LAST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH !

 Another month gallops past ! Is it the lockdown that makes the days appear to vanish so quick or just the fact they are all pretty much the same at present ? 

So this week as been all about the shop and the studio and it looks pretty much like it's going to stay that way for a while. I was chatting to Michelle, my sister, on facetime this morning and running through some of my options re the shop placement. Paul was adding his two pence worth from where he was painting the undercoat on Michelle's shop, at the kitchen table.

A couple of options appeared during the conversation and so now some changes need making! I have decided to remove the long shelf that covers the whole of the back wall of the Studio. I had originally had it put up to use as room settings , that I could take photos of the dolls during their stories. One of which was supposed to be granny's shop and another a bedroom. However I found I didn't feel comfortable standing on the steps trying to take photos , along with the fact that it was a strain to reach to the back of the shelf . ( Beinging only 5ft 2 on a good day, I don't have a long reach  ) 

It then became a place to store the various pieces of equipment and props. Now I have decided to remove those shelves , which will also allow me to remove the three one foot cupboards that they sit on.

This then gives me an extra three foot of space on the worktop below. Now I can move the kitchen and the living room set up's , six inches over towards the left and right walls, leaving me with four foot of space in the centre , which is the size of the shopfront. The unit it's standing on now could go under into the space available or over to the side with the three small units removed from the top going underneath instead.

This is still only a narrow space for the depth of the shop , however if Paul made me a stand that was on casters, so the shop front could sit in front of the space and be moved out the way when needing access to shop or unit below!

Now I can hear you all saying "well where is she going to put all those props.... " well I still have the old studio at the end of the workshop , which still has things for the dolls in there, the horses for a start! So I could set the old studio up as my props storage area! All the cupboards down there are empty but the floor space is taken up with some old furniture and a few other items that we would need to sell on or donate.

If I do the above I also have the second option of putting the shopfront and setting up the shop in that studio, allowing me to have a tearoom set up and Granny's set up with the front being moved between the two area's. Then the new area in the main studio could become a bedroom.

So lots to think about and decide over the coming week, however I will start with removing the props and the shelves and going on from there!

On the doll front I did have a doll arrive, another Lynne and Michael Roche doll. This time she has a full wooden body and porcelain head and hands.

I love her clothing , such a lovely colour. 

A closer look at her face, she's called Mary. I do like that her body is all wooden, she can stand quite well on her own. 

One of the good things about moving things around in the studio is that I finally came across a dress pattern I had been looking for! However the knitting pattern book is still alluding me ! But I know I have it , I just need to find it!

Well we are supposed to get a small heatwave this week, so it will be dry , which will help if it's dry and warm for the big move about! Paul , who has been putting up a gazebo for our lovely next door neighbour's , will have fnished that on Monday, so he'll be available to help with the studio change about.

So I wish you all a happy healthy doll filled week ahead.

Dee

PS

I did play tea room with my schoenhut dolls , when I should have been tidying!