Amazing!

I went and saw the movie Coraline recently...in 3D no less...and loved it. I'm a big Neil Gaiman fan and I loved the book, it's just the sort of book that I would have read over and over if I'd had it when I was 10. Slightly creepy but also full of enchantment, very reminiscent of the Alice in Wonderland books in many ways. The movie is stop animation, done with marvelous little dolls, so you know for me that made it even better. The movie opens with a fabulous sequence, a cloth doll being neatly stitched together as the credits roll, and it completely captured how the whole process can have just the slightest tinge of the macabre. I loved it...bwahaha...

All that being said, I thought I'd share this incredible clip I found. It's of the woman who made the tiny knitted sweater and gloves in the movie. For all of you who love tiny art and those who love Coraline too, Enjoy!

Total Silliness

This is for my darling husband who put this in my head and now I can't get rid of it! I've been walking around all weekend singing this silly song!



And, Yes we did make waffles on Sunday....

And now for something completely different....

Okay I promised I was making something very different from my usual work...and here he/they are! I'd like to introduce you to Gyre and Gimble, the two headed Rat, Ardent Collector Extraordinaire, Purveyor of the Precious and sometime resident of Looking Glass Land. During my Tuesday walk, this fellow popped into my head and proceeded to tell me the most marvelous tales. Gyre first told me that having two heads is very good in their business because it allows them to search in all directions at once, giving them quite an advantage over their competitors. He then claimed that they have found and traded all sorts of rare items on both sides of the glass and that, " if I was interested, they had a rare Jabberwocky scale in their possession right now"... which he proceeded to pull from his front pocket. Gimble quickly reminded him that the White Queen had first dibs, but I think he was angling for a higher price by the way he looked at Gyre from the corner of his eyes. I must say it looked to me like a common jingle shell but, when I remarked on this, they assured me that on the "other side" it was a sparkling many hued wonder... Then Gimble wanted to know if I needed any Bandersnatch feathers because he was sure they could get me some for a "very reasonable price." What a twosome!

While I thoroughly enjoyed their stories...although they do interrupt each other a lot!...they scurried around in my head so much that I just had to go ahead and get them made. Dolls can be funny that way sometimes....

Gyre and Gimble are made from recycled felted sweaters with shell button joints, embroidered features, and a long hand knit scarf...and of course available here.

New Look!

I've been playing with a new look for the blog. What do you think?
I went for a walk yesterday and came home with the oddest doll scrabbling around in my head...look for something different ...very different for me...soon.

And the winner is....

Number 15, Majorie Dawson!


Thanks so much to everyone who participated!!! I got so many great ideas for new story dolls that I hardly know where to start. I promise that you will see many of your ideas in new creations this year.

I'm still working on commissions but hope to have new items in the shop soon. I did get out in the gorgeous weather this weekend and play in the dirt...well garden...and I also finally took some new pictures of my Harpist. That guy is SO hard to photograph! What do you think?

A Little Bit of Silliness

I know, 2 blogs in one week...what kind of crazy is that!? And I'm procrastinating big time because I'm in the middle of a commission that is driving me nuts. ( Note to self: NEVER agree to make a fairy in a tuxedo again!!) But I had to share these guys with you.

Aren't they a hoot? I made them this week...procrastinating yet again...from a hideous wool sweater that I felted...and the felt is lovely. Silk purse from sow's ear scenario...or silly Bunkins from ugly sweater as the case may be. I've listed two of them in the shop already. ..go look 'cause they have the cutest fluffy pink tails too. Wait, they need a collective noun...hmm...how about a boodle of Bunkins?
Now back to work! Aw do I have to... Yes, right now!
(I fuss at my self frequently. What, you don't?!)

"...and for breakfast, I'm makin' waffles!"

Happy Imbolic everyone! Yesterday was Sunday...a laid back, nothing on the agenda kind of day, so I made waffles for breakfast...awesome ,whole grain, packed to the gills with nutrition and still super yummy, waffles. And of course if you're making waffles you have to have a waffle iron....and do I have a waffle iron...

I bought it 25 years ago at a sale up the street from the house that my husband and I had just bought; our first, non apartment home. Two older women were moving to a retirement home and having a house sale to clear out some of the items they no longer needed. They were such sweet ladies, so tiny and frail, like antique china. I remember seeing it on a table with unmatched dishes and a few stray glasses, in all its cast iron, cloth covered electric cord, shiny as a new car exterior, $5.00 price tag(!!!!), glory ...and it was love at first sight. Here was an appliance that was meant to feed a family and even though I was childless at the time, it conjured up bountiful Sunday breakfasts with a table full of sweet little hungry faces. We were made for each other, both of us longing for a family to feed. And for 25 years, on those perfectly laid back Sundays, I pull out my old friend and we make waffles for my family.

Neither of us are quite as shiny as we used to be, but for two old gals we're doing well!

Look how many waffles we can make at once!


I made a double batch so we would have some to freeze and eat during the week. Okay, I know there is a corkscrew next to the bowl but that's from Saturday night and we are not having wine with breakfast....well not this time anyway...

Yummy!

and not so little any more but still enjoying waffles.....

And if you're interested in entering the "gift away" for a valentine spice girl you have until Feb. 9th to sign up. Just post in the comments in this link.