And then there was that one time that I stitched again!

It has been for*ever* since I've updated, but to be fair, I haven't done a lot of crafting.

I finally did finish Wendy's "Lady" for her RR.   Her theme was... well, Ladies, and I thought I would get creative with mine.  I posted the start, and I had gotten a bit done on the skin when I realized that the skin was way too dark to represent my pale, pasty self, so it took me a bit to get it fixed.

But I really do like the way she turned out.


But what have I really been up to?  I finally finished the LadyCave!   I have a nice little desk area (my laptop fits great on it, though I've been thinking I should go back to a desktop - it would have more power for what I wanted to do, although it would be paired best with a tablet so I can keep on interneting downstairs).   I finally got my wireless printer up an running, I've organized all of my books and stuff, and I even have a litte drop table with barstools that I'm using to keep my TV on.  I just got an AmazonFireStick as well, which is awesome, because while I'm doing genealogy (or whatevs), I can watch TV and when guests stay over, they can also hang with the Netflix of AmazonPrimeTV if they want.

Here it is with the bed down - plenty of space to walk around the bed!:

And with the bed up (the image quality is annoying, either way too much light is coming into that window *or* the overhead light bugs out my camera phone).
That's Mona's pillow on the ground in front of the bed (my first quilt hanging on it), and my yoga mat down (of course) with blocks on it.   I've finished all of the touch ups and now I just need to get a better/brighter light kit for the fan/light combo.

Oh, and re-do the chair.  I'm going to get rid of the caster wheels and reupholster with this print from Spoonflower.

I will probably update the blog next with the games I played at the last gaming con I went to (the weekend after Labor Day, around the last time I updated the blog)

I've also gone on a trip to Phoenix to our National Meeting, where I became a committee member for one of the National committees (woot woot!)

My other big "thing" is that I've started the Genealogy Do Over, led by Thomas MacEntee, and I'm excited that the Do Over (currently in it's 4th cycle) will have a year long "Do Over" cycle next year.  I feel like a lot of the topics don't get the time I want to give them, so YAY! for that.   I will probably start a genealogy blog next year to document some of the things I'm doing, and in the meantime I'm excited that the research and documentation I have is going to be so much better than it was before.

In that picture, the "mess" in the corner (the several boxes and bins) is ALL papers, photos, etc from my family genealogy that I got when my grandmother died.  It all needs to be scanned and analyzed, but because it's been a while since I did my genealogy, I wanted to see if there was a way to make sure what I had was good, which is what brought me to the Genealogy Do Over, which is amazing.  I love the hard core documentation and story telling I've gotten into on that front.

But mostly I'm happy to get back to some stitching.   I have so much stuff on my plate, I always feel overwhelmed and like I'm neglecting my favorite hobbies.  I do get a little dismayed over any renos I do in the house because I know we won't be there for a long time, but the committee I joined is place dependent (I'm representing our District) and for 3 years, so I can reasonably expect to enjoy all of my work for at least that long ;)

My revised (and much more realistic) goal for the year is to get caught up with the Zodiac Mystery.

And (because I have so much free time), I"m threatening to join in Quiltville's Mystery Quilt next year :D

And yet another project

So during the great house-deconstruction, new floor-a-palooza, I've decided to take some time to revamp a few things, fix a few things, donate and get rid of a few things...

On of the things I decided I wanted to do was "fix" a china doll I have in my possession.    When my grandmother died (well, actually, even before that), I became the keeper of the antique and family things.   Like my great-great-grandmother's furniture, my great^3 or ^4 grand-cestors' letters and pictures and what not.

Sereiously, I have a wedding gift from 1865.

One of the things I found in a box was a china doll from the ancestress that was actually married in 1865.  I also have the letters between her and her beau during the Civil War while he was away, and letters from her future sister-in-law complaining about the lack of males and how bored they were with the whole war "thing."

But I decided that what I really want to do is jazz up the china doll.  She's just in her silk undies, those undies being a little worse for the wear, but the doll seems to be in good shape.   I contacted a friend who knows a bit about china dolls and asked her for some help sourcing patterns.    The doll already lives on display in my antique hutch, but I just feel like she could be prettier.

But this is what I'm starting with -

The whole doll in my hands.  The legs and arms are also porcelain/china and seem to be in decent shape.

The head piece, with the blouse pulled down to show off the attach point

The arms

Legs & booties

The whole girl with a tape- measure for size.

I have no idea what I'm doing, I certainly have no official documentation, but since she's a part of my family, I would at least like to showcase her a little better.   I have some patterns/dresses pinned/saved (the pictures mostly for ideas of colors and fabrics).

From what I've seen/read with the googles, the hair/head style/shape tracks with 1850s dolls (maybe "Greiner" style?).  The back is molded but there is no ribbon or anything, other than the hair (the back of the head molded in waves much like the sides).   I don't know (or really care) if it's worth anything, just a family antique that I'd like to display nicely, but I didn't want anything crazy out of style with what she should be wearing.

Hopefully, someday, when I'm not going home and spending every waking hour trying to put the house back together again  I'll get back to the approx. six thousand projects I have going on, but this seems like a fun (if not probably frustrating) one.