Almost done.....

I can hardly believe that it has been more than a week since I last wrote on my blog!  Doesn't time fly when you're enjoying yourself.....or should I say, doesn't time fly when you're cleaning the house, shopping for Christmas presents and running yourself ragged in the quest to get the perfect gifts for family and friends!!!  But thankfully I think I'm done....I just have a bit more tidying up and cleaning to do tomorrow and then that is it......I will 'chill' and if it's not done by Thursday evening, then it's not going to get done at all! :)

My mum and brother are flying over from the UK on Friday morning.  Friday is also my son Brendan's 25th birthday, but he is working all day so we'll not see much of him until the evening.  When I think of time flying I only have to realise that it is now a quarter of a century since he was born....now that really IS time flying.  Where have all those years gone?  I honestly don't know but it really doesn't seem such a long time since he was a tiny little boy and now look at him!!!

Here he is with his lovely girlfriend of 5 years, Virginia....

On the dolly front, my JID Asa in real skin arrived yesterday from Iplehouse, and luckily flew through customs without getting caught for ransom.......which is a bonus in itself!!!  At first I wasn't sure about her, I loved the big busted body and the colour of the resin but was a bit worried that she was too different from my other dolls, she has a very serious face and although I like sad faces, serious faces are something else!  I also wondered if she looked a bit 'sneaky' as her eyes are very small and narrow, like she was squinting or something,  but having now changed her eyes to green glass ones (I intend getting brown eventually) and finding a wig that I feel suits her, I'm really warming to her now!  I think once she has some clothes of her own it will be better too, plus I feel she needs restringing as she is very loosely strung.  I read on DOA that this is normal for IP dolls as it helps to avoid them getting damaged in transit.  I will make time over Christmas to sort her out though.  Here are a couple of photos of her:

Well lets hope it's not another week before I write again........

Lazy Sunday....

Apart from tidying up and putting away some clothes and cutting out a velvet coat in Little Fee size, I've not done much else today, although I did take some cute photos of my Elfdoll Lovely Dami, Anya, taking her little dog for a walk.  Here she is wearing an Ellowyne Wilde outfit by Robert Tonner.  The jacket is quite bulky on her but it is nice and cosy and warm, and just the perfect outfit for a chilly and damp Sunday afternoon walking the dog!!

Playing Frankendolly!

I had the urge recently to play Frankendolly!  By 'Frankendolly' I mean having a go at hybriding a doll.  I've been into bjds (ball jointed dolls) for more than five years now and have always admired people who, when they spotted one they liked, would grab a head for sale on the Den of Angels marketplace and hang on to it until the right body came along.  Sometimes those 'floating heads' as they are referred to, can 'float' around for ages before a body that suits them can be found, but even so if they see another, they go on to buy that too.  But when it comes to 'floating heads' I've never been very good at having them...I suppose it is mainly because I'm too impatient to wait for a body, so want one straight away, or perhaps it is that I worry if I were to get a body from another company to that which made the head, it wouldn't look good.  I'm also one of those collectors who likes to have ALL of their dolls on display ALL of the time, and floating heads just look 'weird' to me....so I've never really looked into it much.

My one experience of buying a body and head separately never worked out well, so it sort of put me off a bit.  Several years ago I wanted a Volks MSD (mini super Dollfie) but they were not within my budget at that time.  I decided to look out for a head and then if I found one, so I would look for a body.  I quite quickly came across a person in Asia selling a very pretty Volks Mika head.  Now Mika is a girl and the boy version is called Ken....and here it gets complicated!!!  The head for sale was a Mika but it had a custom faceup which was quite boyish and the seller told me that her doll, although a girl, had been 'living as' a boy in her house!  Well, I have to admit that to me 'he' looked remarkably like a 'she' to me, so I went ahead and bought him/her.  In the meantime I found a Volks MSD girl body and bought that.....see what I mean, I can't wait!  And once the two pieces were here, I put them together and 'he' became a 'she'.....but it never worked.  For me the doll was sort of 'bitty', even though both parts came from the same company, the doll never quite jelled for me so in the end I sold her. 

So it is with a bit of trepidation that I decided to try to make a hybrid Unoa.  I had a full Unoa Sist up until recently that I bought as a kit from Japan a few years back,  but sold her to buy someone else.  Of course the moment she was gone, so I missed her and wanted to get another!  However, when I bought her she was expensive enough and now they are even more so and I couldn't afford to, so decided hybriding was the route to take.

Today I bought the faceplate that I've been admiring on the marketplace for a couple of weeks.  She is a Unoa Sist, just a couple of months old with a lovely new faceup by a faceup artist on Flickr called 3rd_Strike.  Of course I couldn't leave it at that, what on earth would I do with a faceplate, pretty as it is!!!!  So I decided to search out a body for her.  For the last couple of days I've looked at all the companies I know of (and some that are new to me!) that sell bodies on their own, bodies that fit the idea I have in mind for Sist.  I finally decided on a lovely Diamond body from DollnDoll, and I ordered a head back from the French artist Amaeta!!  So hopefully my Frankendolly parts will arrive sometime over the next few weeks and I can put her together!!!

Here is a photo of the faceplate I'm getting.  The photo is obviously not mine and belongs to the faceup artist on Flickr, isn't she lovely!!!

Nothing else to report, except I think we're going to get rain tonight!

Today I have been busy sewing again and finished another outfit for little Evangeline, my Iplehouse BID Elin.  This one is also for Etsy.....I'm so enjoying sewing for this little sweetie! 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/dambuster01

Here is the completed outfit, it consists of a three tiered blue and white skirt, a sweatshirt top with blue decoration and blue and white knit leggings.  I think she looks so cute in it, the colours really suit her lovely tanned skin!

 

Talking of Iplehouse, today I got a lovely surprise when I went to check on their website.  I'd written to them during the weekend asking about adding something to my order, and their response was that they intended shipping my Asa this week!  I'm so pleased because I only ordered her on the 19th November and so hopefully she will be home in time for Christmas.  I hope that I can leave her box unopened until Christmas Day but I doubt it!  (After all, someone has to check that she is as she should be!!!!)

On the non dolly front, I finished a another really good book yesterday.  It was the lastest Janet Evanovich book, which is number 18 in Stephanie Plum series of novels.  It was great as usual, full of laugh out loud moments.  I read them so quickly though and then I am moaning that I didn't want the book to end!  Is there no pleasing some people, I hear you ask!!  So now I've got to wait until June 2012 for the next installment!  I'm lucky though in that I still have quite a few of her other books to read, so I will fill my time with those.

In the meantime I started another book last night, one which I first read about 30 years ago, when I was just a young thing, travelling up to London and back each day on the London Underground.  It is called The Rats by James Herbert, and I have to say that my taste in books has changed.  For a start I really do not like rats these days (except if they are someones pets) and I really hate blood and gore!  (And to think that I used to work in Scenes of Crime!)  But times change and I've become a lot more squeamish!!!  But I think I'll read to the end of the book now that I've started it, although I'm sure it will give me the willies at night!!!

Apart from that nothing much else to report!  The weather is cold and sunny, quite nice in the sunshine but really chilly in the shade.....and our house, as usual, is freezing, or so it seems to me!!

Argos Christmas advert.....

I just love this new Christmas advert from Argos, this little Alien family remind me of ball jointed dolls in a way...it must be their big heads and big eyes! There is a second one which I must find so that I can share that one too......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEI_yGJQdWs&feature=endscreen&NR=1

UPDATE:  Here is the second one! (Although the first one is my favourite!!!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Erk_wjp0dUY

Enjoy!!!

Elin searches for Peter Rabbit...

Today I finished the outfit I was making for the Iplehouse BID girls and listed it on Etsy.....

http://www.etsy.com/shop/dambuster01

I am really enjoying this girl, and this size of doll, she is lovely to sew for, although I do have to mostly produce all new patterns for her as she has a long torso and shorter legs than a lot of my other dolls of this size. Having said that, she's so cute that I don't mind!

Today it has been rather cold here, but bright and sunny. I'm wearing lots of layers as I cannot stand being even the tiniest big cold....I don't know how people survive in places where they are snowed under for months on end in the winter! Having said that, it does make for nice photos, doesn't it!


Apart from that, I really don't have anything much to blog about, so until next time....

Poor neglected Bloggie!

The last week has been hectic what with one thing and another. I've been sewing frantically and as a result I realised that I'd forgotten all about my blog, so today I'm playing catch-up.

On the sewing front, I've made some outfits for the Iplehouse BID girls and that brought me another commission from a lovely lady in the US who wants me to make an outfit for her incomming girl!

I had put one of my Volks Yosd girls up for sale because I have 5 of them and really felt the need to downsize. So Papi went up for sale but unfortunately despite loads of enquiries and offers to trade, she didn't get adopted. So last night I decided to remove her default faceup and give her a new look. Today I spent hours working on her and am really happy with how she has turned out! I think she will be staying! After all, can a person really have too many Volks Yosds? LOL!

Anyway, here is a comparison photo, old faceup is on the left and new on the right. I know there's not a great deal of difference in these photos but in 'real life' I think she is just that little bit 'fresher' looking!

Apart from that, nothing much else to report on here. I'm still stalking the Iplehouse JID thread and the Iplehouse Waiting Room on DOA.....I hope that my new girl comes before Christmas but we shall see. What with their Christmas event, I'm not holding out a great deal of hope! But if she doesn't arrive along with Santa then at least I will have something to look forward too after the holidays!!

Ebay here I come!

Today I took the plunge and listed my two outfits on ebay, they are made especially for Enyo by Irrealdoll.....I hope someone, well perhaps two someones actually, will like them enough to buy them!  Here are the links:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/230706396158?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/itm/230706388908?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Little Enyo has really inspired me to sew and I've enjoyed designing new patterns for her/him and making these outfits!  Thank you for taking the time to look!

In other dolly news, I received two parcels today!  One of them was a wig from the UK, a Tibetan lambswool one that I intended for my Lati Yellow Halloween Cat Lea.  However, when I tried it on my little tanned ex Vampire Cookie, I realised that it really is for her, so she will be keeping it for now!  I really never envisaged her as a redhead but I think it is perfect for her!  Here is a photo of her wearing it!

My second parcel contained by beautiful Volks F01 Nana head which had been to Luna in Italy for a new faceup!  And my goodness, she is gorgeous, my photos just don't do justice to Luna's lovely work.  I would like to get some new glass eyes in deep brown but for now she is wearing these bright blue ones.  The wig is the one she normally wears but whilst she was away I washed and conditioned it, so it is nice and fresh and shiny.....just perfect!!  Of course as soon as we went out into the garden to take her photos, so it started to rain again, so they were a bit rushed!

Busy bee.....

I've been busy sewing all weekend and have finished another outfit which I hope to put on Ebay on Tuesday night!  This time I went for a Scottish theme because I just happened to look towards my fabric shelves and this red tartan was staring me in the face...and the idea for the outfit came to me almost immediately!!  So here it is, the finished outfit, I hope someone will like it enough to bid on it!

The outfit consists of the Tam O'Shanter hat with white pompom, white knit long sleeved tee shirt with lace at the cuffs, tartan pantaloons/knickerbockers with two small yellow buttons on the front waistband, red felt waistcoat with black spotty button on the front and black and white stripey socks with pompoms on the toes.  Made especially for Enyo by Irrealdolls....I'm so loving this funny faced little cutie!!

More dolly news.  A couple of nights ago I ordered an Iplehouse JID Asa in real skin!!!  I had saved up half the money towards her and hubby added the rest as my Christmas pressie!  I'm happy because I wanted her as a big sister for Evangeline, my real skin BID Elin and I think hubby is happy as he doesn't have to worry what to buy me for Christmas!  I wish my presents to him were as easy to buy!!!  Anyway, here is a photo from the Iplehouse site, my girl will have real skin, which for those unfamiliar with IP dolls, is a soft creamy coffee colour.  I chose faceup A and big bust, so I will be challenged by having to sew more 'grown up' outfits for her.....arrgggghhh does this mean darts??? LOL!

On the non dolly front, it has been raining off and on for the last couple of days and our newly repaired bathroom roof is still leaking....now in two places!  Oh well, looks like we haven't got rid of our 'exclusive indoor water feature after all'!!!!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Sewing again....

Yesterday I made a start on a little Christmas outfit for Enyo dolls that I'm going to put on Ebay.....I hope I'll get a little bit of interest.....certainly a lot of people are emailing me about sewing for them.  So we shall see.  Anyway, here is a photo of the outfit which is called Santa's Little Helper .... It'll be posted on Ebay this coming weekend.

I think I'll make something Christmasy for the girls next.....

Apart from that, nothing else to report.  The weather has cheered up from a couple of days ago when we had torrential rain, which unfortunately came through the newly repaired bathroom ceiling.....and like most builders I've come across here, once we'd handed over our money, he doesn't seem that interested in returning to have another look at why it still leaks!!! 

Anyway, never mind the rain,  Ilya-Anis had the right idea for cold damp weather....curl up on the sofa with a furry friend and a good book!!!

Yeaaah, a great dolly day!

Yesterday morning I went to the post office to send a package off and thought I'd enquire about the parcel I was waiting for.  Nothing for me though, they said nothing before Monday now!
However, a couple of hours later I was chatting in the street with my neighbour when I noticed a guy coming up the hill carrying a parcel! And yes, it was for me....it was Enyo, my lovely little Engendrito from Irrealdolls here in Spain.  She was 'special' enough that she came by Courier and not via the post office!!

For those not familiar with these little creatures, they are described as thus on the Irrealdolls website:

....little creatures that live in our homes but we can't see them!
They used to wear skins (from animals or sinthetic), with ears and tail included, like if they were plushies or savage creatures.
Engendritos don't like humans behavior, because of that, only very strange people can see them.
For unknow reasons, their names are from butterflies or moths. For example, the Enyo name comes from “Enyo Lugubris” a non very beautiful moth...

Well my little Enyo has become human!  She is a sweet and lively little girl with wild chestunt brown hair which she keeps styled in two plaits and deep nut brown eyes.  And her name is Ilya-Anis.....Her name came to me yesterday....I looked at the date, 11th November 2011 and thought "now how can I come up with a name that reminds me of the date when she arrived?  So I thought well capital 'I' and then lower case 'L' look like the number 11, so something starting with those two letters....immediately Ilya sprung to mind.  However I also wanted something 'Spanish' included in there somewhere to reflect, not only where she lives but also where she was designed!  So 'Anis' was added.....Anis is a aniseed flavoured drink that is very popular here in Spain.  So Ilya-Anis was 'born'!!!!!  

I feel very fortunate to have her because Laura only releases batches of 50 each time and this is the second batch, so she is very limited.  

Anyway I'm really happy with her.  I did do a bit of work on her when she arrived as the elastic was quite thin and floppy, so I restrung her,  hot glue sueded her joints, added freckles across her nose and cheeks, a bit of extra blush on her cheeks and ears, gave her eyelashes.....a wig and of course a little outfit that I made especially for her last weekend in anticipation of her arrival!  And Voila, here she is, little Ilya-Anis:

 

Framed!

Today, despite having lots of things I should have been doing, I decided to spend ages playing about with a photo framing site on the internet, giving my dolls pretty frames around their photos!  Here are a couple of them:

These are two of my favourite dolls....the top photo is of Fiona, my Little Fee Ante and the lower one is Heather Sky, my fav Blythe, customised by me!!

After that, I made a couple of pairs of jeans for my friends Limhwa to You Sara, I don't have one of these tiny little Sara dolls so I had to look at photos of her wearing jeans that I made previously for the same friends Blythe and Mini Riz and then judge the fit from there.  I used to have no problems with making jeans for any doll just from measurements and thankfully never had a single complaint but recently I've felt more stressed about making jeans for dolls just from measurements.  I like to put so many details into them that it would be such a shame if they didn't fit the doll they were intended for.  I always make it really clear to people that if I don't have the exact same doll that they want jeans for, then the sizing would be at their own risk, but I worry all the same!!  But that's just me! 

So that has been my day.  And now I'm going to grab some supper, put my feet up and watch an old episode of Foyles War!!!

Happy Sunday!

Enyo is on it's way!!!

Little Enyo is now on his/her way home!  I'm really pleased as they are so cute!  All the photos I've seen so far have been very endearing.....

I don't know if mine will be a boy or a girl, perhaps neither.....perhaps he/she will be a little 'it'!  I certainly can see why people are enchanted with them.  And hey, I'm helping the economy here in Spain too....because the designer is Spanish! 

Ahhh I knew there was a reason why I had to have one!!!

Anyway, I already have several names in mind for him or her......but I'll keep them in my head for now until the little one is here and in my hands!

This is not my photo, I believe it belongs to Laura, who 'is' Irrealdolls and designed Enyo.....but I just had to share.  I hope she won't mind me using this photo until my own little one comes home and I can take my own photos.  My little Enyo is normal/oriental skin and doesn't have the heart 'tattoo' on her face.

Ahhh an extra hour in bed......

Last night the clocks went back here one hour so it was lovely to have an extra hour in bed.  I didn't get up until gone 9am, but then again we were up late watching an episode of Foyle's War.....if you've never seen it I highly recommend this drama set during World War Two Britain.  Its an excellently made series, and the main character, Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle, is brilliantly played by Michael Kitchen.  The series is written by Anthony Horowitz who also wrote Midsomer Murders.  Here is a link to their website:

http://www.foyleswar.com/

Often when I watch this series, I think of the song With One Look from the musical Sunset Boulevard, because Michael Kitchen can REALLY act, often there's no need for him to say a word, you can just read what is going on by just looking at his face.  There's no wild car chases, no loud music in the background, just good old fashioned ACTING!!  As a dear friend of mine said of the series "I wanted the war to never end just  so as I could keep watching Foyles War!" And I know exactly what she means!

So if you get the chance, I really recommend watching it!

That aside, today was a beautifully sunny and warm day so I took some photos in the garden which I thought I'd share here.  Some were of one of my little dolls, but I also took these:

Interesting patterns in the sky:

Lots and lots of lemons on our tree but not ripe yet,

probably won't be ready until Christmas:

Lucy enjoying the sunshine:

 

 A couple of photos of Elfdoll Hana Angel, one of my older ABJDs:

 

We also have a lot more oranges this year,

but, like the lemons, it'll be a while until they are ready

for eating!

Is it Friday already???

I've had a relatively busy week although I've not produced that much considering!  I have finished and posted off a commission but haven't yet got on to my next sewing job as I've been busy doing a bit of faceup work!  Yes, someone actually wanted me to work on one of their dolls!!!!!  Soooo today I worked on a Dal belonging to a friend of mine here in Spain.....and I'm really really pleased with how she came out.  Here are before and after photos:

Before:

After:

 And as a blond:

Such a funny little doll to work on, but I did enjoy it once I got going!

I also did a bit of sewing for one of my own dolls, my Elfdoll Lovely Dami got a new dress set, consisting of a long sleeved knit teeshirt and knit smock shaped overdress.  I didn't use one of my own patterns this time as I found out that a pattern for 14" Kish worked really well for her.  This outfit has led to another commission, my friend Natasja in the Netherlands wants me to make her one just the same for her doll!  So we are trading, she's going to send me a cute Person outfit by ICan'tDance!  Yippeeee!

Weather-wise we woke to really heavy rain a few days ago and the weather had cooled considerably.....well bearing in mind we'd had temps up in the low 30s centigrade just a week ago.  So now I'm all bundled up in baggie tracksuit pants and fleecy!  I'm afraid anything less than about 20C these days and I'm COLD.....such a wimp!!!

Sewing and dolly arrivals!

I've had a busy week this week, what with getting back to my sewing commissions and working on my dolls.  I finished some sewing for a friend a couple of days ago and today I started on my commissions with the first name on my list!  Poor girl, she's been hanging around on there for months! 

On Wednesday I decided to give makeovers to two of my Blythes, so Heather Sky and Manuheali'i Paradise Girls old make up came off....and my goodness that was a job in itself to get the MSC off from previous makeup.  But eventually I got there, with a lot of hard work sanding and I gave them both new faces.  I corrected the carving on Paradise Girls' lips because I was never quite happy with them,  but I'm really pleased with how they turned out.

Heather is my favourite of all my Blythes, I just love this cute little face.  I actually gave her some freckles too yesterday, she looks very cute even if I say so myself!

Close up of the two girls.  Heather left and Manuheali'i Paradise Girl, both tanned RBL Blythes customised by me!

Today my new Iplehouse BID Elin arrived from the US.  I bought her secondhand last weekend and she was posted out on Monday.....I'm amazed at how quickly she got here, just four days in transit!!!  I wish all dolly purchases would arrive so quickly!

Anyway, I'm just delighted!  She is the most beautiful sculpt with a gorgeous faceup by ElfinHugs on Flickr......talk about bring the doll to life, she really really has!  Because she was so quick to arrive, I hadn't made her anything to wear so she is borrowing Volks Yosd Little Lorina's default outfit....I think it really suits her!!  Here are a few photos of her in the garden:

Her name is Evangeline, or Evie for short.....

Also today I received a couple of dolly heads from Mo, a friend of mine in Granada.  Mo, also known as Feltland on Flickr, makes lovely dolly knits and so we are doing a trade.....I'm going to give faceups to Mo's two heads and she has sent me some pretty outfits for my little dolls!  I love trades!  And now I just hope that I can do faceups that Mo will love!!!

Opinions are like belly buttons....we all have one!

Today I was thinking to myself, I wonder if people are ever completely honest on their blogs?  Do they write their innermost thoughts and opinions without a care for who reads them?  Do they touch on, or delve deeply, into subjects that can offend, without worrying that offence could be taken by people who actually know them or others who might comment on their blog?  I have to say that in my head I can be quite opinionated, I even express those opinions quite often to my hubby and son, but very rarely do I share them with other people, not even my closest friends.  And yet, aren't my opinions every bit as important as the next persons?  So why? Well I suppose deep down I'm afraid that my opinions may differ from theirs and they might dislike me for it!  I know it's really really silly because do I dislike my friends for their opinions that are different from mine? No!  I accept that we are all different and that goes for opinions too!  I guess I should just learn to be myself and perhaps develop a thicker skin!!!

Or perhaps I should just get back to the safety of my dolly hobby and SHUT UP!!!!!

A great dolly 'grab'.....

Earlier in the week I made enquiries to buy an Iplehouse BID Efreet, but unfortunately I couldn't afford him as I will only spend what I have in my Paypal account.  Having said that, I really would have preferred a girl but they don't seem to become available all that often.

Then today I just happened to be looking on Flickr when lo and behold, one of my contacts had just posted a photo of her beautiful Elin girl with a caption stating 'looking for a new home'!!!!  I was excited and almost got my fingers in a knot typing a message to her......I knew that such a lovely doll would be snapped up quickly if I didn't act fast!  So a gorgeous little real skin Elin is coming to live here from the US, and she has the most beautiful custom faceup by her seller, Elfin Hugs.  I'm really excited and want to share her photo, with Elfin Hugs' permission of course!

Isn't she the prettiest little thing!!!  I'm very excited and can't wait until she arrives and I can see her in the flesh, so to speak.  Elfin Hugs faceups are beautiful and very sought after, I'm delighted to be able to have, not only a lovely Iplehouse BID but one with such a special face up too!

My Paypal account is officially EMPTY!!!

Dreams and photos.....

Have you ever had a dream that stayed with you all day?  Usually when I dream I remember some of the details very vividly for just minutes after I wake up, and then it just goes.  But last nights dream has stayed with me all day....it is really bugging me.  I wouldn't have minded so much if it were a nice dream but it wasn't, it was a horrible one......I hope it soon goes away.  The thing is, when I close my eyes, even briefly, I can still see some of the scenes from it.....not nice, not nice at all!

Today I did a bit of sewing, nothing much, just some leggings and a tulle skirt for my Secretdoll Persons.  Here they are in the garden: Percy (dark hair) is wearing a long sweatshirt/dress by ICan'tDance, which was a present from my lovely friend Sue in the UK.  I made the stripy leggings and socks to go with it.  Kobi, the red head, is wearing a heart patterned dress with jeans and hat, all made by me.  The other leggings and the tulle skirt will be for another day!

Afterwards I took some photos of them and then some of my Little Fee Ante, Fiona, who is one of those dolls that can't take a bad picture!  Fiona is wearing a tee shirt and denim skirt made by me and the lovely froggy helmet was crocheted by a friend of mine, Julie, in the US.

I also bought a cute sweater and hat set from Maisiedoats on Etsy!  I couldn't resist it when I saw it.  Now that I can actually get on to Etsy here at home I'm going to make the most of it.  Anyway, the cute little brown set will look great on Michael, my Lati Yellow Ruki.

Apart from that, I did a bit of gardening and that was it.  It has been another beautiful day with the temperature reaching the low to mid 30s centigrade.  I hope winter is a long time coming!

The Mad Hatter.....

Today I had the desire to sew....which is good, as I've not had a lot of sewing urges recently!  Or I should say, I've had the urges but I go and sit in front of my sewing machine, switch it on......then after a few minutes, switch it back off again and leave my sewing room.  I have no idea why this is, but it has been happening on and off since the beginning of May.  I've not done a single commission since then although I have sewn things for my own dolls.

I've thought and thought about why this could be and I can only come up with one theory.  Leading up to May this year I was sewing like a mad thing.  Jeans, jeans and more jeans, as well as other items of dolly clothing.  I have to admit that I became a bit stressed with all the requests and it got to the point that I wasn't enjoying it any more.  Then I got ill, a normal cold turned into bronchitis and I felt really rough.....then whilst I was unwell I more or less forced myself to make some outfits for a friend of mine as a gift.....I made five really cute outfits, sent them off and lo and behold, the package never arrived.  I felt gutted as I'd put a lot of effort into them and they were to be a surprise for her!  And the stupid thing was, because of the bronchitis and the meds I was taking, I made the simple mistake of sending them as normal letter post instead of certificated.  So I couldn't even check where they might be!  So I think all this contributed to my aversion to sewing commissions.

So today I made a hat....actually I made almost TWO hats!  I've still not started any commissions but I feel that very soon I may get back to them!  I still have some very patient people who want me to sew for them....I thank them for that!  And a few newbies who have come along recently.  So again, that is good!  Lets hope it won't be long until I can get started.....I'm not sure I could have been so patient as some of these people have been with me!!

One of the hats that I made today....this is the 'finished' one!