The Katie Doll

Besides finding out how to download pictures from the camera to the computer the other frustrating thing about posting to the blog is trying to line things up and put pictures in where I want them. That is why I don't post very often. I want to have wonderful pictures in my blog like others but I don't know how to do it.
I just thought I'd post pictures of the trees that have changed colours.

Then I thought, I'll post pictures of the Katie Doll.

I've not finished her yet. She needs bells or decorations on her shoes.

She needs a wand in her left hand. But for the most part she is finished.

In this picture you will notice the lopsided wings. My choice to do that. She's a fairie/angel and she has struggled getting here so I figure a little bent wing isn't too bad. 

My frustrations with technical difficulties is because I've never learned properly how to do it. I need to have someone instruct me as I do the steps and take notes. I haven't had that opportunity yet. Maybe I just have to plug away at things and hope that I don't delete everything like I did twice this morning as I'm learning.

I found the same frustrations with the dolls using other people's patterns. If I have a question - who do I ask? It's hard to find the people when you need them to ask them. I need to see the finished pieces - step by step or to work with someone who knows what they are doing.
Otherwise I have to do my own dolls my own way and make progress little by little. I can then correct things as I make the mistakes or as some say - happy accidents.

So after three failed attempts at posting today I'm trying this. Type the words and leave spaces for pictures. If this doesn't work, I'll sit and whine and have a piece of chocolate and go for another walk. I've already been for one walk this morning but it doesn't hurt to do a couple more - while the sun is still around.

Okay my idea worked. The pictures are there. I did have the chocolate while downloading the pictures and now I'm going for another walk. Clear my head of technical difficulties so I can go back to sewing. Oh, did I tell you that I sew these dolls by hand and sometimes that can be frustrating too.
Well, time marches on and more will be revealed. Have a good one.

The Dolls

It is almost finished. I've got to make a wand, put some metal washers for weight on the toes of the shoes and she's done. No pictures until I'm finished. What am I talking about? The doll that someone asked me to make from seeing a picture in a magazine. I purchased the pattern and got started. Well, there is the challenge.
I might have mentioned before in another post that I make my own dolls from the ideas in my head. I've only made one doll from a pattern before and it was soft sculpture. This is a challenge because it has wood for arms and part of the body. I've been learning new things. She needs a few more things and it's a holiday here in Canada and so the hardware stores are closed as is everything else, hence no metal washers and other things. I can go shopping tomorrow.
In the meantime I've been washing and ironing some plain muslin/cotton material to make some new stuffed dolls. Kay, the leader of our embroidery group gave us a doll pattern to use to challenge us all to make dolls. It will be interesting to see what the end of the year will bring and the wonderful show of dolls because we will of course make the same doll but dress them differently. Now remember this is embroidery so I expect I'll see all kinds of fancy dresses and Kay has already said she's using silk.And we all said "well of course you are, we wouldn't expect anything else" because Kay does most of her work on silk.
She said she thought I could make an Indian Dress for my doll and I just said "or not" as she held up a picture of a dress from the Souix Nation. I am not of the Souix Nation or any of the nations out west. I'm from the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois Nation as the French called us. I'm thinking of a ball gown, or something fancy like that. I have some books with patterns as well as pictures so I'll spend some time looking through those.
I'm excited to get started but ... I have this other doll to finish.

Getting Corn Stalks and Taking Pictures

My neighbour and friend down the hall named Diane decorates her apartment for every occasion. She is getting ready for Halloween and has all kinds of things from the Dollar Store to make apartment Halloweenish. Today she needed corn stalks.
Now we are talking apartment here. One bedroom apartment with the kitchen and living room combined. I don't think there is room for cornstalks but I agree to help her. She thought I should go and get the corn stalks but I agreed to take the pictures.

She also needs a person to keep watch so that she doesn't get caught. (One person my daughter told me about was charged with theft under $5,000)
She told me that she's never bought corn stalks and didn't think she needed to. The stalks didn't have any corn on them - probably because of the lack of rain all summer.
So here are the pictures. Starting with her at the edge of the cornfield.

Here she is hiding in the corn field and of course, laughing while I stand on the road with the camera taking pictures.

Hugging the cornstalks

 And of course stuffing them in the trunk and showing them in the trunk below.

 After the cornfields we went to the farm market to look for "stuff" and she took more pictures.

A fun afternoon.

Vacation

I've been on vacation - in my mind. I'm sorry I haven't posted in over a month. I bet all those many millions that were following me got tired and went home. Oh well.

I took a trip a few weeks ago to Cleveland Ohio. Then last weekend I went to visit friends outside of Ottawa, Ontario and this weekend I'm taking a vacation to another part of Ontario with my sister and her daughter to shop. I don't know for what but I will have fun looking.

My friend Deb is on a trip to Scotland - the country, not the town in Canada. The next vacation I am going to take is with Deb and the Embroiderers group and it will be to Italy or Spain.

In October my sister Shirley is going to Rome with her church group and a lot of others to see the Canonization of Kateri Tekakwitha. Today my mom and four siblings have gone to Iowa to see my niece as she takes her final vows to become a Nun. I'm truly impressed with my niece - a young lady who actually knows what she wants and is sticking to her plans. I guess that is amazing to me because I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. I'm working on it though.

I have a memory of sitting at the top of the stairs writing stories when I was ten or eleven. I also have a memory of sitting at the bottom of the same set of stairs with my mom's sewing basking making "stuff" teaching myself to sew. I believe I am on to something here and although I won't write a pattern I can write stories and although I won't sew clothes for myself or family, I can make dolls and wall hangings. I prefer to write by hand - then type in stories and I also prefer to sew by hand - hence small stuff.

So, off to work on a doll before I do more writing and I guess later I'll be taking a vacation again - in my mind.

The Garden

I don't spend a lot of time in the garden at our apartment building. Most of the women and a few men sit by the planter in the shade - smoking - I guess because it is close to the door. There are two other areas with a netting of sorts that is to act as a shade - not!!! and to protect from a drizzle if there is one - not!!! If I do go out I sit under one of those awning things and write or draw but not in the hot sun or when we might be getting rain.

So where am I going with this story?    Pictures.

The maintenance man was able to squeeze money out of the budget for some mulch to keep the weeds down. There are a few Hostas growing there.  Last year they put in a watering system that waters the mulch ever couple of days. One early morning I went out to listen to the birds and there were these funny little white things that popped up in the mulch.

Don't know what they are - assuming a fungi of some sort. Didn't think of taking a picture then when they were all over the place. I waited until yesterday after temperatures of 90 degrees or more on Saturday and found just a few.

I believe they come out when it is damp and then die off or recede when it is dry and hot. I particularly like the picture to the right with the large leaf that the squirrel probably knocked down.

The fungi aging and dying

 
Carol likes to add things to decorate - here is her dog Buddy beside the large pinwheels she put in the garden in early summer.


A four foot planter in the garden with some additions to the flowers.

A resin bluebird house with a few additions stand in the corner of the planter.

Another neighbour down the hall added some parrots to the planter.

And this morning there was a spider web glistening in the sunlight - iridescent and sparkling.                                                                              
I don't know if you can see the colours - maybe it is one of those "you had to be there" things. 

Celebration

I decided to write and whine. No, just kidding. I've been feeling under the weather so I haven't done much or felt like doing much. A low grade virus and you don't want to know all the symptoms.

On July 14th my grand-daughters mom and sisters had a baby shower for her. Her dad, my son Mike, is now remarried to a wonderful lady named Tuesday. I like my grand-daughter Lindsay's mom and I always get a warm greeting from her. Here is a picture of my beautiful daughter-in-law Tuesday with my great-grandson Quaid.

Lindsay's great grandmother Dee was a great friend to my mom. I went to school with their children and was best friends at one time with Lindsay's aunt Sherry who passed away from cancer a year or so ago.

This is a picture of four generations. My son Mike, myself, my grand-daughter Lindsay and my great-grandson Jayce. I think they said that Jayce is now two months old - nearly three months old. Quaid - the big brother is I believe almost 6.

My son Mike is the happiest grandpa. He has two grandsons and is looking forward to having them learn from him on the farm.  I think that this is a great picture of Mike and Jayce. I can't wait to see him running around with his brother Quaid and my grandson Eli who are only ten days apart. As long as we have children and grand-children we will never grow old.

This is my grand-daughter Lindsay with her mom Kelly opening the wonderful gifts. She is set for at least a week with clothes for Jayce, well  you know how fast babies grow.

The day was wonderful. I enjoyed visiting with old friends and especially visiting with family.

 
This low grade virus is enough to make me not want to do much. I'm still doing but not as much art. I've been looking at blogs trying to get inspired. I haven't figured out yet why I hesitate to get out my drawing and painting supplies. I keep wanting to draw, even to do Zentangles but I hesitate with that too. Maybe it is because I've spent so much time with fabric arts and beads I don't think it will be good enough to try and draw or paint again. But then I signed up for an on-line doll making course and didn't do that. So I don't know what it is - physical bleh I guess.

Oh well, I'll figure it out - one day. In the mean time I'll keep on going to visit auntie and working on two more afghans. I'm making one for my niece and her expected baby in December.

Finished

Well, not completely finished. I've been gathering materials and cutting out and stitching a quilt top for seven years. Today I took it to the lady down the road who does beautiful work with a long arm quilting machine. Like a few other people I know, I do not like the quilting part. I like making the picture with the fabric and if the piece is too big - it goes to the quilting lady. There is a lot more hand work to do when it comes back from the quilters but I won't think about that today.
It feels like a sauna here in South Western Ontario. The humidity makes it hard to breathe and I get sleepy. But because of the Fibromyalgia I don't like air-conditioning - I ache more than usual. It wasn't bad today as I was in and out of buildings blasting their freezing air and into and out of the blazing sun. Summer is wonderful and for me, much better than winter.
My sister gave me a couple of plastic storage towers - you know the ones with the drawers in them - so I cleaned and sorted after coming in from the warm weather walk. Not too far in this heat. I'll be up early tomorrow and finish the sorting and moving. There is more to do again but I'm feeling good about arranging things. There are no pictures, and if I stay at it the rooms will be done by tomorrow evening because it wasn't too long ago that I did a major cleaning and sorting.
Now all I need is someone to cook meals for me and I'd be all set.