to farewell Louis before he heads off for a couple of weeks overseas
and we visited Mona too
The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things.
Plato (427 - 347 AD)
I don't think Plato was just talking about toys and I think 'amongst lovely things' also means the house , the garden, the parks, the natural forest and bushland.
Think of every place your child spends time.
Are those places lovely ?
The parts that you have control over, your home and garden, are they filled with lovely things,
things that please the eye,
that are nice to touch,
that smell lovely,
are the sounds, human and otherwise, pleasant to listen to?
Is there order and space so that the lovely things can be appreciated ?
You know I am not talking about expensive works of art but the beauty of everyday things and life.
I think we all should play amongst lovely things, don't you?
I have been busy with dolls, and back to school shopping with Kate and Australia Day BBQing and life in general.
I have been organising a visit to Hobart to farewell Louis before he goes to Bali.
I have been trying to help Andy organise himself for this 'gap' year.
I seem to have been deluged with requests for custom dolls all of a sudden.
I have posted off some dolls that have been a long time in the making - photos later as we are on slow internet and it just takes too long plus the computer is having trouble recognising my camera.
So that's me for this week, how about you?
Raffle Winner
The winner of the raffle for little Hollie was comment number 116, Rose Marshall and family.
Rose is no relation to me I must add.
Rose and her husband and mother have chosen to donate the doll to a little girl effected by the floods in Queensland so I will keep Hollie until they have found this lucky little girl.
So very generous.
I counted and counted again and then one more time and Rose came up winner with her very first of 40 donations.
Congratulations Rose and thank you everyone who took part.
I will try to make a Hollie look alike to go in the shop so if she stole your heart there will be a twin sister in the shop in the next week or so.
The final total raised was $1125.
Thank you again, you were wonderful.
Just under an hour to go in the raffle if you still want to buy a ticket
We are up to $1105 so that is just terrific.
My Naughty Little Sister
I assume many of you are familiar with the illustrations of Shirley Hughes
We have lots of her books here, loved by me as much if not more than by the children.
I love them all.
But until late last year I had never heard of 'My Naughty Little Sister' written by Dorothy Edwards
and beautifully illustrated by Shirley Hughes.
A lady contacted me about making a doll for her daughter and she wanted the doll to be just like the naughty little sister.
In the end we didn't go ahead with the doll but I did order a copy of the My Naughty Little Sister Treasury and it arrived just before Christmas.
If ever there was a little character created to give inspiration to a dollmaker
it is this little poppet and her little friend as well.
Just beautiful don't you think.
So I am up to making her hair and then I have to decide on the perfect outfit,
or maybe she should have a few different outfits.
And then when she is done she can pop into the shop.
And then when she is done she can pop into the shop.
This is going to be fun!
All pictures are from the My Naughty Little Sister Treasury,
written by Dorothy Edwards and illustrated by Shirley Hughes.
written by Dorothy Edwards and illustrated by Shirley Hughes.
Flood Relief Raffle Update
At 8 am this morning.....
$960!!!!!!
Woo Hoo!
There are still 28 hours to go until the raffle closes and the lucky winner is chosen.
Still plenty of time to get to $1000
Joanna - pink? Joanna - red?
OK, here is Joanna with her clothes on .
A classic navy dress with a little bit of lace pattern across the bodice.
It's made from a 4ply fine wool yarn with just a touch of cashmere.
The cardigan/jacket is a lovely soft wool silk mix, it has little slubby bits of white silk along the yarn.
Now, I was thinking pink ribbon and shoes but now I am thinking perhaps red would be better.
Kate is no help, she said 'either' - thanks Katie.
What do you think???
Oh, and the raffle is still going on, it finishes on Wednesday 26th January.
So far we have raised $910, we just need 18 more tickets to be sold and the raffle will have raised $1000!
I want to thank everyone who has so generously donated.
Your kindness and willingness to help has been wonderful.
Joanna
This is Joanna.
I think she looks quite grown up don't you, like a 10 year old.
Still cute and lots of fun but responsible too.
She likes to read, likes kittens and puppies and I think she is learning to knit.
She likes walking along the seashore collecting shells and listening to the waves if she is lucky enough to find a big shell.
She likes to help the younger children make sand castles.
She wonders why teenagers so often look bored when there is so much to do.
Joanna will be in the shop sometime this week when her clothes are finished.
She is 12" tall and hand made by me.
The Nile
Today we visited The Nile
at Deddington
through a farmer's field
in search of the platypus discovered years ago when a little Andy and a little Kate went on an adventure with their dad
Mrs Platypus was hiding today.
Life and Dolls
So nice to spend some time this afternoon looking through old picture books, my inspiration books.
It's wonderful to have a reason to keep these books, to look at them over and over, to notice the colours and shapes, the clothes and the hairstyles, the feelings that flow from each picture.
Do you recognise any of the books or illustrators I wonder???
The house is quiet, Stephen is back at work, Louis and his girlfriend have gone back to Hobart again, Kate is at a friend's house and Andy is fixing up Uni things on line.
Did I ever tell you, brag to you in fact, that Andy , who worked so very hard at school these past two years was placed in the top 100 year 12 students in the state?
Go Andy!!!!!
A Quick Raffle Update
An Update on the raffle for Hollie which is now supporting both the Queensland and Victorian Flood Relief efforts http://littlejennywrendolls.blogspot.com
The total now stands at $490 officially plus another $200 donation that is waiting for a receipt.
Thank you so much everyone!!!
The raffle continues until 24th January.
If you have a spare $5 or $100 please donate.
It is a little bit of a bother to donate at the official sites but it is the easiest way for those holding raffles.
The money goes straight to where it needs to be and there is no running around following up donations or transferring of money for the raffle holders.
100% of the donation goes to the relief fund.
There is a masterlist of raffles and auctions here http://tonicoward.blogspot
Thanks again!
Late afternoon on a perfect summer's day
Visited Dad today and he is looking so handsome.
He is weak and having difficulty eating, it's very slow and tiring but the carers seem to be patient.
But I have to say he looks really handsome
and in good spirits.
Yesterday was Mum and Dad's 58th wedding anniversary, not bad huh.
Click on this button to find lots of auctions and raffles in support of the Queensland Flood Relief Fund..
And, of course, if you haven't had a chance to buy a ticket in the raffle for little Hollie you still have plenty of time, it ends next Monday.
So far the raffle has raised more than $300 and I know there is a $200 donation being organised.
Such a great effort so far but as I said plenty of time to go and an infinite number of tickets available.
Little Hollie, Sweet Julia and Caitlin's New Baby, Alice
So little Hollie has been feeling a bit anxious about leaving home and going to a new family.
Caitlin's new dollie, Alice, gave her a cuddle and admitted that she is a little uncertain too because she is waiting for the flood waters to clear so that she can fly to Queensland to join Caitlin's family of dolls.
Scary stuff but a big adventure.
Sweet Julia was almost brave enough to let Hollie cuddle her doll.
She said not to worry because she flew all the way the the USA and back again and really it wasn't so bad,
it was fun actually.
I'm not sure that Hollie has been reassured but if you want the chance to give her a new home no matter where you live you can buy a ticket in the raffle
and maybe , just maybe,
you will be the lucky one.
But definitely, most definitely the money you contribute will help to clean up the mess made by all that flood water.
And that really is a good thing.
Nella Last
So enjoying Nella Last's Peace, even more then the first book.
Love all the domestic detail and all her wise words and views on life and community and world peace.
Finished the Bill Bryson Thunderbolt Kid earlier in the week, really enjoyed it , lots of fun and not quite so prone to waffling as some of his other books.
And still visiting with Virginia Woolf and her selected diaries.
You know I went to school with someone named Virginia Woolf, obviously not the same one.
Now don't forget to buy a ticket in the raffle, yes I am nagging but that is what you have to do to sell raffle tickets.
Last time I had a give away over 120 people entered, imagine how much money we could raise if 120 people bought tickets this time: $600. WOW! that would be terrific.
Last time I had a give away over 120 people entered, imagine how much money we could raise if 120 people bought tickets this time: $600. WOW! that would be terrific.
Don't worry if you don't have a blog you can leave a comment as anonymous but put your name in your comment or tick the box for URL/name and you can comment by just putting in your name.
Easy peasy.
If my brother can be bothered to then so can you.
$5 a ticket, buy as many tickets as you want, the details are here
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