Shop update!

Here I am again...later than I expected I'd be. Seems to be the story of my life lately. I blame it on my friends though. They keep stopping by to visit (which I greatly encourage!) and have been keeping me from my work.



So this is about half of this batch. All the boys are in the second half of the batch and will be finished and listed soon. The dolls that are available now can be seen here.

The Beatrix Potter quilt and painting set's auction ends tomorrow at noon eastern!

Well I'm off to watch American Idol. :)

Today's the day!!

It's Beatrix Potter Day at Collage!
Erin of Eye Candy Designs and I have worked together on this set.

Aren't her paintings marvelous?! I love them!

Be sure to check out the offerings of the other Collage artisans as well. Lots of lovely stuff!



As for what I'm up to right now...bendies, bendies, and more bendies. They should be finished an listed in The Princess Nimble-Thimble Shop in a couple days. Or maybe I'll finish half and get them listed, then finish the other half. Yeah, that sounds more like me.

And, who knows, if I can manage to not be in the kitchen all day maybe I can even get some listed tonight. Hmmmm.... I don't know though. I seem to always be in the kitchen these days. And I need to restart my kombucha brew today as it's on its way to becoming vinegar. I'll do what I can to be speedy in the kitchen though. Maybe I'll skip cleaning up. ;-)

One of these days I'm going to snag a block of time and catch up with all my blogging friends. Bloglines is giving me stress. I have nearly 2000 blog posts to read to catch up. Part of my says "just click *mark as read* and consider yourself caught up!". But then I'm afraid I'll miss something important. Well, I already am missing something important...all my marvelous blogging friends! I will be visiting soon!

Shop Update

Many people have been asking about them so I'm happy to say Bendy dolls have begun trickling back into my shop. They sometimes fly out the door so if you find them all gone, don't worry. There will be more soon. :-)

That's all for now. But I'll be back soon as I've been tagged for one of those thingies. And I want to tell you about all the creepy fun stuff I've been up to in the kitchen.

Blog Break Over

I know I never officially announced a "blog break" (I never officially planned one, to be honest) but it seems one has occurred. And it's over. Officially.

It's just been so very "February" here lately. Projects that I meant to complete quickly were dragging on. I have been very stuck in the kitchen. We've been eating well but I'm so very over dishes. Cleaning the kitchen just isn't fun anymore (Was it ever?).



This, my friends, is the "dragging on project" I spoke of. Well, one of a few. But certainly the worst offender.

It will be available soon at Collage. It's part of a collaboration I've done with a marvelous painter. And there will be other Peter Rabbit themed items too. I'll let you know when it's happening when I know.



I used two layers of cotton batting inside the quilt and I love how squishy it turned out. Check out the back-



Oh! Any ya know what's really exciting? My new labels!!!

I promise to not be such a stranger. I know I've said that before...but I really mean it this time. Really. :-)

Sassy picks a winner!

Congratulations, Tiarnna! Email me with your mailing address, please (PrincessNimbleThimble AT gmail DOT com).

Did you think I had forgotten?

Yes, I'm referring to this. I haven't forgotten. I'm just still in *catch up* mode.

The prize is finished finally. In case you can't tell, it's a tablerunner (12.5" x 41").

I figured there was no sense in officially cutting off eligibility until the prize was finished, right? So, what's today? Thursday. I'll draw a name tomorrow evening (just in case there are some last minute Lucys who can sneak in under the wire). :-)



I also finished a couple small quilts for swaps. This one was for the Four Seasons Quilt Swap. The other- well, I forgot to take a picture in my hurry to get it in the mail. It's similar to the table runner though.

I have several sewing/craft projects in the works at the moment. There will be pictures soon, as I finish each project. Which will, hopefully, be very soon!

Shop Talk as well as misc chatter

We have Valentine's Day on the brain over at Collage. We'd love for you to check out our newest offerings and see if you don't just fall in love! (New items are available for preview until they're released for sale at noon eastern today!)



Speaking of love, we just celebrated the 7th birthday of my son, Mason, last Thursday. He's such a sweet, little guy! Can you believe that his requested birthday presents were a super soft blanket, a gameboy game, and candy. Those things together are his idea of a good time.

Oh...also! Book love! I have been coveting this book for the longest time. I finally got my hands on it and I adore it! I'm totally jonesin' for some spare time so I can play!!

I also read this book recently and it, too, was wonderful. I just love Louisa May Alcott's stories. I don't know how this one managed to evade me until now!



And another little something I'm completely in love with is the quilt I received in the Four Seasons' Quilt Swap. Look how absolutely at home it looks on my wall! Thank you, so much, Courtney!! (you can click on the picture for a larger version)

I'll try to not be so scare this week! :-)

Crossing things off the list!

Whew! That overwhelmed feeling is passing. Things are getting crossed off the list one by one. And I'm feeling much better. :-)

I've been working like a busy bee and it's paying off. Don't you just love the way it feels when you can cross things off the list?

The only thing that would make me happier is if the post office were open today so I could get these guys outta here!



As you can see, I've been in Bendy-land lately. Lots and lots of bendy dolls. You'd think I'd be sick of them by now, huh? But, while I do appreciate the fact that the next few things on my list are not bendy dolls, I still love them.



This last order included some bigger bendy dolls. They're all about 4.5" tall. Usually when I make dolls this size they're the adults in bendy families. I had a hard time envisioning them as requested: fairies and princesses and such, similar to the smaller dolls. My mind kept saying, "No! Bigger dolls are moms and dads!". I am so pleased with how they turned out though.

Sorry for the packaging. I had already packaged them before I remembered I hadn't taken a picture yet.



There are a couple bendies that have made their way to the shop. And before long I'll have a new sock dolls to add to stock as well. I've had several requests for more and promised I'd put them on the list. And, well, I am making progress on that list!!! I am so excited by this! I really hate feeling behind. Catching up is a good thing!

Overwhelmed

Do you ever feel just totally overwhelmed? I do. And I am right now.

We've had a horrible sickness invade our household. A yucky sort of sickness with fevers that make you want to sleep 18 hours a day and chest congestion that leaves you feeling weak due to lack of oxygen and all that effort spent on coughing. It's finally on its way out the door now. But if you've been wondering where I've been, I've been in bed, sleeping and coughing.



During the holiday season I take a break from many of my responsibilities as I just get too busy with business crafting. My husband helps out more around the house and we take a break from homeschooling. This frees up time so I can do crafties as a full time job.



Right now my to do list is long and I'm wishing I could just have two more weeks of full time crafting so I could knock out the list. But school has resumed and my husband has returned the apron and laundry basket to me. Health is returning (yahoo!). And I have managed to cross a few things off the to do list, as evidenced by the pictures in this post. Progress is being made. It really does help to see it in pictures.

Back in the Saddle

Life seems to have transitioned back to normal. The house is back in order. My back has mostly healed (I didn't mention it but I pulled something in my back and it's taken a good 2 weeks to recover). We're very close to resuming our homeschooling schedule. And I'm getting back to crafting.



I don't have much to show for my return to crafting just yet. I dyed 5 yards of felt over the weekend though. And I have a pile of wrapped bendy doll bodies whom I will be working on finishing over the next few days.

I've also been on a mission to shrink up any of the new felt yardage that's made it way into my stash recently. And then I did something stupid. I forgot what led to the last time I had to make a new cover for my ironing board. Red felt. And since I forgot, I did it again.



You see, when I shrink felt (which makes it much thicker and nicer!) I wet it and toss it into the dryer. I don't dry it all the way. I take it out when it's still damp and then iron it smooth again, which dries it almost completely. Wet red felt = a big red stain on the pretty ironing board cover. As soon as I did it I remembered that I had done this before!

On another note, I think I've mentioned my odd little book collection here before. I love books that have dolls who are alive as the main characters. Not creepy, spooky dolls-more along the lines of Raggedy Ann, Hitty, etc.

About a week ago Isabelle and I went to the bookstore. We were browsing the children's books and this book caught my attention. It was on the shelf with its cover facing out and I suspected it might just be my kind of book. Well I read it last night and absolutely loved it!! So much that I actually cried more than once while reading it. If you get a chance, I highly recommend The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. I plan to start reading it to the children tonight.

Happy New Year's Eve!

The quilt is all finished and is available for preview at Collage. It will be available for purchase at noon eastern time.

I received a new camera for Christmas and was really looking forward to a lot less struggle. So far it hasn't proven to be any easier, though it is a much nicer camera than I had previously (7.2 mega pixels vs 2 mega pixels). It has *so many* settings it makes my head spin. It has settings for splashing water, candlelight, text, faces, etc. Unfortunately it doesn't have a setting labeled "baby quilt" or "fabric".

I've been taking pictures for the past two and a half hours and have finally decided that those I've taken are good enough. There are many more pictures shown in the listing. Do they look ok to you?

It seems the camera has focussed well at the center but it gets sort of blurry toward the edges. Or have I been staring so long I can't see straight anymore?

What are your New Year's Eve plans? We'll be heading over the the in-law's like we do most years. They just live a couple blocks away...very convenient. I'll indulge in my yearly shrimp-fest. Though this year I'll be creating my own low-carb cocktail sauce so I can eat shrimp til I burst with little guilt attached. And, of course, we'll be banging pots and pans outside at midnight. I think I still love doing that as much as the children do!

Giveaway reminder!!

Just a little reminder about the big giveaway! If you're not in the know (or have forgotten) take a peek at this post!

I'm going to extend the deadline because I know of at least one person who has something in the works. And, well, I hadn't expected to be as busy as I was during the holiday season. And I still need to make the prize. So you've still got time to play!!

Let's extend it until Jan 10th. Plenty of time for all of us. :-)

A Sneak Peek!

We are stocking new items tomorrow at Collage!! Everything will be available for sale at noon (eastern) on New Year's Eve.



I'm not quite finished with my big project so it's not up for preview just yet. But I'll give you a little sneak peek. :-) I just need to stitch the back side of the binding and wash out the markings from quilting. So it'll be up for preview before long.



I've also snuck a few new things into the shop.

I hope you have all had a magical holiday!! I sure did!!

I'm still in awe!

Wishing all a Merry Christmas!!


Carol of the Bells - Computer Controlled Christmas Lights from Richard Holdman on Vimeo.


Miracle from 34th Street - Computer Controlled Christmas Lights from Richard Holdman on Vimeo.


Music Box Dancer - Holdman Christmas Display 2007 from Richard Holdman on Vimeo.

Let's take a drive...

...and look at Christmas lights.

(click below to see what I'm talking about)

OOOH! So pretty!

I laughed so hard I snorted.

Whoa!

The cutest EVER!

I admit, I have a bit of a *thing* for packaging. And I got something in the mail today that has me absolutely giddy!

Check out my new hand-carved rubber stamps from CraftPudding!! Aren't the great? I'm over-the-moon in love!

As you can tell, I haven't figured out what my standard layout will be. I'm having a blast playing though!

I'm also super impressed because the very thought of hand carving a stamp brings back traumatic memories of carving linoleum blocks with scary sharp gouging thingies in school.

And those necklace/earrings sets are all newly listed in the shop. I'm feeling much better today and had to play in some beads!

A new doll

I finished a doll today. Out of all the bazillion doll patterns I've made I didn't have one that was the proper size so I made a new one. I'm *loving* this pattern! The size (11.5" tall) and proportions just look so cute to me. Expect to see more made from this pattern in the future.



I'm *still* sick. Bleck! But I think today was the worst of it. I'm feeling better now than I did this afternoon. I'm giving myself tonight to finish wallowing in it.

Tomorrow I've got some Christmas decorating to do! Time to tranform the living room from a makeshift sewing studio into a Christmas wonderland!

And then, one of these days, I need to do some Christmas shopping! I am SO behind!!

Coming up for air

I've been wonderfully busy the past week. I wish I could keep my business going like this all year long!

Pictured is the order I got out today. I started working on it Thursday night. I got sick Friday. I am amazed at how slow-pokey I am when trying to create while sick.

All worked out great in the end though. I finished today (when I said I would ship) and even managed to get the package out to the mailbox before the mail carrier came by. That is *huge*! I saw on the news this morning that today is the busiest shipping day at the post office and the mere thought of having to stand in an insanely long line certainly got my sick self moving!

I've been asked if I'll have more items stocked in time for Christmas. No, I don't think so. I have one more order to complete (not a holiday order though). And then I really need to devote some time to my family's Christmas.

I'm severely behind on that front. My husband has picked up a lot of my slack around here lately. He's done dishes and laundry. But *holiday merriment* is totally my job and I need to get to it! I haven't bought one present yet. We don't have a Christmas tree yet. And there are a few things I'd like to make for my children.

I do, however, have a plan to make a certain number of bendy dolls every week this year. I should have a grand stockpile by next Christmas. They've always been popular. But this is the first year I really felt like I just wasn't keeping up with the demand. So I am taking steps to be better prepared next year.

Shop Talk

Even. More. Bendies. Added. Here.

I know I said I'm feeling twitchy to move beyond bendies. But people keep asking for more. And I can't say no. :-) So it's likely I'll keep making them until people stop buying them or it gets too late to mail them in time for Christmas. Whichever comes first.



I promise to better prepare for next Christmas. Had I known the whole China/recall toy thing was going to happen I would have started preparing Dec. 26th last year. I may just do that this year in preparation for next Christmas.

That is, actually, the plan. Seriously. :-)

Shop Talk

Just added a few more bendies to the shop.

I think I see the end of the bendy doll creating binge on the horizon. Well, except that I think my children will be receiving some this Christmas. But, other than that, I think it's nearly time for a quilty break.

My quilty fingers are feeling twitchy!