Lucy Locket

After spending the last few days with her, and in keeping with the Nursery Rhyme theme I used for my previous three Liz Frost (Wizworx) dolls, Willowmenia has chosen the name Lucy Locket as hers. But of course she couldn't possibly be Lucy Locket without a "pocket" of her own, so I made her one.

Do any of you remember this singing this nursery rhyme when you were a child?

Lucy Locket lost her pocket,

Kitty Fisher found it;

Not a penny was there in it,

Only ribbon round it.

Historically, the term "pocket" referred to a pouch worn around the waist by women in the 17th to 19th centuries in which they would keep their small belongings. Skirts or dresses of the time had a slit at the waistline to allow access to the pocket which hung around the woman's waist by a ribbon. They were a pre-cursor to the 19th century handbag and the pocket that we now find in our skirts and trousers.

Willowmenia Needs a Name

I took a few photos of Willowmenia today and although she has my full attention at present, she still hasn't revealed her personality. I really don't want to keep the name given to her by Liz (it's a bit of a mouthful), but this darling doll is not opening up to me in any way. How do you find a name for a doll who keeps secrets?

When I have more time, I will have to do something about her eyelashes (at least the ones on her left eye or right when you look at her) as they became detached when I was inserting her very stubborn eyes. I did try putting them back on, but without a great deal of success . . . they are on, but they are not sitting as they should.

I thought yellow would be a complimentary colour for her beautiful chocolate resin and when I found a pair of MimiWoo yellow and white shoes amongst my stash which fitted her to perfection, I assumed I was on the right track.

Her outfit was designed by me, made without a pattern and stitched completely by hand. The eight piece outfit is comprised of a 100% Cotton (quilting weight) dress & matching hair band, Cotton Tana Lawn bloomers and over skirt, Supersoft Cotton Interlock arm and leg warmers.

Willowmenia is wearing an Off Black Monique Gold Geneva wig and has brown glass eyes.

Plans Gone Awry

I had been planning to share photos of Willowmenia (my Liz Frost doll) this week, but unfortunately her shipping has been delayed due to the fires throughout the north east coast of Australia. There are fires burning from The Sunshine Coast through to Canberra. You can see the extent of them here.

PHOTO: Brittany Daly

These fires are horrendous and so many people have lost their homes (577 in the last two weeks) and all their belongings. The homes can always be rebuilt and furniture can be replaced. However, you cannot replace photographs or personal items that have special memories attached to them.

Over a million hectares (2.5 million acres) have now been razed across New South Wales since the start of this year's unprecedented bushfire season. People have been killed and there has been so much destruction on the state's mid-north coast and northwest where bushfires ravaged regional towns. The rail between Brisbane and Sydney has been shut down, as the the lines have been warped by the fire.

Liz is right in the thick of this, at present she's okay, but it must be scary to have these fires so close to home. Being right on the coast, I think Liz should remain safe, however, the highway is closed and not knowing which way the fire will head next, my doll will remain with her until Liz knows it's safe to send her.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all those in the fire zone as things have been predicted to worsen. With forecasts of a heatwave later this week and temperatures expected to climb past 40 degrees Celsius in some areas, I am really dreading the outcome.

PHOTO: ABC

Sydney has been covered in smoke haze, South Australia has also had fires with 111 schools closed due to temperatures of 42C. Now fires are out of control in Western Australia.  What makes me really sick to my stomach is that some of these fires have been deliberately lit by teenagers . . . I don't know what goes on in those people's heads.

Meanwhile, the northern part of Victoria faces scorching days as northerly winds will leave temperatures well over 40C both today and tomorrow, which has prompted the CFA to declare a total fire ban for the Mallee region.

Melbourne was expected to heat up today before hitting one of its hottest November days ever, as temperatures are forecast to hit 39C tomorrow, so I'm going to take my doggy for his walk now before it gets too hot and I'll be back in a few days, hopefully with something more positive to talk about.

Happy New Year Everyone!

We're all going on a summer holiday,

No more working for a week or two.

Fun and laughter on our summer holiday,

No more worries for me or you,

For a week or two.

We're going where the sun shines brightly

We're going where the sea is blue.

We've all seen it on the movies,

Now let's see if it's true.

Everybody has a summer holiday

Doin' things they always wanted to

So we're going on a summer holiday,

To make our dreams come true

For me and you.

For me and you. 

Songwriters: Brian Bennett / Bruce Welch Summer Holiday lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Have a wonderful finish to 2018 . . . see you all again in 2019!