Busy...........

It's such a busy time of year, with the garden producing so much extra that needs to be dealt with - I've made blackcurrant jelly and cassis and frozen a heap of peas. Tomorrow will be beetroot chutney and some rhubarb and ginger jam, if I have time. And an inundation of tomatoes is imminent! I'm very inspired, because Bob is building a wine "cellar" and storage room in a small spare room we had. I need to fill those shelves with delicious preserves!

Meanwhile, in the studio, work continues apace, with commissions and getting kit orders assembled and posted. Did I tell you I love my job?

Here is the Columbian doll made for the MAIDA challenge all finished:

She's a big, handsome girl and I enjoyed the challenge of making her.

For a complete contrast, here is a tiny doll I've been working on and another made using my "Pipkin" pattern:

Here she is in her underwear...

...and fully dressed.

She looks cute in her little knitted hat!

Finally, here is one of the commissions I have been working on:

These dolls are so much fun to pose and play around with.

So you can see there hasn't been much of a summer break around here.......but next week I'm off to   the annual string summer school for a week of music making by the beach. I won't say it will be relaxing, but at least it will be different!

B-r-r-r-r-r!

When I woke this morning there was all this white sparkly stuff on the grass - yes: Summer is officially over with the first cracking frost of the year. This spells the end of any more tomato-ripening (whew!) and the start of toasty warm fires in the house and in the studio, shorter days and stick-to-your-ribs comfort food. We had a long, warm and sunny summer this year (doesn't always happen in Tassie) but now we have to bid it a fond farewell and welcome the cooler months. See you in December, Summer!

And here's a little something I've worked on this week - an outsized papier mache head-on-a-stick for a special event - can't say too much - it's supposed to be a secret........shhhhhh!

Back In The Saddle!

After a summer of many visitors (with all the extra cooking and washing that seems to entail), a bout of ill health, including a hospital stay, an interstate class and the annual string music camp, things are finally starting to settle into a more normal routine.......whew!

Here is a special order Zozie doll I finally got completed and sent off:

And here are the unfinished projects I'll be working on over the next little while (in between visits to the GP and cardiologist and the odd test or three!)

Summer Produce

We are really reaping the benefit of all the effort put into improving our vegetable garden - produce coming out of our ears! It is a great feeling to be able to almost by-pass the fresh produce section of the supermarket and to be able to go out into the garden and pick fresh what will be needed for the evening meal.
Beautiful, pungent, glossy-fresh blackcurrants, destined to become blackcurrant jelly:

And aromatic, tangy, zesty tomatoes, so unlike the tasteless object known as a "tomato" that is available in stores. Store tomatoes only LOOK like tomatoes - in no way is the flavour the same as these home-grown beauties! These will be made into tomato relish. I have so many this summer that I should be able to bottle some and make sauce as well.

Joyous Summer and a Little Indulgence

Well, dear friends in Blogland, I hope 2011 has started well for you!
It is high summer here, but it has been cooler than it usually is at this time of year, which suits me just fine - I start to wilt when it gets over about 25 Celsius. Here are some summer delights from my garden of the non-edible kind.
Over the past year I have been encountering lots of Waldorf dolls from many different makers, mainly on the net and in Etsy stores. I got quite interested so I read up a little on them and the whole philosophy behind their creation and use in Steiner education. They are sweet little dolls very sturdily made entirely from natural materials and with minimal facial expression, meant to encourage imaginitive play in a young child and to foster an abiding love for all things natural. You can see many lovely examples of these dolls made by a local (to me) maker at http://www.littlejennywren.blogspot.com/ .
Anyway, long story short, on a whim the other day with a bit of time on my hands to indulge myself a little with something I wanted to do rather than something I had to do, I got some wool fleece and some knit cotton fabric and made this little doll in the Waldorf tradition. It was such fun to make, but I found it very hard to resist the urge to put more detail into the very simple embroidered face!
I took some pictures before I embroidered the eyes and mouth because I really liked the minimal little face.