K3ftwyvbnex9 My other Obsession ( well, one of them)

When my youngest left for college, I made a quilt. In about two weeks. After years of UFO's that inhabited my home, I was finally able to have time to indulge myself in all of those projects I would do " someday".

One of the someday undertakings was doll making. I fell in love with the work of Izannah Walker. I'm taking a hiatus from doll making right now, but I'm sure my dolls will show up on this blog- hence the name change.

My blog , which chronicles my trip in pursuit of information about Izannah Walker and her dolls , is FiddlerRock .

Aunt Augusta on her way!

I couldn't resist the small Parian doll on Ruby Lane . She will be Aunt Augusta Gammage, who is Josiah's older sister. I'm not yet sure where she sleeps! But there is a small secret room in the basement that might make a cozy nest for Althea.Talking Julia out of her blue bedroom is unlikely, and even though it seems rude , we may find that Aunt Augusta stays in the attic. or possibly the front room becomes a bedroom, and the bathroom is imaginary? I don't think I can do it! ( see the suspend disbelief post.) No more additions!

Aunt Augusta is on the, so I probably should get Althea's feet back on.

Secret Progress

I've been working away at a few of my favorite ideas for Gammage House. But I haven't wanted to show them because they are still too rough.

I just remembered that Persis and Julia have made an appearance, but not Althea. Althea is the middle sister. Free spirited Persis and Julia, the epitome of proper, both rely on mousy Althea. She's having leg surgery right now, as the sawdust made its way out of the splits in her legs! I'm trying to figure out too how to make more period appropriate clothing without removing her original clothes.

I've got my eye on another doll , who may become Aunt Augusta. If she comes to live at Gammage House, we may have to do some room adjustment.

It looks as though Althea is participating in the construction of the Doolin Inn. Sort of half scale meets sort of quarter scale!

Old houses

My home for 23 years was more than 150 years old. After we got the holes in the floors and walls ( exterior) fixed, we consulted a historic architect . When asked how in the world one prioritized all the fixes that were needed, he answered," Just pick one thing at a time - not a whole room, but one door frame , or one mantle." Good advice because things eventually got done- for the most part only to the livable stage.

But I can't wait to get to furnishing the house!

Blogshelf app

I love reading other people's blogs about miniatures. I can't quite figure out how some of them can be so prolific - right now it is taking mea long time to finish anything! I thought I'd share an App I use to read blogs- it puts them all together and usually updates the picture if there is a new post.
this is only one of many pages of blogs !

Online legacies

I was just searching for ideas and got distracted by ideas for a Dutch Baby house. I have a Bespaq cabinet put away with only wallpaper in, but have always looked for websites with traditional furniture for it. I again came across the website of a wonderful miniature maker, Frances Armstrong . She is gone, but her website is still there and still has wonderful work that makes you wish she were still around. Frances Armstrong

I 'm also a history collector, so got tickled thinking that along with heirloom items, we'll be leaving behind Facebook pages, blogs and websites! My aunts, who are all crafters and artists, have Facebook though in their 70's - it didn't take them long to see the power of networking. So what do you think- should we all go to Ancestry.com and link our blogs and Facebook pages to our profiles?

Breaking up Christmas

There is an American Old time music tune called "Breaking Up Christmas". Quick lesson for those of you not into traditional music ; songs have words , and tunes don't ( unless you are Liz Carroll ) , and tune writers tend to either be traditional, using place names or the name of the person who wrote the tune, or to be silly. I always put this tune name in the category of silly takeoffs on Irish tune names. One of my favorite Irish Tune names is ,"I buried My Wife and Danced On Her Grave." But today I am thinking that it should be an air ( generally sad, slow tune ) and rather than describing a drunken melee around the Christmas tree, is describing what I am doing- packing away ornaments which are fragile and which all have sentimental value - so breaking up Christmas. Sad, but time to get on with the new year!

irony

Since I wrote the post on suspension of disbelief, and started adding a staircase to the basement of the Gammage House, I've being thinking about a few glaringly obvious inconsistencies. What is a 55 year old woman who has always hated talking animal stories doing collecting and making dolls and miniatures?

2nd - the original thought behind Gammage house was for it to be more like an antique dollhouse than a "to scale" modern miniature. Detailed but only close to the half inch scale- using mostly handmade furnishings and accessories or altering new ones . which is why I am struggling so much on whether or not to electrify in a typical way. Wouldn't it make more sense for me, who has always hated animal stories, to build meticulously realistic scenes , or least aspire to?

I did some work yesterday on the targeted end of the house, but also picked up work on painting Julia's bedroom walls. Painting the walls is a task which has been holding me up, but I've found a solution . All the walls are now removable, so I can finish painting later, but get the interior of the house ready.

This is a picture of the addition to motivate me!

Saturday morning

After years and years of chores on Saturday morning, this lovely time has become mine to work only on projects. I watch my favorite shows ( I love Sell This House- another secret)

Everyone has been well trained to leave this time unencumbered and not ask for anything- part of me wonders if I should have taught kids this a long time ago, and part can't get away from feeling guilty . but the biggest part is having a great time!

I'm still proud to say that I am working toward the targeted end of Gammage house, and toward getting things ready to glue the 2nd floor on Max's Doolin Inn. yes, it has changed back to a B@B, but with some summer dwellers who stay from May to August. I'm working on the bay window seat this morning . Pics later.

Fine motor skills

I don't think I have really worked on fine motor skills since I was 5. I never did quite master cursive, but I type everything anyway. I play piano and fiddle with dexterity so WHY CAN'T I cut a straight line?

When I first started playing fiddle, it sounded so bad that I played with a practice mute and a clothespin on my bridge so that the noise wasn't so bad.

So I'll stick to this too, and skills will get better. Check the picture out and you'll understand my frustration!