Category Archives: resources

that blogging thing

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In real face to face life, I am with a lot of non-bloggers. People who don’t understand what a blog is, why or how someone would do it. Sharon of In a Minute Ago, has been thinking about it and explaining it clearly since she started blogging 2 1/2 years ago. Her most recent post on the subject is here and she talks about the community building aspect of blogging (among other things). If you are curious about the whole why and how, just read everything she’s posted under blogging– and the comments. It is all very interesting reading.

If any of this inspires you to read more blogs, check out this post about managing your blog reading.

And then, if you decide to jump in and start one, there is a great article on Whip Up about starting a craft blog. If you are not feeling like it is working out the way you had expected, read this other Whip Up article full of excellent craft blog advise.

Good luck!

catching up

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today I’ve been working on catching up with all the email correspondence- I’ve been terrible!

Also, I’ve meant to give some great feedback for Dollmaker’s Journey for fantastic service. I needed some special fabric for a class I’m taking- I ordered on a Saturday and had it on the Monday- wow!

Here is a not doll project I did yesterday- new placemats.

placemats

Yeah, I’m finally using some of the fabrics I’ve bought recently! I love cotton prints, but they don’t really fit in much with the dolls I’m doing these days. The back (or maybe they are reversible) is linen from IKEA a few years ago. Here is the great insight of yesterday- I struggled through sewing 2 of the mats with a million pins and still getting puckers and tucks… all of a sudden I remembered my walking foot- that amazing tool that came with my sewing machine but I had never yet tried- well, guess what- it really works! The 6 that I did after that came out much better!

Here they are on the table, along with some of my old art i.e. my pottery that got broken and turned into a mosaic hot dish holder.

table

And a picture of the kitchen window on a spring evening-

window

expedition

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I met up with some doll friends yesterday in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. We had a great day going to some of the textile stores there. We went to Wrights Factory outlet, then to a shop that specializes in antique and vintage textiles. Unfortunately I don’t seem to know the name of the store! It was really great though! These photos are from that store-

shop

dolls in a crib-

shop dolls

lots of buttons-

buttons

a wonderful picture- looks like a photo but up close it looked like a drawing- hmmm? I think she looks like an Izannah Walker doll-

girl

We finished out our day at some quilting fabric shops. I managed to find lots of fabric I couldn’t resist.

The inspiration for the expedition was that the terrific doll maker, Susan Fosnot, was in town to do a workshop at the Wenham Museum. She is from the midwest where she has trouble finding the vintage textiles that she likes to use for her dolls. She stayed overnight with me. Here are some of her dolls that she showed me-

susan's dolls

We spent some time up in my studio pulling stuff out of bins and drawers. I gave her some fabric, but unfortunately, though I have tons of stuff I’d love to pass on, we both like the same stuff! I need to find people who need big buttons, 60’s fabrics and all the other stuff that I have that’s wonderful but I’ll never use. Speaking of which- I’ve put some more stuff on ebay. Vintage sewing patterns from the 50’s and 60’s. I have more, some from the 40’s, but I got sick of posting them, so I’ll do it another day.

Catalog!

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Okay- drum roll please! Big excitement! I now have an online store! Link over there on the right ->
I will be adding more stuff to it regularly and hope to include some doll related supplies that I don’t need.

Thanks Ben!

Gilda’s Hello Dolly

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Oh, I had fun today…
I have been searching online for some little shoe buckles- I bought some a few years ago and I’ve used them up but I can’t find them again. Today I did what should be obvious and visited a local shop. I had heard about Gilda’s from someone at my Doll club, but never before had visited her place in Natick, MA. Mostly she sells at doll shows, but she has tons of goodies in her basement shop.
There were bins and drawers and boxes and piles of trims and ribbons-

gilda's 1

and flowers made of silk and paper and feathers and more-

gilda's 2

and shelves of lace- all cotton, the black lace is on the other side…

Gilda's 3

and dolls… and doll parts- wigs, eyes, mohair, silk roving…

gilda's 4

besides all that, she carries an amazing selection of fabrics- silk, cotton, brocade, netting, all the right weight and scale for dolls. Also, tons of buttons, charms, hat-making supplies, doll purse hardware, shoes. stands, patterns… WOW!
If you want to visit, you need to call because she is often away at shows- her website isn’t really working yet.
Gilda’s Hello Dolly
or
Gildasfabrics.com
197 Pond St.
Natick, MA 01760
508-655-0185