More doll sewing

Now that the kids are back in school, I can spend a lot more time in my oh-so-messy basement sewing area. Mainly what I've been sewing is doll clothes - I'm trying to get my Etsy shop stocked up before the holiday buying season hits. Of course, since I like to bite off more than I chew, I have probably 93657 projects in various states of completion. I'll go on a bender and cut out probably ten different dresses (and bear in mind that I sew almost everything in duplicate or triplicate) and then it's a matter of getting them sewn. And once they're sewn I have to put in snaps and/or buttons, which for some reason takes me FOREVER. I think I need to come up with a system less haphazard than "I'll just sew whatever I feel like sewing today."

Here's my most recent project. My most favorite time period to sew for is the 1930s, because I love love LOVE the fabrics. Betsy's Kit is always happy to model.

So, that's an epically bad photo because I had to use my cell phone - we are fresh out of Double A's. Here's another dress I made a while back from that pattern, and MAN do I wish I had some more of this fabric. (I think both of these are Henry Glass "Posies from the Thirties.' Yum!)

I used the BunnyBear 'Princess Seams' pattern for that one - it's probably the pattern I use the most (aside from the Route 66 one) because it's just so darn cute. I also like that it doesn't use a ton of fabric - only 1/3 of a yard if I do the collar and cuffs contrasting, and I do - which I suppose is appropriate for the time period. (The austerity of the Thirties, followed by rationing of the Forties, goes a long way in explaining the 'New Look' of the Fifties, don't you think?) I love BunnyBear patterns and have quite a few of them - I'm constantly stalking her site to see if she's put out that Colonial era dress yet.

I've also been on a big Civil War kick lately.

I think I like it for the same reason as I like the 1930s: really great fabric prints. (Now is when I link you to Nauvoo Quilt Co. - she has the BEST stuff.) I made up some dresses that included little straw bonnets (they weren't anything fancy, I just got them from a craft supplier and trimmed them) and they sold like hotcakes. I'd also like to attempt a hoopskirt, I think it would be pretty easy with some corset boning.

Did I say I've been on a big Civil War kick lately? I meant to say I've been on a big Revolutionary War kick lately.

Yes, we got an Elizabeth. I already had a Felicity that I'm saving for Amy when she's bigger. When F and E's retirement was announced, I debated getting an Elizabeth before she gets crazy expensive on eBay. I wasn't going to (because Elizabeth has brown hair, darnit! Now get off my lawn!), but what convinced me was how much she actually resembles Amy, with the blue eyes and blond curly hair. Sigh. So I used that as an excuse to sew little matching 'best friend' dresses for them. I hope they sell as a pair, because I don't really want to split them up.

So that's what I've been up to. Anyone have any interesting projects to share? I'm sure I'm not the only one who's been crafting up a storm.

Too hot to blog.

Holy cow, I don't think this summer is EVER going to end. (Of course, give it another six months and I will be whining about winter.) Here's what we've been up to...

• My little sister Laura came for a week-long visit, which was filled with fun, sunscreen, and pancake mix. People, I have the BEST sisters. I didn't take enough pictures, though.
• We went to the State Fair. It was the hottest day in recorded history, and we all basically died of the sweats.
  
  
  
  It took milkshakes from the Dairy Barn to restore the natural balance (and chocolateyness) of the universe.
• The kids started school on, consecutively, the two hottest days in recorded history. Porter actually began kindergarten the day after Betsy commenced second grade, so I didn't get to take an official 'first day of school' pic of them together. They are both pretty cute, though. The year is still new enough that they are actually excited about school. And Porter shocked the heck out of me at his 'kindergarten orientation' that I went to with him... his teacher asked him to write his name on a piece of paper and draw a picture of himself, and he actually did it. (This is the kid who usually throws a fit if you get him within ten feet of a crayon.)
• Then, on the hottest day in recorded history, we went to Conner Prairie. Laura and I each brought an American Girl doll in historical garb, and we had lots of fun setting them up for photos.
• I've been to the pool a LOT - we went four times in a week while Laura was visiting. I've actually gotten a tan line, something I usually avoid by deploying the SPF A Zillion.
• I'm completely earwormed with this song. Curse you, Amazon and your free MPS downloads! It's just a gateway drug!
• I've watched a lot of TV miniseries/movies this summer. I went through all of Band of Brothers again, then Lost in Austen (it wasn't good, but they managed to make Wickham really sexy), then Little Dorrit (it was so cute), plus Matt and I watched the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy (extended edition, of course).
• I wrote some fanfiction, too.
• I've been doing a lot of sewing, down in the basement to avoid the highest temperatures in recorded history, although I would do it anyway. I actually made a dress for myself: Seen here against the lovely backdrop of my shower curtain. But look at that fabric! It's all sewing notions! And it's Alexander Henry, of course.
• I'm sewing a lot of doll clothes, too. Actually,August has been a really good month for me, sales-wise. I've been selling them on both eBay (woo hoo free listing fees) and Etsy, and I think I have shipped like ten dresses this month. I made this one for a summer-themed sewing swap on American Girl Playthings, and as soon as the recipient posted pictures (her photographs are much better than mine) I had like three more people contact me and ask me to make them one. So I've been working on that.
• My little girl's hair went curly this summer. I'm not sure if it's due to the hottest summer in recorded history - we'll see if it stays that way when autumn hits - but boy is it cute. Amy's completely fixated on baby dolls, and she's also been practicing her animal noises. This video was taken when a bunch of Blinns were here for the day (watch to the end for bonus Miles!)
• It's been an exciting summer for my side of the family. One of my sisters got engaged, another one found out she's having girls (plural), my sister-in-law is having a baby pretty much any day now, and after thirty-one years Dad got the fat envelope from Kodak. As for us, we are working on getting Betsy prepared for her baptism in December, and planning our trip to Disney at the end of October. I'm sure this heat will end soon!

Another Sewing Post

So, I was looking at my blog the other day, and down on the left side it shows my total number of posts by month. I realized that I updated my blog twice in January, and once in February. For a grand total of three posts so far in 2010. And that's, well, kind of pathetic. One of my good friends is doing a project this year where she updates her blog every single day, meaning so far she has written 64 posts. And I have written three. One of my purposes for this blog is so that I can remember things that happen, since I have a notoriously bad memory, and I already am not too sure what's gone on in 2010. Here are a couple of the highlights:

- I got a root canal. Boy, was that fun. I had a cavity (that had previously been filled) that was bothering me badly enough to go to the dentist, even though we don't have dental insurance. I was tempted just to get the thing pulled, but Matt convinced me to spend the $1700 (yikes!) and have it fixed.

- I have been practicing my flute like crazy for the Easter cantata that is coming up.

- Porter and Betsy have been playing together really, really well since Christmas. They will go off together in the basement or one of the bedrooms and I won't hear from them for an hour or two (until the playing turns to violence).

- Amy has really had an explosion of speech. She's using two- and three-word sentences more often. In fact, when she sneezed at the dinner table the other night, I told her 'bless you' and she looked at Matt and went, "Say 'bless you,' Dad." She's going to have a few more visits from the speech therapist and then she will be done.

-Amy is also OBSESSED with the song 'I Am A Child Of God.' She will sing the song - while conducting - and then fold her arms and say a prayer, just like we do in the nursery. Only she does this about three or four times a day. One of these times I will catch it on film and then you will see what I mean.

- I've been sewing like a FIEND. I knew I would have to get started early on my daughters' Easter dresses, because of the aforementioned Cantata eating up much of my time. I am proud to say that they are done. Done! with more than a month to spare. Here is a little sneaky-peeky:

Aren't I a stinker? You'll see the full awesomeness eventually, I promise. Betsy has a big fluffy crinoline slip for hers, but I am still looking for something to give Amy's dress the appropriate vintage-style poof. And I came to a realization while I was sewing the last button on:

We don't actually have church on Easter.

Boy, it would have been super if I'd remembered that ahead of time, huh? (Easter falls on the first Sunday of April - that's General Conference.) No matter, my girls could always use something adorable, sweet, and charming to wear. So I guess they will be Palm Sunday dresses, instead.

My other big project for 2010 has been sewing doll clothes. I've actually been buying things at Goodwill (skirts and blouses are good) then cutting them up and making American Girl-sized dresses. The idea being to sell them in my Etsy shop and make a little money to spend on, most likely, more fabric. Here is the first batch:

There were actually 8 dresses originally, because I made duplicates of some. (If you cut carefully, and spend more time than you'd like to admit picking out all the darts, a women's size blouse can become 2 doll dresses.) I am quite thrilled to report that I have sold all 8 of them already! I had so much fun sewing all these dresses (I just really have a thing for dresses. Have you guessed?) that I have already started in on the next batch. Fun times!

Polyester!

So, in my last post I alluded to the fact that I'd decided to sew myself a dress, sort of my way of protesting against the dreariness of winter (and that inevitable moment that comes in mid-January when you look in your closet and realize you are sick to death of dark colors and heavy sweaters). And that's exactly what I did. I made myself a dress and I'm wearing it today for the first time. This was the third time I've used an actual vintage pattern (not a repro) and I think it worked out pretty well.

This is the pattern I used:
Copyright 1975. I got it in an enormous lot of vintage patterns I found last summer at a church sale and paid $2 for. I listed quite a few of them on Etsy, but there were a lot of patterns that were not only my size but my style as well. I can't say what it is exactly about this pattern that I liked so much - probably the topstitching. For the fabric, I had a length of vintage polyester doubleknit that I got at a different church sale for next to nothing (I think I paid $2 for a great big garbage bag full of assorted fabrics) in an interesting kelly green with white dots. I hardly ever wear green, I always think I don't look good in it, but this shade seems really nice. And I knew it would be perfect for a winter dress because that polyester doubleknit is hot.

So, here's the finished dress:
I used some vintage buttons from my stash (on the cuffs - you can't see in the picture) and I already had a pack of ballpoint needles from yet another church sale - the only thing I ended up needing to buy for this project was some polyester thread. Overall, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The topstitching at the neck is a little wonky (probably because there's so much bulk there) and I added pockets, so the hips don't lie as smooth as they should (but it's worth it to have a place to stash my chapstick, a winter necessity). The pattern pieces actually aren't as much of an A-line as the illustration suggests... I had to take in the waist by about an inch, and if I make this pattern again (which I would like to, in contrasting prints, something like this) I will redraft the skirt to flare out a little more. But still, this project was the perfect cure for the winter blahs. I even have the perfect brown wedge-heel shoes to wear with it (a steal from Old Navy's clearance rack) although with all the snow today, I paired it with my Goodwill brown boots.

I've actually been on a big creative kick lately. I've started posting a new story, and I've been cranking out scrapbook layouts almost as fast as I can get the photos printed. I've been having a lot of fun with my new Slice (it's this digital cutter thing - yes, I held out on the die cutting machines for years and years, but I've finally given in) and trying to dig my way through my colossal stash of paper rather than going out and buying more. Here are some of the fruits of my labors:

It's a good thing I've gotten a lot done, crafty-wise, in the last couple of weeks because I'm sure I won't get anything else accomplished until the Olympics are over!

Bleh.

It doesn't come as a shock to anyone who knows me that I am not really the biggest fan of winter. I even haven't updated my blog in ages because once Christmas is over, there's nothing interesting to say or do or look at for weeks at a time. It snows, it melts, it rains, it snows some more. Actually, today is one of those icy-sunny days, which I think I prefer over 30 degrees and overcast. So yay for the sun. Although, I'm probably not doing myself any favors dividing my time between the basement (for crafting) and the computer (for tutoring and, occasionally, updating the ol' blog.)

But we are just plugging along in this family. Matt goes to work, Betsy goes to first grade, Porter is in preschool in the afternoons and when Amy naps I have a little time to get things done. Matt took Porter to a Pacers game last week and they both had fun, although Porter was mainly interested in the water fountains at Conseco Fieldhouse. Betsy had the 100th day of school and glued 100 buttons to a T shirt - much to my surprise, they didn't all fall off. Amy's new words lately are "okay" and "mm-hmm" (both of which crack me up), she's doing better with two-word sentences, and she likes to blow raspberries on my cheeks. She's also obsessed with baby dolls but that's nothing new.

As I mentioned above, I've been doing a lot of crafting in the new year. Mainly sewing, so far. (I finally cracked and got a Slice - a digital cutter for scrapbooking - but it was dysfunctional and I had to send it back, so I really haven't scrapped that much yet.) I've been sewing a lot of doll clothes - something I really enjoy, although I think I need to take a break from it for a while. Last night I cut out the girls' Easter dresses, mainly as a way of looking forward to spring. They will both be vintage patterns (Amy's and Betsy's) made out of fabric with vintage patterns on it. Yes, there are times when I enjoy being the mother of daughters and this is definitely one of those times.

I was talking to a friend today and realized that while I've been sewing like crazy lately, I've barely sewn anything for myself. In the past year I've made me two dresses and a skirt. Sad. Now, one of my New Year's resolutions - pretty much the only one - is NO NEW FABRIC until at least June. It's fun to challenge myself to shop from my stash, and I've realized that I really need to make something for myself, because I've reached that inevitable point in the winter when I realize I hate all of my clothes. Anyway, I have lots of summer dresses, and lots of Sunday dresses, but what I really need is a winter weekday dress. Something that I can wear over thick cotton tights and some knee-high boots (from Goodwill, of course). So I went through my ever-growing pattern stash (the corollary to my rule above, by the way, is no new patterns, either) and I've definitely come up with some good options. I have lots of vintage patterns that are actually my size, so hopefully I will be able to get something whipped up by the end of next week.

The other thing that's been keeping me busy lately - no, it's not laundry - is the Easter Cantata. See, a lady in my ward decided it would be fun to put together a multi-ward choir (It really baffles me that some mothers - she has three small kids, even - can do stuff like this and I can't even get my laundry folded.) and put on a massive performance of one of Sally DeFord's easter cantatas. Matt was actually the one who saw the flyer first and told me about it - I've really missed being in a big choir since I left Rochester. Anyway, guess what this paricular choral work has?

Have you guessed yet?

FLUTE PARTS, and guess who plays the flute (although not so much in recent years), it's me. So I went ahead and volunteered my services, and surprisingly there are actually not a ton of flute players around here, so they were more than happy to have me. So I've had to practice a lot, although I have to say, it's all come back pretty easily. I loaded the music onto my new MP3 player (Thanks, Matt!) and listened to it over and over so that hopefully, when March 28th comes around, I won't totally embarrass myself.

Actually, now that I think about it, 2010 hasn't been so boring after all. We've been to the Children's Museum and saw the new Barbie exhibit (Mom - you HAVE to come see it) and we went to Conner Prarie, the local living-history place, on MLK Day when it was free. I actually liked it so much I think we might get a membership (it's only $65 a year, which is cheaper than any of our other memberships) and go back in the summer. Matt and I went out for our 9th anniversary (only a month or so late) and I wore this new outfit, courtesy of Goodwill. The Colts are going to the Super Bowl, and unlike certain brothers of mine, I am hoping they will win (although I wouldn't mind if a Super Bowl victory is not followed by a giant blizzard like it was the last time around). I've been watching Universal Sports Network a whole lot lately and getting excited for the Winter Olympics, which I always enjoy watching even though I'm not really a sports person. So it's been a decent year so far and there is still plenty to look forward to.

Before and After

Here's our recliner, which has been around forever:
I got it from my grandparents when they were downsizing, so probably 2004 or 2005. My grandmother says she's actually had it reupholstered TWICE. I had bought fabric to do same, only then the economy collapsed, and I couldn't justify spending $3-400 on something that wasn't food, diapers, or health insurance. But, I did have the fabric (which was a steal at $5 a yard) so I finally decided to try my hand at sewing a slipcover.

To wit:
I actually... sort of hate it. The pattern I used was badly drafted, and nothing fits the way it's supposed to, and it looks all bunchy and homesewn, and the only way to keep it together is with a bunch of upholstery pins which like to pop out and prevent a safety hazard. BUT. At least it matches the rest of our furniture now.

I got a lot of other stuff finished last week, too. Like Betsy's Halloween costume, which is very sparkly and girl-tastic. I also made some random doll clothes (my current obsession, I must admit) and an apron for Betsy that I cut out in, I think, 2007. I made matching mother-daughter aprons for us and since I had so much leftover fabric, I also cut one out for her in a larger size, since she grows and whatnot. The interesting thing was, something that used to take me days to sew is now completed in mere hours. Yay competence!

I should be cleaning my house before my in-laws arrive on Thursday, but I'm blogging instead. I'm also dealing with a houseful of sickies... not fun. I was rather miserable last week but all I have now is a lingering tickle in my throat, which is more of a nuisance than anything else. But poor Betsy is home from school today. On Friday morning she threw up on the bus and had to come home. I'm hoping she'll be all better tomorrow, since it's a short school week as it is. And Amy had a fever yesterday: we actually had to leave church early, but not until the Primary program was done, which was AWESOME and I was so proud of all the kids and not just mine.

But, it's not all bad around here. Look what we saw this morning:

No, that house isn't on fire. It's a RAINBOW.

I Haven't Died

I've just been doing a lot of multi-tasking.

(Isn't that picture hilarious? The best part is, Amy came up with that trick all on her own... and immediately came running to show me Just How Clever she is.)

We've been getting ready for Halloween, which is always a fun holiday. I put up the decorations a few weeks ago and I've been working on Betsy's costume:

She's being Glinda, the good witch from the Wizard of Oz. She came up with this idea entirely on her own, mind you. The dress isn't totally finished in the picture above: it still needs hemmed, and there's a lit of sparkly trim. But I'm thrilled to death with how it looks. The funny thing is, this costume weighs a TON. I made it out of good heavy satin - I think it was originally from the bridal section, and not costumes, because they didn't have the right color - and that skirt is abot a million yards wide. I have no idea how Betsy is going to handle trick-or-treating, but I'm sure she'll manage.

We went to the pumpkin patch last Saturday and let the kids pick out their own pumpkins.

It's really turned into quite the event, with games and rides and whatnot. We let the kids each pick a couple of activities that they could do.

The next big thing on my plate is the Primary music program. We rehearsed it in the chapel last Sunday; we have one more practice on Saturday and then it's SHOWTIME. And I woke up this morning with a killer sore throat... I seriously cannot lose my voice this week!

Craftaholics Anonymous

So, I've been pretty much crafting non-stop for the last couple of weeks. (What else did you think I was going to do with my free afternoons? Laundry?!) And since I haven't updated the ol' blog for a while, I thought I should share some of the fruits of my labors.

Needless to say, I've been scrapbooking. (Don't know what's up with these scans; I promise the real thing isn't so blurry!)


And, while I had the trimmer and the stamps and all of THAT mess out, I made some cards too. Just for fun and a way to use up the scraps.




So, I decided to go ahead and get started on Christmas. Betsy's getting a lot of doll clothes for her Bitty Baby, mostly made out of the scraps of other projects. If you look closely, you'll probably see something you recognize:





Anyway, I had so much fun with that, I decided to haul out my old Molly doll from 1991 and see if I could sew some dresses for the 18" dolls. (Betsy will be getting one next year so I guess I am REALLY working ahead for Christmas 2010!) I could seriously get addicted to sewing doll clothes... they only take about half a yard or so and I can whip one up in an afternoon while Amy sleeps. Kind of the sewing equivalent of making cards from my scrapbook supplies.



Anyway, now it's time to stop messing around. Tutoring started this week, I got a new calling (Primary chorister), and Halloween is just around the corner. (Actually, if the aisles at Hobby Lobby are anything to go by, Christmas is just around the corner.) Betsy is getting a homemade costume this year, so I guess I'd better get cracking!

Blast from the past

Way back when I was in college, I had this brilliant idea that I should draw a set of paper dolls for my younger sisters. (I'm pretty sure it was 1999 because I remember working on them while reclining on Jean's pappasan couch.) We always had a thing for paper dolls when we were kids and I thought it would make a nifty - not to mention cheap - Christmas gift for Emily and Catherine. I ordered one of the Patterns from the Past catalogs off the internet (yes, the internet existed in 1999) and faithfully sketched as many of the historical dresses as I could, then copied them onto cardstock and colored them. I worked as a phone operator for Butler then so it was a good way to kill downtime in between calls. And while I can't draw to save my life, I can copy decently, so I was pretty pleased with how they turned out.

I always intended to keep the original drawings so that I could maybe make up another set for any future daughters I might have (and Betsy was born only three years later so that was oddly prescient) but somehow, in the five times I've moved in the last ten years, they got lost. I was pretty bummed about that because there is no way I'm investing that kind of time and energy all over again. Lucky for me, my sister Catherine decided to come for a visit, and even luckier, she brought the paper dolls with her! I figured they'd been long ago destroyed but every dress I remembered drawing was there.

I remember working particularly hard on this Civil War-era ballgown: all that ruching was crazy-difficult, not to mention all the roses. I think it turned out pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

Notice that what I'm not showing you is any of Cath's work. See, she's an art major and next to hers, my stuff looks like it was drawn by a blind monkey, or perhaps a drunk toddler. So, let's keep my ego intact and move on to the next subject.

Something I'm actually pretty skilled at is making dresses, which Cath thought would be a lark to do when she came out here. So I let her paw through my stash of vintage patterns and she found this beauty:

Which is one of the ones I swiped from my mom in the first place, so it's kind of funny that it will end up back in Rochester eventually. Anyway, after checking to make sure that all the pieces were present (they were), we headed out to JoAnn's to score some fabric. Now, JoAnn's is much maligned by serious sewers, but I've always found lots of neat-o fabric, within my price range, and the employees are for the most part helpful (the older ladies at the cutting counter love to chat about dresses). Anyway, I had a couple of coupons and Catherine couldn't decide between two different fabrics (both of which were around $3/yard). Because I am evil, I convinced her to go ahead and get both, and make up the dress in both views.

We used my awesome new rhymes-with-merger to overcast the edges of each piece, to prevent ravelling, and then stitched it up on the conventional sewing machine. I helped with some things and gave as many pointers as I could from my vast three years of sewing experience. Like, it's important to press the seams. And understitch facings. I still had her do as most of the work, though, because they're her dresses (also I am lazy). I didn't even touch the zippers. Mom will have to help with that when Cath gets back to Rochester!

Anyway, speaking of sewing, here's what I've been up to:

The pattern was yet another freebie-by-way-of Mom; the fabric is actually a vintage sheet (really!) that I picked up for $3 at a church sale (the tag - which I kept - says 'Inger McCabe Elliot for Martex', 1976. Does that ring any bells for anyone?); and the buttons came in a huge bag of vintage goodies that I got for like two bucks at the Goodwill. So the whole dress cost me almost nothing. Which is good, because I'm not totally enamored of how it came out.

I shortened the sleeves quite a bit, because elbow-length sleeves drive me batty. I should have lengthened the bodice; that high-waisted sixties look actually doesn’t work so great on a five-foot-seven gal like me. Also, I had a really hard time matching the print because it wasn’t actually a straight horizontal stripe; the bands of pattern undulate up and down like waves of grain or a field of flowers. Still, the colors make me happy (and the buttons match so perfectly I can only assume the universe intended it that way) and for a really cheap dress, it’s not so bad. I love that the sheet it was made from is that no-iron percale (basically a poly-cotton blend) so I can wear it right straight out of the laundry, which is a huge bonus for a lazy pants like myself. I wore it the other day with a white cardigan sweater ($3 at Goodwill and it’s J. Crew) and I think that helped the style a lot, so maybe I will just save it for cooler weather.

Cath and I have been having a fine time. In addition to sewing not one but two dresses, we've been to the art museum (one never realizes just how much nudity there is in art until one pays attention); traumatized my children with the movie Spirited Away; been thrift-store-shopping (Cath didn't find anything but I scored some sweet red peep-toe pumps); saw Easy Virtue (swoon); visited Mike and Mandy's new place (Miles is a fine little host); and made our contribution to the unfortunately neglected literary sub-genre of overwrought Victorian melodrama. Fun times.

I've also been papercrafting:

Next project (after Catherine goes home, which mercifully isn't for a few days yet): a set of NCIS-themed notecards. Should be interesting!