Kate

This is Kate.  She's just a smidge over 10" tall and will be on her way to her new home tomorrow...said home has a talented doll maker in it, so a tiny dress will be no problem.  Hello and goodbye Kate!

 

 

Spring! Irises!

This is for those of you still buried under the snows of winter...if you are tempted toward jealousy over our early spring and warm winter, come visit this July.  That's all I've got to say about that.  But if you need a reminder that spring IS coming, here you go.  Irises!  They're the first to bloom in our garden...some later than others, so the show goes on for a couple of months.

I love irises!

Phil does too--thank goodness--and we have two long beds of them down both sides of the front walk, and two more beds winging out to the sides, in front of the house. Lots of them have big fat flower buds forming, and several have already bloomed.

Most of the iris in these beds are what iris growers call NOIDs...which just means no I.D. irises.  My goal this year is to tag and identify as many as possible, through the various websites and gardening friends.  One great thing about iris (aside from gorgeous color, heavenly scent, and structural foliage?) is that they multiply rather handily.  As mine need dividing to thin out the beds, I'll sell the excess on Ebay to pay for other gardening expenditures. I am a thrifty gardener, after all.

Tall German Bearded Iris: Dauntles (not a NOID!!!)

In the meantime, I have devised a way to tag them with numbers, saving the "real" (read: expensive) garden tags for when I know their real names.

Here's how:

Take an 8" x 4" piece of aluminum foil, fold it in halves until it ends up a smallish square.  Poke a hole in the "most folded" corner, insert a twist tie or pieces of floral wire, and BOOM!  Instant garden tag.  Use a not-too-sharp pencil to write on it. The goal is to indent, not mark, because the indention won't wash off or fade in the sun.  My tags are temporary, but if you use two or three times the amount of foil, folded down, you can make some really durable markers that cost almost nothing.

Hope you are either enjoying your spring, or at least genuinely believing it will arrive!

Be well,

Jan the iris obsessed. 

Izannah Walker Repros...dressed!

Not sure if Blogger has figured out its problem...I've tried to post several times today.  So far I haven't gotten an error message, so there's hope this time. 

To make a long story short, I finally have photos put together for these four dolls.  I still have one more little girl to finish dressing, but these babies are ready for new homes.  One of them (which one remains to be seen) will be my "Helper Doll" for the UFDC convention, and the others, if they don't find new homes, will go with me when I teach the Cloth and Clay Doll seminar there this summer.

So, it appears I can post now!  Woohooooo!

Here are the newbies.  A post tomorrow with photos of the To Be Finished Dolls awaiting attention alllll over my studio.  Cheers!

Thomas...16.5"

Amy...with green eyes and freckles

Caroline...I'm having trouble giving this one up.

Sarah, with her simple blue dress and blue eyes.

Doll Show "post mortem"...

Sorry I'm late with my recap of the show.  I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I forgot my camera.  And no, I didn't even think to use my phone camera--I don't know how to get pictures out of it.  So, yes, I'm wearing my dunce cap.  It's really tall, too...makes me duck through doors.

But the show promoter/manager, Dorothy (who is fabulous and runs an incredible doll show twice a year) has a very helpful hubby, who, while not a professional photographer, generously comes around getting pictures.  I am grateful to him, because now I do have evidence I was there! 

The show set up was very different this time...I have made these giant backdrops out of foam core board.  With cloth and glue hinges, I connected two big pieces for the corners, and then one large piece for the center.  Since they're separate, I can change the set up depending on the table arrangements we're given to work with at each show.  Dorothy is a great show manager, but even she can't change the building structure! Like that great stone column behind my booth.  It gave the backdrop something solid behind it, and box-hiding space as well.

Also, I got rid of the layers (and layers) of crocheted table clothes and doilies...I loved them, but did not love the two hours it took before I could even begin setting out dolls!  So I dyed an old chenille bedspread, and voila!  Several ladies said they liked the more cohesive, less "busy" effect of it...but I do miss all that lovely antique crochet.

I have several Izannahs available, and will notify those on my mailing list of them once I get some good "dressed" photos of the dolls.  They showed well in this set up...taking center stage, and looking very old, if I do say so.  The show itself went well: I came home with three empty boxes.  Using a credit card this time made a big difference, and it just couldn't have been easier!

Doll shows are also buying trips for me--I scout out good doll wigs, old lace (thank you Judy!) and antique petticoats, etc. for future work.  This show was successful on that count, too.  I was very good and did NOT buy any dolls for myself, as I have sworn to bring home no more til I dress the poor naked ones already here.

It always take me a while to get everything sorted through when I get home, and until I do, there are big boxes all over the living room...sort of the reverse of the Giant Set Up Rehearsal.  I have the most wonderful and understanding husband in the world.  

I think I'll keep him.