I started this Top in pink and I thought I could just switch to a champagne white, I had a lot of, to finish it off. But then I saw Amina’s, (tassel fairy), pastel rainbow sweater, which sent me off to dig through my stash looking for pastel yarns and I found what I thought would be enough. 😧It isn’t, each skein hasn’t done as many rows as I’d hoped it would.😔 Well, I’m committed now because I really want the rainbow! I just went shopping for more yarn😁n
I’m not sure about the lace pattern in the last pic. I probably won’t repeat it as many times as I had originally intended.n
Redecorating
I’ve decided that I need to brighten up my space more. My living room is overcrowded with a gothic feel. The walls were dark brown and I’ve already changed that. But the window coverings need to be more cheerful. Maybe some other things should change too. Anyway, the pics are of what the room looks like now and as I make changes, I’ll post them.n
Embellishing T-shirts
I spent today crocheting and drawing on my t-shirts. I even added sequins to my unicorn. 🦄n
I want to thank Amina, YouTube’s TasselFairy, for the inspiration!
This crocheted top will be a pastel rainbow when it’s completed.n
These were done with Sharpies on my homemade organic cotton t-shirts.n
Pig tails
We got the pig tails on the little dolly today and a dress, panties and a diaper cut out. Most of the day was divided between laundry that I did by hand, and crocheting on a summer top.n
Dolly has a face and hair
I think I’ll give her pig tails and then on to the clothes.
Our Little Dolly
We have all the parts made and soft sculpted. I don’t really like working with felt for this pattern. The seams stand out more than I’d like and the sculpting has to compete with them for your eyes’ focus.
This pattern introduced me to the paisley shaped ear and I rather like it. I added the sole to the bottom of the foot, a feature I almost always insist on adding. Maybe that’s silly, but for most dolls it gives me a sense of grounding them.n
Now I need to embroider the face and do the hair.n
I have the larger version of the doll cut out in linen. I forgot to mention that the linen didn’t work in the small size. It frays too much for such tiny seam allowances, thus the felt. I can’t wait for the muslin to get here. Arthur agreed that it’s the better fabric for this style of doll.
Vintage Dolly Patterns
Over the years I’ve made a lot of stuffed toys. But one of my absolute favourite doll patterns, that I have returned to again and again, is one my mother purchased when I was preschool age. I’ve modified features of it, but the basic doll has remained the same. Unfortunately, my original pattern is in tatters. I’ve preserved it’s essence through tracings, but in recent years I’ve felt insecure about it’s survival. So, I was thrilled to find a seller on Etsy who was scanning vintage patterns for resale. She did not have the exact pattern I had been using, but it was close enough for my purposes. I also found an adorable button jointed baby doll with a similar style to it. And the best thing about these patterns was that she included scaled down versions with the full size patterns. Perfect! I wouldn’t need to scale them down and guess at their finished size. Doll collectors seem to be focusing on cabinet dolls because of storage / display constraints. I figure parents may be doing the same thing to some extent and who doesn’t love ❤️ miniature toys. So, we’re giving the vintage style doll, done in miniature a try and we’ll see how the market responds. And wouldn’t you know it, for the first time in many years, I don’t have any muslin on hand. Joey and I found some nice soft linen to reuse, (it had already been made into clothing that was ready to retire), and I’ve got my fingers crossed that it doesn’t fray too terribly, so I can get started.n
Here’s a link to the pattern shop: eVINTAGEpatterns’s shop on Etsy https://www.etsy.com/shop/eVINTAGEpatterns http://etsy.me/1eZiOXPn
Ballerina
I just listed a merino felt ballerina yesterday. She’s a cutie! And I’m making headway on my troll baby.
New Focus
Because I’ve lost access to all of my patterns and part of the process for creating new ones, I’ll be focusing on making physical items for my store once again. This is exciting and daunting. I’m not sure how I’ll be handling the organization, but I’m sure I’ll figure something out, as we’ve done this all before. I’ll be starting by finishing up project dolls that had been set aside for various reasons and working on new original doll clothes for all the dollies. This may turn out to be a very slow process as I intend to embroider more details and make each item as unique and beautiful as I can.😃😍wish me luck!n
I also hope to fulfill some wishes you may not have even known you had!🎉
Power Puzzels
We had a big building moving event here in town where a 4 unit apartment building was moved from Canada to just a few blocks away from us, here in Port Townsend. We watched it creep up the street and then turn the corner from our living room window. The power lines had to be lifted to allow the building to pass. It was all quite impressive.n
When the power was restored, however, we discovered a surge had damaged my computer and my back up hard drive😢 I’m trying to stay hopeful that I’ll be able to retrieve my data at the very least.n
We don’t have the funds to be able to do anything just yet and we’re hoping to get an insurance check, but who knows.n
I just finished my little pony Hawaiian shirt.🤡And I crocheted a summer top. For Mother’s Day the minions brought me organic makeup. 😍
An Education in Fit
My second Neo Blythe, (ordered at the same time as the first), finally arrived. She has a Takara body not a Pure Neemo, and that really made a difference in the off gassing. I had a real difficult time dressing the Pure Neemo body because of the splayed hands but the clothes fit well enough once they were on. The Takara body is different and everything fits much looser. Shoes fit on over socks and the high top tennies are ridiculously big, but I guess it can be part of the look. So, I’ve been making the doll’s clothes “fit” and it looks like making them a little big is a more standard approach. It definitely makes them easier to dress and it will make the Amelia dress I’ve been fighting with, possible. Sometimes we need to change our approach to “fit”. I know I’ve had to for my own clothes, why not for the dollies, too?n
On a side note of physical fitness, I was able to hang upside down on the new bars and do 10 “sit-ups” today. n