Sew Very Little

And The Bigger Picture....

You will not Believe me, Dear Readers, if I tell you I have Very Little to show you this week! In fact you will probably Laugh... but Truly, I have So very little to show that is new! The stitching in the picture above is ALL I got done this week in my Mini Worlds! It was a three day Holiday Weekend too, and my only excuse is that my Sister was visiting.... and we Played and Ate and Talked and drank endless cups of tea.... and I forgot to take pictures. And we sat all Sunday afternoon while rain showers drifted by... she sewing on her Daughter's Teddy Bear who needed a thorough repair, and I putting Teeny stitches in the second bed curtain for the Tree House Pagoda Bed. It felt just like when we were little and used to sit all morning on our beds with the rag bag making clothes for our dolls!

Here you can see the first curtain that is nearly finished... 

it needs more leaves and some gold filigree embroidery added still....

But the flowers are done.

Keep in mind that the entire curtain is 3/4 inches wide and 2 inches tall!

Here you see both curtains together.... 

the beginnings on the left, 

and the faint basting stitches outlining the curtain edges.

Together they fit inside a 6 inch wide embroidery hoop.

And here is a closer shot. 

I use a magnifier and take tiny tiny stitches.... 

the thread is antique silk sewing thread.

I am sure you know how it goes!

And here is a picture of Teddy once he was repaired.....

My sister's grandson (who is only three) had removed a quantity of stuffing,

and the ancient fabric had torn beyond repair. 

She replaced the old fabric with a very similar print cotton that I had in my stash...

and added a tiny heart inside as well!

Now Teddy is Better than ever!

We spent hours and hours looking at all the Doll Houses....

She had never met the Fairy Bears nor seen the Cloud Palace....

And I am sure you Will Believe me when I say that I felt a little embarrassed at the MESS my Workspace was in.... so I spent some time before she got here cleaning up and re-arranging the Houses.... The plants went outside for the Summer.... and the Cloud Palace and the Conservatory moved into their place in front of the Windows!

And when the sun shone in this morning....

I couldn't resist some pictures.....

Blue had to get her Magic Wand out to show to my Sister.....

And Sir Orion demonstrated (very carefully) how his sword works...

My Sister was so very impressed!

And Brother Beorn wanted to show her the Library... 

even though all the books are not on the shelves...

He showed her his Book of Herbs....

And how cozy the little room was!

(Bears Love to be cozy, after all!)

And once those Houses had been moved, 

there was more room on the work table....

Which is really my Dining Room Table...!!!

Here you can see the whole room from one end...

The folly is on the Table, 

and the Lovely Old Dollhouse is in front of the windows....

And the table itself is covered in bits and pieces and boxes of stuff....

Here is a view of the whole room from the other side......

You can see the Cupboard House in the back to the left....

And the Castle takes up almost the entire front wall!

The Castle is big.... and my room is small!

We spent time looking through each of the houses.....

Here is a closer view of the Castle with the lights on.....

I apologize for the blurry view... 

it is gloomy this evening and my lighting is difficult...

And here is another view of the Lovely Old Dollhouse....

With the lights on..... some of them not working.... 

and the Mess all around!

I hope I have not destroyed your Illusions!

It is easy to edit out the mess when I show you close-up shots.....

But the real picture is piles of stuff everywhere....

And I usually have to move something in order to get anything done!

And below the Cloud Palace and the Conservatory.....

we have the "Temporary" rooms set up in the shelves.... 

currently being the rooms needed to tell Daphne's Story.....

because None of those "Houses" have been built at all!

I really must tell you the next pieces of Daphne's Story....

before you forget the parts I have already told.....

But I am afraid that will have to wait for another Day...

Because this past week was a busy one, Dear Readers,

 and I got Sew Little Done!

But I hope you have Enjoyed seeing 

a Little bit of the Bigger Picture!

Let The Sun Shine In......

Too Much to Do, Too Little Time....

It was one of Those Weekends, Dear Readers, when all the other projects in the RL World demanded most of my Time, so Precious Little got accomplished in the Mini Worlds! Spring has finally arrived with all the Garden chores and the beautiful Sunny mornings calling me outside. I am sure you know how it is! But I was able to work on the door to the bathroom in Rose Thorn Cottage! And I wanted to reassure Marisa over at Steinworks Blog, that I would not dream of forgetting the bathmat! It was high on my list of little details still needing to be done, so I got out my scissors and cut into a small infant romper with a velour texture and a cute pattern in pink and white.....

Of course, the bathroom is so small that the bathmat gets caught in the door when you open it, so you simply Must pick it up and hang it over the side of the tub when you are done bathing!
The morning sun was shining so beautifully that it filled the Cottage with a Rosy glow....

And even though the bathroom door/wall is not yet glued in place, here you can see how it will look when the bathroom is completed. That tiny room will be virtually inaccessible to all but the mini people, so I need to be sure it is well stocked before I attach the final wall!
And because that Morning Sunlight was calling so clearly, I had to take a tour around all the houses, just to see what still had not been done.....

The Folly is just as you last saw it, 

except that Daphne is no longer staring into space.....

The little Rats are still awaiting progress on their Tree House.....

Which stands Patiently beside the Folly....

The Dressing Room beside the Bath is still unfinished.....

It still needs its window, and lighting, and furniture....

Not to mention the rooms above......

Here you can see both the dressing room and the toilet.... 

which also needs its light figured out....

And while we are inspecting bathrooms.....

The Folly bath is lit by the morning sun....

but it needs just about everything except the light!

And Pollyanna has been looking at the Bath 

in The Lovely Old Dollhouse....

She thinks it could use all new fixtures.... 

and most importantly, a mirror over the sink!

Meanwhile, downstairs in the front Hallway, 

the sun is shining in through the sidelights of the front door....

Lighting up the new Antique chair....

so like the one my family has been handing down for Generations!

Meanwhile over at the Castle, Father Alban is still contemplating 

which Vision he should render next....

 When perhaps he should make it his life's Work just to complete the chapel ceilings....!

Which were begun by his predecessor... 

with whom he trained as a child....

so he knows the pattern of the stories intended on the unpainted portion....

He has been dreaming too long...!

And Will still contemplates the ancient wardrobe in the Castle Council Chamber....

He is busy buying up antiques for his shop "Otts And Ends"...

But we are not sure that he sees it at all....

Perhaps he is still trying to figure out where he stands with Daphne....

And what he should do about looking for her child.....

Because now that he knows, he cannot forget.

And let us not Forget the Conservatory......

Seemingly abandoned.....

But barely begun!

That Floor!

Made of mismatched tiles....

Still in need of so many more.....

The sun has not Forgotten..... and visits every Day...

Waiting for me To Find The Time to sit and make more tiles....!

Oh so many Projects!

And do you remember the Sewing Machine...?

I found Another one!!!!

Can you believe it???

(Can you even See it???)

It will have to have it's own Entire Project!!!

But it will have to have Patience.....

It will probably be quite some Time before I get to it...!

And Speaking of Patience......

Remember the Saints?

Still Awaiting their Details......
When was the last Time anyone even stood in the Great Hall
and Gazed Heavenward...?

Ages and Ages Ago....!
In the Dark Ages..... Long Before the Sun Returned!
Oh that Sun!
Shining Its bright light on All my unfinished Projects.....

Letting me know just how much there is to do.....

Like start to plan the Sink for Rose Thorn Cottage...
Which will sit under this window.....
Oh, Dear Readers, there is So Much to Do!
But whether there is enough Time or not......
We Have to Love it when the Sun Shines In!

Over The Top....

Or Just Plain Nuts.....

Where did the weekend go, Dear Readers? I had such great hopes to accomplish Big things in several of my mini projects, but then it turned into the first really nice weekend of Spring.... so I spent some time outside in the garden... and then the time I did spend on minis seemed to get swallowed up with some Tiny little details that were never on the list in the first place! Did you notice them already?
Well, let me show you where I left the bathroom in Rose Thorn Cottage last week.... when I realized that I should turn the bath around so we can see those faucets...

As I looked at it in the bright light of morning, I realized that something was missing! 

As lovely as those faucets were.... they looked lonely....

And as I began to think about things like where the soap should go, and was lamenting that I didn't have one of those lovely wire soap dishes to hang over the edge of the tub, I recalled seeing an antique circular soap dish somewhere long ago.... 

and decided to try to make one from jewelry findings and wire. 

Of course, I forgot to take pictures....

because I just was seeing if it would work....

It looks almost just like the one I remember!

But then I thought it needed soap.... 

so I pulled out the sculpey.....

Just plain old white bars of soap!

(I made several... will need to "wrap" the others...)

But as wonderful as that was.... 

it still looked incomplete to me.

Where was the chain with the drain plug?

Well, I had to make one, Of course!

And while the sculpey plug was cooking.....

I made a toilet paper roll and the holder....

And attached it to the side wall where it will be invisible when the door is added!

But... we will know it is there!

Then I needed to see how the tub looked with the new adornments....

Here you can see it with the little shelf under the mirror added...

and the "chair rail" which acts as additional support for the shelves...

Oh, and a sponge! 

I cut a piece off of a real sponge and perched it on the side of the tub...

But something still doesn't look right....

I want to be able to see that stopper I worked so hard to make!

So I pulled the tub out of the house (thankfully still not glued in place...) 

and I draped the stopper chain over the top of the faucets....

just as we always used to do....!

Aaah.... that looks more like it!

But when we put it in the Cottage... 

it is so dim we can hardly see!

And if we are trying to see it through the door....

With the help of a bright light shining in the window....

I think it looks nearly perfect!

 Well, Dear Readers, it wasn't what I planned at all!

And while it is nearly impossible to see with the wall in place,

I think it is Definitely Over the Top!

(And probably a Little bit Nuts!)

Seeing The Light....

Tower Progress and Other little Things....

I Hope you will Bear with me Dear Readers, if I ignore Daphne's Story this week and take you back to the Cloud Palace Tower! I am sure you remember that the Tower Bedroom was going to have a Lovely chandelier hanging from the magnificent ceiling... which I was going to try to illuminate from above. This can only be done if I decide to use those wonderful battery powered LED's. I think I am giving in and will do the necessary wiring because the effect is so beautiful! But meanwhile as you can see in the above picture, I decided on the shape for the paneling in the lower portion of the walls.

This "paneling" is made from painted cardboard.... 

but I wanted a more graceful shape than just plain vertical strips.

I painted the trim in the same silver paint that I used for the trim in the rest of the Palace.

Once the paneling was compete I could experiment with the lighting....

Here you see it with just the LED shining from the very top of the Dome....

I think it gives a lovely overall radiance.

So then I have to try and hang the chandelier 

and still have the light shining down from above...

and hope it shines on the chandelier in such a way as to make it glow....

I think it works well enough!

Even though I cannot attach it yet,

 as the tower still needs too much "construction"

I think it gives the atmosphere I am hoping for!

(And I thought I was getting away with No wiring on this project!)

Here you can see the whole Palace as it stands so far....

(with the stairs started up to the next level....!)

And all the Bears are happily enjoying a Sunny Sunday morning....

Yes, Brother Beorn is still telling Tall tales to the crystal Butterflies!

They are giggling hysterically....!

Blue and Sir Orion have eyes only for each other.....

(They are a Match made in Heaven...!)

And I recently bought this beautiful blue pitcher....

that matches Perfectly the Blue of the Blocks Birgit sent....

that spell out "Dream"....

(Gee, Is it any wonder why she chose that word...!)

I do Love that morning light!

 

And while we leave the Bears to their Dreams and we get back to work here....

I also have added several small details to the bathroom in Rose Thorn Cottage!

 

 

For starters, I made the water tank for the toilet, and the pipe too....

just very old fashioned and rustic.... with a pull chain....

And I very carefully stitched the hems on the bathroom curtain....

and added the lace trim.... which is a tiny bit short.....

but we can pretend, since it will not be visible, 

that it simply got worn and ragged at that corner......

And I also stitched it with a "string" through the top to hang it......

(made from the string on a teabag....)

tied to nails at each end..... 

I had to measure very carefully, so it would hang just right....

and would look very rustic and patched together.... 

I pre-drilled the holes and pushed the brass nails in with a spot of glue.

I think I will leave the ends of the string.... maybe a little shorter....

I also made some tiny jars for the shelf in the corner....

all with the theme of "roses"....

I glued them in place before attaching the shelf......

 

But the truly wonderful detail I added has to be the faucets for the tub!

Here you can see the parts made of sculpey and wire....

And here you can see them put together.... and painted......

And here below you can see the tub in place in the tiny bathroom.....

Without the wall in place.... 

the wall that would hide that end of the tub and make the faucets impossible to see...

Like this!

Hmmmmm..... 

I have been picturing the tub from this angle from the beginning....

but maybe I should try it the other way around...?

I had to invite Joanna in to see how the bathroom would work with this layout....

and I shined a bright light into the corners to help me see....

And tried it with the wall in place.....

to see what we would see....

And closer.... with the light shining in the window....

How can we hide those wonderful faucets?

I think I am seeing the light, Dear Readers,

In the Tower and in Other little Things!