A New Year is coming!

Here's wishing you all a great New Year. Poor ole' Santa is ready for a respite. He's worked pretty hard this year especially getting through all those weather systems. That must play havoc on his whole routine...
All the best to you who follow my blog and I'll see you in the New Year. Bring on 2010, I think we're ready for a fresh start...

Doll Club Christmas Exchange

At the December doll club meeting, we exchanged our gifts. It was a fun night. The meetings are always so busy and full, and the time just flies by in what seems a split second. I studily forgot to take a picture of the doll I made for the exchange, but I used Alison Marano's newest pattern, Half Pint Pixie for it. I've asked someone to take a picture for me, and failing that, she will try and make sure to bring the doll to the next meeting so I can take pictures..

I did take a picture of it wrapped up, makes sense right....Good grief. Didn't even occur to me that I hadn't taken pictures until I was on the way home from the meeting.... But here's the wrapped box....lol

The other two pictures are of the pincushion that Linda Danielson made for me. Linda is a wonderful doll artist and does her own designs, so I feel very priviledged to have one of her creations. It just happens that blue is my favourite colour and I have some of this fabric and to see it used this way is inspiring..... Isn't it lovely....And here is Linda's site to see more of her work. Linda Danielson Site

A Christmas Respite

Incase you just need a bit of a respite before the big day is here and you're run off your feet trying to keep everyone happy and be that way yourself, take a look here at my post from last year.
Perhaps a few minutes and a bit of time watching a movie or two might be just the fix you need to get that last bit of energy to get you through. It's very easy to spend your whole time thinking of others at this time of year, but really, it is okay to think of yourself to. So enjoy....

Christmas Movies

Father Christmas

This is a design by Kat Lees. It's also an online class if you're a member of Cloth Doll Artistry. You do have to be a member of CDA but the cost of the class is only $20.00 US. It's a great class, lots of instructions and visuals in the lesson plan, so pop over if you aren't already a member. There are also other classes there and all reasonably priced, for beginners as well.

I intended to keep Father Christmas but someone wanted to buy him, so he's on his way to the other side of the globe. Travelling should not be a hardship for him, after all, it's what he lives for.... ;o)))) I hope you like him....

And more Christmas sewing

This is Santy Cane. It's a Sweet Meadow's Farm pattern. I used a 20 oz bag of stuffing to fill just the candy cane and that's not being excessive, that was just what it needed to fill it properly. The Santa was fun to do, I used upholstery fabric to give him a woodland Santa look. A fun pattern to make. Noel over at Cloth Doll Patterns carries it if you're thinking it looks like a great project, in time for next Christmas. You'll find the pattern on page 2 of the Sweet Meadows Farm section.

The other doll I have today is Chadwick the Chimney Sweep and the pattern is by Sparkles n Spirit, also available from Noel. Yet another fun doll to make for this time of year, although I'm sure those on the east coast of the US have seen enough snow to last them for some time to come. Chadwick is a great personality and all ready to clean up that chimney of yours for your Christmas day, so you'll all be toasty and warm. Both dolls measure about 30" tall. Santy Cane is a door hanger, while Chadwick could be your greeter..

Snowcone Snelf

Here is the next little snow person I made. He is a Snelf, or to make that easier, a cross between a snowman and an elf. He's a bit smaller, approx. 12" or a little better. He does have the sweetest little face and was so much fun to make.... Another design by Sparkles n Spirit...

I'm almost caught up showing you my doings for Christmas. A few more to go. By the time the new computer finally gets here, it won't have much to do at this point.. ;o)))

Jacques Frost

This is a cute little snow person (he's not a snowman so person sounded appropriate)....He now resides in a quilting shop, so hopefully someone will take him home for Christmas.

He's a design from Sparkles n Spirit.

Loved making him and I have done other patterns by them as well and will post another in the morning. All of them so far have been so much fun. Lighthearted characters to make, ones that make you smile while giving them their finished looks.

And more of the corsets!!!!!

For whatever reason I wasn't able to add all images in one post, so here are the rest of the ornamets. They are approximately 5" tall. Very cute, lots of fun to make. However, when you make as many as I did, prepare to have feathers flying everywhere. Every snip into the boa means much more than you think......Feathers everywhere, even up your nose......

Still no computer, but pictures non the less!!!!

This is getting to be just a bit much for me. Last piece of news about this whole thing. Dell underestrimated to the volume of sales the particular computer I ordered, would generate. So the absolute latest date it will arrive is January 7th. This news after being on hold for 2 hours, no lie, 2 hours and 5 people later this is what they tell me.

I am having to install programs on hubbies computer so I can at least try and catch up on a few things. I did not want to install anything because it's I hate invading someone else's space. He's very accomodating, but still......

I've got a few things to show you today. I made 40 of these little darlings to sell in a local shop and word has it they are going, so yay...that makes me very happy... They are a Caroline Erbsland freebie on the Dollmakers Journey website. Here are 3 pictures, more in the next post...

I am still here, really !!!!

What a time I've been having. First I had that miserable bronchitis for 3 weeks. It threatened to return the other day and I ran for the treatments I got from my Naturopath to ward off that horrible thing and it worked.

Since the bronchitis I've been fighting with my computer to keep it going. I've seen the blue screen of death more that the desktop of life and finally yesterday it kicked it's clogs and totally died. Wouldn't let me re-install windows properly one last time just so I could at least do a couple of things like listen to my online radio stations, but it was not to be.

It just crashed and burned so it's living in the hallway for the weekend until I parade past it with the new computer in the next day or two. I want it to know there is life after it died on me. I might even stand the new one next to it for a moment or two just to rub in the fact that it's been replaced.

I suppose I could have taken it to the tech in town here, but really. It would mean leaving it with him for days and days because he's just so busy, and the cost of the repairs might not have been worth it. I couldn't install Internet Explorer 8 ( I know because it crashed every time I tried) and it didn't like the Service Pack 3 any better, crashed even worse. I had Windows XP in there, but even with lots of memory etc etc, it just wouldn't play nice, so it seems more practical to buy new since they have come down so much in price. I'm going to have a system that's miles ahead of this poor thing and I would be feeling like "what if it dies at any moment". I'm bypassing Vista this way to, and that's good. I've heard nothing good about Vista, I'm going straight on to Windows 7. Will post how I like it when I test drive it.

I think besides the computer itself I suspect something got past my security program and messed things up to. It was time I guess. I am feeling positive about the whole experience because I learned a lot more about the computer and that there are things I can do to fix it. I'm not into the inner workings of it, but I can do a lot for myself first before throwing in the towel.

Thankfully I can use hubby's computer to keep in touch, and as soon as my new toy arrives I will show you what I've been working on. I've been busy and maybe for the next few days not having the idiot box staring at me, I'll get more done..... so with that, I'll sign off and talk to you soon....... We're supposed to have a stormy night and some flurries for the next couple of days....so yay, that makes me happy. It probably means it won't be a White Christmas this year if it snows now. Here on the west coast it warms up quite a bit after it snows and it takes time to get down to the right temp again for more snow, but I'll take what we get.