Dracula and A Little More Progress

I HAVE done a little sewing lately! I designed and made this Dracula doll that is on it's way to my son in Oregon.  This doll is fairly large. I made him just for fun!

On the home front, we installed the screen door to my pantry. It swings both in and out  and I LOVE it!!

We also did a little cosmetic work on the master bath. 

 We  painted the walls. You can see the old wallpaper on the left. We will change the countertop and sink  later. For now, this brightens it up quite a bit!

 

 

 Before... and after.

I will bring a lot more color in next.

 

 

 We bought a vintage Kilim rug and placed it under the dining room table. The cowhide has been moved to the new sitting area off the kitchen. We will pick up the furniture for that area Thursday, so I will show it next time.

I'm off to the hill country to enjoy this cooler fall weather!

 

 

A Topsy-Turvy World

At an estate sale last weekend, I found this little treasure. I love dolls, and handmade dolls are even more special in my eyes than "store bought"! This little vintage gal could easily be older than I am and was very well made. The thing that is special about her is that she has two personalities.

 She is a type of "dolly conjoined twin" called a "topsy-turvy doll". 

 Here you can see that if you flip her over you will find her other half.

 There are a couple of theories about how these interesting dolls originated. It is known that they were first seen before the mid 1800's. These were the days of slavery, when white plantation babies were cared for by black slave women. 

One theory is that these dolls allowed little slave girls to practice caring for babies of different races, just like their mamas did.

Another theory is that little black slave girls were not allowed to have a white baby doll and this toy allowed them to flip their baby over to the "legal" side when being watched.

(There are probably more theories out there, but these are the two that are hotly debated.) 

I would love to know who first came up with this idea. Wasn't she clever!!! Perhaps she just wanted her daughter to have a fun and interesting toy!

There have been many variations of this concept over the years. When I was little, there was a popular Little Red Riding Hood with Grandma at the other end. If you flipped Grandma's bonnet over, the wolf's face was behind it.

Another idea was the sleeping baby on one end and the awake baby on the other.

A quick Google search will yield many variations.

In the meantime, I will enjoy owning this piece of Americana. I'll think of the busy fingers sewing away for someone they loved dearly. I am inspired to make my own version now. 
Watch for it! I've already started!

Black Cat Crossing - My Day!

Trick or Treat

Smell my feet, 

Give me something good to eat!

I have certainly heard that line at least a thousand times through the years from little"trick or treaters" at my door! My version is:

Trick or Treat, 

Take a seat,

My Halloween project is now complete!

Maywood Studios came out with this great fabric called Black Cat Crossing. I ordered a fat quarter bundle from the Fat Quarter Shop and made this large wall hanging and the clothing for a doll. 

I used a few scraps along with the feature fabric.  The cat, birds, and spider (did you see him down there in the lower right hand corner?) are wool applique. 

Catrina is my Halloween witch with clothing made from the same line. She's there to keep peace among the cats and birds and to keep those pesky pumpkin smashers away! 

Here's wishing you a safe holiday! 

Be sure to visit my fellow bloggers today and go to Sew We Quilt to see the top picks. Thank you to Mdm. Samm and to Wendy, at Why Knot Kwilt. They are our wickedly wonderful cheerleaders and are not really wicked at all!

Friday, October 24

Just Let Me Quilt

Buzzing and Bumbling  (that's me!)

Thimblemouse & Spouse

krislovesfabric

Quilt Doodle Doodles

(YIKES! I am on a day with some pretty tough competition!!! Be sure to check them out! I don't think you'll be disappointed!)

Progress at the Hill Country House!

           

I've been working on some dolls for a big sale the first weekend in December. They've been a nice diversion from working at the house! 

I've also been busy on my projects for Black Cat Crossing coming near the end of the month. It starts on the 20th! My day is the 24th, so be sure and join us to see what we've come up with!

Now for the Hill Country House! We are making progress. 

 1.I got a floor laid (yes, I did it myself!) in the new laundry room just in time for the washer and dryer to be delivered! The grout needed time to cure, so I was sweating getting it finished in time!

2. The washer and dryer were delivered. 

3. We signed up with an internet provider and now have internet! 

4.  I painted the large open area that contains the living room, dining room, entry, and sitting area except for the walls near the fireplace where I need a scaffolding. (Ignore the cardboard on the floor! Remember there is hardwood going down when all this is finished!) Because the entry had new dry wall, I need a second coat on this wall.

5. I painted the pantry and small back entry.

6. I painted the kitchen island cabinets. 

7. I met with the countertop installers to discuss problems with the installation.  That is holding up all the other work that was scheduled to be done. They have already come out once to "fix" it, but it is not right yet. (I have left the protective plastic on until they have finished their work. Remember that stone will go on the walls including the half wall under the penninsula.)

8.The flooring has been delivered.

9.The Vent-a-Hood has been delivered and should be installed this weekend. 

10.We have someone lined up to make the vent surround. After this the limestone can be put up and then the floor can go down!

11. We had a level concrete "pad" poured so we can have a propane tank! (No city gas lines up on this hill!) Can you see that at one end the slab is about 3' thick?

This weekend I have an office, bathroom, and bedroom to paint along with a second coat in the entryway and climbing a scaffolding so I can paint in the high areas. 

Spring is here and I'm thinking of Mermaids!

One guest room in my new house will house a very special watercolor painting of my granddaughter and me at the beach. (My sister is a watercolor artist!)  I decided to try my hand at making a mermaid. I have made 3 so far!

 I used felt to make the body. I had so much fun choosing fabric to represent the tail portion of the mermaid. It is also fun choosing the yarn for hair! I haven't perfected the pattern yet, but I'm working on it!

On a different note, the peach tree in my hill country yard is in full bloom! I wandered a little around the yard while we were waiting on a contractor to come.

 I discovered asparagus growing among the roses in the protected area of the yard!

They have not gotten enough light because two years of old stalks were blocking it out! (This photo was during the process of removing dead growth.) I also found lots of little violet like flowers coming up!

When we returned to south Texas, we were greeted by bluebonnets and other wildflowers! It has been misting rain for the last few days, so I am showing you the view from my apartment window. Do you see the field of blue the cows are grazing in? Those are blue bonnets. The blue is MUCH more intense when you see it without the filter of rain! 

Tomorrow is the first day of the Flags on Sticks blog hop! I will be posting my flag (or flags, hopefully!) on April 1.

 

Halloween Witch Project

I'm still in California with my grandkids and we are working on all types of projects. My granddaughter saw a Halloween centerpiece that she thought was a lot of fun. It was a witch doll made of muslin. It was pretty simple with a flat face and not much detail. I convinced her that SHE could make one even better herself. (This post in not intended to be a tutorial, but will show you the general method she used in making her doll.)

We bought muslin and some yarn for hair and repurposed an old Halloween scarf to use as a dress for the doll. The felt was a piece she had already.

 I helped her draw off the pattern pieces. We drew the face in profile so that we could have a 3-dimensional nose and chin. There is a seam down the center of the face. (The back of the head also has a seam down the center, making four pattern pieces for the head.)

She had made an elongated neck on the body and stuffed it in an opening she cut in the back of the head, then sewed it on. It was stuffed VERY firmly so that the neck could support the weight of the head.

Next, arms and legs were sewn on. (If you look closely you can see where she has penciled in the features.)

She painted the legs to look like stockings and shoes. Acrylic craft paint was used for this. She also drew the face lightly in pencil and then painted the features, complete with a wart on the side of her nose! I didn't get a picture of adding hair or painting features, but the hair is just yarn. We wound it around a book until it was thick enough and removed it, sewed a seam down the middle (we put a piece of paper underneath, but a scrap of muslin might be better so that the yarn has something to be sewn to). We clipped the loops at the ends of the hair and hand sewed it to her head. The clothing and hat I cut out and let her sew.

Here's my sweet girl with her Halloween witch all finished and two months early! Can you tell how proud she is of her creation? I saw her several times just holding it and admiring what she had done! AND.....it's MUCH cuter than the one in the store!!!

Until next time......

Cloth Dolls from Hong Kong

 

I have this wonderful little cloth doll in my collection. I've had it for many years, safely tucked away. I bought it at an estate sale. It wasn't in perfect shape when I got it, but for some reason, I really love this little doll.

 She is made of what appears to be a natural colored silk and wears a silk outfit. The baby is dressed to match her. She is stuffed with a fiber that is packed really firmly. (perhaps sawdust or excelsior?)

The baby has the hair style of a little boy, with his head "shaved" except for a queue on top. He is the little brother, or Didi.

Her little fingers are stitched.

The shoes, which are removable, are stamped "Made in Hong Kong". 

The silk in the back is not as faded. You can see the beautiful blue it was originally.

I love to imagine the person, probably a lady, who made this little treasure. Her embroidery stitches are tiny. The little outfit is detailed perfectly. The little shoes are truly shoes that can be taken off and on. She is very similar to the dolls made by Ada Lum, but there is no tag. I believe it was made before 1950, but have no way to prove that except that it appeared very old when I bought it in the 70's and was among other old !

I find myself saying "WOW!". Look at the wonderful things people do with cloth!

If you know anything about these dolls, please let us know in your comments.

Until next time....