Hitty Anna Now Has UNDERWEAR!!!

And she's very happy to HAVE it, too!!! I've made a decent little lady of her! Now I need to make some for her sister Beatrix, but since I'm working on their little art gallery, she might have to wait, but not TOO long.

Hittys' Art Gallery is Coming Along

I have decided that this structure is going to be a little Art Gallery after the fashion of our REAL art gallery, which also has an apartment upstairs. I used scrapbook paper for the floor downstairs and for the wallpaper and floor upstairs. The shingles are made from the cardboard back of an old desk calendar I'd saved (of COURSE!!!). I painted the whole thing black on one side and let it dry; then I marked the backside into two inch strips, and cut them out; after that, I cut into the strips, about 2/3 of the width, alternating 2 narrow shingles and then one wide one across. That way, the shingles don't line up, because I didn't want them to.

Hitty's Room Grew

Now it's got an attic. I don't think it will get any bigger now. I hope it won't be too heavy to hang in the gallery. I don't really want to set it on a table.

I think I will leave the sides as they are, so people can see what forms the base of the house.

A Room Box for the Hittys

Hitty Anna and Hitty Beatrix are going to be in the Fall Show at our local co-op art gallery (Six Rivers Gallery, http://www.harborartguild.com/ ), and so I needed to make some sort of a display vehicle for them. They are small dolls, about 6.5" tall and can't be just set on a table like you can do with a larger doll.

So I am constructing them a room box, that can be hung on the wall. I bought a wooden box at a garage sale (putting up with DH's scowl and, "Why do you want THAT?!?!!?") and I've "lined" it with foamcore board. Now I get to decorate it, and furnish it for them. I have a lot of Hitty furniture, so the only hard part is deciding what KIND of a room it will be. Maybe an art gallery?!?

Cute Little Table for My Sewing Room

The little red table is my reward for all the work I've put in on my sewing room. I've been working on this room several hours a day, most days, for the last three weeks. Because it was a bedroom for several of our children ( one at a time: it was our daughter's room when we moved in here 33 years ago, because it was the smallest bedroom; it was a least three of her brothers' rooms, too), I had to fill NUMEROUS pinholes in the wall, remove a lot of tape, etc, etc. What a pain!! It really slowed me down. I also had to fill some dents in the floor and sand them,too, and paint a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf--I did that first.

I am now to the point where most of the floor has two coats of chocolate colored paint (Yuck! It doesn't SMELL like chocolate--it stinks!! It's porch paint), the walls and trim are all done, and the little red table , the other little table (think it was my parents'), and most of a chest of drawers are painted, too. I still need to paint another side of the chest of drawers and also a desk for the Janome to sit on. Then once everything is dry, I can bring the machines in. DH's Grandma Jennie's 1923 Singer "Red Eye" treadle will be in there to; hope everything fits!! If not, I'll have some rethinking to do.

I have some little shelves that go on the wall that I've painted the same cream color as the big shelf and the trim. Those will go up AFTER I decide where everything else will go. It has really taken me a long time to get this room done, but there was a lot to do. I am so BAD at estimating how long something will take to do; you'd think I'd be better at that since I'm a retired teacher, but I had the same trouble when I was planning lessons: I always thought I could get more done in a given amount of time than I actually could. But I'm getting closer and closer to finishing this room and looking forward to actually SEWING in there. My stash will NOT be moving to this room; it is large and gets to stay in the old sewing room--the one that is too crowded to sew in! This one will stay pristine.

I Am Retired and a Global Financier!!

Think you have to be RICH to help other deserving people have a better life? Well, guess what? You don't!! All it takes is an initial investment of $25. If you don't have $25 extra right now, just start dropping coins in a jar until you have that amount, or set aside a small amount each month.
Today I made my 26th loan to Kiva; I've been doing this for a couple of years. I think I have spent around $100 for these 26 loans. I started with a $25 loan, and then made a couple other $25 loans, plus a few $3.75 donations to KIVA for operating expenses. All the rest of the loans were made from money repaid by folks who received the loans--the repayment rate is close to 100%.
KIVA lets me know when I have twenty-plus dollars in my account, and then I can decide to put a couple more bucks in to make another $25 loan or wait until the balance gets to $25. It's truly a gift that keeps on giving, and it makes me feel really good to know that my money is helping someone for whom a small loan makes a BIG difference.

Another Wool Cat

A cat with attitude, she's 22 inches tall, and made with the usual repurposed wool from thrift store clothing. Wool clothing doesn't sell well in thrift shops because it has to be dry cleaned, and people who shop at thrift stores don't want to buy garments that need this special treatment.

I have my own "special treatment" for these garments: first, I take them apart, and then I wash the pieces in the machine with hot water. The agitation makes most wool fabric felt a little; if I want it felted a lot, I wash it several times in hot water. I usually air dry it, although if you want it VERY fuzzy, you can try drying it in the dryer. Some of mine has gone this route, usually by accident when DH gets ahold of it. I don't mind, though. I don't decide what to use fabric for until it has been washed; then I let it inspire me and tell me what it wants to be.

Opened an Etsy Store

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Aberdeenbarb

I've listed some cute knit markers.

How Dachshunds Sleep

Dachshunds love to burrow, and they hate to have light in their eyes while they are sleeping (I feel the same way). The other night, as I was working on a project, I looked over at the couch and had to get my camera. Poki's rear was all I could see! I snapped the picture (above).

Then, the next time I looked, her rear was gone and her stomach (and one paw) was all I could see (middle). Don't ask me how they breathe under there!!

The top picture shows the entire Poki. She doesn't spend ALL her time out of sight!

Angel Block for the Quilt Teaparty

Not much to say about this block; I did the buttonhole stitching by hand. I have a sewing machine that can do that, but I didn't have the heavier thread it would have required. I do needle turn applique (no adhesives), but sometimes when I turn the edges under, I baste them in place, if the fabric doesn't want to obey.

Anna Has a Sister: Introducing Beatrix

Here is the second Hitty doll I've carved--well MOST of her. I'm almost done with her arms, but have had some other projects that demanded my time lately. So the arms have taken a backseat, temporarily.

I have dresses done for both Anna and Beatrix; just need to hem them and put on snaps/buttons.

Hitty Anna is almost done

Here she is, lying very still, so her joints can dry. I'm hoping her limbs don't fall right off--there isn't a lot of room for glue, and I don't want to make her immobile, either. This is definitely a learning experience, but a fun one.

My Painting Project

I have been redoing the small (former) bedroom, to make a room for some of my sewing machines, yarn, and a big dollhouse LaMont bought for a Christmas present for me a couple years ago.

It took three coats of that white paint to cover the royal blue that was on those shelves before!!

I haven't decided what color to paint the walls yet, or the table the little Singer Featherweight is sitting on, either. The table belonged to my mom and dad, and I love its turned legs. LaMont's reading light was on it before, but I traded him Donna's little shelf unit ( which she gave to me; thanks, Donna!).

I also need to paint the floor as it's all nicked and scratched (having not been painted for a LONG time), but that will be done AFTER the walls, as I'm one messy painter. (I know this will come as no surprise to my friends, as I'm messy at everything I do!!) I filled a few big gouges on the floor today.

I'm going to put LaMont's Grandma Jennie's treadle sewing machine in front of the window; it will be a good place to sew, and her 1923 Singer "Redeye" is my favorite treadle.

A School Desk for the Hittys

Found this sweet desk for the Hittys at the B Street Thrift Shop. Went there looking for a Dustbuster (to clean up from my carving more easily); they had them, but it was impossible to test them because none of them were charged up. So didn't buy one.

But I was happy to find this cute desk, just the right size for the Hittys and the lid lifts up, too! Lucky me!!

SISTERS: Sharing a Bed

There are three dogs beds, count them: THREE! near the computer, but both Poki and Grace wanted THIS dogbed! Actually, they can both fit in there if they snuggle up close.

My First Carved Hitty's FINAL Face

When my carving tools arrived from Little Shavers, I had to try to make my first carved Hitty's face look a little better. I think I did; she looks more "old fashioned," like a Hitty should, and her face is more contoured.

Here you see the "before" below and the "after" ro the right. I promised her she doesn't have to "go under my knife again." Now if I can just make her two similar arms and two similar legs!! Notice I said "similar" and not identical--I'm a realist, after all.

My New Tag

Yesterday I made a new tag for my wares at the gallery. I couldn't think what to call my "line," so I decided to call it My Stuff, as you can see.

The tag isn't perfect, but it's good enough for now. I used Print Shop and I'm not that good at using it and couldn't find the disk to let me do other stuff with it, so just used what I could get at without the disk. (It's here somewhere!!! Famous last words. )

Finished Cat

Here she is, all done. I tacked the tip of her tail to her shin, because otherwise, it just stuck out at a weird angle, like it had a mind of its own.

Yet Another Wool Cat Creature!!

I really thought this one would be a squid or maybe a pickle! But, no, it was a CAT, again!!! But she's cute and will be cuter when she has a set of whiskers on EACH side of her face. I think she'll have some eyebrows, too, and a wooly orange tail. She's made from part of a suede thrift store skirt and a felted thrift store sweater. The eyes, beads, and collar are new.