Doll House

A few years ago, DH and I bought a beautiful doll house at an auction.  Since this is a small town, we knew the girl that it belonged to and her dad who built it from a kit and her mom who probably made the cross stitch quilt and some of the rugs for it.  And we knew her sister who told us the story about the house.

The girl who owned it is now a missionary in Africa and since her parents where moving away to a bigger town but a smaller apartment, they couldn't keep the doll house for her any longer.  And so it was put up for auction with all the other things they couldn't keep any longer.

It was obvious right from the beginning that she loved this doll house.  The furnishings were well thought out.  And the walls had been papered.  But when we got everything home, we found folders full of letters that she had received from companies where she had inquired about purchasing things for her doll house.  She was very much involved with her doll house and had kept everything that had anything to do with it. 

I felt a little guilty having it instead of her.  But so goes life and the decisions that are made.

For Christmas, DH asked what I wanted, and I replied that I wanted a cart on wheels to put the doll house on because it was sitting on the floor and couldn't be moved.  And so couldn't be used.  Or cleaned under/around.  And being the sweetheart that he is, he made me a cart on wheels that fit the doll house perfectly.

And then the fun began.  There weren't many things needed but what fun doing the ones that I thought needed to be added.

First off I did a little knitting and counted cross stitch.

 

An afghan made from fingering weight yarn and knit on size 1 needles.

 

 

 

A quilt for one of the kids' beds.

 



 

And another quilt for the other kid's bed.

 

 



 

A crocheted rug for the master bedroom made from leftover Peace Fleece yarn.

 

 

 

A scarf knit on toothpicks and with lace weight yarn.

 

 

A counted cross stitch wall hanging from a free pattern at Herrschners.

 

And this little armoire was just calling for some clothes hangers and so I made a few from paper clips.

 

 

And now for what the doll house looks like with everything in it....

 

 

It has a wrap around porch and in this picture you can see the cart that DH made.

 

And here you can get an idea of how big it is.  It is as tall as the built in cabinets in the den.

 

This is the full back.

 

A closer shot of the attic.

 

This is the second floor.

 

The kids' bedroom.

 

The bath.

It needs a picture in here.  I just haven't decided what yet.

 

The master bedroom.

 

Main floor.

 

Kitchen

 

Living room

 

And a closer shot so you can see the knitting in the rocking chair and the afghan on the couch.

 

 

It has been so much fun putting all this together and adding my personal touches.  But it was also impressive that a young girl had been so in love with her doll house that she had planned and thought out just how she wanted to decorate it. 

 

I'm honored to be the new owner.

Merry Christmas

For everyone far and near, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas!

May you be filled with the wonder of Mary, the obedience of Joseph , the joy of the angels, the eagerness of the shepherds, the determination of the magi, and the peace of the Christ child.

And if there is sorrow in your life and you can't endure all the holiday razzle dazzle, I give you a snuggle from Teddy.

And I wish you Happy Tuesday and Happy Wednesday instead.

Sewing, sewing, sewing

The sewing machine has been humming...

A party dress has been made for 1st DGD's American Girl doll, McKenna.

And what party dress is complete without pretty party shoes too!

And everyone needs to relax in their jeans once in awhile.

And even jeans outfits need a change of pace...so here's a t shirt.

And a pair of sneaks to go with.

It's cold here now, but summer will come again and then you need a sun dress.

2nd DGD has a Bitty Baby American Girl doll and she has lots of clothes already but no party dress and so Gramma had to fix that!

And Bitty Baby also needed some warm clothes for this winter.

Amoungst all this sewing has been a little knitting.  This pair of mittens might get done for 2nd DDIL.

But there isn't a prayer that these for 2nd DS will be done by Christmas Eve.  He's had to wait for gifts before and this probably won't be the last time either...poor guy!

Waiting, waiting waiting....

There is a yarn order out there in never never land lost between my house and Reno, NV. It was supposed to make it's appearance here on the 5th. And being the impatient person that I've become...I think the instantness* of the internet made me that way...I couldn't just sit around waiting for it to arrive. And so a cowl is born.

2nd DS and DDIL gave me the yarn for Christmas and I love it. The color is perfect.

And the pattern I found...thanks to Ravelry's advanced pattern search...fit the yarn type and amount perfectly.

It is very warm and I'm thinking it could come in handy if I ever get a chance to walk outside this winter. So far the treadmill has been looking better than the streets. We had a thaw that made slush and has since frozen again and so now they are a rough and uneven mess. Anyway!

It's wonderful. It's warm and it'll keep my nose warm when I venture outside. And most importantly it's kept me occupied while I am waiting!

* Instantness is SO a word...I looked it up on the internet!

Have yourself a...

The house got clean enough. The packages got wrapped. The caramels were cooked and the Krum Kake baked.

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve. Everyone was here. Much food was eaten. Many packages opened.

The best part though were the hugs and kisses from the grandkids. Sweetness.

Yes, I'm still out here...

I assembled and mailed out our 148 Christmas cards for the seed plant this morning.

And when I came home at noon, this is who greeted me in the window. What a pretty kitty!

I'm swamped with things to do but somehow I'm not feeling the pressure. Maybe that comes when I finally get around to wrapping packages. That usually sends me over the edge. But for now I'm mellow and will just chip away at the list of things to do. And if all of it doesn't get done, well so be it.

Maybe this is how Christmas is really supposed to be!