The newest blocks.

I feel better now. A big part of it WAS getting into my sewing room and just being able to work on something for myself. Part of it was being able to go to church and socialize without having a lot of stuff hanging over my head. Part of it was my friend Mike came up to me and gave me one of those side-hugs and greeted me with "Hello, Beautiful."

That...yeah. That makes a difference. Yes, I guess I am a little vain but it is nice to hear it. (Don't read too much into him calling me "beautiful." We will never be more than friends, for one big reason...)

But the blocks. I admit, I'm not convinced the pink was the best choice (it is less intense and more subtle in person; I think the flash did something to the color contrast). But I was trying to use a chunk of fabric out of stash. Also, I'm sure it will look better when the whole top is together. This is just the first dozen blocks. (If I remember correctly, there are 72 all told).



Another view



 Also, a few silly acquisitions from yesterday. I went to one of the antique shops and found a couple things

This is a linen "cut out doll" that originally came from Williamsburg.



It was $3. There's a casing sewn across the top so it can be hung on a wall, but I am seriously contemplating cutting it out and sewing it up as a pillow - which was apparently meant to be its fate. (It is printed on linen, which is kind of interesting to me). As I've said before, "flatsy" toys were a big thing when I was a kid; you don't seem to see them in fabric stores so much any more.

I also found another doll. (I seem to be getting sucked back into doll collecting again. I should probably retrieve a few favorites from my collection that is in storage at my parents', and maybe sell the rest - I don't have room for the whole collection here)



This is a small (like, 6" tall) doll of Susan B. Anthony, part of a line Hallmark made in the 1970s (I remember them, but wasn't that into dolls as a small kid, so I never had any). There was Susan B., and I think George and Martha Washington, and Juliette Low, and George Washington Carver, and a number of others...

I dunno. I just saw her and liked her. I don't know that I will buy any of the others unless I happen to find them somewhere for a good price.

I also bought some....much sillier dolls. (Ones I am not sure my Susan B. doll would fully approve of). There's a whole line of "unboxing" dolls called LOL Surprise (there are several lines, actually - even one with pets which is kind of cute). The dolls DO generate a lot of waste (lots of unnecessary packaging) but the unboxing aspect is a big part of their popularity. They are kind of cute little dolls, though. I got one Glitter Pop (has glitter all over her, including her hair and her dress) and a Confetti Pop, which I didn't realize but should have - has a spring mechanism in the "ball" the doll comes in, and when you pop it the first time, there's a bunch of confetti that flies out (hence the name). You can reset the ball to pop it again, and I SUPPOSE you could gather up the confetti and put it back in (I swept it up and threw it away).

So, the dolls I got were "Fancy" (the glitter one) and "Go-Go Dancer" (the confetti one, but I have renamed her Daisy):



Yes, they're baby dolls, and maybe Daisy is a little age-inappropriate in her dress (some of the other dolls, shown on the flier that comes with them, are similar), but they're still kind of cute as odd little mascot type of things.

They have open mouths because they come with a "bottle" (well, Daisy's is like a little milk carton) and they will drink, and if you squeeze them, some of them cry (Fancy has little holes in her pupils so I think she would) and some spit back out of their mouth, and some "wet." (I think Daisy is supposed to be a drink-and-wet, based on the flier). I won't try it....I remember having drink and wet baby dolls as a littl'un, and also tub toys, and the nastiness that grew inside things once they got water in them. (I also don't want to ruin Fancy's glitter)