A wee finish

 Here is the little knitted project I was telling you about last time....

My friend is expecting a new grand baby so I want to make a couple things to welcome the new addition.  This is the toy I often make for babies and the pattern can be found HERE.  I used sock yarn for this one but I have made it in other weights of yarn as well.  It measures about 12" from the tip of the hat to his/her toes.

- THIS is a cute project for summer use.

- Depending on the colourway you choose, THIS would be a nice addition to your decor (and would use up scraps too).

- You could use THIS pattern to make all sorts of things.

- THIS would be a fun project and wouldn't it make nice gifts too?

Today's quote..."If Plan 'A' didn't work, the alphabet has 25 more letters"

Back to regular scheduling - sort of

 POSTING THIS EARLY BECAUSE ONCE MORE WE'RE BEING INUNDATED WITH A SERIOUS ICE STORM.  HOPEFULLY IT WON'T BE LIKE THE LAST ONE WHEN WE LOST POWER FOR DAYS.  IT'S TO BE HOPED THE WIND THEY'RE PREDICTING DOESN'T HAPPEN.

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UPDATED TO ADD:  Overnight the temperature rose and some of the ice melted away.  So far the power has stayed on.  Still treacherous out there but not as bad as what they were predicting...phew!!

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Well, I guess we can put the Christmas festivities behind us for another year, a relief for many I'm sure. 

I spent my off time adding to the birthday gift for our wee grandie (who is turning 4 the end of January).  Some of you may remember me making this doll and outfits...

She will also be getting THIS doll bed from Ikea.

Now what self-respecting doll with such a nice bed doesn't deserve some bedding to go along with it?  Grandma to the rescue, and it will have a mattress, sheets, a quilt and a pillow.  It's such fun having a granddaughter to spoil!

#2 son got a 3-D printer for Christmas and he made us these for our Christmas tree...

I've asked him if he can make us some more in various sizes because they look so pretty on the tree.  Added bonus is that they store flat so don't take up much space in the container we use for Christmas decorations.

- THIS is something that you might like to make for yourself now that the holiday hype is over.

- I haven't shared an awwwww-thing for awhile, so how about THIS that made me smile.

- If you're a fan of buffalo plaid perhaps you'd like to make THIS.

- THIS is something you might like to make for yourself.

Another addition

 For a change of pace while I contemplate the next landscape, I made this...

She will be heading for the Christmas box for our little granddaughter.  She'll be just about four then and the perfect age for a dolly that comes with a couple changes of clothes...a nightie, and a pair of jeans with a top.  The doll pattern is one I have cobbled together from several different ones.

- THIS looks like it would be a fun thing to try.

- Have  a peek at the gallery of THIS artist!  And THIS one as well.

- The raw materials for THIS are certainly readily available.

- HERE is another technique to try.

Today's quote is from Adam Smith..."Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent"

A rant and a doll

 Well folks, that's half a day of my life I won't be able to get back.  Was rudely awakened by a robo-call from our credit card company informing me that my card had been compromised.  Me, being of soundly suspicious nature, went off on a wild goose chase trying to ascertain if the number they wanted me to call was legit.  Couldn't find it anywhere so I went to the credit card statement and called that to report what I thought was a scam.  Well turned out it wasn't and yes my card is compromised and they would issue me a new one.  Fine.  And then......then.....

I have an automatic debit for my cell phone from Public Mobile which is due to come off in the next day or two.  So...I needed to inform them, right?  Well, talk about being sent into online purgatory!!!  I ended up in a continous loop of 'push this in order to do that' and of course none of the options were what I needed.  So one of the options was to 'push this to contact them' - which I dutifully did.  Only to be told that my account password was no longer valid.  Say wha???  Ok - reset password (multi-step process that required yet more pushing of this and that) only to be sent back to the beginning of the loop.  Me, being a lady-like person, refused to turn the air blue as I went through it AGAIN only to be sent to the same loop as before and outright refusal to allow me to find the teeny-tiny-little button that allowed me to leave any sort of message outside of their allowable options.  Finally (did I mention that all this has taken pretty close to two hours?)....I left a private message and I await their pleasure of a response.  Good thing my cell phone plan is cheap!  

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Part the 16,453 of the ongoing saga/rant - I got a response!  And you'll never believe what it was.  They sent me back my own message and so, in effect, I'm talking to myself.   AND.....This morning I got another copy of my original message from them...still with no actual response.  

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On to other things that are more fun.  The doll is finished!  I'm searching for a pair of socks for her but that can wait.  In the meantime, here she is (she measures 32" high)

Not bad for a nearly 70-year old pattern!

- I enjoyed clicking through THESE so thought I'd share.

- Of course you know I liked seeing THESE!

- When I scrolled down through THESE I laughed at some and had an 'awwwww-moment' over others.

- There are lots of free quilt designs HERE.

- I thought THIS concept was rather intriguing and some of you might like to give it a try.

Today this quote is very fitting..."I'm not angry.  I'm just very enthusiastic about expressing my frustration"

A finish - and finished

 Trunk show - done and dusted.  Possibility though of a couple more for other local guilds depending on the timing.  Workshop I was supposed to teach yesterday was postponed due to a winter storm and hopefully will happen next week, provided the weather cooperates.

Over the past week or so I completed a wee little dollie for our wee little girl whose birthday is the end of this month.  I used scraps from my stash (primarily Paton's Canadiana) and THIS pattern.  

And, just for a bit of pretty on yet another dull morning here, how about a picture of this...

- THIS looks like a nice tote bag.

- If you're thinking about making any projects for Valentine's Day (or even if you just like hearts) check THESE out for some ideas.

- THIS is really pretty!  I know it was first done in 2021 but it certainly will still work now (scroll down to get all the patterns and to see the completed project).  And if you read THIS post there are some great tips about doing something similar only as a 'diary' of sorts accompanied by a temperature aspect.  Fun way to practice embroidery!

Today's quote..."If you don't separate yourself from your distractions, your distraction will separate you from your goals"

Yay!!

 The last Christmas present is finished!!  The butter tarts are baked (and, for once, RC listened to me and only made a small batch).  Heaven help him if there are no butter tarts.  I even completed most of the wrapping over the weekend AND the Christmas cards are addressed and ready to mail.  Now I can exhale and play with my new sewing machine to see how it performs doing landscapes.

One of the final gifts to be completed is this...

Pattern is THIS one and I added a bit more length to the dress.  Paton's Canadiana yarn from my stash.

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Complete change of topic but I wanted to share something I wrote in an email in response to a comment Jocelyn made...."..enjoyment is totally in the making..."  That resonates with me because that's exactly how I feel.  My friends are often astounded that I will spend hours and hours on a project, only to happily give it away without a second thought.  Of course, having said that, I'm a complete lesson in contradictions because I truly do want to sell my landscapes rather than give them away (although I have given some).  For me, it comes down to the distinction between 'craft' (thus giveable) and 'art' (saleable).  I don't suppose that makes a whole lot of sense does it!!  

Please share in the comments how you feel about this because I would be interested in knowing your thoughts.

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- If you like fudge, or plan to make some for gifting, perhaps THIS round up of recipies might intrique you (scroll down to see all the different varieties).  And, if you have a hankering for some truffles, perhaps one of THESE might be just what you'd like.

- THIS would be a fun little project!

- THESE would make a lovely little gift.

- So would THESE!

- I know THIS is a paid pattern but I thought it was worth sharing anyway.

Today's quote..."We live on a blue planet that circles around a ball of fire next to a moon that moves the sea, and you don't believe in miracles?

Done!

 Many of you guessed correctly that what I showed you in my last post is a doll - the Topsy-Turvy Dolly design by Jean Greenhowe.  I've often wanted to make a topsy-turvy doll and having a wee granddaughter means that I can indulge myself.  Hope she likes it!

Just a simple little dolly for a wee little

girl!

- THIS is a pretty bag that could be made using scraps.

- And if you have any charm packs in your stash, perhaps one of THESE designs might intrigue you.

- I know I shouldn't mention anything to do with THAT date in December but sometimes I stumble across something that catches my eye as THIS did.  (ducking and running from all the rotten eggs being thrown my way).

- THIS is one of those things that just made me smile.

I think Kermit has this one right...

Treats and tots

 Today, rather than boring you with the landscape that doesn't show all that much at the moment, I thought I'd show you the spring flowers I treated myself to over the weekend...

And....just as a little fun thing for our youngest grandies - three little Izzy dolls for them to play with...

Here's your quote of the day..."Before saying something that may hurt someone, take a piece of paper and crumple it up.  Now try to make it the way it was before....you can't, right?  People's hearts are like that piece of paper.  Once hurt, it's difficult to leave them the way you found them.  Before saying something hurtful, think hard about what you're saying.  Always be considerate.  Always be kind"

The journal

Today I'll show you the journal that traveled around with Shudayra.   It's hard to get really good detail of the pages but hopefully you can click to embiggen the pictures to see more.

This is the front cover that I created to accompany her on her travels.  The bottom half was crinkled up brown paper with butcher cord 'stripes', the top was gauze with paper flowers, sequins and beads.  The middle part was more cord.  Painted gold and then dry brushed to antique it somewhat.

The inside of the front cover showing the pocket that the 'picture'  of the naked Shudayra fits in. 

This is the back of the 'picture' you see in the above photo

Below you see the first spread done by the first artist.....

The second spread....

The third...

The fourth....

This page was done by the young daughter of the artist that worked on the doll

The fifth....

The sixth...

and, finally, the seventh...

All in all, Shudayra took almost a year to travel throughout  Canada and the US spending a little over a month with each artist before moving on to the next.  At that time I was a member of an online art doll group and this collaboration was arranged through that group.

If you are interested in seeing more of the dolls that visited with me during the collaboration, please click on the 'Dolls' label in my side bar and keep scrolling through.  You'll see them, along with some of the other dolls I've created over the years.

Hope you enjoyed this little series! Because this post is quite picture-heavy I think I will forgo giving you my normal links and the quote.  Try not to be too disappointed!