What is this?

 

     Any guesses on what this is? This is the future home of Field of Dolls Studio! It is currently a huge mess and not ready for use, or proper viewing, but it is coming soon. I am hoping this will allow me to be much more productive than I have been able to be recently. I still have a huge amount of work to do to get everything situated, but I know I have not posted in a while. I am still here! Just super insanely busy at the moment. I will have some updates, and dolls, soon. Though I do still have some items for sale on MH$P and I think I have one doll left (I would have to check). I know I have the short cowboy for sure. Oh, two! I also have the western pleasure doll, in blue, that I finished last week. This lady right here:

     But for now, I wanted to let you know that I was still around, just crazy busy. I will be back soon and will have new dolls to offer! Thanks for sticking around!

How long has it been?

    Things have been a little bit sporadic in the studio in the past month. I have some fairly big things happening, and I don't have a lot of time for... anything. I also have some really large expenses coming up in the near future and I am working on raising some funds for that. I realize I have not posted since the end of April. I am glad I switched out from daily blogging a while ago. I definitely could not have done it recently. Clearly. 

     I have been listing some tack and things from my personal collection over the past several weeks. I still have micros and minis left, they are here: Micros Minis I will very likely take reasonable offers on them since I need the funds. I have some really big goals. 

     I am likely going to be listing some more tack in the near future as well. Perhaps (probably) also 1:9 scale dollhouse items and potentially props. Here are some things that are still available from this weeks round of listings. 

Western pleasure set $375. Saddle by Nikki Hertzog, bridle by Pam Perkins and saddle pad by Elise Partanen. 

Mel Miller bones medallion. Has a broken ear (the left one). Still an amazing piece. $90

Two Horns Bar custom saddle works/Wendy Ward parade set. $650

Endurance set: saddle by Mandy Claussen, Bridle/Halter/Breast collar by Sara Bowman, doll by me. $600

      I also have this newly finished casual western doll. She is wearing a red button down shirt and dark blue jeans. She has on black boots, a removable white hat, and her belt is undyed natural leather. 

     She has gorgeous auburn hair in a long braid down her back. $220 

     I could be talked into making this doll cutting chaps or chinks if you want them. Send me an email to fieldofdolls@gmail.com. I will try to write another post soon. 
 

More Stuff on Sale!

 

So I have decided I am going to add to my sale this week that I started with the doll post of this morning. I already had a bunch of micros and minis listed in other blogs, and I think all those horses will also be on sale. Here is a link to the minis for sale post: https://fieldofdolls.blogspot.com/2023/03/minis-for-sale.html and the micros for sale post:i https://fieldofdolls.blogspot.com/2023/02/micros-for-sale.html. Since both of those posts have been up for a while I think I will offer anything in them for 15% off for this week (from 4/30/23- 5/7/23). AND I will offer the same bulk discounts that are listed in the blog posts! I will also be posting more things for sale SOON! Happy Shopping!

Sale Time! Sale Pricing!

     I think anyone that has read my blog for a very long time, as in likely from the start, may remember that sometimes I randomly have sales. I am on a mission to clear some stuff out, raise some money quickly, and I have decided I don't have the time right now, and maybe not for a while, to hold a live sale. And I want to see how much I can get out of here as quickly as possible. So for one week (4/3/23- 5/7/23) all of my current ready to ship dolls are on sale at 2021 pricing! So here is what I have:

Hoodie doll- SOLD, casual western doll $200, western pleasure doll $220

western pleasure doll black and red $220, western pleasure doll with vest SOLD, small cowboy $240

Dressage doll $210, casual English doll with tattoos $200, hunt seat doll in navy SOLD

hunt seat doll without bendy neck (I goofed) $210

     Extremely short time payments, as in no more than a couple of weeks, might be possible, though PIF is preferred. Shipping is extra, $10 to the US and I can get you a quote for anywhere else. These dolls are available immediately and I usually ship within a day or two. I am also going to advertise these dolls in other places to try to get a wider audience. If you are interested in one or more of these dolls please email me at fieldofdolls@gmail.com. As a reminder, my order books are closed, so if you want dolls by me this would be a great way to get some, and at a discount!

Fast Weekend

     Yesterday, our class participated in a Special Olympics game day. It was expected to be cloudy all day, but warm. We didn't really know what to expect, but I had some ideas, based on my experience with unified track events that were put on my Special Olympics. 

     I was not disappointed. At the beginning of the games we had the parade of schools. 

      There were only 4 or 5 districts at the games, but there were lots of people. And those clouds we were expecting? They went away almost as soon as we got there. It was a fun day, filled with lots of running (I did a ton of running), sun, and great teamwork. 

     Travis and I tried something new for our Friday coffee date. We went to Barnes and Noble, got coffees at Starbucks, and then went to look at books. I showed amazing self control and only bought Travis one book, one book for myself, and one book as a gift. At one point I did have a stack of books, but I decided that self control is an OK thing sometimes. And we had a good time with our Barnes and Noble coffee date, so I am sure I can get more of the books I wanted over the next several trips. 

     This morning, Travis and I went to Ludlow High School for the Sgt Desforges Walk/Run Challenge. If you are curious about it, or want to donate to the foundation, here is a link to a whole bunch of stuff about it https://runsignup.com/Race/MA/Ludlow/SgtJoshuaDDesforgesWalkRunChallenge I woke up to rain and did consider not going. It did not sound like a fun thing to run in the rain, to do drills in the rain, or to be outside in the rain and not even 50 degrees. But, we run for Josh and because we love his mom, Arlene. So we went. All ready to race!

     At the beginning, there is always a ceremony. It was soggy and chilly, but just as nice as always. 

    Travis and I got started fairly close to the front of the pack and (I) managed to keep up a good pace for probably 1/4 of a mile (maybe?). Which is impressive because most of my runs are very short bursts. I am not fast and I do not have endurance. But I keep going. The first obstacle was crawling under the huge net. The grass was super wet, so we were all super wet when we got out. The next thing we had was a very steep hill. We then got into our push-ups, on muddy ground. Then, it was back off running down the trail until we got to the squats. I can do squats, and even 22 of them was not a hardship for me. We continued on down the trail, sometimes fast, sometimes not so fast, and had drills of carrying buckets of sand up and down a hill, pulling a tire on a rope to the top of a backstop (they said I could go halfway and I said I was going to do the thing right), burpees (ouch, no jumping, I'll go slow), sit-ups, running up and down the bleachers, and then back out to the parking lot behind LHS where we started for the final sprint to the finish line. I was tired and out of breath for a good chunk of the run. And I kept going. I had some really horrible shin splints happening. And I still kept going (but a bit more carefully). And we finished. I did not throw up at the end (I also did not last year, lol, but someone did). Overall I finished in 55th place, 22nd for my gender category, but I did all of the obstacles fully, and not everyone did. I finished in 1 hour and 46 seconds, which I know is better than last year. And really, I only compete with myself. Maybe next year I can get under an hour.

     We stuck around and visited with people a bit, got this nice photo with Arlene and headed home so I could have a hot shower. It was still not even 50 degrees. I then spent a lot of the afternoon with ice on my shins to try to get the throbbing to stop. I had a bit of a nap and finally I was ready to talk about all the running. And all the T-shirts. In the past 2 days I have gotten 2 new T-shirts for 2 different events that involved a lot of running.

     This year, I sort of started semi-training for this event in December, when I sort of started running again. I definitely did a lot more to prepare than last year, where I did nothing other than show up and run. Next year I am going to train more. I will work on push-ups (still can't do even a single proper push-ups) and I will work on sit-ups. I had the marine at the drill station hold my feet because Travis was being lazy about it. It helped, but I super struggled on the last couple. Need to work on that. There has been a lot of running the last couple of days and the weekend is going by incredibly quickly. Maybe I'll take things a bit more slowly tomorrow. 

Casual Western

      There is motivation around us. We just have to look for it. Today, while I was walking around the school with one of my coworkers and one of our kids, I saw this sign in the hallway and I love it. There have definitely been times in my life where I have felt I was limited by circumstances. Which might be a bit true, but the reality is, I am my own limit. And I am going to just keep that in mind. And I will keep taking photos of motivational signs when I see them and reminding myself that I can do amazing things, as long as I believe I can and work hard enough. 

      OK, speech over, back to dolls. I had to go to the car dealership, again, so I could get my inspection done. The other day when they had my car all day, to repair all the things that needed doing so it could pass inspection, the machine was down. And I was annoyed. Because I was there on Monday for an oil change and to get the inspection done, then they had it all day Friday to repair the things... and didn't get the inspection done. So I tried again today. And it finally worked. I am about over spending time in the dealership. Though I have gotten a lot of reading done. At least there is that. 

     When I got back I had a bit of time to work on dolls so I decided I would see if I could finish up the casual western doll that I started last week. I didn't have a lot left to do, so it all worked out. 

     This lady has really pretty light brown/chestnut hair in a long braid. As you can see, her head is fully haired so she can go hatless, but she does also come with a removable hat. 

           A casual western doll like this lady is great for so many things. She can be in western games, casual western things like trail riding, just hanging around the barn. I could also make her working chaps or chinks (in the color of your choice) so she could go in cattle classes and other events. 

     If you are interested in this lady she is $220 plus shipping (she is sold). I can make chaps or chinks for $40 more. If you are interested, please send me an email to fieldofdolls@gmail.com. Currently I will not be listing her anywhere but here on the blog. I am still hoping to have a live sale with the dolls I have available and a variety of things from my personal collection. Soonish. But when exactly is still up in the air. 

Customer Photos- Ann Harris

     Sometimes, when you put things out in the world, you get a response. The other day I did a post with customer photos and said that I would love photos of the dolls I have made in action, if anyone else wanted to share them. Ann Harris came through this this set of photos from QVPO last Fall. 

     Ann is an incredibly experienced shower and always makes sure to have a clean entry. She starts with a correct entry, with everything safe, and then adds elements to give the entry more depth and realism. I believe this entry is sorting, maybe ranch sorting (I should have asked, I was just enjoying the pictures, lol) and not only is the rider looking where she is going, which is the same direction her horse is looking, there are extra cows to make everything more realistic. 

   A callback placed on the table does not have to be correct, I have had untacked callback with dolls hanging off them in weird ways, and since it is (usually) the points that matter, the way the horse is placed on the table doesn't much matter. But this doll, the tack, and the horse, all look really great together. Even for callbacks. 

     There is a lot of action in this cross country entry. The horse and rider both look focused on what they are doing, the tack is all in the correct place, and it's just nice to look at. I miss my Hazel resin. I have not had her in many years. 

    And here is Hazel yet again, with a different rider. I am not really sure what class this is, but by the boots I would say it is likely a jumper class. And, as usual, all the tack is in place, safe, and the rider is part of the scene, not just plopped on at the end. Ann makes excellent use of her dolls. 

    This entry again shows an excellent use of a doll. The pair is clearing brush and the doll is focused on what she is doing, while trusting her horse to go where he needs to go. I love an entry that is nice to look at. And we all know I love when people can make dolls look less like dolls!

     Thank you Ann for sharing your photos with me and for letting me share them here. I haven't been to a show since the end of 2019 and what I miss the most, other than the people, is seeing all of the really cool performance entries. So I will put out the call again, if anyone has photos of dolls I made in action, whether at a fun photo shoot or a show, even photo show pics, and they will allow me to share them, please send me an email at fieldofdolls@gmail.com. Thanks so much!