Josie

Josie, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

Josie wishes everyone a happy Monday morning!

Tammy by Ideal

Tammy, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

My mother had a Tammy doll when she was a kid. I looked them up online a few years ago and thought they were really cute! I have had this one for about 10 years or so. I made her a new dress. She needs shoes very badly, though! She doesn't even have one pair! I also have her little sister, Pepper. Pepper's outfit came with her but is not an Ideal outfit.

Anza and Josie are Home

Anza and Josie in their new pen, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

These are my new little girls! They are home and are getting along well. Anza is about 10 weeks old (born June 2) and is the solid cream colored girl and Josie is the buckskin baby and is about 4 months old. They are both absolutely adorable!

Alisha, Hand-Painted by Helen Kish

This is my little Alisha, 8" and all-vinyl, hand-painted by Helen Kish!  She arrived the other day and is so pretty!  I made her a little romper but had to draft the pattern for it myself because I had no patterns exactly right.  It still needs a bit of tweaking to be absolutely perfect but it will do for Alisha's new outfit.

 

A close up of her face to show the painting.  The camera fails to capture that her eyes have a bit of iridescence to them!

The Goat Shed Has Arrived!

Goat House, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

The fence goes in on Monday. I'm so excited for my new little pets to arrive!

Duck Pedicure

Duck Pedicure, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

Little's (Daisy's) children think that toes are really interesting, and perhaps if they moodle them enough, they might produce some green peas like fingers sometimes do. I started out this drippy Sunday with clean feet! Not so much any more!

 

Little Duck (Daisy) thinks having all these children is exhausting!

 

These little guys are now almost five weeks old and are cute as buttons.  I haven't decided yet whether to give them all away or keep some or all of them!  I might keep some to keep my goats company in the pen on the other side of the yard.  I will decide soon enough.  The two mallard cross ducklings are male and I think all three of the calls are girls.  This call baby has great coloring.  We've been calling her Checkers because her little wing feathers came in first.

Margie and Gitta

Margie and Gitta, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

These girls don't get photographed much, but they're so beautiful! They are Margie and Gitta Himstedt. It's a shame that Annette Himstedt is no longer producing dolls, because they are fantastically well-painted, beautifully detailed and just lovely! I need more clothing for them, though!

Charlotta in Liberty of London

Charlotta in Liberty - Full View, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

I have been saving this fabric up for a long time! Charlotta needed something handmade, just for her, so I used a small piece of the Liberty lawn to make a dress for her. The waistband is accented by vintage lace and the collar line is embroidered. I plan on making a little crocheted shrug to go with it.

Bye bye, guys!

 

The little set of 4 ducklings (Hattie's babies) have gone to a new home as of yesterday!  Hattie and Roger don't seem to mind a bit.  I was sad to see them go, but they are in good hands and I'm confident they'll have a great life. 

In other news, only about five more weeks till my goats come!  Their shed's site is leveled and ready.  The shed itself should arrive in a few weeks.  I'm eagerly awaiting my new little friends.

Vegetarianism

I've been a happy vegetarian for 17 + years and a near vegan (I eat the eggs of my own, spoiled and happy chickens) for about a year.  I am a vegetarian for many reasons, not the least of which is I see personality and individuality in each of the animals I interact with and killing and eating them goes against my nature and against the oath that I took when I became a veterinarian.  Much as people don't want to know it, a chicken truly has a personality, as does a cow and pig and the family dog.  I won't eat the family dog and I won't eat any of the others, as well.  I'd like to share a great book and my Goodreads review of it:

Ninety-five: Meeting America's Farmed Animals in Stories and Photographs by No Voice Unheard

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Although somewhat melodramatic in places, this is a beautifully photographed book that talks about the personality and individuality of the featured animals. I found it to be consistent with what I know about the traditionally farmed animals that I keep as pets as well as those I interacted with when I was in veterinary school. It raises significant moral questions about the fate of animals kept in factory farms. Do Americans really know what they are eating and how much suffering goes into producing cheap meat, eggs and milk? If you don't know, you should make an active effort to find out. Willful ignorance and continued participation in a corrupt and unethical system makes you just as guilty as those who raise these animals in deplorable conditions just to provide you with a cheap chicken dinner.

I'm also currently reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, which is a logical, calm and open look at animal production.  It's a great read so far.  Ok, back off my soapbox and back to thinking about happier things!

Zoe Effner

Zoe is modeling the newest dress I made.  This dress is actually perfectly sized for Narsha and I designed it for Narsha, but it also fits Zoe.  It's listed in my etsy shop.

April Cottage Fireplace

Fireplace for 1:12 scale cottage, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

At last I am making some progress on April Cottage. I have nearly finished the fireplace. This is made from a block of styrofoam that I cut to the proper size. I then covered it with a thin layer of LaDoll airdry clay and shaped the stones into it. Once it's fully dry, I will tint it to match Cotswold limestone and then I will put a back on and a base on. It'll go in the parlor of my cottage.

Anza the goat baby

Anza the goat baby, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

I went to visit Anza yesterday! She is growing well and will come home in about 6 weeks.

Daisy and her Ducklings

Daisy and her Ducklings, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

Daisy is a good mama. She loves her little duckies. They're just impossibly adorable.

In other news, I will be a goat mama later in the summer.  This is Anza!  Her photo was taken by her breeder, Marla. 

Daisy Duck Has Babies!

Mallard Call Cross Ducklings, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

Daisy has five children! I don't think any more will hatch and I think at least three of these are actually hatched from Hattie's eggs, but that's OK. Daisy doesn't know the difference and she loves them all. She lets me pick them up but no one else. She makes ugly mama duck faces at everyone else who tries to see them. Ducky babies are SO CUTE!

Someone is coming today to see my older set of ducklings.  I will be sad to see them go but they have grown up well and will be happy duckies!

Peony in June

Peony in June, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

These peonies are part of what I love about June! They smell so nice.

Wistful Astrid

Wistful Astrid, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

Part of the fun of ball-jointed dolls is seeing how they look with different hair and eyes or eye positions. This is Dollmore Narsha in a different wig than her usual red one. It makes her look completely different. I have also found it's very difficult to properly photograph her red wig in natural light! The sun makes it appear too brassy.  For comparison, click here.

I made a new dress for Astrid. She needed something of her own. It's basically impossible to find any dress patterns that fit her, so I drafted my own. In width, her torso is similar to Bitty Bethany's but it's longer and she's a lot taller. I will see whether this dress also fits Bitty Bethany sized dolls--I suspect it will but it will be long on them.

I love the summer months. It's much easier to photograph dolls!

Ahh...summer at last!

Willa relaxing, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

Willa is relaxing in the morning sunshine after picking a little wildflower for her hair. I made the dress from a pattern I drafted myself to fit her. The hem is embroidered with chicken-scratch embroidery, which looks so pretty but is very time consuming to do. I made it through nine episodes of Lost while working on this embroidery!

Here is a close up, just because she is so beautifully painted.  Lana is painting me another Little Darling, I'm happy to say!  She does such beautiful work!

And another photo just because.

Just Ducky!

 

Miss Daisy has informed us that she, too, would like to raise a small family.  She is sitting on seven eggs, some of hers and some of Hattie's.  I have possible homes in the works for babies so I'm letting her sit on them.  They will be half Mallard and half Call. 

Roger and Hattie's children are getting very big.  I was gone for the weekend and they sprouted right up!  They are getting feathers.  In about two weeks they should be ready for new homes; just about when Daisy's children should hatch.  Anyone need a bitty baby ducky?

Carrot Embroidery

My Curo is modeling a drop-waisted light green cotton sleeveless dress with a wool felt embroidered jacket. I made two of this dress and put one on etsy, but the one on etsy has a blank front. Whoever purchases it can specify what they would like embroidered on the jacket front.