Pindoll Swaps for January and March

February was a busy month to participate in the Pindoll Alley swap so here are my January, March and April swap pictures. In January the theme was "Cold" . My January swap partner Charie made Jack Frost for me. Isn't it an exquisite piece of art? I absolutely love the clay sculpting and all that glitter. I made her Ms. Snowflake with a snowflake for her outfit.

For my March swap I made Maureen a member of Lollipop Guild from the Munchkin City. The theme was Wizard of Oz.

I received my April pindoll on March 31st- one day early and she has become my muse. Kai made a beautiful "Ms. Sunny Side" for me. The theme was "Eggactly". I made Kai a scrambled lady with a broken egg shell shaped outfit.

Well I think I am all caught up for now. Have been busy pulling out those gazillion weeds in the grass/ lawn outside. Every part of my body hurts but I guess it is worth it. (maybe!)

Catching up in May!

I took a ceramics class at the Cary Parks and Rec. I go to the open studio every Thursday to play. Here are some pieces. My Miss.N helped me with the mermaid's scales.

Catching up....

Here are some pictures of swaps and other projects. The first picture is a Ginger bread house which Ms. N made at school. The Elf with the candy cane was my pindoll for Kat and the Snow fairy was hers for me. I love the doll Kat made for me. She will visit with me every December with the Christmas tree. We exchanged it for December swap and it took me so long to post it to the blog! The two blank dolls are the holiday project with Ms. N. She had a wonderful time dyeing the dolls with tea. Actually she had so much fun with them that they are several shades darker today. Have to get back to making clothes for them. So here it goes...more entries to the unfinished projects list.

New Year a New Project

Actually it is an old one. I think I remember making the body parts sometime in 2006. I made three heads for her and did not like any of them. That is what happened before I gave up and put the project away for another day. Now I am tackling it with a renewed vigor. I hope this enthu (enthusiasm) lasts until I am all done. The mask I made for her might work so I decided to work on her clothes. This doll is my interpretation of Deanna Hogan's Avril. But mine might look completely different with due to the kind of joint I used on her. I do have one doll with the joints which Deanna teaches in her pattern.

The pattern for the doll and the clothes is stashed in my pattern and doll book box in the storage garage. I think this piece of cloth will work. This is just the first stage of applique. The stems went in first and I am working on the flowers now. Will post that picture soon. More later.

Happy New Year 2008

2007 was a good year and it went by very fast. There were lots of changes in my own life with the move to the new town. My intention for the new year is to enjoy each day of the new year and cherish all the fun times it will bring along with friends and family. My intention is to also hear a whole lot of good news from my family and friends who also include my blogging friends.

So best wishes for the new year my blog world friends! Happy 2008!

Challenge Doll

Judy Skeel had a challenge on her website and here is my interpretation of the doll. I reduced the pattern and separated all the parts (the arms, legs and head) before putting it back together again. She is a tiny little thing- only 6" maybe. I love the green hair and secretly wish I had green hair too but could I pull it off like that?

Is it December already?

October Swap Doll: Teenage witch out on a stroll with a pet spider. I got a card for my swap partner and this doll is my interpretation of the witch from the card. My swap partner for October was Patti LaValley. I do have her pindoll from her and I will post that soon.

Days go by so soon and it is almost December. It seems to me that I am right where I was a couple of months ago in California. Fall was so serene and beautiful here. So many colors and such a vibrant display! The locals say it was more colorful this year because of the warm weather. I loved every bit of the season. Now the trees are bare and are waiting for spring. The holiday season is my favorite and I am enjoying it very much this year.

We are all settling in nicely in the new place. People are very friendly here and so helpful. It is getting easier to drive around and I am going places without taking too many U turns. I actually went to Weight Watchers today without any wrong turns- yep! I made it. Tomorrow's project: to go to the post office to mail the pindolls. I know how to get there. I think I do.

I have made 3 pindolls since October and I have the picture of just one of them here in this post. The other two dolls are not mailed yet (because I have to get to the post office first) and so I have to wait for my swap partners to receive them before I can post the pictures. The future plan with my doll making is to finish those UFPs. (unfinished projects). I have three identical dolls waiting for the clothes. I will post them soon.

Picture of My Collection

Here is my pin doll collection. Some of these dolls were made by friends from the Pindoll Alley group and some of them are mine.

Cary, North Carolina

I am working on a borrowed laptop and here is a very short message. We reached Cary a week ago and are waiting for our stuff. I am pretty happy with the 5 bags and 4 backpacks that we flew in with. I am not sure I need all that "baggage"- all 60 or so boxes of it (except the doll stuff ). I am bored of eating out though. I want my own rice, dal (lentils) and veggies. Wish I could post some pictures of this place. It is really green here.

Moving to North Carolina

Hi to everybody! I have been very quiet for more than a month. We are moving back to the east coast after a brief fling with the west coast which lasted 7 years! We had a wonderful time living here in California. We have lived in one of the most beautiful places in California and have made such wonderful friends along the way. We have also had several get togethers with school friends from back home. There is a very long list of people that I will miss dearly when I leave but I take them all in my heart and will always cherish the wonderful memories.

We are moving closer to family and the kids are thrilled that grandparent's home will now be just a few hours away.

I am doing what I am supposed to- packing a box a day. I have packed about 10 boxes in all since last month (and I am sure there will be 40 more to be packed by the end of the month). Does it show how bad I am at counting and planning?

Thank you to Connie, Kelly and Tami for my Nice Matters Award. Thank you all for visiting my blog from time to time. I will get back to blogging soon after I unpack. I do have a few doll pictures to post. I have some dolls which are already packed and I forgot to take pictures of them before I packed them. Sue's Star swimmer is one of them.