Best laid plans.....

It's finally, predictably, official.

Christmas is cancelled.

Well... not the actual event, but all the plans which have been made for it.

Normally at this time PP and I would be frantically cleaning, shopping, cleaning, making lists, cleaning, writing meal plans, cleaning, making up guest bedrooms, cleaning, wrapping presents, cleaning... 

Ordinarily my daughter would have already arrived for our early Christmas celebrations, then from 23rd onward the rest of the family for several days of carousing.

None of that will be happening this year.  It will just be PP, SD and myself.

We aborted our tentative plans for a restricted Christmas family get-together over a week ago, while our PM was still asserting that we would all be able to enjoy a jolly safe 5-day celebration.  At the time we were in Level 3. 

Of course since then, the 'revelation' that there is a new mutation of the virus, which increases infection transmission exponentially has meant that U-Turn Boris has had to perform yet another in a long line of volte-face moves, and essentially, Christmas is cancelled.

Hastings & Rother, which for most of this year has seen the lowest infection rates in the whole of the UK, has recently seen a huge spike in cases, and as of midnight we've now been moved up to Tier 4, which effectively means that we are currently back in full belt-and-braces lockdown.

It's like Groundhog Day.

Of course, the one ray of positivity in all of this, is that we now have one vaccine approved and in the process of being rolled out, with hopefully others on the near horizon.  Less encouraging is that only about 140,000 doses have already been administered, out of the 800,000 we received a few weeks ago. Progress seems to be painfully slow.... I'd hoped that they would already have powered through the first batch.  At the current rate it will be March/April before our age cohort is in line, which means another 3+ months of self-isolating, and effectively a whole year during which, apart from a few brief breaks during the summer, we were mostly at home, seeing almost no-one from one month's end to the next.

In the meantime we will be staying as safe as we can while spending a quiet festive season together.   

Take care all of you, and I hope you have as Merry a Christmas as possible, with the prospect of a Happier, Healthier New Year.

Sxx

Cross purposes....

 Scene - It is a mid-December afternoon and the skies are grey and full of foreboding.  It's not cold enough for snow, although it is chilly, so we are likely due yet more rain.

In the sitting room, the Christmas tree lights are twinkling and the fire is lit..... the room is full of cosy warmth and I am sitting on the sofa, notebook on my lap, idly flicking through TV channels looking for a festive film.

Small Dog enters....

SD *perkily* Ah... yuve litt the fyr.  Thatts gude. Ai mite just hav a littel liy daown on the harthrugg.

Me:*warmly* Feel free SD. I didn't think you'd be long after hearing me light the fire.

Silence, except for the occasional crack of a log in the woodburner.  SD eventually gets too hot, and retires to her blanket on the sofa, taking time to carefully scratch it up and arrange it to her liking.

SD: *enquiringly*  Whot ar yue doen?

Me:*distractedly* Hmmm?  I'm writing a list.

SD:*curiously*  A lisst.  A krissmus lisst??  A lisst of delishus treets fore me???

Me:*crushingly* No.  Not that kind of list.

SD*disgruntedly* Hmph. Wel ai hoap ai do gett krissmus treets.  Mai stocken remanes disapoyntinlie emptie.

She stares pointedly at the Christmas stocking, hanging from the mantlepiece, emblazoned with her name and an embroidered Yorkshier Terrior.

Me:*placatingly* OK... if you must know, I'm writing a list of projects for next year.  Miniature ones.... I might do a few valedictory kit projects.

SD:*baffled* Valley Dick Torie???  Whose he?

Me:*patiently* It means a sort of goodbye.

SD:*bamboozled* Gudebie??  Whare ar yue goen?  Yoove onlie jusst litt the fyer.

Me:*calmly* Not that sort of goodbye SD.  It's just that I'm gradually winding down the business. I want to retire, like you and PP.

SD:*grandly* Ho yus.... reetyrmint is knott to badd. Allthoe ai do miss knot bein yore Hedd of Markitten & Komewnikashun.  And bein Emploiyee of the Munth.  I reememb....

Me:*interrupting* Yes, yes SD.  You were an excellent member of the management team and your input was always valued.

SD:*dreamily* Ai maid sum ecksillent sujestjuns abowt biskitts.

Me:*grudgingly* Yes, well.  Anyway... I'm just making some notes about a few final kits that I'd really like to work on for next year.  In fact SD.... one of them is a paean to you.

SD:*incredulously* A PEE ON!!!  Luke... thatt was a wun-off acksident and it wudent hav hapinned if yude lett me owt kwicker.

Me:*placatingly* Oh SD.  Not that!  A paean is a creative work expressing enthusiastic praise.  It's a tribute to you in recognition of all your many years of dedication and hard work.  I've been thinking about it for a while and I think I've hit on just the thing.

SD:*mollified* Ah... THATT kined of peeon.  Why dident yue sai so then.  *thoughtfully* a tribewt to me.  Liek a sort of prise.... or a *hopefully* treet?

Me:*hesitantly* Well yes... I suppose so.  In a way.  It will commemorate you and your invaluable contribution to Tower House Dolls.  It's just an idea at the moment... I'll have to design it and make up a sample first. I'm just making a few preliminary working sketches if you'd like to take a look.

But SD has settled down on her supersoft blanket and is already fast asleep. 

The End

Out with a bang.....?

 2020 has been the strangest and scariest of years.  In common with others who have medical conditions which make them clinically vulnerable, I've spent most of the year, from mid March, either shielding or self isolating.  I haven't seen my daughter since early January, and only a very few close friends during the brief summer hiatus.

I planned a carefully calculated circuitous route round our garden so that I could rack up a reasonable daily steps tally, and we carried out a garden makeover to make the many lockdown hours we spent there more pleasurable.

Small Dog and I both had fully lockdowned birthdays in April, during the worst part of the first wave. Not seeing anyone, family or friends felt very strange and we'd usually have had a few days away to celebrate.

We did manage to take our little caravan out for two short holidays during the summer. Being completely self-contained meant we felt safe, and the rigourous infection control measures in place on the Caravan Club sites we visited, further increased our tentative confidence.

Of course it's all gone base over apex since then, and here in the UK we have only recently emerged from a second lockdown.  Pandemic fatigue and complacency have been rampant, and compliance with the rules has been slipping for months.

Predictably, as soon as the lockdown restrictions were lifted, people were again out in their droves, Christmas shopping, plunging many areas into the higher levels.  Here in Hastings/St. Leonards we had the lowest Covid rates in the entire country for many months, but recently we've seen cases rise alarmingly and when the tiers are re-assessed next week, we fully expect to be moved up to level 3.

The government, in its infinite wisdom, has granted a Coronavirus armistice for 5 days over Christmas, where up to three households can mix indoors.  Perhaps the virus goes home for the holidays, or simply stops infecting people in a spirit of goodwill.                                             On the threshold of a third, even more punishing winter wave, that seems to be a strange decision.  The latest in a long string of strange decisions. 

As if all that wasn't bad enough, after four and a half gruelling years, we're teetering on the brink of a No Deal Hard Brexit, the worst of all worse case scenarios, and even in normal times,  this coming January was set to be chaotic and depressing.  Don't get me started.... I haven't got the energy for a rant.

Good things to come from 2020....?

Well, our little family unit of myself, PP and Small Dog is still alive and kicking. Apart from the odd minor squabble, mostly engineered by SD who has taken to squealing at us to go to bed at 7.30pm, we've all supported and cared for each other, bolstering flagging spirits and enjoying sharing small projects throughout.

I finally finished my book.  Who knew it would take a global pandemic to give me the kick up the a*se I needed, to buckle down and really work at it on a daily basis, relinquishing my previous tactics of spending a day or two messing about then putting it back on the back burner?  With nowhere to go, nobody to see, and nothing else to do except work, I've accomplished more in the past nine months than in the past nine years!

There is also the prospect of an end to the pandemic with the rollout of a slew of vaccines, although it will take many months to make any serious inroads into a global vaccination programme. 

Normally, at this time of year, I'd be making plans for the following twelve months... working out projects, kits, new dolls etc, but my heart just isn't in it.  I feel exhausted and really need some downtime to relax and regroup and hopefully regain some of my joie de vivre.  I've worked solidly from March, weekdays, weekends, evenings, with only about 14 days off.  Apparently it's possible to feel burnt out even when doing something you love.... who knew?!

So I'm looking forward to using the time between now and the beginning of January to recharge my depleted batteries....dabbling with some new miniature projects, and hopefully taking up a new hobby (depending on what I find under the tree on Christmas morning!) 

KDF Online Christmas Showcase....

Visit my page here....

https://dollshouseshowcase.com/craftsman/tower-house-dolls/

***

Following the success of the first KDF online showcase in July, I'm pleased to be participating in the Christmas Showcase.  Sadly, none of the usual pre-Christmas fairs are taking place this year, but, thanks to technology, artisan exhibitors, past and present, are able to show off their work.

Our new website has gone live this morning (EEEEK!)  and I will be updating it on a daily basis during the showcase, so do keep checking back for new additions!

I'm also delighted to formally announce the launch of my new book, Making Miniature Mignonette Toy Dolls....! 

Available now on the website! 

The word ‘Mignonette’ has its origins in France, dating back to 1690-1700, and means ‘small and delicately pretty’.  Mignonette dolls are therefore particularly pretty petite dolls.

These tiny dolls have a special appeal to miniature collectors, and   although their small scale can be challenging, it is not difficult to acquire the skills necessary to make your own heirloom creations.

From tools and materials, through to mastering basic techniques and costume elements, the designs described in my book will provide you with all the information you need to begin creating your very own tiny, toy dolls.

Once you have mastered the basics, you can go on to experiment and design your own unique costumes. The Projects chapter features different costume styles, from very simple to more elaborate, with  ideas for variations.

All of the patterns can be mixed and matched to create a wide variety of styles, from historical dolls of the 1700s, through to the most elaborate doll fashions of the 1890s and on to 20th century toy dolls.

This book is written with the beginner in mind, but I hope that experienced micro doll dressmakers will also find inspiration.

Woven throughout is the whimsical story of La Mignonette, a French doll shop where the talented hands of Mademoiselle Emilie, bring her beautiful creations to life...

As a special 'thank you' to purchasers of my book, I'm adding a free gift....a kit to make three tiny, wee, doll-sized, fully illustrated, Christmas-themed books, reproduced from my own private collection. 

                               

I've been making tiny dolls for over 30 years and am as much in love with them now as I was way back then.  As a collector of miniatures, diminutive dolls tick many boxes, as they can exist in the most doll-phobic doll's house, portraying as they do, children's playthings rather than people.

My dolls are completely handmade, beginning life as a few thimblefuls of porcelain slip, then undergoing up to 6 kiln firings to transform them from fragile greenware to impermeable porcelain, complete with multiple china paint firings.

They have jointed arms and legs, which allow for movement....

Costumes are created using sumptuous silk fabrics, many of which I design myself and are professionally printed.  Similarly, to achieve just the right shade I often hand dye silk ribbons, trimmings and lace to complement specific outfits.

Dolls have silk underwear, dainty leather-soled shoes and lace petticoats, while dresses and jackets are carefully fitted onto the tiny dolls.

Finally, I use delicate ringlets and curls to create elaborate coiffeurs,  often finished off with be-ribboned and feathered hats and bonnets.

Once complete, I make a colour-coordinated box with illustrated lid, which is lined with tissue paper and the doll is nestled inside.  Each doll  also comes with its own signed and dated Certificate of Authenticity.

Dolls come with a lovely, bespoke box to match their costume.

I hope you can visit the new website during the showcase.  It is still a work in progress so I would appreciate any feedback.  🙂

The final countdown.....

Phew.... it's been a very busy few weeks!  I've spent hours every day listing items on the new website.

It's not an easy task. 

Photos have to be taken and retaken.... resized and optimised to fit.  There's no option to copy/paste listings, so each one has to be done manually, in a series of steps which have to be taken in the correct order otherwise I have to start again.

It's time consuming and frustrating, and every few hours I have to take a break and do something else.

I spent a fruitless half day trying to insert a snippet of code to provide a currency converter for international customers with no success.  I've handed that task over to PP, who has more technical skills than I.  She also sorted out my information pages, which didn't look quite right.

It's clear that my skills are better suited to dollmaking than website management and I'm looking forward to Friday, when the site is scheduled to go live and I can hopefully relax.     The KDF Christmas Showcase will run from Friday 27th November till Friday 4th December, and during that time the December Mini Miniature Show will also be live. 

On an even more exciting note, the final copies of my book have arrived and I've been carefully checking the delivery and making preparations for the launch on Friday. 

Having worked pretty much every day since March, I'm looking forward to some much-needed downtime and decorating our house for Christmas.  Of course, at the moment, we still have no idea what we'll be doing over the festive season.  A big, family Christmas is out of the question, but we're hoping that some form of celebration will be possible.... either virtual or actual.

In the meantime, this week, I'm on the final countdown to my book launch and the KDF showcase.

No pressure then.... *deep breaths*

Moving on.....

It's done.

The old printer has been deposed.  Long live the new printer! 

I ordered it at 4.30pm yesterday and it was delivered at noon today.  How is that even possible? Dark magic perhaps.

It took just 45 minutes to unbox and set it up.  The whole process went smoothly... print was calibrated and software updated.  It effortlessly reached through the ether and found my laptop and they instantly hit it off.

It printed wirelessly at first time of asking, purring quietly without all the hooing and haahing and cartridge shuffling which characterised my interactions with the old printer.

It does my bidding without kicking up a fuss or spitting sheets of paper at me.  It hasn't mangled anything.... yet.

Of course, it's currently on its best behaviour, minding it's p's and q's and going out of its way to anticipate my every need and complying immediately.

It's small and neat and sits unobtrusively on the window shelf by my desk in the office.  The old printer was a hulking great thing.... really heavy and it boded big time.  It's currently boding in the dining room while I decide what to do with it.  I don't want to consign it to landfill so I'll try to freecycle it.  Perhaps someone with much more technical nous than us could return it to health.  At the very least it has about a dozen brand new ink cartridges which might do someone a turn.  

We've never really seen eye to eye... the old printer and I.  It was only a few weeks old when it maliciously chewed up a sheet of adhesive labels and was never the same again.   I'm guarding against getting lulled into a false sense of security by the newcomer though.  Just because everything's fine and dandy at the moment doesn't mean it will stay that way.

The first test will be a batch of double sided A5 leaflets, which I need to print by this weekend.  Of course before I even attempt that, I need to order more inks.  For some inexplicable reason, printer manufacturers supply new machines with 'starter' cartridges, which contain a mere scintilla of ink and last about 10 minutes. 

Which brings me to my next pet peeve.  Why are branded cartridges so damn expensive?  Granted the new printer takes XL capacity cartridges, which are claimed to print 600 pages for the colours, more for the blacks.  However, as that depends on the print quality used, it's practically impossible to check the claims made.  My leaflets have to be reasonable quality so I'm dubious about how many pages I will actually achieve.

However, for the time being, I'm back in business.  Being printerless always makes me a bit twitchy so after two days without it's a relief to have one again.  But two days of faffing about have put me hopelessly behind on my weekly To Do list so once again I'm playing catch up.

Best go and get on then......

Buggrit.......

I just knew that things were going too well.  Having given the go-ahead on my book to the print company I turned my attention to the next most pressing item on my burgeoning to-do list.... getting the website shop up and running.

I spent all weekend setting up items in the shop (they're not visible yet though!) and working on what I still have to do for the London Dollshouse Showcase.  I have to get all new photos and write up done for my exhibitor's page and the deadline of Nov 18th is looming on the near horizon.

Anyway, everything was going tickety boo, which is always an ominous sign and I should have realised that things were due to go skew whiff... which they duly did.

Our office printer, which I had used yesterday morning to print out address labels for orders, suddenly decided that life was no longer worth living and gave up the ghost.  It's done this a few times before, being a temperamental little sh*t, but we've always been able to get it up and running again by a combination of threats, menaces and doing a hard reset.

It was having none of it.

You Tube videos suggested lots of different fixes, all of which we tried several times, including removing the print head unit and cleaning it, resulting in ink all over the show.

This is the second time a Canon printer has died on us and despite spending ALL DAY YESTERDAY giving trying to administer life support, we have accepted that it will have to be consigned to the great printer scrapyard.

Having washed our hands of it... literally, with bleach, in an attempt to remove the indelible ink, we set about finding a new one, which we thought would be a doddle.

Ha!

Have you tried to buy a printer recently?  They're like hen's teeth!!

Presumably, due to the pandemic, and record numbers of people working from home, the demand for printers has gone through the roof.  Plus, due to the lockdown, stores which sell them are currently closed, so we couldn't just pop along the road to PC World to pick one up.

I have a few criteria which are essential.... separate ink cartridges so that I can replace individual  colours as needed.                                                                                                                      It must be multifunction as I often have to scan/copy.                                                                          It must have an automatic duplex function for double sided printing, which is a nightmare to do manually.                                                                                                                                                    It must have WiFi connectivity as I often have to print from the workroom and the printer resides in the office.

Not a big ask really, but every one I found which was suitable was out of stock... everywhere.

The shelves have been stripped of printers and there is nary one to be found.

Eventually, after spending 6 frustrating hours going round in circles, I found a retailer who had a printer which had all my asks.  It wasn't first on my list.  It's wasn't even in the first ten, but it was in stock and ready to despatch so I had no option but to order it.  To add insult to injury it cost almost twice what I was intending to spend, but, as the saying goes, beggars can't be choosers.  Who would have thought that printers would prove as elusive to source as PPE? 

Anyway, due to the all the stress, the new printer and I are already getting off on the wrong foot.  It should hopefully arrive tomorrow and if it's not quick and easy to set up the air will be blue as I have A LOT of printing to do... all of it double sided. 

I have only one nerve left and it had better not get on it.