Just got news today that my "root-haired" doll, the one that went to the State Fair in Puyallup, will have her photo in Art Doll Quarterly, Spring 2017.  That was nice news to receive during a time when most of the news I was receiving wasn't happy.

 Two months ago I lost my dog, Wiener.  He was 15 years old and had a long life, but losing him was still very hard. We'd had him since he was three.

I really missed Wiener, as he was MY dog and our other two dogs prefer my husband to me.  I felt rather left out. But you never know what Life has in store.  Last week I received a new dog without even looking for one. He is Bailey, a ten year old long-haired dachshund.  Sadly, his previous owner died two days before I received him and he was very sad. Dogs grieve the same as people do.

Bailey has fit in well with our female dachshunds; one is older than he is and one younger. He is a love of a dog, and I needed him as much as he needed me. Having Bailey has helped deal with Wiener's loss and I am helping him deal with the loss of his mom, Allene.

 Grace

Poki

I'm having to get used to the fact that Bailey can jump higher than the girls can. He got a bite of my breakfast yesterday!! So I learned that lesson quickly!

Bailey sticks close to me. He lies on the bathmat while I shower, and that is OK with him. However, once I shut the water off, I have about a minute to get out before he begins to cry. He stands with his paws on the edge of the tub and wails until I push the curtain back and get out. Then he is happy again. I haven't left him very often since I got him, but he does alright for short periods of time. I skipped our doll club in Puyallup today because I didn't want to leave him all day. He's been through enough lately, I don't want to cause him any more stress than I have to. 

I HAVE been working on a few dolls lately. I am interested in assemblage dolls, but haven't really finished one yet. Here are two in progress: 

I'll post more photos as I get these two closer to being finished. 

I also have a new "root-haired" doll in the Fall Gala at Grays Harbor College. I will show photos of him later. 

Thanks for stopping by!!

My Root Head Doll goes to the State Fair!!

Thanks to one of our King County members of The Quilt Barn Doll Club, those of us who live off-the-beaten-path, in this case I-5, were able to easily enter dolls in the State Fair which happens in Puyallup (Pew-Al-Up), WA in September. Several of us took our kind member up on her offer to deliver our dolls, paperwork in hand, to the fair on the appointed day, saving us several hours of travel.

We brought our dolls to the August meeting, having done the paperwork for our entries on-line ahead of time. I may or may not get to the fair before it closes at the end of the month, but my doll got there and so, for that, I am grateful. I AM curious about how she did, but I'm sure that she enjoyed all the attention, regardless of whether she won a blue ribbon or not!!

Another project I have been working on, but not too steadily, are my first "assemblage" dolls. I have been trolling the local thrift stores for suitable materials, having looked at other people's dolls on Pinterest. I even pick up washers, bottle caps and other bits of metal off the parking lots and sidewalks. (I carry hand sanitizer in my car.)

Here is what I have done so far, which is, I agree, not much:

The heads are made of DAS, a kind of air-drying "clay." The bodies are recognizable to wine drinkers as wine bottle openers. I'd have no use for these if I couldn't make them into something else, as I don't

drink wine, even though I've been told how healthy it is. 

I will post more photos of these two when I do more work on them. So far, I haven't found anything that strikes me as good for their legs. I guess I should go back to Pinterest and get inspired. It's a great site for that!!

Onward and Upward!!

Hello, again!! After trying for a long time to reach the "composing page" for Rainy Day Dollar, I have "thrown in the towel," and decided to just continue the blog under the name of Rainy Day
Doller II.

At my old blog, rainydaydoller.blogspot.com, I mentioned making dolls with roots for hair.  I think my last post about them was on January 17, 2015, where you see a photo of the head of my "latest root haired doll." I am somewhat chagrinned to admit that particular head is still in the same unfinished state as she was 17 months ago, and ditto for the small cloth doll pictured on the same page.

Would it help if I said we'd moved last December and that it was a chaotic and disorganized time during the months leading up to the actual/physical move (December 19, 2015) and after, as well? It was also a disorganized and chaotic 2014 as my husband fought to keep his legs in a year-long fight against terrible and extensive sores on his shins that would not heal. It was truly a long, drawn-out ordeal!! It consumed our lives for 12 months, beginning in April, 2014 and ending in March 2015.

Thankfully, due to two angioplasties, one on each leg done by the highly-skilled Dr Damon Pierce of Virginia Mason Hospital (Seattle), most excellent wound care from Dr. Randolph Fish and his amazing nurses at our local Wound Center (part of Grays Harbor Community Hospital), and endless bandage-changing and general nursing care from me (just saying'), his legs were saved and he is now doing fine. It was a group effort and no part of it would have sufficed on its own.

I am so thankful for each person that helped him overcome this huge health challenge!! It took a toll on us, though, and disrupted our life no end!! We sometimes had two or three doctor visit a week, as well as having to make two 3-day trips to Seattle for the necessary procedures. We also had our first grandson born right in the middle of all this, providing us with a bright ray of hope at a very dark time!!

So! I have completed one root haired doll lately; see above and right.
, as well as having four heads waiting for the bodies and limbs that I am so reluctant to make!! Hopefully, now that I have worked out a satisfactory pattern for the bodies and limbs, I may be able to complete each of the waiting dolls in a somewhat timely manner!! Stay tuned as I work on more of these dolls. Barb