Sunshine on her skin....

I was taking some outfit photos this evening and Wren, my 1969 Kilt girl, was modelling for me.  The sun was just starting to go down and the light was really pretty.  This photo was one I took just of her face and I was really pleased with the colours......the sky was going quite pink and it seems to have given her face a particularly nice warm glow.

Bare Baby Bertie!

Warning: Nude baby photos!!!! (Not for the faint hearted) LOL

Little Bertie has a bit of camera time.....I washed his hair and combed it more to the side as his basin cut style just wasn't hitting the spot for me.  It isn't a lot different, but I prefer it. 

Looking like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth!

Playing with Mr Otter!

Poor Mr Otter, you're squashing him Bertie!

That's better, give him a nice cuddle!  There's a good boy!

Finally hes worn himself out and time for a little nap!  Sweet dreams Bertie!

Socks on the beach.....

Well not quite on the beach, after all I don't want them to get all sandy!  But here we are at the coast and I've just listed more socks on Etsy!  I hope you'll take a look.  I think I'm going to take a detour now and do something else rather than socks although I do have some baby sized ones to list in a few days....but I feel like I have socks coming out of my ears at the moment!!!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/dambuster01?ref=si_shop

I've got some ideas for outfits I'd like to make for my shop, plus I have some commissions that I'd like to start on too, so watch this space, as they say!

I've had quite a busy time this week, what with one thing and another.  I had my first mammogram which I was dreading, having heard horror stories about intense pain and bruising, but I have to say that it wasn't half as bad as I was expecting!!!  In fact the worst part of the day was all the driving!  I decided to drive home from the coast in the morning, leaving hubby and the dogs here, then making and eating lunch with my son Brendan, then driving another 25 minutes to the hospital, then back home again, then back down here to the coast in the evening!!!!  The weather wasn't that nice either, with rain, dense fog/low cloud and high winds so it wasn't exactly a relaxing drive.  The motorway is very high, through the mountains and the wind wanted to push me across lanes if I wasn't careful!! Thankfully though I was safely back here again in the evening.  And two little stowaways came down here with me!!!!  Yes, my two Gotz slate eyed girls from the 1960s, hid away in my bag as they didn't want to be left at home again!

And so that this isn't just a boring post about socks and driving, I thought I'd just add a few photos of them that I took today!  I was playing with the light and trying out something different!!! (please excuse the stray hairs!)

A bit of sewing....

I brought some unfinished sewing to the coast with me and today made a start on a couple of items.  I finished an outfit that I'd started a couple of weeks back, and also adapted some patterns that I wasn't particularly happy with. 

Here is little Wren (I recently changed her name from Aspen as it really didn't suit her!), my 1969 Kilt girl modelling it for me.  I really do like the look of this girl, she has such dreamy eyes.  Sorry about her bare feet, she only brought one pair of shoes with her and they didn't go with this outfit!!

Trying out my zoom lens....

I got a super new zoom lens for Christmas but until now haven't really had a good opportunity to use it.  However, we are at the coast for a little while and I thought I'd try it out down here.  I've always tried to get good photos of the mountains to the back of us but with my other lenses have been unable to get a really good 'close-up' but this morning I got a couple of better ones!  You can clearly see that there is a bit of snow on the top, but not as much as this time last year!  The mountain is called La Maroma and is actually the highest peak of the mountain range called the Sierra de Tejeda ,reaching to 2066 m, (6,778 ft). 

And here are some other photos that I took this morning.  The first shows an extremely rare sight for some people, particularly my friends in the UK, who've not seen it in a while, it is called the Sun!  So as not to shock you I've only let it be seen filtered through the leaves of a eucalyptus tree!  (Sorry, couldn't resist that one!)

And here are some photos of the local parrots, they're very lively at the moment (actually they are always very lively!) and I noticed two of them were getting very 'fruity' whilst I watched them.....obviously realised that today was St Valentines Day!!!! 

These parrots are, as far as I'm aware, one of only two types of parrot species that are 'natural' to Europe, 'natural' in that they were first introduced 'by accident' more than 100 years ago and have stayed!  I guess they must have liked the temperature here on the coast!!  People seem to just refer to them as Green Parrots, but they are in fact Monks Parakeets, also known as the Quaker Parrot, (Myiopsitta monachus).  The other species seen locally are the Rose-Ringed Parakeet.  Some people complain that they're noisy and are a nuisance,  but I have to say that I love them, I think it's just wonderful to see flocks of them flying above our heads, a mass of green feathers....and quite honestly, what is a bit of parrot poop on the washing now and again!!! 

This is about the closest 'close-up' I could get with my lens, the bird is probably more than 40 feet up the tree (I'm no good with estimating distances but these are pretty tall trees!)  Look at his lovely soft looking tummy!

This is to give you an idea of how big their nests are, they seem to all live together in large colonies.

This last photo isn't mine but I thought I'd show you how beautiful these little parrots look in flight!!

Happy Valentines Day!

Just thought I'd share some photos of the lovely roses I received from my dear hubby this morning!  I hope everyone is having a lovely day and that you're all warm and dry too....

Bertie takes a bow....

I have been very very slow in introducing Alberto, or Bertie as he'll be known, my new little blond Gregor baby.  Bertie arrived well over a week ago but I've been busy sewing so he was left to his own devices for some time until I finally took some photos of him.  Unfortunately, the weather wasn't so good when I was taking the photos so they were taken inside with flash, so they're not great but I thought I'd share them all the same.

So far he doesn't have any other clothes than those he had when he arrived, but luckily for him, his only outfit is a cute one made by DollyDoodles, so he's doing quite well really!   However, I'm really looking forward to making something for him to wear.  He is from 1969 and has the raised eyelids and is a sexed boy.  His eyes are lovely and deep brown but his lips have oxidised.

I think he's already proving to be a bit of a 'joker' even at this young age!! ;)

Sock it to 'em Sasha!!

I just added a load of new socks to my Etsy store if anyone is interested.  I've finally got the prices and postage right, I didn't realise that I could actually list in my preferred currency...doh!!!!
Instead, last time I listed it took me ages converting the amounts from pounds into dollars then the postage from euros into dollars!!!!!  Hopefully now, it should all be correct and I won't get any nasty surprises when I go to the post office!!!

Thanks again for all your interest and support!!

Just added a ton of new socks to my Etsy store is anyone would like to take a look! Thank you! https://www.etsy.com/shop/dambuster01?ref=si_shop

Below are just a few examples of what's available!

The Changing Faces of Gabrielle...

Gabrielle is my Brunette in Pink Dress that I bought about a year ago on Ebay.  She was an impulse buy as I was looking for a brunette at the time and she popped up with a buy it now, so 'buy it now' I did!  I've mentioned this on my blog before, but when she arrived, although she was in perfect pristine condition, being never removed from her box, I was disappointed in how flat her eyes were.  They completely lacked 'expression'.

So after some consideration, I sent her head off to Shelly to have her eyes repainted.  I was delighted with Shelly's work but still there was something "not quite right" about the doll.  I realised it was her hair.  Although it was full and thick and non falling, it was also very very artificial looking, it had too much 'shine' and to be quite honest, too much hair for a small girl, so I cut it into a very short bob. 

But still I couldn't bond with her.  I didn't want to sell her as I loved her new eyes.  I kept her like this for a while but all the time wondering if I should reroot her.

Finally today, I took the scissors to her and gave her a haircut....I removed all her hair and rewigged her with the lambswool wig I had made by Mary Madeco-Smith last summer.  And then I decided that I'd already done enough damage to her so I added some freckles and finally I gave her some blush!  I know the English Sashas don't usually have blush, but I gave it to her all the same.

Now I'm really pleased with her new look.  She finally has the character that I wanted and I feel that her look now really matches with her pretty eyes!  Eventually I might still reroot her, but for now here she is:

 This little Sasha really has gone through a transformation!!!