books — Page 45

The Cubicle

January 23, 2022 at 10:00 am by Claudia

I call this “Out of Control Office.” Or “When Dollhouses Become a Cubicle.”

I’m getting ready to do some finishing work on the exterior of the English Cottage, as well as finishing off bits of the interior. There will be little bits and pieces to add over time – that’s what happened with Hummingbird Cottage. In fact, I added a new table and chairs for the kitchen of that house last year, so I guess I’m never completely done. I also want to add some window boxes and paint the raised porch area.

The fourth wall of the cubicle. Yes, that’s toilet paper on the shelf below. I’m not sure why it’s there, maybe I needed something to wipe up paint? Who knows?

Between the girls and the dollhouses, I have a lot of miniature endeavors going on.

I have a few books on ‘small things’ you might be interested in. I was straightening up my stacks of in progress reading material yesterday and I separated these books from the pile so I can read them over the next few days.

The Book of Mini – Inside the Big World of Very Small Things is by Kate Esme Unger, who I’ve been following for many years through her @dailymini feed on Instagram. She has photographed miniatures for years and this book is a compilation of her photos, including interviews with some of the artisans. It really is a treasure trove. Available in bookstores and on Amazon.

Collectively Speaking – My Passionate Pursuit of Miniatures (2 volumes) is by Kate Savage Browning. Her collection is vast, so much so that she established the KSB Miniatures Collection, which is in a 3,300 square foot gallery in Maysville, Kentucky. I met her several years ago at the IGMA show and I’ve seen an interview/tour of the gallery. It’s extraordinary. The photographs are excellent and Kay shares so much history and information. Well worth it and available on Amazon.

This is Blythe by Gina Garan. Written in 2000 (I believe it might be out of print now) Garan photographed her Blythe dolls – and I’m talking about the original Kenner Blythe dolls pre-customization – out in nature and in and around the streets of NYC. It’s considered a classic for Blythe and doll lovers, especially those who collect the original dolls.

Don somehow found this book – I’d never mentioned it to him – and got it through a bookseller. He gave it to me for my birthday.

Yes, he’s cool.

Garan’s photography was groundbreaking. Nowadays, Blythe collectors photograph their dolls everywhere especially in this world of social media, but at the time it was rare. She had a book of those photographs published – unheard of. It reminds me of The Lonely Doll, a childhood favorite.

It’s cold here today and unfortunately, no sunshine. Hang in there, everyone.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Relocating Books and a Flower Child

December 28, 2021 at 10:17 am by Claudia

The modern dollhouse is dismantled and, for the time being, it’s wrapped in a sheet and tucked under my dresser. But it sticks out, as it did when I tried to place it under the work table. It will be moved to a spot under the bed later today.

The top surface of the both bookshelves was cleaned and then, several trips up and down the stairs later, we have this:

This looks crooked and wonky because the only way I can get a photo is to sit on the bed. Even though our house is very old and does have slightly uneven floors, it’s not quite this bad! All of these books are To Be Read. Except for the Mary Stewarts and (not in the photo) the PD James. They are to be reread. I actually like the books here more than the dollhouse as the covers are colorful and bright and they cheer up this corner of the bedroom.

Our library is accepting donations again, so I am going to sort through books and amass piles of them to donate. Normally, I do this once a year, but the last couple of years have been…well, you know.

I made progress with the puzzle, too.

Today it’s sunny, so we’re going to take a walk this morning.

A new dress arrived in the mail from a seller on Etsy – WoollyRockers. I’ve purchased from her before. She made a series of dresses in the Strawberry Thief pattern by William Morris, which, as you can see, I also have on the sofa in the English cottage.

I’ve always thought of Sophie as a bit of a flower child, and this long dress, coupled with her long hair, confirms it. Zoe was dressed in that hat when she arrived in the mail and it is the perfect color to complement the dress. Next on the agenda for Sophie and Maeve; a neck joint that will make their heads move a bit more, so that they aren’t always looking down. (That’s a thing with Blythe dolls in their original state – heads looking downward.) That lack of flexibility results in Sophie often looking sullen. It will involve some ‘surgery’ but now that I’m home, I’m going to get going on that project.

I have some major sorting and cleaning to do in the office/studio and that will be on the agenda for the next couple of days. It’s rather a mess in my cubicle and since Don recently cleaned and reorganized his section of the office, I must avoid embarrassment and do the same!

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Puzzle and Book Storage

December 27, 2021 at 9:55 am by Claudia

If you stopped by yesterday, this is what you would have seen me doing.

All day long.

This is a difficult one, with lots of detail, but it’s such fun! So many Shakespearean characters pop up throughout the puzzle. The Globe, the Tower of London, Queen Elizabeth I, bear baiting (can’t believe that was ever considered sport!) the Thames. It is the perfect puzzle for yours truly.

But 1000 tiny pieces with all sorts of bits of building facades and people’s faces, so there’s that.

I figured I’d start with the Thames and go from there.

Don is out running a few errands as we might get some light snow this afternoon that will turn icy overnight. He figured he’d get things done this morning and then we can stay safely inside.

I have decided I am going to temporarily dismantle the modern dollhouse. I haven’t done anything with it and it takes up a lot of space on the bedroom bookshelves. It’s easily taken apart and put together again – it was designed that way. Then I’m going to move the stacks of books that live on the den floor up to the top of the bookcase. These are all books that are To Be Read and I can stack them on their sides where the titles will be visible. Rather than have them take up floor space downstairs, they can live in the bedroom, where I will see them every evening. And the den will look less crowded. So that’s on the docket for today.

I’ll store the modern dollhouse under the work table in the office. I think (fingers crossed) that will work.

Okay. Have to get going.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

The Cubicle

Relocating Books and a Flower Child

Puzzle and Book Storage

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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