Category Archives: Everyday

Why I Create

This is something I ponder often as I feel I am always so busy, busy, busy making things. The answer I always think of first is, “because I have to”. If I didn’t create I know I’d be loony, nuts, depressed—the whole shebang. Creating is necessary for my well being.

If I start to dig deeper I can see why I have to create. I get little jolts of happiness (maybe it’s my brain releasing endorphins) when I create something, especially if it’s something different. When a doll ensemble is finished I usually get that happiness jolt. I say usually because if I make something that is copied from a previous creation, I get nothing. If it’s something that is not very different, I get very little. But if my completed ensemble is quite different I get a huge dose of “happy”!

I haven’t even finished my next ensemble and I got a double dose of happiness yesterday. I must share—a double dose of happiness just doesn’t happen everyday! And here’s why.

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Pockets! I knit patch pockets right onto my sweater coat for the Little Darlings! I have never knit pockets directly onto my knitwear before. They came out perfect, so adorable and miniature, happy number one. However, they were immediately asking to be filled.

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Here is happy number two!

All this snow we’ve gotten has made me want to make a snowman. Since I’m not too excited to spend more than a minute out in the cold, I made one in my studio instead. And, she (it’s a girl) fits right into those patch pockets.

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I swear I heard this tiny snowgirl thanking me for bringing her to life. I love her so much, I knit her her very own itty bitty cap. Isn’t she the cutest li’l thing!

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Thank you for sharing in my happiness jolt. Do any of you get a happiness boost from creating? If so, is it during the process or when the project is complete? I’d love to hear about your experiences with creating. Please share!

Bye for now!

More Snow and More

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Another Sunday, another snowstorm! We are 11 days into December, and this is the second weekend in a row that we’ve had snow! Maybe all the snow will get used up in December and then January and February will be dry!!! ??? !!!

The snow really IS beautiful, and if no traveling is required, the snow gently falling makes for a cozy day inside. Last night it was snowing too. I watched Mary Poppins and did some knitting in front of the fireplace. Anyone else love Mary Poppins?

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I am working on a sweater coat for the Little Darlings. I hope it works . . . not sure I’m adding the right amount of increases to get the shape right. If not, I’ll try again. I haven’t made the dress that will go underneath the sweater coat yet as I want to see what length of bodice will work best.

I am going to use this fabric. It is a very subtle snowflake design; I have just enough left. The dress below was for Talyssa from 2014. I am using the same yarn; I love the color!

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I don’t want to make anything else that is too Christmasy. Snowflake patterns can be worn throughout the winter, so I’m making a few of those now. Unfortunately, I have quite a few Christmas prints that I never got to use this year. I am set for next year. I WILL NOT buy any Christmas prints in 2017! Ha ha!

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This was the snow falling last night, so silent and bright!

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Today, more is piling up.

I filled up the bird feeder before the snow started last night, and the birds are happy. I loaded up the platform with peanuts; those always go first. The blue jays love those. I forgot to put suet in the suet feeder, so the woodpecker is settling for seeds. Do you see the mourning dove in the tree? I don’t blame him (her) for hanging back. Those blue jays can be mean.

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As soon as the big birds leave, the sparrows flock to the platform one by one.

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And then, whoosh, something scares them (probably me) and they’re gone.

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Lucy and I had a photo shoot today. It was quick and painless, she’s great. Here’s a sneak peek.

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I hope you all are having (or had) a great Sunday!

Thanks for stopping by!

Bye for now!

Oh, one more photo . . . I got this fabric months ago . . . see, I’m still dreaming of flowers.

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It’s so pretty!

My Shoeboxes are Ready!

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Yesterday evening I started putting together my Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. I managed to scrounge up 17 of them around the house. Here they are before getting filled. No big deal, right? Easy peasy!

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Have you ever deboxed 50 Barbie, Skipper, Stacie, or Kelly dolls? The hair is sewn onto plastic which is sewn onto cardboard. Each doll has multiple heavy (ouch) twist ties. Oh my goodness, what a job! I’m glad I decided to do the deboxing because the poor little girls would probably have had an unhappy start with their new gifts.

I watched a live Facebook video that Operation Christmas Child did and found out that deboxing is fine. In fact, it is encouraged because then more can fit inside the boxes. If you’d like to watch this video scroll down until you see Hannah in purple at their warehouse. (There is no direct link to the video.) I found her presentation very helpful.

So this afternoon I am finally finished with the project; and a project it was. Here are the totals of some of the things I packed:

57 Mattel dolls

28 stuffed animals

17 wash cloths

20 bars of soap

17 boxes of crayons

17 + pads of paper

17 pens

18 pairs of socks

A dozen or more doll outfits

Numerous purses, shoes, accessories for the dolls

Ribbons

Here are all the boxes filled. I left them open to show you the goodies inside.

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These dolls are all from my collection. I started collecting them in the early 2000s before I discovered collector dolls. I went a little crazy as you can see. These dolls represent 1/4 to 1/3 of my collection. Yes, I still have tons of dolls left . . . for next year.

You cannot see underneath the dolls, but some of the boxes have brand new doll fashions. I was able to take the trays out of the boxes and trim them down to fit. The clothing is only sewn onto the cardboard, so the girls will be able to take care of that themselves.

I snapped a few photos of my first boxes . . . then I got tired, sorry.

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I ended up adding more stuffed animals and dolls to some of these boxes to fill them up a little more.

After I finished deboxing the dolls I filled up three trash bags!

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My donation to cover shipping to the warehouse is made, the labels are printed and attached to the cartons, and the boxes are secured with ribbon. I’ll be dropping them off this week. To make things quick and easy there is a drop-off location minutes from my house. I sure hope that my boxes find their way to girls who LOVE dolls.

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