Making a Point

     I just sent an email to someone from one of my doll groups who sent me a little something in the mail.  I vaguely remembered that I was going to get it; frankly, I'd forgotten about it.  It was a delightful surprise.
     My enthusiasm was over the top.  (Well, I was just a happy kid, what can I say?)  After my name at the end of my email, I wrote "who usually tries to be disciplined with exclamation points." Let me explain.
     I subbed a few years ago for a man who taught fourth grade.  His lesson plans were nicely detailed....except for one annoying habit.  After each subject detail, he put an exclamation point.  I didn't particularly notice this until the second time I subbed for him (tho even then I remembered it happened the first time).  I laughed it off.
    After many months I subbed for him again.  Yup, there were those annoying exclamation points.  I realized that I felt rather as though I was being yelled at.  Even writing this now makes me crack up.  So I started "watching" how people write. 
     An overuse of E.P.s generally makes me feel that the writer is 1) very passionate, 2) lazy in their writing skills, or 3) the great mystery?  That sounds harsh; it is more accurate to say that is what I've decided about my OWN writing.
    If you go back to previous posts here you will say, "Me thinks thou doth protest too much" as I tend to still use that old bat and ball at the end of too many sentences.  I do find, however, that I feel I am taken more seriously when the bat/ball are missing.
Just sayin'.
   

Chicken Chooks

I am in a yahoo-doll-group challenge, which involves being sent a piece of fabric.  I am to make something of the fabric and post pics.
My niece has returned to the classroom after a two-year hiatus; she is a seasoned vet (how can I be THIS OLD??) and loves the stuff I send her for her classroom. I plan to make a set of three to her.  She'll use them as manipulatives for educational games.  She loves how goofy my ideas are!!
Here is the first one completed:

Here is the link that gives instructions on how to make them.  I added the feet as an afterthought.  I also didn't use felt as felt isn't very durable for second-graders!

http://www.redtedart.com/2012/02/10/pyramid-juggling-bag-chickens/

One of my Faves

Here is the doll that has haunted me since finding brierrose.com dolls on the internet.
She is a French Fashion doll (I think about 11-13"?) and has such an arresting face.  Thank you, Elaine, for sending me the picture of her!  The doll is a "Stobe."

Elaine does marvelous work on dolls and did my Seaside love (pics posted Feb. 22, 2014).



Over the Top

Okay, so here is the start of my Knitted Garden. I ordered a book by Jan Messent with the same title but it hasn't arrived yet.  I hope to write down the pattern for each crop/piece of land I make. I am incorporating crochet with this as it lends itself so brilliantly to the gardens.
BTW, I am terrible at the real thing-----tend to kill every plant entrusted to me.
So imagine how fulfilling it is to  make a perfect head of lettuce with a bit of embroidery floss?
I hope to make my Gardens the size of a small baby quilt. DD and I have made small dolls for years that will fit so nicely on this knitted "play mat."
I blame all of this on Tree, a doll-group friend---her knitted garden fits a king bed and her imagination knows no bounds! :)

This is about 6" wide.  The "soil" is knitted with size 7 needles and worsted wt.

The lettuce/or cabbages are done with DMC floss and size B crochet hook.

I know the carrots don't grow that way; I have laid them out as though they had just been picked as bunches and are still laying on the soil.

 

The tails of each are used to sew on to the soil; double-knotted shoelace bows are on the back, in case someone would want to rearrange the crop. (Yes, over the top!)

 

Here is how the carrots are done, along with the carrot "tops."

I hope to add patterns as I go, so you can make them if you want!

 

 

Edited Sept. 12, 2015:

Oooops------seems I can kill even yarn-fiber veggies-----I did the piece above and then realized I am a bit too Type A personality to make any sort of blanket or mat that has different size rectangles in it.  I can DO it, that isn't the problem----but it causes me to hyperventilate (figurativel) and life is too short for that, eh?

 

So now I am hanging up my knitted garden tools and am going back to dressing dolls....which is what I've always done best. :)