Honest Abe

Abe is doing a little dance in honor of Independence Day....

And waving a few little flags, of course....

More Mystery Pictures....

I almost didn't finish this one...he looks so much like Tigger I was tempted to set him aside in a box and make him Winnie-the-Pooh's friend (just for me, of course!)

The first finished piece will be posted soon....

Picnics, Parades, and Independence Day Parties

I finished the second Uncle Sam today (this one with a postman motif). My favorite postcard in his bag is the one with the eagle painted on it. And I love his little painted button boots.


"Rosemary's girls" are all assembled for a photo (one of these little ladies has already sold; the other two are not quite finished). The faded Americana dress is handpainted; the one in the red and blue pinafore dress is a little seamstress, I think, who doesn't have her sampler yet. (An Angel of Mercy is in the works, too).



I've been busy cutting a new series of dolls (now that Wonderland is done)... here's a peek at one of the new "bodies" -- more pics (and details) to come when the mystery is revealed...

The Lady Liberties are wishing everyone a happy 4th (with lots of picnics and parades of course)

Garden

A few weeks ago I was engaged in a "fake garden" (the Secret one) while I polished Miss Mary's details (and her little wooden key to the garden gate, hung close by for safekeeping).




This week, however, was the real deal. Not the fun garden, where only flowers grow, weeds die a grisly death (without human effort) and birds sing in the rose-draped trees....




The Garden, as it has been known for the last decade, is in desperate need of rescue. It hasn't been a true garden in over a decade: most of the vinyard lines have gone wild, the herb and garlic beds grown over with weeds, and a sea of honeysuckle engulfs every sapling that springs from the seeds of trees long dead and forgotten. It is the secret garden, in a way -- forgotten, buried, grown wild and tangled -- but the harsh reality of the forgotten garden, not the pleasantly sleeping one.



Half the fence that separates the Garden from the true lawn collapsed last year (that was Angus' fault for climbing over it; see him lazing about on the lawn while we slave away?) The rotten old posts were pulled up, leaving a wide open doorway into another world, largely inhabited by small furry creatures like mice and shrews, wild little wrens, and snakes threading throught the grass (the latter I avoid at all costs). The sapling will be thinned out, pruned, and encircled with mulch; the old beds weeded and ploughed over to create new space for pumpkins, herb beds, tomato rows and broom corn.



Below is a picture of the "great divide" ; Mouse sits on the lawn, the open Garden visible behind her.



The arbor is the toughest to eliminate. After fierce debate, it was decided that at least some grapes and muscodines should be salvaged. The little "overhead" arbor stays on the west side, but the east side is overrun with honeysuckle and is (alas) lost to us.



Mouse doesn't understand what all the fuss is about. "Why are you tearing up these lovely hunting grounds?" she demands to know. All those little mice will vanish as the weeds are pulled up and raked away, leaving no place for nests or grassy hiding places.

Little Miss Firecracker

This little lady amuses me...I'm not sure what to think of her expression. Her robes are very "Lady Liberty", but there's a bit of a wild look about her ( and she's wielding her firecracker like a giant dynamite stick).

I'm thinking of calling her Clementine.... it seems very Americana with just a touch of the 'Old West' for good measure....

Cat's Cradle

The newest little cradle was finished early last week (this one was for a special auction, so it won't be in the shop). I love the dark finish, but it needs just a little more "primming"...maybe some bumps and bruises as if generations of dolls had rocked themselves to sleep in it...so we'll be modifying the pattern somewhat, and experiment with head board designs.

Margaret, of course, tried it out to make sure it was perfect for prim dolls. She looked quite comfy, all tucked in with her sheets.

But before I could ask her how it was, she turned over and went to sleep.

Selkie

This rough -and-weird-looking project is amazingly fun, even though at times I'm not sure it will work.

I photographed the selkie's first stage --halfway inside-out -- with all parts finally sewn together and the tattered robe of the "woman half" pinned in place.

A bit of seaweed and faded strands of three-toned hair.

Female selkies are said to make excellent wives, but because their true home is the sea, they will often be seen gazing longingly to the ocean. If her skin is found she will immediately return to her home — sometimes, her selkie husband — in the sea. ("Selkies" Wikipedia.org).

Rowdy the Artist (or Adventures of a Cordwood Cabin Cat)

Rowdy spends most of his day window-gazing.....

... until I break out the paint brushes, that is.

(Rowdy watching art in progress....on the forbidden paper zone)

Where his obsession with painting emerged, we're not sure, especially since he's not allowed to actually touch any paints (wet paint is a big no-no for pets, for health puposes and the sake of our furniture). but as the newsletter signup to the right indicates, Rowdy can't resist art utensils.


If I rinse out a brush in the middle of a project, I'll always return to find Rowdy sprawled out on my newspaper, sniffing the latest creation. He's always careful never to spill anything, or do anything more than sniff, but he clearly considers the workspace (and latest work of art) his own.



I'm considering buying him a non-toxic paints set and letting him paint postcards.... in a tarped-off area, of course.

Family Photo

Birds of a feather....

.... Flock together.