Arabel and the loss of time!

Oh such slow progress on all the things I apparently love to do yet have the greatest capacity to avoid!  Here is Arabel finished - she was for the ADO Forest Folk challenge.  Queen of all the dark and murky realms rarely seen by human eyes. 

I have mentioned before that I am a teacher and before my move to the farm I taught full time.  Since my move I've been unable to secure a position at the local school where I wanted to work - until now!!  I am back in the classsroom full time with a year 3/4 class.  This is such a mixed blessing whilst I am sooo excited to not travel such large distances to work (previously commuting to the city) and weekly seperation from my bloke  not to mention a fabulous group of kids and great colleagues. I now find that my head is again filled with other peoples children and not my own art work or doll making.  Perhaps this is my problem and not one solely associated with the nature of full time teaching.  I fear either because it means my time and head space are fairly full.  So I shall think that any new girls will be few and far between from here on in.  I'll continue to subdue the small part of my mind scolding me for not taking further opportunities to create when I wasn't working.

On the workbench!!

I've used my new phone with the retro camera application (plus I can just email the photo to myself).  Not so good for close ups or clarity but I like the effect.  I'll take more detailed ones shortly and WIP's.  I'm hoping to finish this lot off in the next couple of weeks. 

Laura Marling

Not much dolling going on around here, but I did hear this which has me spellbound!!

I'm not a good farmer

Here so far, is one of the lucky ones.  

We have been in drought for a while and the seasons have been harsh, the lambing has begun and it's harsh.  The ewes are doing ok but lots are abandoning their lambs and foxes are taking their share. Such losses of course are a normal part of farming.  This is where I am not a good farmer.  I hear their high pitched plaintive cries and I immediately set about determining what's going on.  I walk down fence lines checking to see if they are stuck, I stand out on hills surveying the mix ups, which lamb belongs to which ewe - they sometimes get confused.  The cry from a distressed lamb is something I am still not able to deal with unemotionally.  Yesterday I sat on a rock in the paddock and had a little cry for them.

I'm featured in an Etsy Treasury - my first time!!

'They all wore black' by Skunkhollow

Vanessies $	OOAK Halloween Witc... bonniebj $110.00	Jinx, a One of a K... cottonwoolbaby... $1600.00
Wednesday Addams Ar... mlbstudios $249.00	OOAK Polymer Clay F... oddfae $500.00	Aggie - Print in Bl... EvelynsWonderl... $17.00
Zoya a Papier Mache... nancyperennec $265.00	Indigo ll SophiaLaLa $90.00	Loopy Art Doll Fine... loopyboopy $
Twisted Poppets 1 -... filialunadesig... $365.00	Gothic Raggedy Ann ... katandthefiddl... $75.00	Faries Imp ADO Pin ... DebiDesigns $48.00
Millie, a 7-inch cl... Daffidolls $26.00	Angela Monlith - OO... newagedolls $165.00	SALE Miss Hannah -F... tatteredmoon $138.00
Betty Boop Cloth Do... DollMakersMuse $10.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.

The Girls!!

These girls were actually meant to be christmas presents for some friends of mine - here they are finished finally!!  All the cloth dolls are out of the way now, I can start getting these clay girls out of my head!