A sewing post or a cat post?

Here's one of the cutest dolls I've found at a thrift store. She is about 10" tall and has such a pretty face. The markings on her back are 1988 (the best I can tell), a scalloped circle with a Z in the center, and the numbers 22/34. 

I've had no luck finding anything about this doll on line either. Just need to spend more time searching.

The dress pattern for my latest thrift store doll, the American Girl, came in the mail yesterday. 

Good gosh, it took a while to cut out all those tiny pattern pieces, then after supper I managed to get in the sewing room early...6:30!

The outfit I wanted to make was the bottom left view, the dress and pretty pink coat, but then decided to cut out the top right view for now. Anyhow, it took forever to cut out all those fabric pieces too.

I had also started a new pink flowered apron and worked on making the bias tape for it. About 9:30 that tired feeling came over me. 

Do you know how hard it is to sew, or spread out a pattern, or cut a piece of fabric, or thread a needle with two or three kitty cats in the sewing room? Why, I've given up trying to lay out pattern pieces on the bed...even with the new cutting board...

Poppy says, "run them out and close the door"! Now he knows better than that! Look at that face. I could never hurt their feelings.

Pull out the cutting board and Dumperoo thinks it's play time. He has two empty thread spools that he loves to hear rolling down the board...he even jumps out and bats the spools back at me.

Well I had a brain storm last night and asked Poppy to bring in our big folding table from the shop. Like there's room for it in the teeny tiny sewing room! I have to turn sideways and squeeze in, but it worked, and no cats!

Bickett even kept his little paws on the bed.

that's right, you, Mr. B!

Gosh, the table is a big eight feet long and four feet wide, so now I'm looking to buy a smaller, inexpensive folding table.

Come to think of it, Smokey has never bothered anything in the sewing room. He usually stretches out on the foot stool in front of Poppy's chair at night.

Smokey is just a big old furry sweetie pie...

more shots from the sewing room...

Always a kitty cat stretched out just where you need to be...

I wouldn't have it any other way :)

Better get up from here. Big sweet Eli is at the Groomer's getting a much needed bath. They should be calling any time now. Can't wait to see him.

Hope to be back soon.

Love,
Henny

Rosie, Eli, and a doll

February is usually a cold, depressing month...for me anyway. But this February, well, we have had warm sunny days. It's like April here! 

It was hard to come inside. I raked the paths, and spread pine straw, and picked up pine cones, and helped Poppy cut around the pond. I must have walked ten miles yesterday...well, actually, it was eight miles and there were 19,000 steps on my Fitbit at bedtime.

Rosie and Eli played too!

round and round the goat lot they chased each other.

Butting heads! Poppy cautioned Eli, don't let that baby goat hurt you with those horns! Rosie is a little pig when it comes to food. Can you tell?

Rosie is rotten. You should see her butting Eli right out of the teeny tiny barn!

Okay, time to rest!

Where's my teddy bear?

meanwhile, back at the teeny tiny sewing room...

another dolly. This one was in a thrift store in Raleigh several years ago.  I made the dress and bonnet back then, but now want to make her a pretty white outfit.

Wish I could find out more about this doll. There is writing on her back, but it is scratched and hard to read.  I can make out what looks like ?CEE  cc 8 VS. She is 19 inches tall.

The pink quilt, if you can call it a quilt, was something to stitch on back when I was still employed. I'm not good at piecing quilts but enjoy the quilting part...so I put together a pretty piece of fabric, batting, and backing, pinned it all together and worked on it at night after supper. 

just happened to see it folded in the closet and brought it out. 

Better get busy. Poppy went in to work but will be home by noon. I'm fixing to drag out the vacuum cleaner, bad as I dread it...much rather be outside. It's sunny again today and supposed to reach 74!

Hope to be back soon.

Love,
Henny



  

Good Gosh! Me! Trying to decorate!

You know, I had big plans for Monday...to stand and stare at the new chair and do some cleaning, shampoo the carpet, and move things around a bit. However, Poppy was off work, which really threw a wrench into works...for both Monday and Tuesday. It's hard to stand and stare with a man in the house. He did get out long enough to carry the trash off, so I moved a couple of lamps...

The carpet still needs cleaning, of course, and my favorite rug, ever! still clashes with the new fabric, but wow! what a difference. 

before...

dull and depressing! very dull and depressing!

and even before that...

ugh! here too!

the uglier lamp, moved to this corner of the living room, sort of blends in with the paler colors. I'm going to paint that big fat lamp and buy a new shade!

Well, enough about my great decorating skills. Sometimes I feel like hauling the entire lot to the landfill.

and seeing as how I'm into bright colors right now, here's another apron...

Better get busy. Time to open the chicken house door and feed the goats.

We are getting a little rain this morning. Sure has been good to have a few days without rain so the ground could dry out a bit.

Poppy is working today, until 2:00, so I might stand and stare at the living room...see what I can do. 

Oh, and I do so appreciate having a new follower. Thank you, Mary Bean. 

Love,
Henny

Comments, replies, and dolls.

Thank you for your comments about the new chair. I replied to each comment. It took a while, you know how I go on and on about things, explaining, apologizing...and now I'm wondering, does anybody ever go back and check to see if there was a reply to their comment?  Do you?  Sometimes I just don't remember to go back.  

Remember the Kimberly doll? She was such a pretty doll...

These came from the thrift store a few years ago. I cleaned them up and made their outfits. The pink marker ink would not come off the one doll.

The pattern I used to make their clothes would also fit the American Girl doll. I like the country look and wanted to make something similar for the new doll. Here's the thing...I've misplaced the pattern pieces for view a. Imagine that!

This is an old pattern, 1990, and I've used it to make dozens of doll dresses.

Anyhow, I'm sure there are plenty of these patterns for sale on eBay, cheap.

Sometimes Dollar Tree sells the prettiest gift bags...for one dollar! This one hangs in the teeny tiny sewing room.

and look...I simply had to get this little Brambly Hedge book, Poppy's Babies. 

Okay, not much of a post here. Thank you for visiting. I plan to stand and stare at the new chair first thing tomorrow and figure out how to pretty things up around it. :)

Love,
Henny

Step into my parlor...the new chair has arrived

Okay, the new chair is in the living room...here's what we need next...

the carpet shampooed, a new rug, new lamp, new side table, and new bar stools. :(  I have no idea what that dirty looking spot is behind the chair. Looks like someone dropped a cup of coffee.

What we really really need is new carpeting. Wouldn't that be pretty! Want, want, want, says Poppy. If only I could win the lottery! :)

Clean the carpet is on my to do list for Monday!

Friends, wonder why I can't make biscuits. Seriously.

Mama used to make biscuits from scratch every day. She had one of those wooden dough bowls. 

She would sift a little pile of flour into the bowl and with her finger tips, dip out a measure of shortening and while working the shortening into the flour, still using her fingers, she added milk and worked the mixture into a soft dough.

Mama then pinched off a section at a time and gently rolled it between her hands to form a small biscuit. When all the biscuits were on her old black bread pan, she made a fist and with the backs of her fingers, pressed the biscuits down then baked them.

Mama, back in the 40's. Wonder if she had biscuits in the oven at the time.

Those very flat biscuits in the picture, I'm ashamed to admit, were made by me for supper last night. Oh the biscuits tasted good, Poppy even said so, but they were supposed to rise more. I've never been able to make good biscuits. 

"a pitiful looking selfie of me and a sweet little chick."  :) Three of the little chicks like to be held. Once we moved them to the big chicken lot, the mama hen said, "I'm done with you bitties"!  

It was cold out first thing this morning. My hands were as cold as they look too. I had taken off my gloves and dipped ice out of the goat's water. Actually, it was 29 degrees, which isn't bad, but after several mild days, 29 felt pretty cold.

Is the new chair too loud?

Talk to you soon!

Love,

Henny

Thrift store finds and other stuff

Good grief, I just sat down to post something and now realize the clock says 9:18. Poppy will be coming through the bedroom door yawning and scratching his head any minute now...saying "I'm going to bed".

anyhow, let me show you the latest thrift store find. My very own little outhouse. Deb, at "Just Cats", I couldn't help but think of you. Deb has a real one of these on her property. 

This cute little outhouse is actually a music box and plays "Old MacDonald". It was $2.49 at Goodwill. It simply had to come home with me. Oh, and the white you can see just inside the door...

that's a tiny old Sears, Roebuck catalog. Have you ever!

Okay, it's now Thursday morning...

Shelby and I met in Wake Forest Tuesday. We both enjoy going in Goodwill stores, and then eating lunch together. We hardly ever have time to visit and talk. It's crazy how time flies.

here's one more thrift store find from last week when I stopped by our local Goodwill...

an American Girl doll. I've really wanted one of these dolls, but good gracious, the cost! This one was $4.99. Can't wait to make her an outfit. I don't know which American Girl doll this one is, but isn't she pretty!

and sewing, I've added a couple more aprons to the little shop and a bonnet too...

 been a while since I've made a bonnet with the long back section and could not remember exactly how I did it before. 

then there's this apron with the unusual fabric.

I'm not crazy about this apron...I betcha though that splattered grease wouldn't show up on it. That's a good thing. :)

and here's Penny...the bunny who digs holes and won't sit still for a picture. But, she is a sweetie pie!

I've been working on "Bunny Tower" again and will try to take some pictures to show you. Lowes Home Improvement Store has black painted steel fence panels, $24.95 for two connecting sections. These worked perfect for sectioning off individual condos. Poppy said, "Mel, some homeless person would love to live here". Anyhow, I'm about done fixing up. 

Thank you Kelly at Homespuns 'n Hayfields for following my blog.

also, Linda at Linda Letters, you asked if Eli sheds...well yes he does.  :) Keeps me busy vacuuming, in fact, Poppy just bought me a brand new vacuum cleaner. I am especially careful in the kitchen, and vacuum around the bottoms of the cabinets and under the stove, often! 

Better get busy. The upholsterer should finish with the chair today, and speaking of vacuuming, I want to get the living room dusted and cleaned before the newly covered chair arrives.  

Hope to return soon. :)

Love,
Henny