babies' faces, but I used quite a thick layer of it, and it made the babies' faces heavier than I wanted them to be, although much lighter than the plaster of paris that I first used, or the Sculpey I tried after that. Making dolls is an evolutionary process, which is one reason I like making them so much. There is no end to the things you can try and the places you can go.

Finished Sock Monkey for Hittys

2011-11-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

He is sewn from Red Heel Sock scraps. I used satin stitch with red embroidery floss to make his smile. Although Hitty Connie doesn't look very happy, she LOVES her sock monkey.

Show and Tell Site At Doll Collectors

2011-10-22T20:56:00.000-07:00

I posted the story of my pegwooden Jane there, and how I came to get her:

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/34665-another-peg-wooden-doll

Other doll makers/collectors might like to go there and post some pictures, too. It's always interesting to read stories about other peoples' dolls.

If you Agree that Corporations are not People

2011-10-21T15:56:00.000-07:00

I don't know what those five justices were thinking!!?? Corporations have free speech?!?!? No. I'm sorry. In MYway of thinking, Corporations can't speak at all. They are business entities that exist mostly on paper. PEOPLE work in those corporations, but the corporation itself is not a person and does not have the same rights as a person. Corporations are mostly about money, and although some people say, "Money talks." I have never heard mine say anything, and I've never heard a corporation say anything, either.
If you would like to help Movetoamend repeal this stupid decision, and put corporations back where they belong, as businesses not people, go to movetoamend.org/motion-to-amend and sign the petition.
I promise I won't bring politics up often on my blog; I only bring this to your attention now because I think it is so important.

My Printed Blog Book

2011-10-17T11:16:00.000-07:00

Here is the link for Blog2Print that I used to print a couple years worth of my blog. I LOVE the book that resulted and have vowed to print my blog every couple of years, with each successive volume beginning where the last one left off.
http://blog2print.sharedbook.com/blogworld/printmyblog/index.html?sbt=bfaed9dc7b8eec41f3f59d6676e095c51365973e&utm_source=SharedBook&utm_medium=email&utm_content=21532&utm_campaign=Blog2Print%2BOctober%2BSale%2B10.17-Blog2Print

My Jazzed Up Checkbook Cover

2011-10-03T16:43:00.000-07:00

My plastic checkbook cover was beginning to tear at the fold after providing several years of faithful use. DH offered a leather one from a defunct checkbook calculator he once had, which I happily accepted. However, there was a problem: my checkbook now looked EXACTLY like his! That absolutely was ASKING FOR TROUBLE. So I grabbed a bottle of nailpolish I had previously used to embellish my cell phone (for the same reason of identicality-- a word I just coined.) Above you see the result. Like it? I do!!

New View of my Blog

2011-09-28T12:14:00.001-07:00

Blogger has several new ways of formatting blogs now. I'm trying out a new one as you can see. Let me know how you like it.

Raggedies Multiply!

2011-09-18T23:23:00.000-07:00

It's late, so this will be short, but just wanted to post a new picture of the rapidly multiplying Raggedies. The small one, which is one in on the far right has a wooden head and her hair is sewn onto a toe of a nylon stocking, and then the "wig" is glued to her wooden head, The rest of her is cloth, similar to the others. I've got tiny ones in the works, too, but managed to leave them at my son and daughter-in-law's house when we visited last week. That will teach me to not check the room before we leave!!! I should know better at my age!!!

Raggedy Progress

2011-09-16T23:07:00.000-07:00

Here are the ones that are just about done, clothes and all. While out garage-sale-ing today, I cut out and sewed three pair of the smaller bloomers--DH drove, of course. The FiberFest is the second weekend in October, and so I need to work hard if I'm going to have a good selection of my wares to sell.

Finishing What I Started---several years ago

2011-09-06T17:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I have to get some items ready for the Fiber Fair which is happening the first weekend in October. I decided that I should be "orderly" about this and perhaps finish some things that I had partly done already. These little Raggedies came to mind, ones I didn't finish for the Tokeland sale about three years ago. The nice thing about dolls is that you can leave them and when you come back, they're right where you left them. And I'd had the rather unusual idea (for me, that is) of putting all of these Raggedies together in one place, so finding them was a cinch--this is not my usally MO, but I was glad I acted like an organized person, for a change. I've been working on them and will continue to work on them until they are all finished and dressed. Making the same thing over and over is also not my usual way of operating, but these little girls (and guy) deserve to be finished and perhaps under someone's Christmas tree. And besides, I REALLY like Raggedy Anns and never seem to tire of looking at them. I DO want to make some tiny ones, too. We'll see if I run out of time before I run out of ideas. That's what IS usual for me.

New Sturdy Future Hitty House

2011-08-29T13:05:00.000-07:00

I bought this sturdy little cabinet for five dollars at a rummage sale last Saturday. I think it is what is known as a "pie safe" but I'm not sure. Please correct me, if I'm wrong. Anyway, it has two shelves, as you can see in the rather fuzzy picture, and so this will be a rather compact house for the Hittys. Right now, though, I only have one of the two Hittys I've finished (the second, Beatrix, residing with my mom) so the house should be plenty big enough for a single Hitty and even a few of her sisters when I finish them. (I have so much going on right now that I haven't carved on them much at all lately.)

Anyway, I have ditched the foamcore board house I was making, as I found it lacking in sturdiness and artistic appeal. I like old things, so this "pie safe" suits me fine, and I will try to get to work on it soon.

I haven't decided if I will cut a hole in the first floor ceiling and build a stairway or not, but I am thinking I will. My dad made me a four room dollhouse when I was a child and I was always bothered by the fact that it had no stairway, so I'm thinking I'd be bothered if this house did not have one, either. Still, it will be a challenge to figure out the number of stairs, width of step, etc. But I'm fairly good at math, and I'll search online for help. I'll probably make one of cardboard first, to make sure everything works, and THEN cut one from wood. I think I'll look online for slats of basswood, or perhaps I could use tongue depressors; I'm confident I'll find a way. I belong to HittyGirls and I'm sure some of them have built stairways in their Hitty houses.

More Info about Tuck Comb Dolls

2011-08-29T12:21:00.000-07:00

According to my online research, "Tuck Comb dolls," are classed, along with other "peg woodens, or pennywoods" as Grodner Tal Peg Wooden Dolls, but they are in a special subclass because of their superior workmanship: carved wooden hair combs, fancy earrings, and lovely feminine shapes. They were produced in the Grodner Tal (Valley) in what was Bavaria but became part of Germany during WW II.

Like other pennywoods, these dolls were made in the nineteenth century, 1800 to 1850, and the paint on them contains lead. I'm not yet sure if they were always sold without clothing as the less-detailed pennywoods were.

"These are often referred to as "German" Tuck combs, probably because they were sold via the German Nuremberg Toy Market...." (Lotz Doll Pages) They are also sometimes incorrectly referred to as "Dutch dolls" from the word "Deustch" (ie. "German").

Their fancy hair comb was sometimes removed so they could wear hats or other headwear. The James Orem doll I bought (see previous post) is about 11 1/2" tall, the same size as my other pegwooden "Jane," who was given to me by a friend who owned two of these dolls (below). In exchange for making clothes for her undamaged doll, my friend gave me the damaged ("disabled," she said) pegwooden who was missing a lower leg. I made a new lower leg for her, and then she looked good as new.

I named my first pegwooden doll "Jane" because in Beatrix Potter's Tale of Two Bad Mice the pegwooden in the dollhouse is named Jane. It is weird that in all the times I read this book to my daughter Connie, I paid little attention to that doll. AFTER I received the pegwooden from my friend, I happened to purchase the book for my granddaughter and in reading it to her, noticed the pegwooden in the dollhouse.

Pegwoodens were made in every size from 1" to 17", but the ones most commonly for sale on Ebay are 11 1/2" and Jane is that sized, too. If you search "pegwooden" on my blog, you will see more pictures of the two dolls as I made clothes for them and repaired the one given me.

Tuck Comb Doll from James Orem

2011-08-28T20:56:00.000-07:00

This is a wooden doll, carved by James Orem. He is retiring from making dolls as he has neuropathy; it will be a loss for doll lovers and collectors, as he makes very lovely dolls. I am lucky to have two of his dolls, the latest pictured above. She will get an outfit sometime in the future, and I have not yet named her. I am trying to think of the female version of "James" as that would be appropriate, I think.

This is a "tuck comb" doll (called that because of the hairdo), and I can identity one on sight but really don't know a lot about them. They were made of wood, with the shape of a Queen Anne doll (small waist). I saw one just recently in the Rosemarie Whyle Doll Museum in Bellvue, WA. Sadly, the museum is closing the end of February, 2012, so if you are planning a trip to the Seattle area between now and then, please do stop in and see the dolls there. They are wonderful, especially if you are interested in historical dolls.

My Somewhat Lackadasial Salute to the 2011 NFL Season

2011-08-28T20:33:00.000-07:00

I'm not much of a football fan. I hate it when football boots the national evening news on my favorite network. That said, some of my progeny are diehard Seahawks fans, and so this is for them, although they don't read my blog, I'm SURE.

At the Fair

2011-08-15T23:28:00.000-07:00

I love county fairs--I grew up next to the Skagit Valley Fairgrounds in Mount Vernon, WA. I can't smell onions cooking without being immediately transported to our old neighborhood during the annual county fair.

Unlike the larger, regional fairs, county fairs are just the right size for small children, and larger children (and adults, both small and large) can enter things they have made or grown and earn prizes and recognition. When you visit a county fair, you not only see lots of interesting projects, but you see lots of people you know, and eat a lot of good food that you don't eat every day (which is probably good, too).

I also admire 4H. I've seen the kids making meals, setting tables, and serving the judges their concoctions. I've seen what they have grown and animals they have raised, and I've seen them show their animals. I would have loved 4H when I was a kid, but town kids didn't have access to it then, or if they did, I didn't know about it. However, my friend Janet, who lived about a mile away, but in the "country," did introduce me to entering items in the fair when we were young teens. I enjoyed the experience.

Last year, I was disappointed that there wasn't more participation in the Needle Arts Department at our local county fair (and I had not entered any of my work, either). Needle Arts is my favorite department, so this year I decided to take part. I figured I had no right to complain about lack of participation if I, myself, didn't enter things.

I hadn't entered anything in the fair for several years. Back when our kids were still at home, we all entered photography, both because we liked taking photos and because a local camera store would accept our photos, deliver them to the fairgrounds, and, when the fair was over, return them to the store. Back then we had neither the time nor money to make three trips to the fair (once to enter, once to visit, and once to pick up entries), as it's 20 miles away from where we live. Now that we are retired, we can make three trips more easily. And with planning, we could probably cooperate with friends and get rid of one of the trips.

The monkey in the picture above won the only "big ribbon" I've ever gotten.(The handcranked sewing machine in the picture is 114 years old, and Monkey was sewn on that machine.) I don't put a lot of importance on ribbons--judges are just people who may not like what I like, but still, I pay attention. They leave notes on the back of their judging form, to let you know what they liked or didn't like, about your item. Feedback like that can be enlightening--or not.

What I DO like is exhibiting my work; I take satisfaction in making things. I also like looking at other people's work. If people don't enter their work in the fair, there isn't anything to look at--it's as simple as that.

I view the tradition of the county fair as an age-old democratic instituion in which anyone may participate, regardless of age or station in life. It's a level playing field and open to everyone--I like that. And sometimes you win a prize--I received a prize for the first time this year: a package of quilt batting, a result of Monkey's big ribbon. Sometimes, there are checks that arrive about a month after the fair, and that's nice, too. They aren't very big, but I know my kids were always really excited to receive their checks when they came in the mail.

Life brings inevitable changes, but one thing I hope never changes is the county fair--I hope it stays just the way it is forever.

Two Years of my Blog in Print

2011-08-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

Did you know you can have your blog make into a soft cover book? Or even a hard cover book, if you want to pay more. Actually, it's fairly costly just for the soft cover one ($55 for mine), but I decided that every couple of years, I will "bite the bullet" and have my blog printed. I have three granddaughters, and perhaps they will enjoy them when they are grown.

It will be more interesting to them, I think, with the pictures. I also save some emails I send, if they are like a letter with interesting contents, and I copy the pictures I attach to each one, also. Perhaps it is possible to have these pages printed, too. I'm not sure. But, like most people, I don't feel I have the time to just sit down and write in a journal, so this is my way of recording some of the activities of my rather mundane life for posterity.
http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/2011/08/on-my-mind_12.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Down---to---earth+%28down---to---earth%29

2011-08-01T21:20:00.000-07:00

What IS it about young men and dolls!!!!???? Every time I show one of my dolls (this was the cloth-over-vinyl head in the last post) to a young man (today's young man is 35), said young man says, "That is SO creepy!!!" WHAT?!?!? How can ANYONE say my dolls are creepy?!?! I'm sorry, but my dolls look sweet to me (except Screamer, perhaps, but even he has his own charisma). I asked him if he thought it was creepy because it didn't have a body, but he said, no it would be just as creepy WITH a body.
More than one person has said Screamer's Cute Baby is creepy, too, and hard as I try, I just can't see the creepiness there!

Someone explain these guys to me, PLEASE!!! Have they just seen too many "Chuckie" movies? Does it creep them out to see faux humans?! I just don't get it!!!

Working on that Covered Vinyl Head Again

2011-07-31T23:48:00.000-07:00

Change from the way she looked on March 9.

I am not finished with the face on this doll. I have more work to do on the eyes. I think they are too dark now, so I'll lighten them up the next time I work on her.

Two Little Juvenile Sock Monkeys

2011-07-30T16:49:00.000-07:00

A Class to Dye For!

2011-07-15T20:22:00.000-07:00

Took a fabric dyeing class today at Quilt Harbor (Aberdeen, WA). It was taught by Val Fox-Armey and lasted all day. We dyed eight pieces of fabric (fat quarters) using eight different techniques. Here are some pictures.:

In these pictures, we are doing our first project, which was producing our "ombre" pieces, which are made by immersing the entire piece of fabric into a bucket of dye, and then bit by bit, withdrawing it, while adding more dye to the bucket. It results in a graduated, monochromatic piece.

This is my spider web piece, with its first color added.

This is my folded piece; can you tell I like red?

My folded piece drained on a paper towel, and left this lovely imprint that looks like a rose.

When the towels were unfolded, this series of "roses" emerged.

This was Karla's painted piece, waiting for its salt.

This is my scrunched piece, seasoning in a plastic bag until tomorrow.

Kay's scrunched piece, after rinsing and being ironed.

My clamped piece with the wooden whirls, seasoning in a bag til tomorrow.

Karla is adding a color to her piece that is wrapped on a pole and then scrunched together.

The Three Amigos and their Ombres.

"Look distressed," Val said. So I did.

But I wasn't. I LIKE paint on my clothes!! It looks creative!!

I DID Finish Him!

2011-07-10T22:19:00.000-07:00

I finished my boy and he is now in the one month show at Harbor Art Guild's gallery in Hoquiam, WA. It's an unthemed, unjuried show called "Anything Goes." I wish I'd taken his picture before I took him over there, but I forgot, and then forgot the two more times I've been there since. But I will take a picture of him this week for sure, and when I do, I will add it to this post. He turned out cute, I think. I still want to make him a little hat.

Alabama Baby Boy's Clothing Begun

2011-07-06T23:24:00.000-07:00

Actually, as usual for me, deciding what he will wear, what it will look like, and what it will be made from is the hardest part. His jacket is begun, and I will take him to knitting tomorrow and for a second straight week, I will work on a doll instead of knit!! Oh, well, what can I say: I am NOT known for getting things done ahead of time. Management Via Crisis is my usual MO, although occasionally I try to reform and get a project done before the actual deadline (which I think, for this boy, MIGHT have been today).

Doll Done, Clothing Next, and Something Else, too

2011-07-05T19:04:00.001-07:00

Here he is. Without clothes, and waiting.

Another thing I'm doing is having this blog, so far, printed into a book by SharedBook. I'd like to have a printed copy for each of my three grandgirls, but so far I've just ordered one. I've paid and they will send it to me in a few weeks; I will decide then if I want to go with them for the other copies. It's VERY cool to just have them arrange it immediately into a book for you to look at online! I deleted a few posts that were just reminders about some passing thing, and I decided not to have a Table of Contents, as it went on for pages and pages. So I am looking forward to getting the copy in the not-too-distant future.

While the Boy is Drying, a Snowman is Begun

2011-07-04T22:17:00.000-07:00

I used to just put a snowman face, buttons, and hat on an old-fashioned pear-shaped lightbulb, but they seemed so fragile. This year I decided to put a fairly thin layer of PaperClay over the glass. This not only should make it a little less fragile, but I can flatten the bottom so he can sit. I may still make some without the PaperClay, as Christmas Tree Ornaments.

Stay tuned.

Almost Done with the Little Boy

2011-07-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

His legs have a coat of paint on them now and I'm done with him for today; I'll sand lightly and put a second coat of paint on the legs tomorrow. Since his suit will be brown, I decided for tan for the "stockings" and black for the shoes.

I left the shoes simple for now, at least. I may paint them a little higher tomorrow, so they look like old-fashioned high button shoes. I have two or three pairs of real ones, but they are two big for him.

This is a little blurry, but you can see I signed the back of the doll properly. Too many (meaning almost all) handmade cloth dolls are not signed and leave us to wonder who made them and when, and where. It is a kindness for those who come after us, to leave information on a doll as to its origins.

More Progress on Alabama Baby Boy and a Bit of Doll History

2011-07-02T21:35:00.000-07:00

Many old dolls (I'm assuming they are c.1920-1930, only a somewhat-educated guess) had arms shorter than what would be considered "anatomically correct." Here are two examples (above) of such dolls fom my fairly small collection. When I first saw dolls like this, I thought some unskilled, unknowing person had replaced the original (correct) arms with arms that were too short. However, as I looked at pictures of many old dolls, and actually acquired a few myself, I saw many with similar short arms, and realized I'd been wrong -- those arms WERE the originals. The makers were just not overly-concerned with realism, I guess. It just wasn't that important to them, I'm assuming. If it HAD been, they would have made longer arms!!

However, I couldn't stand those too-short arms on my doll and I haven't observed abbreviated arms on the original Alabama Indestructible Baby Dolls, either. So I guess their originator, Ella Smith, DID care that her dolls had arms that were correctly proportioned to their bodies. I added a piece to each upper arm to lengthen them; earlier I'd also added a (lower) section to his torso, too, as I felt it was too "square" and not proportional to his head.

Here is my poor boy, stretched out on a pull-out breadboard in our kitchen, with the front of his legs gessoed and drying. He's very patient.

( I've "claimed" this breadboard for my own artistic purposes, as I have much of our big old hundred-plus-year-old house. I've been told by one of my offspring that I'm being unfair to my husband, and should give him a room of his own rather than hog 85% of the house for myself, but I have, as yet, too much stuff (mostly sewing/art supplies) to be able to do that.)

The next step will be to apply gesso to the back of my boy's legs, and tomorrow, I will lightly sand them and apply a second coat. I also need to paint fingernails on his hands. Then, his arms and legs will receive a spray of clear-coat matte finish and he will be done.

Then I will need to make some clothes for him, and fairly soon, as he's bound for a show at Six Rivers Gallery in a week or so . I've decided to make him a white shirt, white underwear, and a brown thin-wale corduroy suit. This suit will signify that he has been toilet-trained, as in days of old, boys wore dresses until they were. Recently, I received a picture of my father( born in 1914) at the age of two, and he was, indeed, wearing a dress.

Pictures of Latest Alabama Baby Doll, in progress

2011-06-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

Yeah!!! I downloaded Picasa (it's free from Google) onto this little netbook,

and now I can post pictures via it, too. I may have posted this doll's

picture before-- in fact, I'm SURE I did. But here he is again, AND his arms!!

Here are his arms. Like his face and neck, they are cloth that has

been gessoed and sanded a couple of times and then painted.

Here is his face again. I don't like the color of his

cheeks--needs to be a ruddier color. Will fix,.

Main computer is in Shop

2011-06-27T12:52:00.000-07:00

Therefore, I can't download any pics. SOOOOOoooooo, there won't be anything new here for a day or two--at least I HOPE it won't be much longer than that. Right now I have abandoned Miss Dolly Rock for awhile as I finish an Alabama Baby for the upcoming Anything Goes show at Six Rivers Gallery; you can see some of our artists and their work at harborartguild.com I have a page there, but I need to send in some new pics so our webmaster can update my page. Hopefully, my main computer will be back soon; in the meantime, I am thankful for my little new-to-me netbook that allows me to at least stay connected.

Dolly Has a Friend and Gets Hair

2011-06-22T22:59:00.000-07:00

Bald and one-legged, but Dolly has a friend just the same, whose name is Grace.

Bald no more.

Close-up of hair, which is not quite done.

Reconstructing Miss Dolly Rock

2011-06-21T20:43:00.000-07:00

I deconstructed the doll and now I am beginning the process of putting her back together. As much as possible, I will try to put her back together as she was before. There may be a couple small patches that I won't put on, as they didn't seem to be serving any purpose. I'm not sure I can force myself to sew the arms and legs on quite as crudely (and with string!) as they were done before. I will TRY but it will be hard to do it that way.

Here are some pictures to look at, of my progress so far:

It says "straight" on the inside of the cloth body. Anyone know what kind of product would be labeled "straight"?

The clean body is stuffed: I used an old clean cashmere sweater and scraps from my husband's undershirt that the paramedics cut off him when they took him to the hospital in March. He was rather sad that they had to cut his almost new shirt off, thus destroying it. I thought it would make him happy to think that his shirt might be inside this doll for, hopefully, another hundred years or two.

Head is stuffed with the same rags as before, but I washed them, of course. There were some pieces of undetermined fibers that I did not wash and did not put back in the head. I used the same tee shirt scraps mentioned above to round out the head's stuffing. I did save all the stuffing I didn't use; someone may be able to identify them down the road. I'm pretty sure that some is probably wool or some other animal fiber.

Clean and stuffed "first head" sitting on parts of the old cashmere sweater I will use for part of the stuffing.

Rather large seam allowance of "first head's" center back shoulderplate seam.

Cleaned "first head" positioned on body.

Lower front seam of "shoulderplate" sewed down to body.

Back of shoulderplate of "first head" waiting to be sewed down. You can see how uneven this piece is, but I left it as is, rather than trimming it, as I'm trying to be true to the doll as she was when I received her.

Old Doll Came with Two Dresses: I'd forgotten about them.

2011-06-19T23:22:00.000-07:00

This post is just the most recent of several concerning an old cloth doll that has come into my possession lately. If you have not read these earlier posts, you might want to go back a few posts and read forward.

First, though, I'm tired of calling this old doll "Old Doll"--it seems somehow improper and lacking dignity. For one thing, although she is "old" in years, she has the figure of a young lady and a rather stylish wardrobe, not to mention a full head of black hair, so "old" doesn't seem an adjective that applies to her. Henceforth, at least for the time being, I will call her Miss Dolly Rock, a more respectful and dignified name and title befitting this wonderful doll. The " Dolly" part is obvious and Rock is the surname of the family who acquired her most recently. Also, my cousin informs me that the Rock contingent of said family hailed from Minnesota, so she is assuming that this doll most probably entered the family from the Rock side.

In all the excitement, I'd overlooked the two "extra" doll dresses that arrived with the doll, one of which is pictured here; I wasn't even sure they belonged to this particular doll, but the size looks right and the sewing looks similar to that on the brown dress Miss Dolly Rock was wearing when she arrived at my place: both of these dresses have gathered fabric stitched in the same rather unusual way: a gathered piece added to a flat piece by folding an edge of fabric down, running a long gathering stitch through the doubled fabric edge, and then top stitching it to the right side of another flat piece with smaller stitches:

The reason I say that it's not the "usual" way of adding a gathered piece to a flat piece is that, in my experience, the more common way is to gather an unfinished edge of a fabric, and then join it to the flat piece by means of a seam. That said, I don't know much about how items of clothing were sewn in the past, and perhaps this was a "style feature" at the time these dresses were made. I'm hoping someone with more knowledge of historical sewing methods will read this and offer some insights; I know there are some Civil War Reenactors on the Treadle On list. At any rate, seeing this method used on both these dresses is one reason for thinking the same person made both.

The red print dress has this treatment at the waist and the brown dress has it on the bodice. I'd say this red print dress was made earlier, though, as the brown dress shows evidence of more sewing skill: it has a faced bodice and waistband and buttons and buttonholes on the back, while the red print dress has no facings and only pins on the back to fasten it closed:

The brown dress also has a more complicated design, whereas the red dress is pretty plain. Another possibility is that an older person and a younger person sewed doll clothes together, with the older person making the brown dress while a younger person, just learning, made the red print one. These are just guesses and we really just won't know, unless some person is found who knows the actual history of this doll. Wouldn't that be great?! To know the TRUTH and not have to guess?! (maybe?)

The red print dress is interesting in that it is mostly hand sewn, but there is some machine stitching on it, too, whereas I don't see any machine stitching on the brown one. I am wondering if this red dress was possibly constructed using a portion of old curtain or clothing and that the machine stitching was part of the fabric's earlier "incarnation" and simply incorporated into the design of the new dress. Another explanation could be that a sewing machine was only available some of the time, so the maker of the dress used it when she could, and when she could not, she sewed without the use of the machine, by hand. This fabric in this dress is unevenly faded too, which is another reason to suspect that this fabric was formerly in use in some other item. Boy! I feel like a detective here! Maybe it IS more fun to guess!

Anyway, I hope some of you that read this, and look at the pictures, will chime in with your ideas about this doll, her construction, and the possible reasons for some of the things I've noticed and perhaps some I haven't noticed.

Very Old Cloth Doll: The Story Continues

2011-06-19T14:49:00.000-07:00

Three faces! And that's not even counting the outermost face. I believe, in this picture, the face below the other two was actually ON a doll at some point--whether it was on THIS particular doll, I don't know. My reason for thinking this is that, not only is the head complete (it has three pieces: a center panel which has the face, top, and center back, and two side pieces) but there is evidence of remains of brown yarn hair on its top. The other face, the darkest one on the left, might just be a face that the maker rejected, as it's just the onle piece (no back) but I'm not sure why it's so dark, if it was never on a doll? That's perplexing.

This is a closer look at the rejected (?) face that was inside the doll's head, mixed in with the family rags used for stuffing.

This is a mixture of light colored rags used to stuff the head; centermost is a handmade buttonhole, letting us know that this piece was once part of a piece of clothing--other pieces in there MIGHT have been from old clothing or from flour or sugar sacks, it's hard to know.

This is the doll's body as I was washing it, inside out and wet. Now I can see what I couldn't before: some printing on the fabric, indicating that it WAS once part of a cloth sack holding some manner of household necessity, perhaps flour or sugar. The printing seems to read "TR LIGHT." My husband said maybe it held tobacco. Perhaps someone who knows more about late 19th century products will have a better idea of what kind of sack this was. I DO know that cloth bags were used to package many different things and that frugal housewives used them for everything from dishtowels to clothing items for their children, and in this case, for a doll's body.

Here is one of the doll's arms, showing no less than FOUR layers. I got it a little wet at the top, so that is why the fabric looks so dark there. The hand, though, is not wet; it got dark on its own from being loved so much.

This picture shows how the arms were sewn to the doll's body, with string, not thread. Some of the work on this doll seemed to be done by skilled hands; other parts look as if someone less skilled, perhaps an older child, did the work. One thing is certain: this doll was around for a long while and underwent many "incarnations."

Her she is without her clothing, wearing only some very "holy" black stockings that had been sewn onto her legs. Under the stockings, the lower legs were of a darker fabric. Later, other knit stockings were sewn over these. She is quite the shapely young lady.

In taking apart the second layer of shoulder fabric, one can see the rather large "seam allowance" (the whiter fabric) that the person doing the sewing used. To me, this means that the person remodeling the doll wasn't that interested in precision, but just wanted to get the new head and it's attached "shoulder plate" fastened down securely. One would expect that an experienced seamstress would pin the new piece in place, mark the seam line, and then trim the seam allowance to a uniform width to get rid of excess bulk. This person may have been rather unskilled or they may have been in a big hurry to finish the project in time for it to become a birthday or Christmas gift. I DO wish this doll could speak and tell us about her long life and her various owners!

It Gets Curiouser and Curiouser!!

2011-06-18T20:49:00.000-07:00

Now, in the course of unstuffing the now headless body of this old doll, which was stuffed with a combination of household rags and sawdust, I find a couple of pieces of old wadded up newspaper with the date 1873 and Winona, Minnesota on it! These I will iron flat and include in the scrapbook that I will send with this cleaned up and reassembled doll to our local museum. She is truly an unravelling story!

Oh, Wow! I'd heard of this but never encountered it for myself!!

2011-06-18T19:16:00.000-07:00

Two heads!! She has two heads--one sewn right over the other. This was often done in the "olden days" to extend the life of a doll. Her arms have also been recovered, I think to make the doll look "cleaner" without washing it. Depending on what it has been stuffed with, washing might have been impossible w/o destroying it.
I am planning on taking her down to the original, unstuffing her, washing her (very gently) and then restuffing her with clean stuffing. If it appears that the head/body fabric won't hang together, I'll cover it with new similar fabric, and put the face on with pen, just as the original had. I am wondering if this doll originally had a china head; if I look under the bottom-most face and see that the head has been sewn to a headless body, I will presume that. The body is made of a different fabric than the head; it is more coarsely woven and the head fabric appears to be regular old muslin.
I will also wash and preserve the second head/wig so that it can be pulled over the original--the second face, with it's 3D nose WAS something of an improvement, and the original head has a glue stain (I guess) on the back of the head, so I'm sure the maker of the second head/wig considered she'd improved the doll. It was probably a birthday or Christmas present for some little girl. I'll tell you, people "back in the day" wasted NOTHING, and nothing was ever thrown away until it had gone through every transformation possible.

Very Old Doll, I Think.

2011-06-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

    My cousin found this old doll when they were cleaning out her mother-in-law's home recently. The doll is quite large, about 28" tall. I believe she is quite old because of several things:
1. The fabric of the clothing is deteriorating, with several holes. I also don't recognize this fabric as any commonly used today.
2. The doll appears to have been handmade, and one-of-a-kind, rather than made from a conventional pattern. If it IS made from a commercial pattern, it's not one I've seen around.
3. The hair is very unusually applied. It appears to have been crocheted, perhaps, and then sewn to the cloth head by hand; the doll's maker probably came up with the method on her own, as I've never seen hair done this way.
   I haven't yet removed this doll's clothing, so I can't say yet whether she was sewn by hand or machine, but even if she WAS sewn by machine, sewing machines have been around since around the Civil War, so that would not necessarily preclude her being quite old.
   I just now removed her cape, and I'm still not sure if it was handsewn or machine sewn, because it is very well-made--there are no seams visible. All are enclosed or covered. I'll keep removing clothing. I'm hoping I can wash her, but not sure what she is stuffed with, so that is iffy. I wish this doll could talk and tell me about herself. I can hope that the maker signed the doll somewhere, but usually this was not done, leaving us to wonder.
   I will frinish undressing her, take more photos, and post again soon. Stay tuned.

Family Letters from Fall of 1931

2011-06-13T12:35:00.000-07:00

Just returned from seventh Annual House Girl Cousins' Reunion; it was close. If things had worked out on a slightly different time schedule, I may not have been able to go. But as it was, DH was very lucky, and I was lucky to get to go to the reunion, too.

Our Uncle Jim passed away in March, and his son sent along several paintings Jim had done, as well as family pictures and bundles of letters: love letters between our grandparents dated 1900, and another bundle of letters written to our Uncle Ernie by his two sisters and mom, dated 1931. I am enjoying reading them, and am going to scan all for the other cousins who want them. Thankfully, our aunts and grandmother had legible penmanship, so they are quite easy to read.

Things were very tough, financially, in 1931, much like they are today. My grandmother was being nagged for the ten dollar washing machine payment, and my aunt had to pay her creditors half of what she usually did. At one point, my grandmother was in danger of having her electricity turned off. One aunt and uncle and their baby had to move back to the little house next to her parents, and she ate lunch with them everyday. Being invited to eat at someone else's house made groceries last a little longer. One of the letters gives prices for flour and sugar, and I'll post those later. Mills had cut hours to six hour days and three on Saturdays, and they'd cut wages, as well. All this has a familiar ring to it as teachers in WA state where I live had a 1.9% pay cut this year--the first pay cut ever in my recollection. It's hard not to worry, but it's also encouraging to read these letters from 1931 and see that my relatives found ways to deal with hardships and go on to thrive. We can do that, too.

A New Adventure

2011-06-06T21:08:00.000-07:00

About a year ago, I bought several of Dan Reeder's books on making paper mache "monsters," dragons, etc. He has creations he calls "Screamers" that don't look too much like my own Screamer creations. A local art teacher used to have her students make these big Screamer creations, and our local public library would display them hanging from the mezzanine. I liked them a lot and it was always interesting to see the variations that kids would produce.

Anyway, I managed to get several of Reeder's now out-of-print books, and I intended to make one of his dragons last summer, but never got around to it. So I decided that I would begin my dragon now, and work on him out-of-doors this summer, as the paper mache part tends to be pretty messy and I am known for my ability to make even "clean" projects quite messy.

So here is the humble beginning of my dragon: simply a wadded up big ball of newspaper, stuck into a wire coat hanger, and taped around with masking tape. Doesn't look very promising, you say? Yeah, I know, but, believe it or not, it looks just like the picture in his book Dragon Makers Handbook. Stay tuned. I'll post pictures of each step, and if you want, you can make one, too. One problem I have already run into in my rural, off the interstate, locale, is that I can't find white glue in quart bottles, and I need 2 quarts. Guess I will try Michaels, as our Home Depot didn't have it in that quantity. I know they make big bottles of Elmers because when I worked in a public school, we had quarts of it, or maybe it was even a gallon. I had to stop where I was for lack of a second wire coat hanger.

Life Happens, Again

2011-06-04T20:27:00.000-07:00

My husband LaMont had emergency open heart surgery on Weds, May 25 at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle. And yes, he got yet another ride in a helicopter. We are wondering if he's set a record with two rides in ten weeks. He had a HUGE aortic aneurysm with no symptoms; if he had not had a routine echocardiogram that day, it probably would have most likely killed him before it was  discovered. I may be able to post a picture next week, as the thorasic surgeon's PA snapped a picture with her cell phone when they got his chest open. I saw it and it was unbelievable. My youngest (but grown) son wouldn't let me look until he looked first, but it was not yucky, just scary-big.
    DH is actually recovering from this surgery faster than he did the organ failure two months ago, as he was healthy when he went into surgery, except for the little fact of that aneurysm lurking there.
    We are hoping Life will resume its rather humdrum quality around here now, and that further drama will not intrude. That said, we feel extremely lucky that this could be fixed, and supremely thankful to the skillful surgeons who did the work, and the many nurses who cared for him afterward. How do you adequately thank someone who literally saved your life?!

Small Doll Almost Done

2011-05-19T22:51:00.000-07:00

This doll set out to be a pin doll, but ended up too tall for that. Her hair is from a piece of some sort of shiny velvet-type fabric, a scrap I was given. Her features are done mostly with Micron pens, found in the scrapbooking section of craft stores. She is not at all fancy, but I like her.

Hitty Auction for Japan

2011-05-19T17:31:00.000-07:00

http://hummingbirdc.blogspot.com/2011/05/hitty-for-japan-charity-auction-on-ebay.html#comment-form

The link above will take you to the page showing the items that will be listed on ebay tomorrow to raise money for Japan, after its terrible earthquake. Please take a look. Thanks.

Introducing JaqueO, the Red-Heeled Monkey

2011-05-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Mothers' Day to all the moms out there. Hope you are all having a great day, and that you all hear from your kids today.

Here is my latest red-heeled monkey, whom my friend Betty dubbed Jaque since he is dressed like a Frenchman. I added the O. He is the first monkey I've ever made from the adult size small socks and he is about 14" tall as opposed to the 18" monkeys I've made with the XL socks. He's rather cute in that size; I will make a girlfriend for him next. He will miss the "group" picture at quilt on Tuesday, as I left him at the gallery yesterday:

Hunger Site, click today!!

2011-04-27T11:48:00.000-07:00

I receive this reminder from the Hunger Site every day. It helps me remember to go to their site and click to help various charities receive money; it doesn't cost me anything except a few seconds of my time.
This is your friendly Wednesday reminder from The Hunger Site:

Make a difference today!

Click on the yellow button at The Hunger Site and give a

cup of food to the hungry at no cost to you:

http://www.thehungersite.com/tpc/ERH_042711_THS

Who Has Looked at My Blog, by Country

2011-04-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

It's interesting to know where those who have looked at my blog live. I thought you'd find it interesting, too.

United States 5,543

Canada 232
Russia 50
Malaysia 47

Canada 232
Russia 50
Malaysia 47
Australia 44
Netherlands 40
Poland 31
Germany 30
Sweden 28
United Kingdom 26

Shorebirds and Estuary Show at Six Rivers Gallery, Reception Friday, May 6

2011-04-25T11:41:00.000-07:00

This is a great show, and although it was originally my idea to have a show in conjunction with the Shorebird Festival, due to circumstances beyond my control, I have no entry in it. :>(
If any of you would like a private tour of the gallery, please contact me and I'll oblige--it's a fun place and very inspiring. If you are an artist, considering joining our group. It's only $25 a year, and you can put items in our Gift Shop at no additional cost to you; if some of your work sells, the gallery keeps 20%. I have been a member for a couple of years now, and I've been very glad I joined this group. The other artists inspire me and keep my "creative fire" burning.

OK, Enough Dilly Dally-ing, Already!!

2011-04-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

As some of you have mentioned, and others have probably noticed but been too NICE to mention, my Monday Clean Kitchen Table pictures have been missing, lo these many moons! But today, I am ready to take the bull by the horns and CLEAN THAT SUCKER OFF!! Stay tuned. I will add a picture later this afternoon.

Bunnies and More: Latest Projects

2011-04-03T13:26:00.000-07:00

Sock bunnies are easy and quick to make. Here are a few examples:

This little guy was made from the sleeve of an old sweater:

This big girl has a bottle gourd, unpainted, for her head, and "dreds" made from strips of an old wool sweater that was felted in the washing machine. When I add her second foot, she'll be done, after patiently waiting a VERY long time.

Life Got in the Way

2011-04-01T22:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have not posted for so long. My husband became suddenly very sick on March 12, and spent two days in the intensive care unit at our local hospital with what doctors determined was sepsis, an overwhelming infection of the blood. His liver had shut down and his kidneys, too. When his liver began to rebound, but his kidneys not, he was helicoptered to a hospital in Seattle on March 14th. He spent another day in Virginia Mason's Critical Care unit there, and was then transferred to a regular room where he spent six more days. He is recovering well and has been home for ten days now. It was a completely terrifying episode for all of us, and we feel lucky to have had a good outcome.
   Needless to say, we were both exhausted from trying to sleep in beds that were not ours, in a city that was not ours, and to be engaged in routines that DEFINITLEY were not ours either. It took several days of virtual hibernation before either of us could function anywhere near normally, but we are getting there.
   Naturally, during this time period, making dolls was not something on my mind, but I did get to see how integral creating is to my sanity, and it has been nice to get back to doing just a little in that vein in the last week (once sleeping ceased to be the most important activity in our lives!)
    Last Sunday, my friend Karla and I had a sock bunny class at the local Popcorn Shoppe to both draw people to our friend Celia's shop and to earn a little money for our struggling gallery, which had a fire in January (Can you say "five hundred dollar deductible"? Ouch! December 2010 was our best month, followed by January 2011, our worst month!)

The class was very successful, with about 20 people attending.

Here are some of the bunnies made there:

Here was one of my favorite pictures; as you can see, one bunny turned out to be a dog!

I have made some bunnies myself this week, and tonight finished a penguin I started quite awhile ago (remember you voted: penguin or owl?)> I am also almost finished with a gourd-head doll also began a long time ago. I will post pictures of those projects soon. It's good to be back!!

Latest Project--Doll with a Recycled Head

2011-03-09T23:12:00.000-08:00

I was heading to the garbage can with this big doll head, thinking even the Salvation Army would NOT want it. And then I had an idea. I'd read about Judi Ward covering heads like this with wool felt, to make a Lenci type doll. I thought, "Why not cover this head with cotton knit and make another big Alabama Baby type doll. Here are pics of steps one through four:

I started without taking a proper "before" pic, so this is the best I could do. It looks even worse with the glue on the eyes, I know. I cut off the eyelashes before I put Elmer's glue on the eyes.

Then I coated the entire front of the head with Elmer's.

The next step is to cover the head, all around, with cotton knit fabric. I usually use an old tee shirt for this but someone had given me some new knit scraps, so this time I used that. You make sure the stretchiest direction of the fabric goes across the face, not down. I brush more glue on the underlying head, as I work my way around it. I stretch gently as I go, and have to cut darts to take up slack as I go. I try to keep the darts to a minimum, but you don't want wrinkles on your doll's head. You can see that when I finish with the face and back of head, there is a "bald spot" on the top.

Step three is to cover the top of the head with a piece of knit fabric. You must work carefully to minimize the gathers around the edge of the patch at the top of the head. Adding more glue helps.

Here is the top of the head finished. Alabama Babies can be identified by a round patch on the top of their heads.

Here is the covered head, drying. From the ruler, you can see that this doll will be large.

Tomorrow, when the glue has dried, I will coat the entire head with gesso. I may sand it and then add another layer of gesso, if necessary. After that, I can begin to paint the face/head. That is the part I enjoy most!! I will need to decide if he/she will have painted hair or a wig. Most Alabama Babies have painted hair, but not all of them. Stay tuned for pictures of the progress on this doll.

Winter Show at Six Rivers Gallery

2011-03-06T11:46:00.000-08:00

Six Rivers Gallery

210 Sixth Street in Hoquiam

Winter Show continues to April 17

If you missed our opening, it is not too late to see our Winter Show.

Six Rivers Gallery is open Friday and Saturday 10 - 5, and Sunday 1 - 5. and by appointment 360-532-9979

Our next show will feature art on the theme Birds & Estuaries. As the shorebirds return to Grays Harbor, local artists will fill the gallery with art in tune with this seasonal event.

Did Anyone Read My Post about Journaling? ( It's in February 2011)

2011-03-04T20:58:00.000-08:00

Just wondering if any of you are trying it. It would make my day to know that I managed to get someone to record some of their experiences and thoughts. Hey, if you are a scrapbooker, you could even fancy it up some. Or if you are like me, and not much of a scrapper, you can have a place like Blurb.com make your journal or blog into a real live book. I'm going to do that. I thought I'd only been blogging for a year, but it turns out it's been more than two! So I guess I'll have to have them do TWO books. I think my grandgirls will like having them someday when they're older. They're 19 months and five years now--a little young to read my blogs!

Latest Sock Bunny---Or I'm Obsessed, Yet Again!

2011-03-04T20:35:00.000-08:00

This little gal is made from a cotton baby sock; she's wearing a sweater made from part of a felted sweater (from a thrift store, of course). I "pink" her ears and blush her cheeks with a colored pencil.

The Too Late Snowman

2011-03-02T19:54:00.000-08:00

The Too Late Snowman: sounds like the title to a children's book! This is a snowman I used to make from the little white net bags that vine-ripened tomatoes came in at the grocery store. But then, for some reason, THEY decided to make the bags red, instead of white, and I could no longer use the tomato bags for my little snowmen. I really liked those snowmen, too, because I could recycle those tomato bags and also could make use of "orphaned" socks. Teachers at the school where I taught saved those bags for me, and I always had enough for afterschool craft classes.

But then, one day, I had a brain wave, and wondered if I could make those same snowmen out of those puffy net things that some people use in the shower. I bought one the other day from the Dollar Tree and found that one of those things had enough net to make eight snowmen--they each use about 11 inches of the net.

That makes this project cheap enough to use for class projects; the most expensive ingredient is the stuffing, but it's not THAT expensive if you watch rummage sales, etc. And even if you have to pay full price, a three dollar bag will probably stuff five or six snowmen--maybe more . I usually use socks for the hats, but this one has the end of a sweater sleeve from a shrunk wool sweater. Shrunk sweaters go very cheap at rummage sales--no one is going to WEAR one!!! This little guy has matching scarf and mittens made from the waistband of a thrift store wool skirt. I use such wool fabric to make some of my wool cats (see below), etc. but the waistbands are too small for that purpose, so I was happy to find a use for them.

You might be wondering why this is a Too Late snowman. The reason is that I sat on my hands too long and it got to be mid February before I thought about teaching this project at our little gallery. No one wants to think about snow in March, even though snow sometimes happens here then (7 1/2 inches of it on March 7th one year). Snow in March ticks everyone off. Snow in April is even worse!! So this little guy will have to wait until next winter to model for a class. No problem for me; it will be here before I turn around. The trick will be to remember where he is when I need him next winter.

Sock Rabbit

2011-02-26T21:13:00.000-08:00

This is the sock rabbit we will be making in the March 27, class. Details will be announced soon and I will add them here.

Tree Man, in Progress

2011-02-23T23:31:00.000-08:00

This is a project our doll club in Puyallup is working on. We are each making a Tree Doll--we started them at club last week; it will be interesting to see (next month) how they all turn out. I guarantee they will all be as different as the people making them are. I'll post pictures here of as many as I can. Stay tuned.

Latest Sock Monkey

2011-02-23T23:26:00.000-08:00

She's a sweetie!

An Afghan for Hitty

2011-02-20T21:55:00.000-08:00

I am crocheting an afghan for my Hitty dolls. I'm using a size 7 steel hook and am splitting sock yarn. Stay tuned.

Sunday, Day Two,Two Clean Steps and My Red Mailbox

2011-02-20T21:52:00.000-08:00

I know, the cleaned steps don't look THAT great, but they DO look better in person and the cleaned ones do look better than the uncleaned ones.

This is a flag with wreath that I bought from Six Rivers Gallery (in Hoquiam, WA) awhile back. It was made by Sherryl Jackson, an artist in North River who works with wire. I love it, and I love her other work, too; I will buy more when I can. I especially like a piece that is made from a tire jack; she's made it look like a playgroun merry-go-round with four wire kids on it. So original and so nice to have her at Six Rivers. Come buy when you can, and see what is there.

This is my newly painted mailbox. I had to paint it so the cute little decals would show up. And then I had to paint the surrounding territory, because the spray paint didn't behave. Or perhaps it was ME that didn't behave!

A Step a Day

2011-02-19T17:44:00.000-08:00

I decided that if I can't paint the steps right now, because of the weather, I can at least WASH one step a day. I'd have done all of them on this cold but sunny day, but I was already tired from painting the mailbox and before that, going on my first bike ride in about two years. So I washed the bottom step--hopefully you can tell the difference.

Tomorrow, I'll do the next one up. I think there's eight of them, so by a week from tomorrow, they should all look better, and I can quit feeling bad because they look so awful. I meant to restain them before winter, but unfortunately we had snow in fall and everything seemed to "hit the fan" after that first snow, and I was behind on my fall chores from then on.

The moral of my story is that if something is bugging you, making you feel bad, and you can't fix it the RIGHT way right then, try to find another way to make it at least a little better. You'll feel better, too.

And here is one of my first crocuses today, opening to the sun. Isn't it pretty, and it promises spring will come.

Two Little Dolls for Africa

2011-02-17T22:29:00.000-08:00

A big thank you to Stephanie and Doreen for making these little dolls. I want to send a bunch of these with the little dresses. I'm also collecting shorts for the boys and little cars.

First Crocus of the Year Blooms!

2011-02-17T22:26:00.001-08:00

A Little Advice from Me Concerning Journals

2011-02-15T23:47:00.000-08:00

Want to keep a journal but don't have time? Me, too! I think everyone old enough to write should keep one. What I do is copy an email occasionally to My Journal (whatever year I'm writing) Not just any old email, but one in which I tell the person what I've been doing lately, and since I usually include pictures with such emails, I copy them into the journal page, too.

For instance, tonight I sent my 94 year old mom an email telling her about Audrey's party and the gifts I gave/made her. Mom doesn't have a computer, so she can't go to my blog and read, but she does have a electronic "mailbox" that allows her to receive emails and pictures from family and friends. This is the kind of email I like to copy into my journal.

When I started four years ago, I always made a hard copy of my journal pages and put them in a three ring binder. I've gotten rather lazy of late, and the last couple of years' journals are still just on the computer. But, hey! Even that is better than no journal at all. I find that I have a lot more to my journal now that I save emails. I tried to just sit down and write before, but I just didn't do that very often.

I'm a history buff and I like to read journals that people kept in the past--I'm interested in their daily life, what they thought and what they did. While your life may seem rather humdrum to you, a hundred years from now, your progeny will find it as interesting as we do Civil War journals now--hey, maybe your kids will find it interesting 20 years from now.

So, if you don't WANT to keep a journal, that's OK. Don't! But if you Do want to, and are just too pressed for time, consider doing it the way I do. And let me know how it goes.

My Little Seamstress, Audrey

2011-02-15T21:52:00.000-08:00

Audrey is five now, as of today, and here she is with the shiny little Singer Spartan sewing machine I gave her. She loves to sew, and a Spartan, with its motor removed and a handcrank fitted on, makes the best sewing machine ever for a young child. Please do NOT buy any child a plastic (or metal, for that matter) "child's" sewing machine. Nothing will discourage them more. Find a Singer Spartan and go to TreadleOn and learn how to replace the motor with a handcrank mechanism. It's easy or, believe me, I couldn't do it!! Once you have the spoked handwheel and the crank, all it takes is a screwdriver and about five minutes of your time.

Audrey's machine was made in Kilbowie, Scotland in 1960. I found that out online. Of course, the K in its model number already told me it was made in Kilbowie. That's what the K stands for. Its serial number is what allowed me to find out when its batch was ordered.

The Doll I Couldn't Say No To

2011-02-15T21:44:00.000-08:00

I got her for a very good price, and although I have other "Patsy" dolls, this one was three times as big as any of my others and in very good repair, too. She needs a little work, but not too much and her face is SO beautiful!! I LOVE her!

Audrey's Suitcase, Done

2011-02-08T23:34:00.000-08:00

This is the first case I've done for a child, but I'm sure it won't be the last. It will be interesting to see how it holds up under a child's use.

Lady Bugs Picked for the Red

2011-02-07T15:40:00.000-08:00

Can't decide whether to put more lady bugs on the sides, or maybe blades of grass?

I Promised Myself I Wouldn't, But I Did

2011-02-07T00:29:00.000-08:00

Bought another old doll on Ebay today. Here she is; she's a Patsy doll, of composition:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rt=nc&nma=true&item=260729482543&si=qOmNAbLxwnOnVy3XYlk3Jw%252BJ2%252FY%253D&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT

Hitty House Gets Second Floor

2011-02-04T20:17:00.000-08:00

Once I notch the other side, I can put the house on the bookcase where it will reside. Can't leave it on the kitchen table where it is now, and can't put it away till both sides are on!

Alabama Baby's Ears No Longer White

2011-02-04T20:13:00.000-08:00

And I touched up his face some, too. Hair needs more work and he needs limbs, of course. One of my friends always finishes the entire doll before doing the face, but I never do that. I always finish the face first, so I know who it is I'm working on.

He's sitting on the fireplace, drying. Is that doll abuse?!

Beginning my Hittys' house

2011-02-04T18:03:00.000-08:00

It's being made of foamcore board. It's light and strong.

Here's the bottom with back and side walls notched together. No glue at this point; I want to be able to do wallpapering and painting to the inside surfaces before I glue the walls together.

Here's a corner; you can see the notches.

The Shillinger Hitty Family visits the "construction site" and approves.

One of Ella Smith's Original Alabama Babies

2011-02-04T12:34:00.000-08:00

No two dolls were the same. I want one!!

http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/

It's a Boy! And Black Girl Doll Almost Dressed. And Another Suitcase

2011-02-03T23:16:00.000-08:00

Well, once again the doll has its way! It decided it was a boy, not a little girl. That's Ok, I'm going to make him wear a Little Lord Fauntleroy suit!! Or maybe just a corduroy one. His ears are white because I just gessoed them--they are made separately and glued on. Tomorrow, they'll match his skin. I also sanded him some, so his face is rather battered looking. That is temporary; he'll look better soon. I still have to lengthen his torso, too.

This little girl is now dressed. All I need to do is sew snaps on the back of the dress. She'll be going to the gallery on Saturday, when I go to work the morning shift there. Finally!!! I started her in 2008!!!!!!

This is a small metal case I picked up at SA today for a dollar. I was half done covering it with canvas when I realized I had, yet again, forgotten to take a "before" photo of it. So this is the best I can do. Not sure how I will decorate this, or exactly where it is going, or what it is going to hold, but I don't have to decide that right now anyway. It's a nice size; bigger than a standard lunch box but not as big as a cosmetic case, or as heavy either.

Face Started

2011-02-02T22:21:00.000-08:00

Worked on the face tonight for almost too long; I was beginning to get REALLY ANNOYED, which is never good. I get frustrated and start messing up things I should have left alone. She has no eyebrows yet and needs more work on the eyes. This is never a quick process for me; I spend a lot of time trying to get it right and doing paint overs. (sigh) Someday perhaps I'll get so I can do this better and quicker. The face/head is the hardest part for me. I still have not decided whether I will paint the hair or add a wig--I think I'm leaning toward a wig, as I don't think her face is that of a baby's. I think she's a little girl. A friend of mine laughs because I tell her I have to wait for the doll to tell me who//what it is. I'm just not skilled enough to be able to control the outcome, and so I wait and see what I get and I go with that. I don't mind not being in control, as long as I like what I end up with.