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!