Flea Market Find



Good morning, Monday. It was a very soggy, humid, storm-ridden weekend.



We ventured out to a favorite flea market near the shoreline and were surprised to see only a handful of dealers and very few shoppers. High humidity, heat and threats of storms kept the public away.



I think that was good luck for me, because this old doll would have been snapped up before I got there had the weather been good. She is a Mexican doll in her original box. She is in good to excellent condition and from an era when these souvenir dolls were very detailed and very expressive, in the 1930's and 1940's. She is marked 1927 on the box but that could just be the model number. I love her big feet and sandals and the fact that her face is made in such a way that she has teeth. I tried to walk away from her but I couldn't.



I always wonder who made souvenir dolls and who bought them long ago. The workmanship is lovely on this one. I have some wonderfully detailed dolls in my collection. Eventually, I hope to show some here.



In the mean time, this weather pattern is predicted to extend indefinitely. The humidity and the dew point are very high and continues to be gray. There is a a lot of smog. Despite this, it is not as bad as CA, and other places that are experiencing fires and smoke. I am grateful for a/c and for the rains we have had. We often have droughts here in early summer. New England looks like a lush tropical jungle. The landscape is amazingly beautiful with intense colors and foliage.



Enjoy your Monday.

Little pink houses ....and me....

A friend of mine (you know who you are!) has encouraged me in my desire to own Putz houses. She has a fine collection herself and I am in awe. You can find them on eBay and in shops but there are new ones out there, too.

But, I decided I cannot afford old ones and don't have room for them anyway.

Did I let that stop me? No. I decided to collect ONLY pink houses and from any era. Here they are so far. The small one on the left is a new arrival. The bunny and chick I made from Jennifer Murphy's instructions when she was on Martha Stewart.

On a different note, my dental work was unsuccessful after waiting ten days. I had the temporary crowns removed yesterday and the new bridgework didn't fit. Had to have more drilling and the temps returned to their temporary location and have to wait ten more days.

There is a lesson in here somewhere. Endurance? Patience? Maintaining sanity?!? It isn't then end of the world...it is a minor annoyance. I will endure! Can you spell s-o-u-p?

Have a good weekend.....and enjoy your day!

The Bleuettes get free....

After many months tucked away safely in a glass cabinet, I knew it was only a matter of time before I would hear a steady stream of French coming from the Bleuettes in the cabinet. The Bleuettes were still wearing winter attire. They were stifled and begging to be set free.

I tried to appease them with the Ouija board. LouLou is on the left, Odette is in the middle, and Sidonie is on the right. They don't have a very good attention span and I knew they were anxious to get outdoors as quickly as possible....tres vite!

Although, we have heavy humidity and it was too dark for a photo shoot, they were not to be denied the chance to get barefoot and show off summer clothes. Odette, in back with her braids on top of her head, is wearing a divine new dress from Eileen's Attic. A quick trip to the deck, and they were frolicking as only Bleuettes can do.

Suddenly I didn't see Odette. That was because she had wandered to a container of patio tomatoes.

I eventually rounded them up and they are currently hanging out of the Varde. They love anything new and are hoping not to be returned to their cabinet any time soon.

They say adieu--and enjoy your day.

Enter the Varde!

The Varde cabinet is here! It won't be doing kitchen duty, though it is in the vicinity. It is hosting art supplies and my vintage paper cutters. There is a toaster oven I occasionally use for art purposes only. There is a shelf made from the drawers of treadle sewing machine, perfect for storing artist trading cards and other small works of art and supplies. The flat wooden boxes on top are pencil boxes.

My husband has the patience of a saint! If you shop IKEA, you know that everything is in flat boxes. Imagine putting this together..and then assembling twelve drawers? Clever design made it a simple job although time consuming.

It is hideously humid here, thus the dark photo. Normally, this work area is so bright that it requires curtains drawn most of the day.

The humidity is 100 percent and it is extremely overcast and foggy for mid-morning. (We don't live near the shore so fog is not usually an issue.) It feels like the ugliest of August "dog days." The weather has changed here in southern New England as it has in other places. We are not enjoying the pretty early summer weather we usually have. The past few summers have been "bruisers" with high temperatures, copious humidity, and plenty of violent storms. In the past, this would be the weather one would see in August or maybe late July.

Back to work here. Enjoy your day!

I found a wonderful pin cushion on Flickr made from a bottle cap. After looking around, I was led to the artist's profile and her tutorials. She has a blog, too. I was so entranced that I made one right away and ordered a book as well. Totally adorable and easy to make!

When I was younger, I made all of my Christmas gifts and cards. Part of the reason was to save money, but part of it was to give hand made gifts to people I cared about. I have seen gifts in friend's and family's homes that I made more than 25 years ago. I do make and sell complicated make-do pin cushions myself, but I think these little ones are precious and would slip nicely into a sewing box.

When my life became more hectic, I made less and less gifts. Now I feel like I would like to make more gifts for more people. I do make and receive wonderful gifts from doll makers but I would like to extend beyond that circle of friends.

The weekend has rolled around . The first day of summer was storm filled and today will be ultra humid. I have adjusted to all the dental work (sort of) and have moved on to other things. I had a mountain of real life correspondences and other things to keep me busy the past few days.

Enjoy your day--and enjoy your weekend!

We interrupt our regular programming to ask this question:

What do these photos have in common?

The first one is my smile.

The second one is a caricature doll I made of myself--- sitting next to my newest Kathy Van Zeeland handbag.

Any guesses?

Can you spell C-R-O-W-N-S?

Yesterday I had three temporary crowns done in preparation for other dental work. It is amazing I am still here to tell about it.

In view of that, I will keep this short and sweet. The new mission is to keep them from breaking or falling out for ten days. If you want to read an HILARIOUS account of another person's dental adventure, look here. I am using his "crown diet tips" for sure.

Enjoy your day!

Auction today...at doll club.

We will have a pot luck luncheon and socialize at our last meeting until autumn.. The club is more than 30 years old and they have always enjoyed an auction of doll related items at the June meeting.

In the first photo, you can see most of my donations. I have already posted about the blue bird pin cushion. I have filled a big basket with all things necessary to make at least three cloth dolls., There are two books, three skin tone fabrics, 12 small scale remnants, leather for shoes, yarn for hair, and lots of ribbon. Oh, yes...there is a vintage doll in there, too, from the 30's. Another item is a Hitty book with two fabrics to make Hitty a dress.

I made a paper doll, too. She is decorated with crepe papers, glitter, and a crown. I am donating a few other things, too, that didn't make it into the photo. Most of the members donate just as many items and sometimes there are huge bidding wars!

This is my second term as president. Since I "took office" we have increased membership from 12 to 22. Increasing membership was my goal. The member's ages range from the 40's to 80's and everyone collect different dolls. It is a great way to see what others collect or make. Many people who work outside the home take the day off to come to our meetings. We meet in an elegant historic Victorian mansion.

Must go pack up the Swedish meatballs and get my donations ready to travel. Tonight we are going to an auction house to a "real" auction. Tomorrow my head will be spinning with all I saw today!

Enjoy the day.

This is the doll bed that I will be making a quilt for. Our late cat Katie is pictured here.

Our Katie passed away after eating tainted cat food last summer. She weighed 18 pounds and was around 15 years old. Katie was the only cat we fed that brand and type of food. She had never had it before and we gave it to her for a treat....it was in a pouch and she normally ate dry food. She was a lovely big girl and I miss her.

It is funny how that whole business with the tainted food just faded away much like our beloved pet. Many pet owners reported losses in our state and the vets were overwhelmed with sick animals. Sad.

We still have one older kitty named Molly and she woke me up before dawn this morning because she wanted breakfast. She woke up our Yorkie, too. He only weighs 4 pounds but he has a voracious appetite and was happy enough to get up and eat breakfast, too. Groan. They are now napping and I am wide awake. Good thing I am a morning person.

Anyway, back to the doll bed. Katie claimed it when I was planning to make a quilt before. Now it is cleaned up and awaiting new bedding. Hopefully, I can get to this quilt soon. There are other things "on my plate" for a few weeks.....but at least I can go through my stash and pick out some fabrics.

Enjoy the day and the weekend. Hope you don't have to get up as early as I did.

The familiar...

Do you ever pass by something so often in your environment that you don't even see it any more? That's what happened to me with this chalkware half doll on my vanity. I was going to dust other day and saw her sitting there so prettily. She was gift from a friend a few years ago. Her skirt is starting to "melt" but she is otherwise perpetually young and winsome. It was like I had never seen her before even though she has been in that spot for years.

Look around. Do you look at things that things you no longer "see?"

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."

That is one of my favorite Proustian quotes. I seldom mention this to anyone but I have been collecting books about or by Marcel Proust for over 30 years. In my early years, I underlined and noted hundreds of Proustian quotes in my own books. One could say they are now "annotated." This was the very first quote I fell in love with.

Enjoy your day. What will you see in your familiar landscape?

Look at this! You can go to Eileen's Attic and read more! Doesn't this sound like fun?

I am asking permission to make a doll quilt because I don't have room to work on a regular sized quilt....and many remnants are calling to me begging me to use them. I have a lovely vintage doll bed that could use a pretty quilt. I must measure it today.

It's pink and blue world in bloglandia. Most of the creative and artistic blogs are done up in pretty pastel colors: pink, blue, and aqua. These are the colors of my childhood and it is nice to see them around again. Pink and brown, aqua and brown, pink and blue....so pretty.

We tend towards earthier colors in my corner of the world so I don't make to many forays into the realm of pastels, though love them when I see them.

So, when I wanted to make something to donate to my doll club auction, it seemed natural to follow this creative trend. Here is a make-do pincushion with a jelly jar for a base. The blue bird is made from felt and I used a pattern by Runo, a wonderful Japanese doll maker. The rest of it is made from stuff from my "fabric stash."

I think it would look nice displayed in a doll room. Most of the gals in my club collect antique bisque dolls. One of them collects antique sewing machines and I have seen her collection. This would fit right into her decor, too. So, I think there will be bidding.

We have a heat wave here. The heat index will be 104 here today. I am grateful for having air conditioning. I hope that this is not a sign of the summer to come. After all, it hasn't even started yet. It is still spring.

Enjoy your day.

Goats!

Recently I have fallen under the charm of my friend's goats. I wrote about them in my other blog, but I couldn't put more than one photo there.

How charming these loving animals are! These pygmy goats are as friendly as dogs and extremely vocal and affectionate.

I realize that outdoor adventures have taken me away from doll making a lot lately but who can resist the charm of summer and the great outdoors? These goats were so enchanting that I visited them twice. There is something quite dear about them.

A strangely extreme heat wave is coming here for the weekend. I think the rest of the country has already had it as it moves west toward New England. Perhaps it is time to consider the great indoors for a few days and back to doll making.

Enjoy your day. Enjoy your weekend.

From NYC to the Great Blue Heron!

NYC was so much fun on Saturday. And to those who have written or commented, the Tinsel Trading Co. is everything you would hope it would be and much more. And yes, I bought things!

On a sad note, NYC seems to be turning into a strip mall. The big box stores have taken over and wonderful old buildings are being taken down to make way for condos. It is heartbreaking if you remember and loved the unique small shops that were everywhere in the city.

If you ever lived there, as I once did, you will feel overwhelming sadness at this, although the city is much cleaner and safer now. Tinsel Trading Co. is moving from its original site. Go to the web site and read the history and you will feel a bit sad that the store would be moving to another location.

Only 24 hours later I went to another famous and favorite store also with a sad story, Wright's Trims Factory Outlet in Sturbridge, MA. I have been going to Wright's since the 70's. It moved from its original Wright's Mill site about 15 years ago to its present location. It will be closing permanently mid-July. See this parking lot? We used to have to wait to get a parking place it was so crowded.

Sturbridge was was always a great tourist destination with lots of shops and restaurants. Everybody in New England takes their kids to Old Sturbridge Village sooner or later. It is the actual town of Sturbridge that is beginning to look ghostly. The new B&B is closed and for sale. Basketville is gone. There are still some good places for antiques, though, so hopefully it will turn around some day soon.

Behind the spot I stood to take the photo of Wright's, there is a path to a waterfall which is hidden from view. I found it about 15 years ago and, since then, others have, too. The path has become a well beaten path.

After I took photos of the waterfall, we were walking back to the car when I looked over and saw this very tall bird. It was fishing in the bottom of the fall.

It was hopping from stone to stone and didn't care we were there. (I would love to concentrate like this!) I never expected to get this close to a Great Blue Heron! It was more than 4 feet tall and it was magnificent. I am an avid bird watcher so I couldn't have been more excited

It was quite a weekend. One day I was having ice cream in the food court at Trump Tower and the next day I was serendipitously eyeball to eyeball with a bird almost as tall as I. Such is life, or at least, my life.

Enjoy your day!

Thunderstorms in May and NYC musings

My friends decided to take the double decker bus around the city. We took the "bottom loop" which runs from the Village to Midtown. It is an excellent way to get around without taking the subway or a taxi...unless a thunderstorm threatens.

Who would think it would be as hot and steamy as a dog day in August? In the very first photo you can see can see the intense humidity. If you enlarge the photo and look on the far right, you can see the Statue of Liberty in the steamy fog.


It was so dark in Times Square, I was surprised that I could get a photo at all.

These tiles were painted by school children and will be in one of the new buildings where the towers once stood.

And then...the sky opened up and the entire bus was drenched. The tour guide had handed out rain panchos and that helped. The lightning cracked, the wind blew and the rain came down like a wall of water!

Later when the sun came out, we ventured to Tinsel Trading, Martha's favorite store. I have to agree with Martha. It's wonderful. It will be moving soon, so if you can visit it, you will be delighted. If you can't, visit the web site site and read the history.

In a day or two, I will share with you the photos of something more rural. On a walk in MA today, we came upon a bird almost as tall as I and it loved to be photographed!

Enjoy your day.