Almost New Year's Eve

Tomorrow night is New Year's Eve. I think they throw the old mattress out the window in Italy. Not a bad idea. Out with the old, in with the new! I'm going to clean the refrigerator! We take our trash to the dump which is a social occasion on Saturday. However Tuesday is the big dump day as it is closed on Monday. Definitely out with the old today ... I'm even tossing a rug. Cheap rugs are a really good thing!

Notice there is no mention here of cleaning out the computer/work room!

Another really good thing is that gas prices and heating oil prices are down. I don't intend to get too political with this blog... But I must say it is a very sad idea (trust the New York Times) to suggest higher gas taxes. Is this another "fair tax" even if it is bad for our economy?

My Yahoo Group and Seed Catalogs

Hi, This is my Asian ball jointed doll group. It is for chat about tinies. We do talk about dolls like Unoa and MSD sometimes.


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LittlewondersBJD/

If you google "seed catalogs" you will find treasure! I also plan to get a gardening magazine next time I get to the market.

Enough already with the Holiday decor. Joann's has progressed to Valentines day! hugs, annie

Christmas Day

Hi, I hope you all had a wonderful Chrismas Day.

My husband took me to my favorite fabric store on the Tuesday before Christmas and I got some delicious Kaffe Fassett FQ's. I really needed more fabric! lol! Now I need the KF Garden Gate book. I also got "Patchwork Handbags" by Chuck Nohara.

(I have a long way to go as a blogger so I just continue on rather than keep trying to re-do things). The Christmas pictures are in part self explanatory. My grands gave me the bird feeder. My good friend Eileen made the bird ornament.

If you look in the back ground of the bird feeder photo, our house is behind me, The shared driveway is in the photo. If you are silly enough to continue reading this, you will read my adventures with this parking arrangement ... the price paid for living in the historical district.

Merry Christmas! Hugs, annie

Christmas Day

Christmas Day

Watching a Movie Being Made

Hi again, I have been watching the filming of a movie! It has been pouring rain and cold so hard taking photos. All the hard work and long waits are very impressive.

The lights at night were amazing and I wish I could have captured this better. hugs, annie

Another New Machine and Two for Sale!

Hi, I have a lot of news! I guess it has been a year since I bought my Hello Kitty Blue and now I have a Hello Kitty Green which is far more adorable than the photo!

I really like the small machines. I have a new Babylock Imagine and a new Babylock Intrique. They are both too fancy for me and both are mint in ther original packing and boxes. If I can avoid eBay I can sell the Imagine for 750.00 and the Intrigue For 450.00. shipping on each would be about 35.00 (I will charge actual shipping in USA only). The machines and accessories they come with are described and pictured on the Babylock web site. hugs, annie

New Book

Hi, I just bought "The Runaway Doll". "The third Doll People Story" by Ann M. Martin, Laura Godwin and Brian Selznick. So far so good. I think you either really go for this series or you just don't get it.

I think the first book, "The Doll People", is wonderful. I'm luke warm on "The Meanest doll in the World". Maybe I'll try it again.

It is also the time of year to re read "The Hobbit" and the "Trilogy".

Almost frost last night. I really don't want to put my garden to bed. hugs, annie

My New Doll

I'm awaiting a new doll! She is a petite ai from Custom House. I collect patterns for doll clothes and cloth dolls. I love the Ann Estelle, Bitty Bethany sizes.
A friend and I have been looking for a perfect doll in this size range. This is because of our fascination with "Fruits", (Japanese street dressing). "Fruits" is magazine and also the title of several books. There have been a few tries in USA style dolls. I think the Fruits look needs an Asian doll. Petite ai is closest to date. Always looking for new dolls! annie

Middle of Summer

Hi, I hate to say it but it felt like August early this am.. I'm happy that I can be running at 5:15 and almost miss the sunrise right in my eyes. It isn't in my face by the time I turn to go home.

This has been an uneventful Summer so far. We have been invited to Martha's Vineyard and I hope that works out. I'm a huge Susan Branch fan and have dreamed of visiting the Vineyard for years. (Our neighbors had a Summer place there when I was a kid ... imagine!).

There are two exciting books due out this Autumn. One by Kelly Rae Roberts. (see her blog ... http://kellyraeroberts.blogspot.com/). The other by Ray Slater. Cloth Art Dolls. This book is about the British doll scene ... should be out in a little over a month.

hugs, annie

A Few Cloth Doll Notes and Stuff

Hi, Where have I been? I have fallen in love with Bleuette and have been doing my best to invigorate the doll economy. I have added two Bleuettes and have two more on order. Also a same size Heidi Plusczok. And I am taking the Bleuette in Cloth class with Judi Ward.

I adore any dolls with lots of patterns and books.

Also I was reading about a friend's Little Soul Dolls and remembered this promotional video that is here someplace here on a VCR tape ... oh the joy of U-Tube!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6923267854936425165&q=little+souls&total=10332&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

And While googling I looked up Shelly Thorntons web site. She has designed an excellent ball joint for a cloth body.

My yard and garden is still littered with debris from tree work and exterior work we had done last Fall. When I went running at 6:00 am today everything was covered with frost so it is just as well the garden is still put to bed. ( And yay! I can play dolls).

I'm looking for seeds for a viola hybrid, angel terra cotta or maybe angel wing terra cotta. Any help much appreciated. hugs, annie

Making Vintage Style Dolls

Hi, I added this book when VCD was having the Alabama Rag Baby challenge. This is a real dream book, so much pleasure to browse through, and has me imagining dolls to make and vintage fabric to hunt for. The various dolls are all cloth dolls many of us would love to own but most of us would find very expensive.

It is almost 50 here today (North of Boston). Perhaps Spring will get here before we are all exhausted from trying to bail out our cellars and basements. I want to get to a greenhouse and get a Shamrock plant (Oxalis). I long for green leaves. hugs all around, annie

Good Morning

Hi, I have a NEW book coming from Kinokuniya. It is the Nina Doll and Wardrobe Book. I 'm looking foward to making Nina! I also have the Una-na book ... all those cute doll clothes.

It sure is nice to have books and fabric to look forward to during these last rainy cold days of Winter. (The Red Sox are playing games down in Florida so we will get to Spring sooner than it seems on these cold mornings). I'm looking forwards to the new Friends and Flowers, Mary Engelbreit fabric collection. I wonder if I should splurge on a FQ bundle since I just bought Moda Urban Indigo FQ's. That was a BIG indulgence. This morning I heard gas may go up to 4.00 a gallon this Spring! The first day of Spring is March 20th! This will cut into the book and fabric purchases. But that is not now! Hugs, annie

PS, I just want to add that it wasn't me whose fabric was being auctioned off! They won't have my auction for awhile lol!

Also ...and how could I not have said... I LOVE Japanese doll making books!!!

Hi!

Hi, Welcome to my blog. Recently, (in a weak moment), I bought this Hello Kitty sewing machine. I have a 3/4 size Janome, a 3/4 size Singer 221 (great , looks like a Featherweight), I actually have a few machines ... quite a few...

Things I love; (my family and my friends goes w/o saying). Things I love include dolls, cats, sewing machines, flowers, fabric ... lets be honest I'm insane about fabric. I was at an auction once and overheard someone say, "she must have been insane ... she had all these pieces of fabric and not big enough to make herself a dress"... so... I'm suppose to do a 12 step fabric thing? Only if the meetings are next to a Joanns! hugs, annie