What Was that Book?

Did you ever read a book once, only to find that years later it would haunt the back of your mind- tiny details of it floating along, fascinating you and aggravating you while the title of the book eluded you completely? I've been thinking of a book for months now... I suspect I read it somewhere around age 10... it was about a girl who finds herself in a strange house, where things change... rooms change, and it seems to be inhabited by people who can't be there... I remember something about a school room... and a man (or male character) that the girl talks to... and she begins to question whether he is real or not... and he asks how she truly knows that anything is real... I remember also that something about the garden was significant, but I don't know why that was.

I don't remember anything else about this book, but I so desperately wish I did. I don't even really know if it was truly a good book or if there was just something in it that made those little bits cling to my memory like they do. I wish a little more of it would come back to me...

My Big Idea

A few months ago I found a cool website http://www.swap-bot.com/ and since then have been swapping handmade thingummies like mad. One extremely popular item to make and swap on this site is "dotee dolls" which are legless, armless persons, made of fabric and highly decorated. (See the original Dotees here: http://dotslifeandart.blogspot.com/ ) I have to say, the Dotees are very, very cute, but after I made my first one, I was a bit over the dotee craze. So I thought how lovely it would be to have a swap for any kind of dolly except Dotees, and I started the swap, only to find out that I was paralyzed by the fear of having to make something without knowing I was good at it.

The deadline for the dollies to be sent to our swap partners is March 15, which as you can see was drawing dangerously close. So this week I finally got down to business and got to work on my dolly. Once I got started, I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I made her completely by hand although I hardly ever do hand sewing. She was so tiny I thought it would be better to sew by hand than to do it with a machine and have a bigger seam allowance to stuff inside. I also drew her face on and knit her a little purple ruffled skirt and a matching sweater.

I still need to work on my skills as far as face drawing and hair attachment, but I really do like her. She has personality, and like me, remarkably unruly hair. I suspect that she also likes raspberry sherbet, going to the mall, and reading Russian novels. For a first attempt, I think she's very satisfactory, and I'm so glad to have gotten beyond my fear of the first attempt. I have another dolly swap coming up in May or June, so we will see what I come up with then.

The basic pattern for this dolly came from here: http://dollmaker.nunodoll.com/mini/mini.html

The skirt and sweater were "designed" by me, although it was more of a fake-it-till-you-make-it process than a design process.

Ah, the very first post..

I believe this is the post in which I state that I have started a blog and have no idea what to write about. Lately at random times I've found myself thinking "I should blog that" about various things that come up, but this is not one of those times. At least now I am prepared for the next time I get struck by the blogging bug.



I have a feeling I may be asked at some point what the title of my blog is all about, so I may as well mention that it comes from a Dave Matthews song "Let You Down" that says "I have no lid upon my head, but if I did, you could look inside and see what's on my mind." I thought it was fitting because I didn't really want a blog only about my personal life, or about knitting, or my postcard collection, but more a little chance to put down whatever was happening with me whenever I felt the urge to write a bit and let other people in on my doings and musings. So here it is, my opportunity to put my thoughts into words, and your opportunity to see what's on my mind.