Happy Christmas 2013

Just a quick post to say

Happy Christmas!

to everyone!

I wish for everyone

PEACE and JOY

that is the real meaning of Christmas.

This darling wee village was a surprise gift delivered yesterday

by the lovely and talented lady who made it.

Thank you

Lidi!

How awesomely gorgeous is it????

This little village will take pride of place every Christmas!

Here is another photo of it with a very messy Christmas Roombox.

Sorry for the bad pic, it's hard to photograph indoors.

It's a tiny thing, the little houses are each less than an inch wide!

The Babies Have Wheels!

Long ago, BMG

(that's Before Mini Graff)

I fell in love with Gill's baby prams and strollers

and I promised the miniature babies I'd ask Gill

if she'd make one or two for us.

However, in the meantime, Mini Graff arrived

and was in desperate need of his own wheeled chariot

which you'll remember Gill also made,

so the babies had to be patient and wait their turn.

Eventually arrangements were made for strollers for them

and just a week or so ago an interesting box with British

stamps on it arrived in the post!

With greatest excitement I got it open

as fast as possible!

Parcels with miniature treasures inside are like presents,

aren't they?

2 grandkids were here and they were almost as excited

as myself about opening the box.

Their first question...

Do the wheels go around?

Can you tell they're boys???

Young Christopher may have opened his eyes briefly

 to see what the noise was about but even when he was

strapped into his side of the new stroller he was

happy to continue his snooze.

Adelaide, on the other hand,

crowed and kicked and clapped her wee hands

and couldn't wait to settle into her seat!

Here they are ready to go for their first ride!

Their mama is so happy not to have to carry her

chubbby babies everywhere now.

The babies love the rattles

(that match the upholstery)

which Gill so kindly sent for them :)

And, of course the wheels go around!

Next out of that interesting box came a

gorgeous pink creation.

This one is for Emma Rose but,

as she's wearing her christening robe at the moment

and didn't want to crush it up,

one of the dollhouse twins consented to model for us.

She's about as interested in proceedings as Christoper,

yawning widely, ready for a nap ;)

Of course, being male, Mini Graff looked things

over to make sure there had been no damage

in transit and all was safe for the precious babies

to take their first outing.

Luckily I wasn't sleepy like certain small babies,

and I enjoyed play time perambulating babies

all around the dining table ;0)

RL Graff and both young grandsons are very

impressed with Gills' creations.

As for me, I adore them!

Gills attention to detail is amazing,

these little strollers are made exactly like a RL stroller.

Thanks Gill :))

Would You Care to Take Tea with Me?

School holidays Downunder,

grandkids spending a day with us.

We go around the miniatures and see all the new things.

It was the perfect opportunity to take a photo of the lovely

petitpoint tea cosy that I won from Rosanna

Would you care for a cup of tea?

Please take off your hat and have a seat,

and help yourself to a macaron :)

and we'll enjoy a refreshing cup

from beneath that pretty cosy.

Every time I walk past my pretty kitchen roombox

I enjoy a moment peeking in,

and think how lovely it would be to

invite Rosanna to have afternoon tea with me.

Sending hugs to you Rosanna

and I hope your hands are getting better.

Bright and .........Beautiful?

Ok, I can at last reveal what those colourful threads

turned into.

With apologies if you're tired of tea cosies.

This is for a miniature Gypsy lady who lives in

a bright gypsy caravan.

A rosebud.

No new designs but here are some

new works on old designs.

For a boy.

For a wee girl.

I just want to say g'day

To all my friends!

This blog has been fairly quiet for quite a while now,

I don't seem to be making much besides crochet

which is a slow and repetitive process

so there's not as much to share.

However,

with a new small crochet project in the planning,

I thought I'd share some photos

as I begin to choose threads.

Threads

Pretty colours that are like touching the rainbow.

A new project awaits,

for a nice

person

who has given me only two hints.

She likes bright colours,

the brighter the better,

as you can see

here

and bright yellow should feature as the main colour.

Ideas begin to form while work continues

on a baby shawl.

The shawl is finished,

washed and blocked,

ready to send across the sea.

Thoughts turn to

threads beautiful threads.

And another colourful adventure begins.

First my messy work drawer full of

odds and ends of thread from recent 

(and not so recent )

work.

A quick tidy up and shove reels and cards to the back,

can't be bothered with actually putting things away

when there's the fun of planning

and choosing colours to turn into something pretty!

Start with drawer no.1

Plenty to choose from here?

On to drawer no.2

And drawer no.3

A girl can never have enough thread can she?

Find that bright yellow to start,

and add some more brightness,

and then my hand is full of possibilities.

Pop them into my work drawer,

and

Let The Fun Begin!!

Bright yellow.

Purple.

Hot pink.

Magenta.

Emerald green.

Mauve.

Pale blue.

Can you guess what is on my hook

right  now?

What will those colours turn into....?

All shall be revealed in time!

Another Collaboration Between Friends

My very kind friend who enhanced

SOME OF MY CROCHET

this time last year,

and offered if for sale on my behalf at the

Hobart Doll Show,

has done the same thing again this year for me!

Dianne is without doubt one clever lady,

She made the little BellyButtonBaby in the romper set

and the christening layette fits the same doll.

I am always amazed at the difference

her clever hands can make to a plain little bit of crochet.

She's a brilliant needlework artist!!!

The photos speak for themselves.

The 2013 Hobart Doll Show

is on the 24th and 25th of this month

if any of this blogs reader are interested

to go along and look.

I Won! I Won a Wonderful Give Away!

The very talented 

and very sweet

Rosanna

recently had a beautiful Give Away

at her blog.

To my amazement,

I won!!

I couldn't believe I had really won!

A few minutes ago the postman left

a package in my letter box.

Great joy when I read the name of the sender

and I knew there was something wonderful

waiting for me to open :)

Inside was this exciting little parcel and a postcard

which can be cut out and made into

a tiny building!

Don't you love miniature parcels?

I love to hold them in my hand

and think of the sender

and delay opening them for a while

to enjoy the moment for a little longer ;)

Curiosity and excitement means I can't

wait for too many moments before opening......

Inside was this very beautiful Teacosy

made by Rosanna.

I apologise for not being able to show

how beautiful this cosy is in a photo,

it is a work of art in my hand.

Every stitch is perfect, it is so neatly made

and the tiny Carnival Horses

make me smile.

How lucky am I???

Doing a Happy Dance and clapping my hands :)

I loved this cosy when Rosanna showed it on her blog!

I was taken completely by surprise when I won it!!

Never for a moment did I think of winning

when I left a comment,

I just wanted to say how much I admired

Rosanna's tea cosies.

Thank you Rosanna,

I will treasure this beautiful gift forever.

I'm a Little Teapot.....

Looks just like a teacosy!

New Clothes for the Dollhouse Babies

I haven't done much miniature work this year

but I have managed a little crochet.

First an excited little sun-kick!

When the breeze turns a little cooler and it's time for a nap.

Dressed to go shopping with mum.

And when the summer is over it's time to rug up.

Give-Away Winners

We have a winner!

I asked the 500th person who joined my blog,

who is also a RL friend,

if she would make the draw for me.

She agreed so I printed everyones  names

and put them in a bowl

and plodded off round the corner

and she did the honours for us!

Thanks Wen!!

Two followers will recognise their Mums' hands :)

Stiring the pot!

One name chosen.

Tadaa!

Congratulations Helen and I hope you like your teacosy!

Please email me with a postal address as soon as possible.

This is the french blue and white cosy.

And another name is chosen!

Congratulations Lina!

I hope you like this little red and white cosy.

Please contact me as soon as possible with your postal address.

Thanks to everyone who entered.

Current Entries

Here are the names of all who have entered the give away

as they appear on the post.

If a name is repeated

it is because that person commented on the

3 previous posts showing teacosies.

If your name isn't in the left hand column

and you want to enter,

please add your comment to the give-away post.

The draw will be made as close to

5.00pm Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time

as I can manage.

You have 15 hours to add your name

in the draw at the Give-Away post.

Good luck everyone!

Final entries.

500 Followers Give Away

'Somebody'

just became the 500th follower here.

That somebody is a lovely RL friend

who came and fixed my computer this morning.

There I was, cut off from my blog-world,

feeling blue....

when the computer fairy came and

waved her wand

(actually, much hard work)

and I could visit my friends again.

I happened to mention getting close to 500 followers here

and the next thing I know,

499 turned to 500!

A warm welcome to every one of you

and thanks for all the lovely comments

so freely given.

It's been a while since there was a

GIVEAWAY

here

so,

lets celebrate 500!!!

Ok,

this is a surprise give-away,

no photos.

No Photos?!!!

Do you trust me?

Will you enter a give-away without knowing

what you're in for?

Alright,

one little hint.

It's a teacosy.

French Blue and White.

There will be a second prize too.

Yep, another teacosy.

That one is red trimmed with white.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post.

All the lovely people who have commented

on the teacosies in previous posts will get another entry.

Oh,
better mention that the draw will be on
the last day of this month!

If you're fed up with Teacosies....

Don't bother looking at this post.

Apologies for repeating myself but,
I'm enjoying making these tiny morsels of colour.

This Shabby Chic Green cosy made for a friend.

Breakfast in the Dollhouse

I finally got courage to put together and paint

the toaster kit I'd bought for the dollhouse.

Knowing my previous failures with painting metal

I was really unsure of how to go about it.

Elizabeth at Studio E recommends nail polish

for lots of dollhouse details

so I tried that first....

it chipped off as it dried :((

Ok,

time to try Tamiya Metal Primer.

That stayed on and gave me hope!

Tamiya Gloss Black over the Primer,

hold breath, cross fingers.

Yay!

Success!

And I love this toaster!

Tea Rose?

Some more tea cosy fun.

With one of Kim's delicious cakes.

Honey, I Shrunk The.......

Teacosy?

Daffo-Dilly

"It's Unique", I said.

"It looks like something U-Neek Up On,

with the Round-Up"

he said.

Where I Live

In a Tree House.

Or is that House In Tree?

The extreme weather conditions on the east coast of Australia

has caused a lot of damage

This is our little bit of damage.

I was barbecueing sausages in the Weber

on the back porch yesterday evening

to feed two hungry nephews, who

couldn't get to their home due to flooding,

when my Other Half shouted to me to come

and shift the car out of the car port.

Oh, that's a bit of a ****** I said,

upon seeing what the noise was about.

Moved car, went back to aforesaid sausages.

Other Half then attempted to contact

the Heroes

of the very overworked

SES.

No point wasting hot sausages,

we all proceeded to consume our meal

(in the dining room at the back of the house

well away from the damage),

only to be interrupted by

Police and SES

banging on the back gate.

Men in uniforms trooped in,

leaving a crowd of sightseers on the road,

braving the high winds and driving rain.

Neighbours must have managed to contact

the Services before we had.

We offered the nice men sausages

but they apparently aren't allowed

to eat sausages whilst on duty.

Nobody hurt?

No.

Did we wish to evacuate?

Not really.

A brief inspection,

trim a few branches away from the gate.

Nothing more could be achieved until

the 100km per hour winds abate

so we spent a normal evening.

The only difference being

intermittent creaking

as the tree settled further into

its' new position.

A restful night was had by all,

including the tree. 

One I've Been Working on for a While

Last Daffodil Day,

August last year???

I received a lovely bunch of

Cancer Council Daffodils.

Lovely brightness

cheering the last days of winter.

The flowers spoke,

they needed to be made everlasting for a 

Kitsch Teacosy.

After perfecting the flower pattern

and making stems and the cosy itself

I couldn't work out how I wanted to use them

so this half clothed teapot has sat on a shelf

awaiting inspiration

ever since.

I still don't really know

where it will end.....

Yellow is not really my "colour" I fear.

Any suggestions from you

lovely talented and inventive

readers?

My Secret Addiction

I've been hiding away a bit of late,

taking time out to recover from 

Christmas, school holiday, new year activities,

indulging myself in my secret addiction.

A little addiction that helps when the miniature bug

goes into hibernation,

helps keeps creativity alive.

Shall I show you??...

Well,

before we go there.....

(dithering about revealing my secret here)

would you like a tour of my workroom???

Did you say yes?

Ok then, I'll show you my enormous

well appointed workroom.

Here it is :)

Yep, that's it.

My workroom.

A table on castors, made for me by my Other Half

using the base of my old office chair.

It follows me from room to room,

will fit over my knees if I want to sit on the lounge.

For bigger projects it's the dining table but anything that

will fit on the cutting mat goes on my rolling table

and doesn't have to be tidied up at meal times.

You can see that indulging in my secret addiction

has cured the miniatures blues,

there are a couple of things under way in my 'workroom'.

Those 3 doodads in centre front are handles

and blade for a bread knife in progress.

The 'perspective' drawing was done by none other

than 11 year old grandson,

Gran tried faithfully to reproduce it to specifications

for his kitchen roombox.

Here is a closer view

 not yet ready to hang but we couldn't resist having a little play.

We're waiting on

'exciting small parcels'

containing treasures to add

and have plans to add some bright spots of colour,

some sunny yellow perhaps,

to tie in with the rest of the kitchen.

This kitchen will be finished

with the hanging of the shelf

and I hope this year will see a few more

uncompleted projects finished

after three years of

too much Real Life!!!

Now,

will you think less of me when you see my

secret addiction??

Will you think I should have my head examined?

Heheh, better get it over with eh?

It's no secret I love drinking tea,

Any Time!

Which in turn led to an interest in teapots.

Collecting teapots.

Not fancy china pots,

I like pots that look like they know their business.

I like them to look like they have history

and could tell tales of sharing moments

of happiness,

times of sadness,

or,

the best cup of the day -

enjoyed in bed first thing in the morning.

Not only do I collect teapots but I delight in using them.

A recent acquisition was an epns hotel/cafe teapot.

I enjoyed it 'naked' for a while, just enjoying the shape

and the pretty silver shine

but the time comes when I want to use it.

.

When it comes to making a pot of tea,

it needs to be kept hot.

Teapots need Cosies don't they?!!

That's my secret addiction...

TEACOSIES

To be more specific,

Kitsch Teacosies.

The more decorated they are, the more I like them.

So, after living with my pretty shiny 'naked' silver cafe pot for a while,

it spoke to me and said it was ready for a warm coat.

What goes better with silver than royal blue?

What goes with royal blue?

Fun, fun, fun, sorting through my little huge stash

of wool.

Work out the shaping whilst thinking

about decorations.

Click, click, hook, hook......

Tadaaaaa!

Here it is all dressed up ready for a

Tea Party.

Cuppa anyone?

Do I need analysis?

Probably.

Hmmm, do I feel the urge to make a miniature version???

Perhaps....