Signs of Spring

First blooms of the year!
Lone crocus:
Forsythia buds:

A few of the fish at the warm, shallow end of the pond:
Spring. Hope.

Projects

Recently I joined a second "cloth doll club," and both clubs are currently in the early stages of round robins. I went to one meeting and learned about metal shank button joints, and have decided that the learning/experimental doll should also be the round robin doll for the other club. She truly is an experimental doll, because I rarely work with doe skin (haven't in years, and prefer not to), and she has my first wonky attempt at the jointing technique I mentioned. The journal that travels with her is made of experimental techniques, as well.

She isn't really as ET-esque as she appears - I took the photo at an odd angle.

In the online group, Cloth Paper Studio, we are doing a swap of journal covers made from items we would normally trash - thus "Trash to Treasure" book covers. These are my offerings:

I have three other dolls in progress on my work table, and I need to make some little 3 inch dolls for a swap I'm hosting. Crazy woman. Gotta get this all out of my system before it's time to garden!

"What Fresh Hell is This?"

...says Cosmo. He is so NOT impressed, especially considering all this stuff was gone yesterday.



The look of resignation:

Surrounded

Blogger just will not let me drag photos around to move them anymore. If I copy, delete, and re-paste in a different order, the photos are no longer clickable. I give up. I guess I have to continue to put a great deal of thought into what order I upload, or you get them in random order. Today, it's random.

I've had lots of dolls on the brain lately, and have been inspired to sew, sew, sew other things as well. Currently, I have five new dolls in the works (including two round robins) and I've been making myself some clothing, as well.

Last night, I told my Oldtimer that I just wanted to go upstairs and sit amongst the fabrics and think for a while. Cosmo decided to help. That is one stubborn cat. He knows that I'll try to chase him off the work table, so he jumps up, and dives under the things I have clipped up to view, or else tries to get behind the window blind. I thought I could ignore him last night, but he was having none of it. And then Molly gets wounded looking because she can't get on the table too. She either torments the cat, or climbs onto my bed pillows and pouts. Here are last night's photos - both of the things I like to look at while I'm thinking and making, and my difficult pets.