Today I’m answering a question from PCGuyIV of Thoughts and Theories who asks about hobbies.
The Question
With the exception of blogging (assuming it’s a hobby and not your profession), do you have any unique hobbies or pastimes?
I have a lot of “gunna” pastimes. One of these days I’m gunna get back to making teddy bears, cross stitch, longstitch embroidery, scrapbooking and other crafty pastimes.
My true hobby, apart from blogging, is collecting dolls. I’ve been at it for more than twenty years starting with some childhood dolls and spending many happy hours hunting through markets, op shops and antique shops. These days the majority of my doll shopping is done online but I do enjoy the thrill of finding one in person.
Of course once I have them I want to learn more about them so there is reading and researching, and writing as a doll blog is part of this hobby. I clean up the sad, dirty ones. When I worked at an Op Shop myself as a volunteer I often used to take home dolls with ink stained faces and rats nest hair and fix them up before taking them back to the shop. I didn’t like to see sad, unloved dolls and I also felt that people would be more likely to buy them if they looked nice. This week I’m going through some of my vintage fashion dolls and giving them a bit of a makeover.
This hobby spills over into some other areas too. I’m currently knitting a little dress for a vintage baby doll because I didn’t like the outfit I got her in. Knitting was one of my gunna hobbies. I used to knit a lot but now don’t have the patience to knit for myself but I knit for the dolls. I’m just getting back to it after a break.
I also like photography and of course I photograph the dolls. They are my tiny models and I enjoy playing with them in this way but I love to get out with my camera and photograph the world too. I’m not very technical, I use auto settings a lot. It’s more about capturing what appeals to me. Blogging has become a part of this as photo challenges have expanded my ideas about what makes an interesting photo.
Our Other Blog: Two Sisters and Two Points of View 
Those photos are really lovely. I am especially in awe of the spider web one because I have never been able to capture a web so clearly and beautifully. I love that you fixed up dolls and took them back to the shop. Such a sweet and caring gesture and increasing their chances of a new “forever home” instead of winding up in some skip. I find dolls kind of spooky when they’re broken and sad. I had a doll (not unlike your second photo) who got chewed up by our puppy when i was about eight. Apart from being distressed at the loss of the doll, I was distressed by the damage the puppy did to her head. Of course Mum said: “You shouldn’t leave your toys on the floor,” which is exactly what I say to my kids now. lol
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Mum’s everywhere say that and they were right. Don’t leave toys on the floor, or in the driveway or you will be sorry.
I was very lucky to get that spiderweb shot. I was at the Op Shop one winter morning. It was foggy and cold and one of my co-workers noticed it as we were carrying things outside when we opened. I can’t remember now if I used my phone or if I happened to have my camera that day. I did occasionally take it in with me to take photos for Cee’s photo challenges. I was thrilled with how well it came out. A complete fluke.
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Fixing the dolls was something I very much enjoyed. I hate waste and even though I don’t find modern dolls especially attractive I didn’t like to see them sitting on the shelves all messed up. It is a cheap op shop but to even charge a couple of dollars for a messed up doll seemed wrong to me. It started one day when we were unpacking donations and there was a baby doll with blue marks all over his face. My friend was going to throw it out but I said “Wait! Maybe I can get these off.” They turned out to be water based so it was easy. I started looking for the messy ones and the other ladies started saving them for me so I became The Doll Lady, at the shop.
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☺️☺️. Love it. The Doll Lady.
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Vanda and her sister Naomi are amazing..the love and appreciation for dolls,toys past is contagious.Love the featured Fashion Friday which I get on Thursday in Cali.,I am guilty of rescuing and researching many dolls because of this lady.It has replaced my hobby of Genealogy as more engaging and a great way to make new friends, maybe even take some of the creep factor out of the dark into the light of day.
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