simple, happy things, progress on the mr. socks pattern and new tiny dolls

I don’t bake anymore- at least not very often – because I can’t control myself around baked goods.  At all.  So I have to limit my exposure.  One of the things I miss about it are the fabulous smells – especially this time of year.  Cloves are a favorite and lately I started simmering cloves in a crock pot – I throw in citrus peels too if I have them.  I tried adding cinnamon – that was a little too much for me.  But the cloves are magnificent – a warm, clean smell –  just enough – and I’m surprised at how much it affects my mood.   It’s such a simple and pretty much free thing that brings me a lot of happiness.

And if some is good – more is better.  I’m experimenting with homemade clove citrus cleaner.  I Googled recipes and it could not be simpler to make – add white vinegar  and citrus peels to a jar along with optional spices – cloves in my case because of the new clove obsession.

Full disclosure – I don’t know if it works yet.  My jar has been sitting for about a week and I’ll test it out in about another.  I’ll let you know how it turns out.  Have you tried this?  I clean with vinegar often but hate the smell – so I thought it was worth a shot.  Plus it looks pretty.

Another simple and happy and pretty inexpensive thing that brings me lots of joy  – my plants.  Potted plants and stuff I pick up in the park and plop in water – sprigs of white pine etc.  Most of the potted plants were given to me or found abandoned on the sidewalk in Brooklyn. The one exception is the Norfolk Pine. I spent 30 bucks on it  3 years ago to serve as a christmas tree.  It will again this year too – I give it a shower about every ten days and coffee every once in a while – it loves it.

In other news – the mr. socks pattern is getting close – maybe next week or right after Thanksgiving.  You can sign up here if you’d like and email when the patterns is available.

There are a couple mr. socks prototypes in the shop right now along with several new green shoed tiny ladies.  Also – this is the last time the tiny dolls will be offered at their current price – there is just too much time in the fully wardrobed little dolls so if I do make more there will be a significant price increase.

P. S.  If you’ve been making your own tiny rag dolls from the pattern stay tuned for a winter coat pattern coming soon.