Gifts!

Sister Gifts

Dear Readers, My Sister came to visit the weekend before Christmas, so we were able to have our own small celebration together. She does not live near where I do, so it is not very often that we celebrate Holidays together. The unexpected (I think I had five days warning that she was coming North...!) nature of this visit made it all the more Special.... squeezed into the Holiday Season rush! Some of you may remember that last Spring I built a very little Cottage for her... I think it was Therapy for ME because she was so sick with cancer at the time..... But I built it for her and for the childhood memories of making dollhouse items together..... that Shared love that goes deeper than any words can say. I mailed it to her in the hopes that she would Love it and make things for it as we had always loved to do. And I promised you, Dear Readers, that I would show you what she has done with it if I got the chance.

So HERE it is!

Above, you can see the whole Cottage......

And below you can see the details of the lower room.....
The two dolls were made by Her Daughter, my niece, many years ago when she was eight or nine..... don't they look so at HOME?
The little angel on the rocking horse is a Christmas tree ornament.....
My sister stitched together the lace throw from scraps I sent her.....
And the rug on the right was made by our Dad's partner Diane, who is learning to weave....

And here, upstairs, you can see My Sister has covered the bed with a Delightful flannel coverlet and lace trimmed pillows! I had sent her scraps that I have been keeping for SO MANY Years..... and it is SO MUCH FUN to see the things she makes with them! I Just Adore it!
The two tiny dolls are from a worry bracelet..... and she "decorated" the ceramic tree I sent her (It comes in the teabags I buy.... so there are lots of these....) with glued on beads!!!

Here is a view of the other end of the upstairs....

Sewing basket at hand and books on the shelf...

And the lovely painting propped against the wall.....

Here is another view of the whole Cottage.... sort of.....

she sent me these pics from her mobile phone and I wasn't sure what order they would upload.... I LOVE the way the light is coming in the window..... and if you look closely on the right side you can see the little oak tree stump she made when she visited me last Summer!

But LOOK what else she is making.......!

The most Beautiful "crazy" quilt.....

complete with embroidered seams.....

just like they made in Victorian times......

Just look at her beautiful stitching......!

I Just think this is SO BEAUTIFUL!

Made with tiny scraps of Silk that I gave her years ago when I was making craft products from silk and had Tons of tiny scraps........ so PERFECT for dollhouse sewing!

So, you can see that my Sister is filling the Little Cottage with

TREASURES beyond price!

But THAT is not all!
Look at the Exquisite tiny beaded Rosary that she made for me!
(Or for some lucky dollhouse resident who is yet to arrive ....!
The Lady of the Castle Perhaps?)

Just look at all the beads and knots tied exactly so....

and tiny beads added to the little cross.....
I think it is just Truly Beautiful!
(And I sent her home with a supply of tiny crosses....... :)

I tell you Truly, Dear Readers, My Sister IS a Gift....

the best gift I could have on this Christmas!

But there is MORE!
A GIFT from my Friend Ewa in Poland!
It arrived just in time with this Beautiful stamp......
(when I was little I collected stamps that had art on them .... wanting to use them in a Dollhouse, of course!)

Wrapped in these beautiful layers.....

A GORGEOUS Brocade Handbag........

Just because I had admired them on her Blog when she made them.......
Isn't it Beautiful?
Thank you, Ewa,........ you are SO Generous!

I think Joanna is VERY Happy with her new bag......

Shall we let Victor take the credit....?
It is Exactly what he would have chosen for her!

And Look at the Gifts I got from my Dad and Diane.....

Dad sent me a lovely photograph that he took of beech trees in Autumn foliage .... for my 1:1 scale house... (Hmmmm perhaps I can copy this and reduce it to dollhouse scale and have it in my dollhouse too...?)

And Diane sent me a Beautiful scarf she wove for me.....

to keep me warm this Winter....

AND she added a tiny "rug" she wove for the Dollhouse!

She said it was a "rug" but I think it makes a Gorgeous blanket for the Lovely Old Dollhouse! The colors go so well with the wallpaper.... and it IS a cold New England house, after all!
In fact, in the Colonial times they used heavy coverlets for the beds that were Woven and they called them "Rugs"!

So, Dear Readers...... One would Think that was enough gifts.......
but I cannot neglect the "Gifts" that Mrs. Santa (Who knows me SO Well....!) brought me....

This is , of course, because I went to that Dollhouse Shop that is not very far from here.... and I spotted some Treasures that I had Never seen before in that shop........ they Immediately went on the "List" of what Must be Purchased....... and Mrs. Santa must have been looking over my shoulder........

But just LOOK at this little kitchen hearth set....... the "range" is all cast metal with working doors..... and all the little treasures are securely glued down.... so If I wish to alter it I will have to do so carefully. This is a European style range that I have never seen made here in the States... it speaks to me of eighteenth century cottages....... in Wales or Ireland...... Do I HAVE to make ANOTHER Dollhouse now to use it?.................. The list just gets Longer.......

For now, it can sit beside my computer...........

all set up with the kettle about to boil......
Bacon and eggs almost ready to eat......

because nothing falls off when I bump the table........

A Quarter past nine..... such a lazy Sunday breakfast time.......

And that cat all curled up on the mantle........

Isn't he Sweet? Would YOU have been able to Resist this Treasure?

And speaking of TREASURES...... just Look at this table!

Carved, unfinished wood........ just Begging for a HOME.........

The Only question being .......What KIND of home?

I swear...... it doesn't really FIT into any of my current dollhouses.........

But Really.... I am NOT capable of passing up such a Treasure when I see it.......

so I guess I will have to design it a Home.... or a Roombox at the very Least!

So, you can see..... I have received GIFTS beyond my imaginings this year!
And I am SO Thankful!

And even though it is Past Christmas and NOT quite the New Year......
I wanted to share with you all the Christmas Card I painted this year.....
the Twenty-eighth year in a row that I have made one.....!

Gifts!