Sew Many Dolls, Sew Little Time

Impression Challenge

2011-01-04T23:34:00.003-05:00

Another Challenge!

An online sewing group I belong to is doing a challenge this month. Choose a picture from the Impressionist era of a little girl/boy and reproduce the outfit/look. I loved this idea. I chose a painting by Mary Cassatt-Sarah in a Green Bonnet.

It's a darling painting of a little girl. I added a challenge to myself to work from within my stash-no buying anything. I dug around and found the perfect piece of Salmon colored silk velvet, some ivory color lace, a preformed bonnet, some dupioni silk and some green ribbon. Overall, I'm happy with the final outcome.

I may redo the collar. that's the only thing that irks me right now. the perfectionist in me keeps my eye comparing the collars. but, it's got the overall feel of the painting so I'll leave it go for now. this is the full dress

Love on a Plate

2010-12-31T17:39:00.003-05:00

I find hearts in all kinds of places. yes the steak really came out of the pkg just like this, well, it was raw so I broiled it, but hey, you get the drift..... This was last night's dinner.....yummmm. I'll just call this Love on a Plate:
'Nuff said.......

Challenge Done!!

2010-12-10T21:15:00.004-05:00

Well, this went better than I thought. I ended up using size 12 perle cotton and a size 11 steel hook with great success. At first I thought the size 12 perle might be too big and that I'd be diving through my stash for my size 80 tatting cotton, but it worked nice. I don't think it looks too bulky on them. I even managed tiny 'diapers' for their bottoms.

No booties this time. no way. not on those microscopic feet! LOL. The little long dresses came out wonderful and I'm very pleased with the lacey bonnets. So, here's the twins all warm and snuggly.

New Challenge

2010-12-08T23:25:00.004-05:00

I'm challenging myself again. Anyone that knows me, knows that this is a HUGE challenge to myself. I really don't like teenytiny, miniature stuff. oh, it's awesome as long as someone else has done it. I love to admire stuff and I'm in awe at the gals that love to do miniature. Anyway, someone gave me a set of twin dollhouse babies. Really teenyweenytiney babies. Here's a picture of one of them on a ruler. yup, that's only 1 3/4inches long

teenyweenytiney....
So I have these poor nakey babies that have been that way for almost a year now. I guess it's time to make them some dresses. I really do love a challenge so I've gotten out my size 12 perle cotton and size 12 steel hook.........more to come in a few days.....this will be a good project while I watch it snow....and snow.....and snow....and snow............(that great lake effect snow is just chugging away at full speed)....I'm off to crochet.

More French Fashion Shoes

2010-11-18T22:04:00.004-05:00

I've made another pair of shoes. I'm hoping to teach these as a workshop next summer. They fit a 12" French Fashion doll.

The box is just a prototype but I've got it worked out to a perfect fit for the shoes. I'm going to make it in a pretty color with some lovely graphics for the lid.

Gosh I just love making shoes......

Doll shoes

2010-11-14T20:26:00.003-05:00

My poor dear PUF(Petite Ultimate Fashion)doll Marie Terese was in desperate need of shoes so I made her a pair today. Cream Silk shoes with leather soles. I pulled the threads from the silk to make the little tassels (yes, I do crazy stuff like that! LOL) and the ribbons and ties are silk ribbon.

I also made a pair of maroon silk shoes for my 12" French Fashion. I needed to get this size down pat because I need to send of samples. I'm pretty happy with them so now I need to make a couple more pairs for samples. Maybe a luscious chocolate pair and pair in cream.....hmmmmm....

Second baby done!

2010-11-09T20:59:00.004-05:00

Today I finished the second little baby's crocheted outfit. This doll is a bit bigger at 3 3/4inches head to toe. LOL. Yeah, I know, not much bigger huh? A more traditional baby gown and oh so pretty.

More tiny booties,

a 'diaper' with ruffles on the butt and ties on the sides,

sweet little bonnet and long gown. I must say I've had fun crocheting for these two little darlings. I'll deliver these two in Saturday. I think she'll like them don't you?

.....now I'm going to vacuum and clean my carpets.....

Joey tries a new chair

2010-11-08T19:47:00.003-05:00

Ah yes, Deputy Dipshit strikes again..... LOL. Poor Daddy is sick with the flu/cold virus that's going around and is spending lots of time in the recliner (easier to breathe sitting up). After much pacing and I'm sure measuring and sizing things up in his little pea brain, our sweet Not So Little Joey decided that if Daddy was comfortable in the recliner he wanted to see what it was all about. What a hoot. Honestly this dam poodle thinks he's only teacup size. He just climbed right up into Daddy's lap. He looked over at me and stuck his tongue out. Then, quite pathetically he threw himself across Daddy in a super sympathy "pet-me, I love you" pose. He managed to get his butt on the arm of the chair. If you look you can see he even tried stretching those long stinkin legs out to get more comfy. LOL. Just when you think he can't find another way to look more pathetic.......dam dog......

I am NOT 60 pounds!

2010-11-06T11:04:00.004-04:00

Keep the voice of the Abominable Snowman cartoon character in your head as you read below.

Joey says: "No. I aM NoT. REally!! I am only 4 lbs big. that IS all. I fiT hEre fiNE. SEE????FRom hERe I can WaTch all the TRaffiC and my SqUirrel buDDies. See DaD??? oooooh Loookie, there is a deer. oh, oh, another one and another one. They keep running aCroSS thE strEEt and OveR heRE to See ME!! Oh DaD can I Go ouT to pLay Tooooo? Please DAd, PuHLease?? oH LoOK, hERe comES aNoTHer sQUirrel!"

Back to me: While watching Deputy Dipshit draped over the back of my couch, he actually tried to get his back legs up to perch his whole body up there! OMG....he certainly earns his nickname!

Joey says: "I aM so Sad....No oNE wiLL Let mE oUT to ChasE thE sQUirreL......

Tiny Baby

2010-11-05T13:37:00.004-04:00

Wow, I got hit by the flu this week! I haven't been this sick in a couple of years. Needless to say, everything got put on the back burner as I was stuck in bed. I couldn't even watch junior....sigh...

Last night things took a turn, my fever broke and I finally started feeling better. YEAH!! I actually felt like doing something so I grabbed my thread and hook and the tiny baby.

Baby now has a darling new baby-blue bubble suit, bonnet and itsybitsy, teenytiny booties (they measure about 3/8inch long.

Amazing what you can do with size 30 thread and a size 10 steel hook.

This morning I cleaned the baby up(there was some sort of dark yuk on those little hands), added ribbon to the outfit and bonnet and put the clothes on. Now, isn't this the cutest little doll house baby?!!! Oh, just to give you some idea of size, the baby is 2 3/4inches long without clothes. Go look at a ruler-yup-that's all! LOL.

Here's those little booties.

I think I'll work on the larger baby this afternoon. That bisque baby is a tad larger-3 3/4inches. Maybe I'll do a vintage gown type of outfit.

It was Love at first sight

2010-10-31T15:49:00.004-04:00

I delivered Kewpie yesterday and it was Love at first sight! She loved her so much that she commissioned two more outfits. She had two more naked babies with her that need little crocheted outfits.

One in bisque and a little plastic dollhouse type. They need a bit of cleaning first and they're pretty small so I'll have to work in smaller thread. I'm thinking size 30. I'll probably make more of a long crib dress rather than a toddler style since they're very babyish. My project list just keeps growing.

I love Kewpie

2010-10-29T22:10:00.005-04:00

Hey there! it's been a while hasn't it? Life took over and my poor blog just got left to collect dust bunnies for a while. I'm back again.
Let's see, Joey is still our lovable Deputy Dipshit (or Jackass Joey depending on what nonsense he's gotten into)LOL! he's so dang spoiled to Daddy it's hard to say who's happier, Joey or Daddy...sigh....see what I mean?

I'm still watching Junior most days and he's just the angel of my eye. What a wonderful child to care for. Last week I was sitting at the kitchen table working on a pattern. He picked up my curve ruler and proceeded to play 'air guitar'. He even called it his "Ittar". now, how does a two year old know about playing air guitar???? isn't he just a cutiepatootie??

so, I suppose you're wondering why I said I love Kewpie for this blog title. I just finished a commission for a friend. She had scored an old kewpie at some flea market or something for an insanely cheap price. Poor thing was butt naked-the doll, not my friend-LOL!!! Anyway, the request was for a frilly little crocheted dress for Kewpie. I thought about it for a couple of weeks and looked for patterns but couldn't find anything I liked. I decided to just crochet off the top of my head so last Sunday I took the doll and thread and hook along while going on a bus trip(to a doll show no less). I really didn't want to just sit and ride with nothing to do. I was able to get the dress, panties and bonnet done on the bus. I finished the little shoes and then did all the final work tonight. I'll be delivering the doll tomorrow. I'm sure she's going to love it. this is a one-of-a-kind outfit as I didn't write down the pattern. I just crocheted. Isn't it adorable?? I even put little ruffles across the back of the panty.

well, I hope to be around a bit more often. I know, I know, you'll believe it when you see it. LOL.......sigh......

The Poodle has taken over....sigh....

2010-06-24T13:18:00.004-04:00

Can you say Pampered Poodle?

This was him sleeping last night while I folded laundry.

and this was today while I was in my sewing room. Daddy had to call me out to see his precious poodle:

Yup, he's completely taken over....and we're mush. LOL. Joey has calmed down nicely (gawdamighty getting him fixed was such a good idea). He's only JackassJoey once in a while. He can't quite give up his title yet-today he decided to chew a bunch of twist ties....jackass...see?! Where did he even find them?? not a clue. apparently he can open the kitchen drawer.

So, my BFF made me some fabulous new couch pillows. Awesome pillows- one with a poodle silhouette and one with a poodle face. I love them. They looks so nice on my poor sad couch. They give the couch new life which it dearly needed. And they're just plain comfortable to get cozy with. Joey likes the couch. He reallyreally likes the couch. Joey discovered the pillows. Joey reallyreally likes the pillows now too. He especially likes it when I have them leaned against his kennel at the one end so he can get super cozy. well, I don't put them there for him to get cozy, I put them there for me to get comfy to stretch out and watch TV. Works great for me, and yes, he has discovered how comfy they are at that end. Couch+pillows+joey=doggy heaven. LOL......jackass.......sigh........but daddy thinks it's cute and funny. In Daddy's eyes Joey can do no wrong.....sigh.....I lose.

He was sticking his tongue out at me, I swear he was!

Little Sea Creature

2010-06-15T20:20:00.004-04:00

Today I took a left turn. I had a request for a Bleuette sized SeaHorse. This was a fun little venture. I drew a simple little seahorse template in a size that I thought would be appropriate for my little bleu, grabbed some fun cotton fabric and went to work. At first I was overthinking and then I stopped myself and simplified. I sewed, turned and stuffed. Made some ears and glued those in the head. I wanted little purple eyes so I grabbed a pair of clear eyes and painted those and set them aside to dry. Next I grabbed three colors of fine tulle and sewed it together for the little horse mane. After sewing I cut and trimmed and then hand stitched it in place. By the time I finished that the eyes were dry so I trimmed off some of the stem (it was too long for this little tiny head) I made holes and glued them in place. I added a piece of silk ribbon for a pretty little bow to finish off this darling little SeaHorse. My little Claudia was thrilled. Now that I'm happy with the final version I have to make another one to sell. See what Claudia found in the tidal pool by Lake Erie?? It's just the right size for her.

Knitting insanity

2010-06-05T20:53:00.005-04:00

Gosh, I just love to be challenged. I'm being challenged now. A friend had made me a pair of tiny knitted socks that I just adored. they are really perfect. They are knitted. Now, I am not a very proficient knitter. I'm self-taught and I dash to the internet for help each time I get 'stuck' or can't remember how to do something. (thank goodness for sites like YouTube and Knittinghelp.com!!) I have been crocheting all my life so I can do that in my sleep. Knitting...well....I really like to knit, I just suck at it. I mean really, how many times do I have to look up how to M1???? you'd think it would stick in my brain at some point. LOL...sigh. so,This is my hand trying to figure out how to juggle 5 long, skinny (size000) knitting needles. It's not pretty! I felt as though I had 7 thumbs that all kept getting in the way but I persevered on. I was determined to figure this out. Once I got the hang of holding the 4 needles and working with the 5th it got a little easier. I finished the first sock. It came out pretty darn cute. My variegated perle cotton striped itself and I was pleasantly surprised by that. It looks mighty cute doesn't it? Now I've got to get the second sock done. Here's the foot done. I even 'turned the heel'! and without any gaping holes along the sides. I'm amazing myself. I wish someone made short needles in this tiny size. I know I'm not the only one knitting doll socks-or any other tiny doll size stuff. It would be so much easier than these long needles. I mean, they're sock needles so they're only 7inches long, but that's like knitting with samurai swords when you're working on a teenytiny doll sock. LOL. So, off I go to finish the second sock...maybe I'll get more adventurous when I tackle another pair and try to do a lacey upper part of the sock.

hugs and smiles everyone!

More Love

2010-04-14T22:58:00.003-04:00

Wow, it's been a while. I've been working on lots of stuff and crazy busy but it's all fun. My BFF is coming to visit!!!!!!!!!!! Woohoo!! that can't happen soon enough. It's been way too long since we've gotten to visit so this will be major fun. lots of playtime and going to try out new restaurants. I can't wait.

So today I'm playing with Junior at the park while hubby is waiting for the tax papers to be processed. Junior loved the slide and then wanted to try the swing. Well, that was the bees knees! I couldn't get him out of the dam thing! hahahahaha. he was holding on for dear life (note the white knuckles)because he was scared to death at first but after about 15 minutes he was laughing and really enjoying it. While I was swinging him I looked down and what was laying right there? yup, two lovely little heart shaped pebbles. I scooped 'em up and put them in my pocket. It was love just laying there sending happy thoughts out in the world and we just happened to be the ones that found them. I think it's great finding love in all kinds of places.

How much use can you get from a wedding gown?

2010-02-24T14:43:00.006-05:00

I'm well on my way to finding out.

It all started with a wedding 5 years ago. A beautiful gown was purchased and worn on a fairy tale day. It was carefully packed away with few thoughts of what it would become. Three years later, along came a precious baby girl. The search was on for the perfect Christening gown. I asked if mommy had plans for her wedding gown or if I could re-purpose it to baby's Christening gown. She thought about it and called me a month later and asked if it could still be done. Sure! The gown was brought to me and I went to work. I couldn't find a pattern that worked well with the layout of the beaded appliques so I made my own pattern carefully cutting to get the best use of the adornments. In places I carefully removed pearls, glass beads and sequins and undid appliques so they wouldn't be in the way of seams.

I then stitched the appliques back in place and redid the beadwork. When I finished I had a gorgeous long Christening gown and bonnet created from Mommy's wedding gown. Parents were very, very pleased. We talked about making a little boys outfit from the remains of the gown sometime in the future if it was ever needed. This conversation was quickly forgotten by very busy parents.

Two years later along comes little boy. After a short conversation about what the new little one was going to wear for his Baptism out came the remains of the wedding gown. I realized during the conversation that mommy had forgotten that I still had enough gown to make another outfit so I went to work and made a little boy's outfit. This one was a surprise for Mommy and Daddy. I didn't tell them that I was making it. When the came to town the day before the Christening I gave it to them. I was so gratified seeing the look of happiness on their faces.

And now, mommy had some future ideas. During a conversation last evening she asked how much gown, if any, I still had left. I actually still have the entire front bodice and a generous portion of half of the train. She is already thinking about having me use it when it's time for First Communion-thinking bodice from the gown with perhaps a tulle skirt, or some variation there-of.

And maybe a little boy's tie from the gown. Sure wouldn't want any frou-frou for the little boy for First Communion but a plain tie from the silk would be appropriate. Fortunately I have a few years before I need to figure this out. So now, the remains of the gown are tucked safely away and the two Christening sets are being cleaned and put away to wait and see if there are any more babies. The antique doll modeling the outfits used to belong to my Aunt and is now a doll that is a special treasure of mine.

Babies, babies, babies

2010-02-16T10:20:00.005-05:00

I just love babies. real or doll, how can you frikkin' resist????
So, this past weekend I took a trip to visit friends and help one to organize her sewing room. Lots of fun for sure. I had two porcelain baby heads that I had to make bodies for to take to her. One was for her, one for her mother. they were supposed to be done for Christmas but in my crazy life that just didn't happen. Thank goodness I have friends that understand and have the patience of Job with me. I set to work Thursday and made the bodies, attached the heads, sculpted ubber-cute little tushies and got the babies finished.

Lovely little girl

2010-02-11T00:01:00.003-05:00

Riley's all decked out in her new Valentines outfit. I'm not happy with the hat, but it'll do for now. She just needed something pretty for this weekend. The dress is a simple cotton print and the little jacket is eyelet lined with a thin cotton lawn.

Riley's Christmas Present

2010-02-08T22:55:00.003-05:00

I had to get caught up on Christmas presents and this was one I finished and gave away two weeks ago. Just forgot to post about it. ....sigh....always running behind....LOL

Anyway, the person that I picked for our Christmas exchange has Riley and Ginny and loves pink and blue. I zoned in on Riley and pink with blue for highlight. I searched my stash and pulled out two cottons-white with pink flocked polka dots and a pink and white striped seersucker. perfect. I needed something for a little coat and on at trip to HObby LObby found a lovely very thin square of pink fleece by the felt squares. perfect. I made little pink polka dot panties, pink striped dress with polka dot collar, polka dot pinafore, reversable hat made from the two cotton fabrics and a little pink fleece coat to keep her warm. so very sweet. The lucky recipient was very thrilled with the little ensemble. This is my Riley modeling the outfit before it was given away.

Mom's amazing talent

2010-02-08T14:04:00.003-05:00

My mom. She's wonderful. She's just finished 5 weeks of radiation for breast cancer and is now doing really good. She's been up north here with us for the last 8 months while going through all this medical stuff. I'll miss her when she goes home.

Mom has crocheted for a long time. My grandmother (dad's mom) taught her when mom was in her 20's. She is NEVER without a hook in her hand and it's almost always for someone else. Rarely does she make anything for herself except Dora clothes. That's kinda funny. I found her some free patterns for clothes for Dora (that cute little cartoon girl) and mom started out making them for one of her grand daughters. She even went out and bought the doll. After making almost 2 dozen outfits she declared that they were going to be hers, she was NOT giving them away and that was that! LOL. too stinkin' funny.

So mom called me before she even came up here. she had a sweater pattern that she wanted to make for a gift for her sister. Oh it was a beautiful pattern, but she just couldn't figure it out. When this has happened a couple of times in the past the two of us sit down, I read and she crochets and then she 'get's it' and she's off and running. not this time. I have never read such a confusing pattern in my life and I do some pretty complicated stuff. It took the two of us working together 3 weeks to make "the sweater from hell". OH, it turned out beautiful in the end. I'll say that, but when mom said she'd like to make another one I told her she was out of her frikkin' mind. She found a hat and scarf pattern that was similar to the sweater but much, much easier to follow so she made those to go with the sweater to complete the set. Yup, she had those done in one evening. LOL. My aunt is going to be one lucky lady to get this set because there won't be another one made. LOLOL!!!

This is mom modeling the sweater set. Gorgeous isn't she?

Canary is not baby poop green

2010-01-29T20:23:00.003-05:00

I just finished crocheting an outfit for bleuette. It was for a Candlewick Thread Challenge. One gal got a whole lot of Candlewick Thread in a color called 'Canary'. Now, I've owned canaries. I have NEVER owned a canary this color. LOL. Mine were beautiful yellow, yellow with brown, and red. Never "Baby Shit Green". honestly. How did someone name this thread Canary???? Anyway, We each got one card of Canary Candlewick thread to create an outfit. the outfit had to be 90% of this Canary. oh dear. what on earth do you do with babyshit green?????? the gal was kind enough to send along 3 other colors that 'complimented' the canary-harvest gold, olive green and navy blue. Compliment huh? LOL. ok. let's make this work. I grabbed my hook and went to work. no pattern-just crochet by the seat of my pants. Well, after ripping the top apart three times it started to finally work out so I kept going. I made a drop-waist dress, beret, purse and socks. I made a slip and sewed it right into the dress. I made a lining for the little purse and sewed that right in. it closes with a little bead. I put navy ribbon through the beading that I crocheted into the beret and the dress. After all is said and done I guess it's not too bad. It's got a nice "Old Timey" look to it and that goes well with this doll.

Just who rules the roost???

2010-01-13T22:17:00.003-05:00

Doesn't he look comfy???

How often do you see a dog flat on his back, spread eagle out cold? It would appear that we've lost our reign....sigh....our bouncing bundle of Joey has taken over. I wanted him to stay on the floor. Daddy says Joey can be on the couch. Joey loves his daddy! LOL!!! We even got him a new cage for night-time. a nice HUGE cage so he's not all squished anymore. I mean, geesh. you could fit a small elephant in this cage! We had the largest airline kennel that they made but with his long legs he would bang around all night trying to get comfy because he likes to stretch out. he doesn't curl up like most dogs do. Noooo, he doesn't even know he's a dog-I'm pretty sure of that. We're still not letting him have free reign all night because he's at that naughty teenage age. Always looking for something to ....um....entertain himself with. LOL....and he loves to sample the trash still so he goes night-night in his cage. Maybe when he's a little older, after all, he's only 15 months old. He's still a baby....a BIG baby.....sigh.....

Free Countdown

2009-12-03T19:11:00.002-05:00

Lisa's doing it again over at Ten Two Studios. She's doing her fabulous countdown of a free page of ephemera each day until Christmas. It's always really lovely stuff that can be used in countless ways. So take a look and enjoy and be sure to post a link to it.

A new Chef in town

2009-12-01T15:41:00.003-05:00

Gosh, where on earth did last month go?? It whizzed on by and I missed it. LOL. so, daughter had a birthday request for a chef hat and apron for our little grand daughter to wear with her new kitchen set. Since they live so far away I was sort of guessing at her size. She's just turning 2. One of her nicknames is 'Baby Cupcake'. I found the perfect fabric. I figured since Junior's the same age (they're only 7 days apart) I'd use him for the model to see how close I am on the size. it's perfect!!!

More Animal Costumes

2009-10-31T17:48:00.004-04:00

I found a scrap of fabric with a fur print on it and made that into a cute little Kitty costume. I had a charm that said Kitty in my stash along with the cute orange chain and it made a darling necklace to go along with the outfit. I'm still tweaking this pattern and it's getting so close to finally being exactly what I want as far as fit goes. I also wanted to make a skunk. After pestering my BFF for help to figure out how to make a skunk tail I pulled out my piece of black fur only to find out that it was not big enough for the costume....sigh....sadness.....then I spotted a piece of pink fur.

It was big enough for a costume so I instantly saw pink fuzzy bunny. My daughter says it reminds her of the awful pink bunny costume from the movie "A Christmas Story". I think this is much more darling. Now I have two more dollies all ready to go out for Halloween.

More Love

2009-10-29T23:14:00.003-04:00

Found a great deal on pumpkins-five for $5. Hubby and I picked out 5 lovely pie pumpkins and went on our merry way. I started to wash the pumkins to bake them and one was just shaped kind of funny. I turned it and took another look and wouldn't ya know it-we had picked out a heart.

see, I find love in all kinds of places. This year, I put some extra love into each pumpkin roll and pumpkin pie I made! hehehehehehehehe......

Darla gets a new costume

2009-10-27T23:48:00.003-04:00

This evening I made a new costume for Darla Bleuette. I just love those cute little kids costumes that look like animals so Darla is now a sweet little bear. The jumpsuit went together really easy from the pattern I drew. the hood took three tries to get what I wanted. I hit the ears on the first try! yeah! Now, does it get any cuter than this?? no, I don't think so. She's ready to go to the Halloween Party this weekend.

Love is everywhere

2009-09-10T12:31:00.005-04:00

I dont' know why, but I've found hearts all my life. In odd places. In odd ways. For as long as I can remember. Some I've kept. Some I've given away. Some are more special than I could ever describe. The most special one of all is my daughter's birthmark. yup, it's a heart. about 1/2inch big and right above her heart on her chest. It's always been there. I've got heart shaped stones that I've found while gardening or out walking. Heart shaped flowers. A heart shaped pothole in a parking lot. Now, why on earth would that be there? Just for me to stumble upon I suppose. These are the silly ways I find hearts.

I hadn't found a heart for a while. Yesterday hubby and I went to our favorite Amish farmer for produce to 'put up'. While processing tomatoes today this is what I found:

It's just some sort of Karma for me. It reminds me that Life is Good.
I love hearts.

Snail's paces

2009-09-06T22:20:00.005-04:00

Or should it be snail races?

Just how fast can a snail move? well, at a snail's pace I suppose-LOL! I just finished these two cuties this evening because my dolly wanted a snail for a pet and then she couldn't decide if she wanted a blue one or a green one so mommy had to make her one of each. Aren't they just the cutest little guys? They're about 2 1/2 inches tall and about 4 inches long. I used sport weight yarn and a size 1 steel hook. The eyes are 9mm safety eyes, the green ones were the only ones left in the right size. I suppose just plain black ones would have looked a bit better but I like these too. It's a free pattern that can be found here. It figures, mine turned out fatter. I don't know how I do that? too much stuffing I suppose. My stuff always looks "well fed". LOL. These make up so fast. a fun quickie project.

I just love Lucy

2009-09-06T12:48:00.003-04:00

I finally finished the full size Amigurumi Free Spirit doll at By Hook, By Hand. This one is made with worsted weight yarn as her pattern calls for. Quite a bit bigger than the previous doll I made with the cotton. I loved learning how to do her wig. There's a wonderful wig tutorial on her Flickr. It just makes so much sense and uses so much less yarn than the old fashioned way of doing a yarn hair-do. I used an orange worsted weight along with a deep rust colored lace weight yarn. The combo gave it depth and highlight at the same time.

She's so darn cute. I've crocheted her quite the wardrobe and she still wants more. I just finished a pink teddy bear for her (also a free pattern from Beth). They looks so cute posed in a teddy bear rocking chair. Now she wants a new pet-her own snail....found a really cute free pattern online so i'm off to make Lucy a snail. A mom's work is never done...LOL!

Secret Sister Strikes again!

2009-08-23T15:48:00.002-04:00

My Secret Sister struck again. A package showed up in my mail with such a lovely little outfit. It's a dress made of pale pink cotton with a cherry pattern on it. There is a matching cream colored wool vest trimmed in pink embroidery thread with round 'pockets' made of the dress fabric. Also included was a real leather little purse-way super cute! There was also 4 pairs of hand crocheted socks. My secret sister must be paying attention on the lists and has picked up on my sock addiction. (I make socks constantly for my dolls-I know that seems strange but it's quite fun) My little Veronique just loved the outfit so she declared it for her own! Such a wonderful gift to receive out of the blue.

What a doll!

2009-08-18T17:32:00.003-04:00

I recently crocheted the cutest little doll from a free pattern. A very talented Beth over at By Hook, By Hand has this cutie posted on her blog. It's her Free Spirit Amigurumi Doll and if you look further into her blog you'll find a huge variety of clothing patterns for her as well. Such a very generous gift to anyone that crochets.

Now, this dolly is to be crocheted from worsted weight yarn, and I'm more particular to thread crochet, so I thought why not? I grabbed some size 3 crochet cotton and a size 1 steel hook and out came this little darling.

Azure is about 7 inches tall. Just a petite little thing. My dear BFF suggested the blue tibetan hair for her and she was so right. it's perfect. Now, all the clothing patterns are for the bigger doll so I decided to suck it up and make another doll using the worsted weight yarn like the pattern calls for. Whoa! she's a MUCH bigger doll but WOW the personality. I LOVE her!! I've just finished up all her parts this afternoon so this evening I'll be sewing her together and deciding on her hair do. Next it will be time to work on a snazzy wardrobe for her. Crochet is such a soothing past-time when one is feeling oooogy.

ahhhhh, vacation

2009-08-12T21:45:00.003-04:00

We just spent a glorious long weekend up in Wisconsin with my BFF Kate and her lovely, incredibly spry mom Phyllis. Two of the loveliest people you'd ever want to know. They certainly make guests feel very welcome and are fabulous Hostesses-and Phyllis is doing this while in a walking boot recovering from a bad boo-boo.

She taught me how to make her famuos Cherry-Rhubarb frigerator jam. boyohboy is it very YUMMY!!! She sent Kate and I to get cherries (the famous and oh so delectible Door County cherries) and we happened on the find of the year. Now, you know you can't send two young whippersnappers out for cherries and expect them to just come straight home. We got a little sidetracked. Ahem.....we saw some garage sale signs....and they were on our way....So, we decided to stop on the way back. At a garage sale someone had two ball-joint dolls for sale for $2 each. We bought them and then Kate looked them up after we got home. The one that she kept is worth over $300!!! now, that's a return on your money!! LOL. She also got a really wonderful wood doll cradle for her babies and a life-size Middleton doll for only $10!!! and he's so perfect!

Dear hubby went to Iola for the big Military Vehicle show. I stayed 'home' and played dollies and went treasure hunting at Goodwill and a HUGE antique mall. oh dear I had so much fun with my BFF. too bad it didn't last long enough.

so, this trip produced Cherry Rhubarb Jam, a crocheted doll, a sewn teddy bear (he was butt ugly and not even looking like a bear until BFF worked on him with me) and a really super-duper adorable baby doll. I'll post pics soon.

T.I.R.E.D.

2009-07-28T19:36:00.003-04:00

.....T. toys,toys,toys, it looks like a toybox threw up in my house. LOL. there's toys in places that I didn't know toys would fit! (the VCR for example)LOL. I had forgotten how many toys it takes to make a baby happy. With a 30 second attention span, it takes alot.

....I. inquisitive. ie: gee, i wonder what's behind the doggies eyelids while he's sleeping? gee, I wonder what's behind his lips while doggie is sleeping? gee, I wonder what's inside doggies ears while he's sleeping? let's see, maybe I can tickle inside doggies ears while he's sleeping. Let's see, can I count how many teeth doggy has while he's sleeping?

....R. run. ie: how many times can I run around the doggy before he jumps up to chase me? How fast can i run from gramma as soon as she takes my diaper off for bath? (maybe grampa will save me)

....E. entertainment. This little girl has provided me with endless hours of entertainment. It is just pure joy watching all the fun new things she discovers. It's really funny to watch her shreik with joy and greet every male that walks through the door with a very loud "DAADDDEEEEEEEEE" LOL! grampa, great pappa, uncles, doesn't matter, they're all Daddddeeeeeeeee. LOLOL.

....D. delighted. How I feel about watching my grand daughter for the week.

now, put it all together and it spells how I am after just 2 days. and I only have 3 more to go! LOL.......

thank goodness for disney movies. she loves 'em and it gives me about 10 minutes of peace. She'll actually sit for 10 minutes to watch some of it.

I'm partied out

2009-07-27T10:30:00.003-04:00

3 parties in one weekend. Whew! I'm pooped. I've been cleaning and cooking for a week. Friday the kids came in from out of town. Saturday was hubby's 60th birthday. He didn't want a party. He just wanted a small backyard BBQ with our kids. ....riiight..... Soon it was, "honey, did you invite @#%#?". two days later, "honey, did you invite %#$#^?" and it continued until I had 30 people coming. now, I have a tiny house so we had 3 canopies set up in the back yard. The day started with a fun surprise for hubby, he went out to walk the dog at 6am and was greeted with this:

he was quite tickled. He loves deer. We had to take all kinds of pictures of the deer and him with the deer. it was too funny. Everyone showed up for the party and we had a blast. Of course, right in the middle of the party we got hit with a fast but furious rain storm. Everyone dove into the house except me. I was at the grill cooking so I got soaked to my undies. I didn't mind thought because it was one of those really warm refreshing summer rains. It stopped after about 15 minutes so everyone came back out, we dried off all the furniture and went right back to having fun. It was a wonderful relaxing day. After everyone had left and I had the mess all cleaned up I got to work making a cake for the next day.

The next day I went to a 'Hitty Goes to Las Vegas Party'. I have my little grand daughter for the week so she went too. We both had a really fun time. She's only 18 months but very well trained and socialized so she was just as pleasant as could be. That was with 10 wonderful ladies and we shared party favors and exchanged a gift for Hitty.

Grand daughter and I left that party at 5 to run home, pick up Grampa, grandson, and a cake and go to the next party. That was a birthday party for my mother. I made her favorite cake-a made from scratch coconut cake. My dad was put in charge of getting one candle (a number 6-I already had one number 6 so we just needed the second one) and he got the ice cream. We all had a good time (a much smaller gathering of just 20-LOL!). Got home, gave baby a bath put her down and collapsed! LOL.

Mea Culpa and the missing camera

2009-07-24T10:07:00.005-04:00

Mea Culpa Mea Culpa Mea Culpa, this goes to my BFF for being so slack and not updating my blog. I've had another month of insanity so this went by the wayside. She (ever so politely) pointed out my slackness (and then threatened to remove me from her favorites! LOL) GASP!!! I could NEVER let that happen so here I am.

to my BFF: PHHTTTTHHHHTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHH

Now, the missing camera. Day 5. It has got to be in my house somewhere. I saw it last weekend. Could my feeble mind remember where? no. was it in the case where it should be? yes. why is it so hard to find a black camera case with a pink camera? because it is. It was put away. it's that simple. I put it away. why? because that's what you're supposed to do. No. you leave it out so you trip over it or move it every time you want to do something. that way you can find it.
This has distinct shades of Gramma written all over it. She used to put stuff away 'for safe keeping' only to not find it for YEARS. LOL. OMG I'm turning into my grandmother.....

Monkey business, a new doll and Joey

2009-06-20T22:22:00.006-04:00

I managed to finish crocheting all the parts for a new little monkey. After putting Joey to bed last night I was able to stuff and sew the monkey. I stitched his little face this morning and now he's done. Isn't he adorable!?!

He's only 3 1/2 inches tall. He's made of size 8 perle cotton with a size 7 steel hook. A friend of mine gave me a new book from Annie's Attic-Itty Bitty Animals. It's got a bunch of really darling, tiny crocheted animals. quick to make up (if you don't mind working tiny). I ended up making three ears because I think Joey ate one of the first two. when it was time to sew the ears on the monkey I could only find one-and that was on the floor-so I had to make a new one. I can't tell you how many times while crocheting these pieces parts I had to stop and make Joey "Leave It" and then go retrieve either the part he stole or one of the balls of crochet thread. LOL. He was just looking for someone to play with him-the poor bored puppy! LOL.

Sooo, this afternoon I wanted a little sewing time so Daddy had to watch Joey. I put the baby gate up across my sewing room door. (thank god for baby gates) I tried without it at first, but it was 'game on' with Joey. He decided that to get Mommy's attention, he would come in and look around and figure out what he could grab and run thus getting Mommy's attention really quick. Riiiigggght, that game only last for 2 grabs when Mommy declared it was done and put up the baby gate! LOL Mommy wins! Daddy now had to watch him so when Joey couldn't get into any more trouble he decided to take a nap. whew!

I actually got to sew and put together a new doll. I won the parts for a China Head doll when I went to a luncheon in May. She's so beautiful. She's 10" tall. I got the head, arms and legs. I had to make the body, upper arms and upper legs and put it all together. I used the last piece of drill for the body. She came out just lovely. Now I have to do a little research and decide what kind of clothing she'll need.

soooo, life with Joey is fun, unpredictable, constantly saying 'NO', "Leave It", "Joey Sit", 'No', 'No', "Leave It".....he's gonna think his name is "Joey Leave It". ! LOL....I think I've lost 5 lbs in 2 days of correcting him. It's easy to tell that he wants to be a good boy, it's just going to take lots and lots of love and training.....and Daddy loves him way, way much. .....life is good....sigh.....

We've got a new baby!

2009-06-18T21:04:00.003-04:00

Meet Joey.

He's a King Standard Poodle.

He's only 7 months old and he's already so tall that he just rests his head on the kitchen table. ....no reaching for him, it's right there at mouth level...sigh....LOL. He came to live with us today. He's a rescue. A little old lady had bought him and kept him chained in the house on a 3ft chain for over 4 months. In spite of the harsh beginning, he's got a fabulous personality. Is not afraid of anything and is very, very friendly. He's showing alot of intelligence and catches on to things quickly. We're sure he'll train up in no time at all. He's already house broke! Yeah!

I'm so giddy about this. We used to have a Royal Giant Standard (Merlyne). He was a big boy weighing in at 125lbs and lived to a lovely 12 yrs old. Imagine a 125lb poodle coming atcha! LOL. that'll get your attention. We also had a teacup poodle. our little 4lb Gabby. She lived to 12 yrs old also. We lost Merlyn about 8 yrs ago and Gabby about 3 yrs ago. Our lives have been very empty and hubby refused to get another dog. He was adamant about it and the answer was always NO. Something happened to him when he saw Joey. Hubby just absolutely melted. He's absolutely giggly about this dog and has taken him on two walks, played outside with him. Scrubbed, dried and painted his kennel to look like new and made me run inside to get the camera for him to take pictures of Joey. I've had to upload the pics and get them ready so hubby can email them to all his relatives and friends when I get off the computer. this is just too funny. My life is so happy again. I sure missed having a dog in the house.

Joey is now happily tired out and sleeping at our feet.....Life is good..........

Always the bridesmaid...

2009-06-13T07:55:00.005-04:00

I just finished a darling little dolly outfit to fit Sophie (a Tonner doll). This is my Sophie modeling it. The dress is for Pat's doll. Pat's daughter is getting married on the 28th of this month so Sophie needed a dress for the wedding. Sophie goes everywhere that Pat goes and I thought it would be sweet if she had her own little Junior Bridesmaid Dress. I asked Pat to send me a pic of the bridesmaid dress. (click here to see) So I studied the dress and this is what I made. It needed to be more demure since it was for a 'little girl' so I slightly redesigned the bodice so it wouldn't plunge to her navel. LOL! and gave it just a regular back bodice. I left the full length of the design and did all the gathers to one side. I made it just short enough so she could walk and dance without tripping and made her matching little satin panties. The dress is completely lined so that no seams show on the inside at all. It closes with two little snaps in back.

Just a crocheting maniac

2009-06-11T21:47:00.005-04:00

This was the last surgery. Yeah!!!! The doctor removed a growth from the bone then repaired the tendons of my left thumb. Ohhhhh so good to have my hands back!!. Now it's healing nicely. the stitches came out on Tuesday and it's so good to be able to work with my hand again. I've been crocheting like crazy. I'm the hostess of the "Sock it To Me Baby" sock swap at the Bleuette group I belong to so I'm working on my socks and slippers. The bonus of the swap is one pair of slippers. I wanted to do something different so I'm making a pair of little yellow ducky slippers. I had made one a few weeks ago but I just wasn't happy with it. I thought about it the whole time my hand was out of commission and today I set to work it out. this is the results of today's work and I couldn't be happier.This slipper is barely 1 1/2 inches long just so you get the perspective of what I was working on. It's just sooooooo doggone cute!

Yesterday I worked on a new sock. I wanted something lacey and pretty but thin enough to fit under a tight shoe. I usually work in size 8 perle cotton or one strand of candlewicking thread. now, those make beautiful socks but they're a tad bulky so I pulled out my size 12 perle cotton. I made a sock that's solid on the toe and heel but the foot and upper are all lacey and fine. I"m quite pleased with the result. This fits so nice in a tighter shoe. take a look:

Ahhhhh, I'm getting back in the groove.......

What a class!

2009-06-07T08:19:00.004-04:00

Two weeks ago I was privelaged to take a class with Susie McMahon of Tasmania. (My BFF came into town and went with me and helped me in class.) Susie's dolls are just awesome and I made a really darling doll in her class. Actually, she was kind enough to make the doll body for me since I was waiting to get the surgery on my left hand. I did the face mask and then the clothing/shoes. I wanted to go for a soft ''goth'' look and I'm happy with how she came out. Here's a close-up of her really beautiful face. Thank you Suzie!!

Baby gets a Bassinette

2009-05-03T16:00:00.003-04:00

Now I know why I prefer thread crochet. working with heavy yarn is sure hard on the hand and takes forever!! I finished this the day before surgery. the top is the cradle. it opens to a wonderful storage compartment. the bottom ruffle drawstrings shut over the whole thing to become a purse so dolly can go away with you. isn't it a great idea for a little girl. she can play quietly with dolly wherever she goes. It's an old Annie's Attic pattern from 1991. They have a new updated version. The old pattern also had a pattern for a crocheted dolly and clothes.

A Sailing We Will Go

2009-05-03T15:57:00.002-04:00

Claudia, Veronique and Darla show off their new sailor suits made by Tante Kate. I just love how she coordinated the felt for the three suits. She also made wonderful purses for each girl and added a bling-bling initial to personalize each purse!! Thank you Tante Kate!!

the wonders of modern medicine

2009-05-02T06:59:00.004-04:00

Wannnnananana~~~~~~~~~wananananananana (hear the sounds from 'the Bionic man'?) Yesterday took me back under the knife. I know, I know, I just had both hands done in the fall (carpal tunnel) but now both thumbs went whonkey. Trigger thumb is terribly painful and when the doctor said he could give me a shot that would just mask the problem, I asked if he could just fix it. He's an excellent surgeon and yesterday he fixed it. Two weeks and the 'wrapping' comes off and it'll be back to life as usual, well, at least until he fixes the other thumb at the end of May. Now, If only they could find a way to take blood and do IV's that didn't leave a person looking like they've been in a major accident......sigh..... these bruises are 2 inches!! and they feel like huge lumps under the skin....

ohgawd I love to cook

2009-04-11T20:56:00.003-04:00

Today ended up being a wonderful day. A cheer-me-up phone call from my BFF and then I got to work cooking and baking for tomorrow. I made two loaves of mush to fry tomorrow morning for breakfast. I made a cheese pie for tomorrows lunch. I baked a fresh coconut cake for my brother's birthday tomorrow, then, I made the most wonderful pans of Nut and Poppyseed rolls ever. I made the filling and put that out to cool, then made my good sweet bread recipe for the dough. Hubby says I outdid myself and made the best ever. of course, we HAD to sample them, so hubby took "the ugly one from the middle". He makes me laugh. We wouldn't want the family to eat something that wasn't up to par...LOL.

Good Gravy, food this good should be illegal! hahahahahahahahaha!!! Life is good....sigh....

Secret Surprise

2009-04-09T22:37:00.004-04:00

Surprises are just so much fun! I got one in the mail today. One group is having a Secret Sister Surprise this year every couple of months. My first package arrived today and Darla was with me when it got here. She was watching me crochet for a new doll baby and got very excited at the box. She asked why I sent a box to myself? ( for the Secret Sister, we put the receivers name in both the "to" and "from" positions-clever huh?LOL).

Anyway, after I explained this she jumped in to help me open the package. Such fun in a little box. Wrapped in very pretty flowered tissue was two lovely FQ's-the pink one has little houses, cottages and windmills and the other is a light airy blue polka dot. Also included was a tiny set of gardening tools, a book about the circus, a darling green gingham bunny and a really wonderful hand crocheted spring dress in lovely pastels.

Darla quickly tried on the dress, grabbed the book and sat down to read the circus story to the bunny. What a wonderful present from my Secret Sister.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program folks!

2009-03-16T08:03:00.004-04:00

We DID NOT want to come back from vacation!! Most people are glad to be back home-we were NOT! (Well, except for my own bed-I didn't sleep much on vacation) vacation was way, way too short....sigh......swimming every day, some sight-seeing, nice weather (instead of cold, rain, and snow) and just general relaxation....ahhhhhhhhh.........

So, now that I'm back and actually functioning again -seriously, it took me a week to get over the 3-hour time change. geesh, that's really pretty difficult for me-I've started creating again. I'm going to show you an item I made before vacation. I just couldn't post it until someone received it. It was a special surprise and I didn't want to spoil that. It's a Fairy Outfit for a bleuette doll. I made it with blue satin and lots of tulle. My own design all the way down to the fairy wand made from an antique button that had the most beautiful aurora borealis crystals in it. The dress has 12 layers of tulle for a nice fullness. There's even matching blue satin panties and little bleu satin shoes that I made. The wings I did freehand. I just zigzagged over wire then layed the wire on organza and zigzagged the shapes I wanted. I stitched them right into the dress to get the right look. Her hair wreath is wire wrapped with tulle and added tulle puffs and flowers and sprigs of sparkly dried baby's breath. Oh so pretty.

Time for some R & R

2009-03-02T12:31:00.002-05:00

(Cue elevator music)

I'm taking a break from home life and I've flown the coup. I've gone away to a bright, warm, sunshiney place and won't be home for another week. Hubby has joined me and we're just basking in the sun, visiting museums (picture me with a totally bored look ) but he's enjoying himself tremendously. (now, tell me honestly, don't all these dam trains and airplanes look the same to you? and really, mile after mile of boneyard airplanes....(more tedious music)....so I follow along, carry the extra camera batteries and say "yes, dear" as he tells me all the intimate details of each airplane/train......the life of a wife. (but I would NEVER tell him I was bored, that would break his heart and besides, he finds quilt/fabric shops for me to visit.) so, I'll be back next week with more fun stuff that's I've made or done. (elevator music fading away...........................

The shoes have their day...

2009-02-21T20:59:00.004-05:00

We, the shoes of the Bleus demand to have our day too!!! See all the pretty colors and styles!! We can match most outfits that SHE makes. Someone go catch that darn dog that the bleu's own and find the missing boot! now, someone tell HER we need some yellow ones, and some tennis shoes, and some green ones, and some roller skates, and some.......shhhh, here she comes.......

Sockaholics Unite!!!

2009-02-21T07:37:00.004-05:00

So last night some of my friends were talking about dolly shoes and socks when someone mentioned my...um...er....sockaholicness, or the fact that I have alot of socks. Soooooooooo, I decided to gather what I could find and took a quick picture. It's just socks I've made-none of the 'store bought' kind. This is just the tip of the iceburg. If I had kept track of all the socks I've made and sent out in swaps I'd need a picnic table for the picture. LOL. When my doll Hilly heard I was gathering socks she ran away sobbing something about me always wanting to undress her for one reason or another and she was having none of it. Francoise also refused to undress but at least stood and held up her foot to show off her green trimmed fancies. Georgia, my sweet little one quickly plopped down and grabbed off her first sock but I snapped the picture too quick so she wasn't able to get the other one off yet. My other girls were all sitting around giggling at the antics. Boy, if only I had this many colors of socks to choose from in my size. Wouldn't that be fun??

Another creation

2009-02-19T21:57:00.004-05:00

This afternoon I set to work on another Ginny outfit. Someone asked me to make a Tinkerbelle type of fairy outfit. Her favorite color is purple so I had to include lots of purple. I went to my stash and started to pull fabric and found some yummy crinkled polyester something or other in a fabulous toned down chartreuse. I found some shiney crinkled silk organza in a companion color. I found some wonderful purple tulle and some shiney purple fuzzy fiber. Some purple bugle beads and the little roll of lilac butterflies the lady gave me to use on the outfit. I made it similar to the BleuGarden Fairy because I just loved how that outfit came out with the petals over the layers upon layers of tulle. This little dress has 12 layers of tulle. The panties are separate and done in the green crinkle polyester something or other fabric. She bought this doll special for this outfit so the outfit is sewed right on the doll since it's just going to be displayed. I've taken two pics of the back so you can see how the petals go completely around even though they're hidden under the wings. I am quite pleased with it.

Hankies make the cutest dolly dresses.

2009-02-18T23:15:00.004-05:00

One of my friends asked me to make a hanky dress for her Ginny. I used a hanky that had a wide pink edge with flowers and scalloped edges. The middle was plain white. It really made a darling little dress and there was even enough fabric in the one hanky to make matching little panties.

I fussy cut the pieces so I even had enough scalloped edging to make ruffles around the panty legs. My little blonde ginny is modeling this new confection. Hankies really make such delicate little clothes. I also made two more flamingos today for a couple of ladies that collect Alice in Wonderland stuff. LOL. I'm gonna be dreaming about flamingos tonight. to see a pic, look at my past posts for the flamingo's older sister.

Valentines Basket Surprise

2009-02-14T13:53:00.011-05:00

Well, well, well! the girls sure got a big surprise left in our mailbox today. A most unique Valentine's Day "Basket". Yes, the post office actually allows this to go through. As long as it has appropriate postage they don't have a problem. The girls quickly gathered around to see what on earth this could be. Tante Janie sent us a see through basket loaded with goodies that the ladies from Bleudoor made! Even the dog had to get his nose in there. He thought he smelled some goodies in there! Little Darla threw herself over the bottle to get a good look inside. "Look Maman! There's presents for us all!" Claudia quickly grabbed the lid and tried to twist it off. Francoise just laughed and told her that was silly because those presents would not fit through the small opening. The swooshed the dog out of the way and peeled away the tape to reveal the treasures. The other two girls came in to join the fun. Veronique plunked down all naked and squealed as she quickly put on her new hat from Tante Pat. With all the packages dumped out in front of them they dove in to claim items. If you look closely, the dog thought he'd get in on the goodies so they had to find a way to contain him. Raquel grabbed the bottom of the bottle and used it as a doggy playpen. Someone gave him an orange sucker to keep him from whining and they also hung a darling heart shaped valentine cookie from his ear. He's now quiet and happy to watch the rest of the goings on. Claudia put the piece of red tulle on her head and declared that she made a beautiful Valentine's Day Bride. She also grabbed a darling heart shaped purse from Tante Nance and a book made by Tante Pam. Veronique was getting cold so she put on the darling apron made from antique fabric by Tante Angie. Raquel grabbed the maroon ultra suede purse from Tante Arlene and the necklace from Tante Blythe. She also put on the new frilly collar made by Tante Sassy. Claudia put on the collar made by Tante JudiRose and grabbed the Valentine that Tante Pam also made. Francoise put on the lovely hat/snood made by Tante Rochelle. The girls are going to share the heart sew ons sent by Tante Gabrielle and the embroidered hearts that Tante Hildi made and they put their chocolate kisses in the little embroidered heart basket that is also made by Tante Hildi. Veronique grabbed the cake that Tante Margie made but was quickly told that good little girls always share. The girls and I want to thank all these wonderful Bleudoor Tantes for putting so much love in this special Valentines gift.

Confessions of a Sockaholic

2009-02-12T11:38:00.002-05:00

Here's a not so great picture of the table by my favorite spot. I admit it, I'm a sockaholic. I've looked for, but not found any sort of in-step, uh, I mean 12-step program to cure me of this addiction. I find myself always making another pair of doll socks. different sizes, colors, designs, it's terrible, I think I might even dream about doll socks. I even spent 2 hours yesterday organizing all my balls of thread for socks yesterday in a new container, by color just so I could more easily find colors to match outfits I'm making. I wouldn't even cut off this big ball of bunched up loose threads because it might have meant I wouldn't have enough to finish a sock of a certain color. I carefully, painstakingly separated and re-wound those threads. It's a sickness I tell you...sigh......hopeless.....

Snoods, it's a 40's thing

2009-02-12T11:29:00.005-05:00

I have always loved the look of a snood. In the 80's they were popular for a couple of years and I used to crochet them by the dozen's. Plain ones, beaded ones, I connected them to big beautiful barretts and they sold like crazy. A gal on one of my lists gave us a pattern for a snood for a doll and I thought, wow, why didn't I think of that. I'm always trying to keep my doll's hair neat in between displaying them and also while changing their clothes-especially the dolls with mohair wigs. I sat down and immediately crocheted one. It's darling and is being modeled by Claudia. She's most happy to have her hair kept safe and tidy in her new royal blue snood.

Dolly clothes

2009-02-11T18:45:00.004-05:00

I love to make dolly clothes. This was for a Round Robin and it got mailed today. It's a darling striped wrap style dress and a polka dotted apron to go with it. I also made little socks (not shown) and had a set of tiny gardening tools to go with. The theme was Gardener's Delight.

Nice new jacket.

2009-02-08T20:59:00.002-05:00

My doll Hilly has a new warm jacket ca.1950's. It's a pattern from Patti-Ann Stanley. She designs a wonderful pattern. I had everything I needed in my stash and had it together in an afternoon. This lovely plaid hooded jacket is lined in silver/gray satin and has a black picot-trimmed ribbon for the drawstring at the waist. It's trimmed around the hood and sleeves with fake fur. Hilly is very happy though she doesn't look it.

Robot fun

2009-02-06T10:28:00.002-05:00

Robby is now finished. I know, the names not so inventive, but he looked like 'Robby' to me. His new mom can name him whatever she thinks will fit him. He's so darn cute I'm going to make one for my nephew and make him baby friendly-ie. no pellets, no hardware. I'll just use stuffing and embroider his features. anyway, another cutiepie finished.

Pretty coats

2009-02-06T10:24:00.002-05:00

Today I finished a new pretty coat for a friend. Actually, she bought me a coat and it came with the pattern to make more. I loved that coat so very, very much I wanted to make one for her. I found a piece of lovely, dreamy, creamy spring yellow felt in my stash (some of my friends are now refering to it as "Ellen's Legendary Stash" LOL). I found a lovely hank of lavender embroidery thread and went to work. Here's the result. I think she'll be thrilled.

Comfort Food

2009-02-03T17:57:00.002-05:00

There is nothing better than comfort food on a cold, crisp winter day. I made a lovely roasted chicken on Sunday so today I picked the remaining chicken off the bone. Plenty of leftover to make two Chicken Pot Pies for our dinner tonight plus enough chicken to freeze for another meal next week. Maybe some sort of chicken casserole..hmmmm....I'll have to think about that. Hubby and I love chicken potpie and I've made it since the kids were little. Yes, I even make the pie dough from scratch. I also make Turkey Potpies from leftover turkey. I learned to make individual pies as the kids would fight over who got the last piece so I solved that problem right quick. Tuna potpie is good too. try it sometime. Fresh, hot Chicken Potpie and a tall glass of ice-cold milk....it just doesn't get any better than that....snow be dammed! LOL....

Robots are so cute

2009-02-03T17:37:00.003-05:00

I've been crocheting a little robot for my bestest friend because a. She begged me to crochet him, b. She loves robots and c. She bought me the pattern-LOLOL...she didn't really beg, i'm just teasing her! so now I've been sending her tease pictures each day as I finish parts of him. He is definately not for kids because he has real washers for eyes and a real screw for his nose. I actually had to screw the nose in with a screwdriver! that's not coming out for a loooooooong time. He could be easily made child friendly though. just so darn cute!!!

Another Wonderful Countdown from Lisa

2009-02-02T09:49:00.003-05:00

I love ephemera. It's amazing how cool some of it is and the creativity it inspires is always great fun. Lisa Vollrath is doing her Valentine's Countdown from now until Valentine's Day. A new piece of ephemera available to download free to add to your stash. She always has terrific images so don't miss this!

Roses in Winter and a Raspberry cape

2009-01-27T20:54:00.004-05:00

I just finished my part of a RRlite. The theme is Roses in Winter. I found a darling dress pattern that would lend itself nicely to the fabric I chose. I had a FQ of babypoo yellow with wonderful clusters of raspberry colored roses on it. It made up very nicely and I'm quite pleased.

Since it's winter the outfit needed either a coat or cape, something to keep Dolly warm so I dug through my stash and found a really yummy piece of raspberry colored wide-wale corduroy. Normally I wouldn't use a wide-wale for a doll-I'm picky about scale to size-but it was just perfect for a cape. the wale would be too large for a coat. I lined it in pale raspberry cotton and trimmed it in a great rose trim that I had in shades of raspberry. It couldn't matched better if I dyed it myself. I finished it off with a little tassel that I made from raspberry DMC floss. the perfect finish.

Vintage crocheted buttons...or....what was I thinking??

2009-01-26T23:16:00.003-05:00

So, one of the gals on a list I belong to got us all excited about vintage/antique crocheted buttons. I have always been a button lover. any kind, any shape, any color so I got excited. Bring 'em on! I knew I had downloaded a very old vintage crochet booklet that had crocheted buttons. It took some searching but I found it buried in my files. It's from 1912 and it's Irish Crochet. very intricate and lovely.

Now, I've been a lifelong crocheter (is that really a word?LOL) and I certainly felt up to the challenge. Well, I didn't think it would be a challenge. I just thought it would be some time spent creating very beautiful new vintage crocheted buttons.

What in the great googlymoogly was I thinking?? They're worked with very fine thread and tiny steel crochet hooks. Usually no problem. Thread crochet is my favorite. And then I started. The pattern is made of alot of old stitches like the roll stitch (now called the bullion) and clone knots(sort of a strangely formed bullion). Plus the pattern stitches are off from what we know today. not hard to figure out, but you just need to really concentrate on translating the stitches to todays terms.

It took me 2 hours to do the first one. One simple looking button. It's on the brown button above. It looks great but those roll stitches were near impossible. I took a break and made the cute little pink flower button. It's crocheted on a small (3/8inch) 4-hole shirt button. It's darling. I started another vintage one and this one is even harder. there are 16 wraps in those clone knots that circle the center of the button. those took me almost 2 hours to do just the 8 knots. Whew. I finally took a break and chatted online with a few friends. One friend directed me to some more info on heirloom buttons and I discovered that once upon a time a special hook was made for making bullion stitches. It's design was very specific to make it much easier to crochet these stitches. It figures that the hook is no longer made.....sigh..... There is a brand of hook made now that works just a bit better for these stitches and I just happen to have 3 of them.

I found them and tried them and voila!! It did work a bit better. Maybe now I might actually try to make a few more of those stinkin' buttons. They sure are pretty.....

Ode to a piece of Chocolate

2009-01-23T18:10:00.002-05:00

Then there were the Chocolate Covered Cherries.......

.....not just any choco covered cherries, but THE choco covered cherries. oh yes, you know what I'm talking about.........enjoy with me......

.....Deep Dark Chocolate Cover Cherries that have the juice in the center with the cherry-not that yukky thick filling stuff. Ohhhhhhh to make a teeeenytiny nick in the bottom edge and suck the juice out first. Then that next oh so delicate bite to remove the cherry with just the smallest bit of the dark chocolate that comes away with it only to be followed by the last bite of this confection-letting that oh so delectible, deep, bittersweet, dark chocolate slowly and very very delicately melt in your mouth with the hint of the cherry that had been so sweetly enveloped in it only a few moments ago........are you drooling yet???

Pink Flamingos

2009-01-18T16:42:00.003-05:00

Here's the Pink Flamingo I made this afternoon. This is Claudia dressed in her Alice in Wonderland outfit I made. I even crocheted little red and white striped socks for this outfit. I just love this one. The pink flamingo is just the right size for her don't you think? I sure do..

Our grandson is over for a sleepover so we're going to play some games and have a special seafood dinner. Grandkids are so special!

where does the time go?

2009-01-17T22:06:00.009-05:00

ok, so i forgot about my blog. well, not really, just didn't get around to it. I don't know why. I guess it just got away from me. this year should be better. at least I'll try......

I've gotten back to my sewing. I had surgery on both hands and they're healing pretty good. the right hand is doing really good. just some strength issues and the dam elbow problem. the left hand is going to take longer, but hey. it's so much better already I"m super duper happy!!! hurry for a great surgeon!

I knitted a lovely ski suit for my new mocha colored Bleutte. I used the new 'Spa' yarn-it's a bamboo yarn. so soft and lovely--ooh. I also crocheted her a new Christmas stocking.

Now I'm crocheting 14 sets of bleuette sized fingerless gloves for a Valentines project. A group of us are all making little Valentines things to share. They're coming out so cute!

Yesterday I made a fur coat, hat and muff for my Ginny. We had to go to a doll club meeting today and it's just too cold (5 degrees-frikkin burr)for her to go out without being properly dressed. I had a piece of super soft, silky fakey white fur fabric and it made an adorable set. And yes, she is wearing teenytiny little gloves that I made for her from some stretch lycra that I found in my stash. it was the smallest piece. I need to find some more of that stuff. it made awesome gloves.

I couldn't sleep this morning so at 6:30 I was up making a little pink flamingo to go with an Alice in Wonderland outfit that I bartered away. It came out so doggone cute (so did the outfit)I'm going to make another flamingo for myself. Unfortunately I forgot to take a pic before giving it today. I used an old Julie McCollough pattern from SD&A. It made a 28inch flamingo-wayway too big for what I needed so I copied the pattern at 68%. that was still too big so I copied the reduced pattern at 50%. It ended up being the perfect size! I'll post a pic of the next one I make.

Here's what it looks like outside:
we're getting more tonight-supposedly another 5-7 inches. and in this deep freeze, it's not going anywhere soon.
I'll talk to you all soon!

Yes Deer!

2008-07-22T10:29:00.005-04:00

Yesterday my hubby came rushing in the house. "Quick, come here! I don't care what you're doing you gotta see this!". Now, you'd think this is something that never happens. Honestly, it happens almost EVERY day in our back yard. Now, in his defense, I must say it is usually 6:00 a.m. or so when we see them, but this was 3pm. We had two deer wandering around in the heat looking for a cool place to rest. They decided to lounge in our backyard for about an hour. They are not afraid of us in the least. This is the reason we no longer can have a garden. There is a herd of about 17-20 that live in the woods across the street from us. We always have deer wandering through to the little creek that runs along the back of our property.

This is when I wish I had a bit of a better camera. I was standing on the back deck taking these pictures. This is no more than 50 ft away. They lounged around until the sky started to get dark as we had a rainstorm moving in. Then off they went to go find shelter and the rest of the herd.

Busy, busy

2008-07-12T08:36:00.003-04:00

Ok, this is a long one! hang on and here we go......

Well, I've survived watching two little ones. It was interesting to see the differences between them since they are only 7 days apart in age. One likes to sit up and play with toys, the other likes to lay and play and wants to crawl. They both smiled endlessly which was just pure joy! I've been busy sewing, crocheting etc. I got my three Toni's all together for their first photo shoot. The Redhead is one I recently purchased off Ebay and was quite upset because I discovered that the head had been repainted and filled with oil (I'm assuming to lubricate the eyes) and the poor doll was constantly leaking oil out of her eyes and neck. I had to take her completely apart and clean the heck out of her head to remove all the oil. the original blonde wig was in such bad shape that it just disintegrated in my hands. She now has a pretty red wig and looks beautiful. The blonde is my childhood doll that I had recently found and cleaned up to her present splendor. She is dressed in a lovely lemon-yellow crocheted dress and collar that I got in a RRswap. I crocheted the matching socks. The brunette doll is a Tonner Toni which is no longer being made. she is modeling some new undies that I also received in the swap.
The full crinoline slip, pink polka dot panties, crocheted socks and the hat are what I made to give away in the swap.

I Made this darling Bleuette size ballet outfit for another swap I did. It was a Birth Year swap. we had to use a pattern from our birth year or if there wasn't any for that year, back up by a decade and choose a pattern. There was none for my year, so I backed up and found the darling ballet tutu pattern. The panties, hat and ballet slippers are my own patterns. I ended up making myself a ballet outfit also because My little girl was heartbroken that I was giving it away and she wouldn't be able to pretend she was in the ballet. Isn't she just precious. this is my new bleuette that I just bought from a friend this past week. I've named her Philomene after one of my grandmothers.

This is my second new bleuette. I put her together this week. I had been slowly buying the parts to put together. I bought the head around Christmas time. I bought the body a few weeks ago. I bought the wig last week so I was finally able to assemble her. I've NEVER spent so much on a doll wig before but I had a certain vision of what I wanted her to look like stuck in my brain and I wasn't going to be happy until I had achieved that. Now, I'm happy I spent the extra money for the special wig. She's exactly as I pictured. She is named Claudia.

I even managed to take two days to 'clean' my sewing room. It was for two reasons, first, my wonderful hubby is going to install a new ceiling fan for me and I had to be able to move my sewing machine out of the way (it sits right in the middle of the room). and secondly, I had to get a bit more organized. I'm trying to get organized and it seems that if I take a day or two here and there I'm finally able to get a grip on stuff and there's sortof a light at the end of the tunnel. I'm actually getting organized nicely now.

I am now working on another half dozen more puppies. I have ladies patiently waiting for their new doggies. I'm so glad that the puppies are so popular. They really are darling.

ok, I'm off to shower, dress and sew...........aw, maybe just sew, I can always shower later......

Ahhhh, Babies

2008-06-29T20:04:00.003-04:00

Oh how I love babies. Our daughter and son-in-law have headed to a lovely tropical vacation so we get to watch our little granddaughter-7months old on the 7th of July. I also am a nanny to my darling nephew-7 months old tomorrow. Yup, that's only 7 days apart (geesh, all these 7's I should play the lottery!LOL). I had them both today and will be watching them both for the rest of the week. It's like having instant twins. Their schedules are just off by about 1/2hr so as soon as one is diapered and fed it's time for the next one. It was just a constant shuffle of baby all day. So much fun. I couldn't resist taking this pic. I got one down for nap and 1/2 hour later down went number 2! I only have one crib so I put one at one end and the other at the opposite end and stretched the blanket across them both. They are both now sitting up and they've discovered each other. So darn cute....It's going to be a fun week!

Francoise walks the Litter

2008-06-16T13:04:00.004-04:00

My dear sweet little Francoise needed to walk the litter of Puppies before they are mailed off to their new homes today. Aren't they sweet? They're awful playful though and I think they might be too much for one little girl to handle.

Uh Oh!! I was right. They're starting to play with each other instead of all walking nicely.

Oh dear, all those leashes getting tangled and tripping them up. Even Francoise went down on her little tushie!

This is true Puppy Pandemonium!!

It's ok. The puppies have realized that they can make it all better by giving Francoise wet noses and big sloppy puppy kisses.......

Free Father's Day Ephemera

2008-06-08T13:16:00.003-04:00

I just love a freebee don't you?- especially when it's really great quality! Lisa Vollrath has done it again. A fabulous 16 days of freebees-a new one each day. All you need to do is post a link to her site and you can download a new piece of ephemera to incorporate in your Father's Day artwork or anything else you want to make from it. Some really great stuff. I'll be making my dad a special card and this just makes it easier to really step it up. So, go on over to Ten Two Studios and check it out!

Fripon, or a dog for Bleuette

2008-06-06T13:40:00.010-04:00

Wow, I made this adorable little dog this morning for my Francoise. Someone on one of my online doll groups posted a link to the pattern for the perfect sized wire-haired terrier. The creator of the pattern gave permission to use the pattern as anyone wanted. I was so smitten I had to make one for my bleuette. I printed out the pattern and headed to my sewing room. I had all the colors of the felt in my stash! woohoooo! gotta love a good stash! I set to work and in no time at all had one very, very cute little doggie. All I have left to do is put a collar and leash on her. Isn't she cute? I put up this pic of Fripon next to Francoise to show that she is really perfectly sized for the doll. Ahhhhh, another satisfying project........

Speaking engagements

2008-06-03T14:18:00.003-04:00

Well, May was sure a whirlwind of a month. I got to be the honored guest speaker at not one but TWO doll events. So much fun. The first event was a Doll Luncheon in Kirtland, Ohio. It was put on by the 'The Heart of Doll Country' doll club. It was a lovely affair with about 75 people. A very nice auction of lots of dolls, and doll related items. I had a grand time giving my speech: So Many Dolls, So Little Time, My Journey Through Life with Dolls. I took lots of dolls and they filled up two 8foot tables. The really encompassed my life from childhood to present day. I had a great time talking and I have never had such a captured audience. I always expect a little chitchat to go on just because some times something you say will spark a comment between two people. But I have to say, I didn't hear a peep the entire time. It was awesome. I sure did enjoy the experience and recieved many wonderful compliments afterwards.

The very next weekend I repeated the lecture at the 'Think Pink Doll Gala' in Aurora, Ohio. I only took one table full of dolls this time, but still had enough to get my examples across. Again, it was well recieved and I got very wonderful compliments from some women I am in awe of. They are very well known in the doll world and to have them complimenting my dolls was a tremendous honor.

Back to my sewing.......

My BFF and playtime.

2008-05-18T13:05:00.006-04:00

My BFF Kate came in to town May 9th. She drove in from WI to be here for the two speeches I was giving. She is my best friend for sure! Jamesy and I took her to Slyman's. Oh dear godawlmighty. This is the best place in the world to go for Corned Beef. There is no way in the world you can eat a whole sammy. it's got to have at least a pound of shaved, lean corned beef on it. Kate requests to go there just for the pure gastronomic pleasure that is derived from eating there. This is what it looks like:This is just 1/2 of Jamesy's sandwich. ......sigh.....such pleasure in between two slices of bread....sigh........

ok, now that I've wiped the drool from my lips, we did other fun things as well. We spent a day traipsing around Amish country down in Berlin, Charm, and Walnut Creek, Ohio. Lots of great shopping and good food. Again. oh, the agony.....LOL. That evening we took Kate to watch the sunset at Lake Erie. We have a favorite spot which is at the top of a point of a cliff which overlooks a beach. It's just lovely with the trees, and the lake and a perfect vantage point to sit and enjoy a lovely sunset at the lake.

We also had much fun making a new doll during the week. She's the Queen Beea. She came from trying to figure out what to do with 143 bees. I needed one bee for a project I was working on. the only pkg I could get my hands on had a gross of bees. now, What on earth to do with 143 bees (remember, I had used one-LOL). My BFF had a great idea for the bees! We made our dolls and here's the Queen Beea! I don't have a picture of Kates. I forgot to take one before she left. She made these fabulous quilted wings for hers. Her Queen had skinny stripes that were more bright yellow. My doll ended up darker. We did a crackle finish on the dolls. Mine crackled hers didn't and I think that's why mine looks darker. the crackle holds the color more. It's amazing how different the two dolls look even though they're basically the same doll. anyway, here's mine:

So, add in the two doll venues and we sure had a full week of fun. We got to see quite a few friends we hadn't seen for a long time. It sure is grand having a very special BFF!!

It's a Spring Fling

2008-05-04T04:02:00.007-04:00

I finished my Spring Fling swap and it's packaged and going into the mail. I"m sure the lucky recipient will be very happy. Here is Francoise modeling it. I chose a lovely minty green for this Spring outfit. Doesn't green remind you of spring? Everything so fresh and new! The dress and bonnet are made of a layer of embroidered organza over a dupioni type of fabric with just the sheer for the sleeves and the cap of the bonnet. The dress is trimmed with pale pink organza ribbon that ties in the back and there are three delicate pale pink organza rosebuds at the waist. The bonnet ties are the pale pink organza ribbon with another rose tacked at the sides.

The mint green socks are crocheted from size 80 tatting cotton with a size 12 steel hook. I love to crochet these little socks and I usually use size 8 perle cotton. The tatting cotton is just so much finer and lacey looking so that was more appropriate for this fancy outfit. Isn't this an outfit for a little princess?!!

WOW, what a month!

2008-05-01T20:52:00.003-04:00

boy, alot has happened in the last month. Here I thought I was getting back on track into my doll adventures and I sure got derailed fast. My dear ole dad (not very old actually) ended up having an emergency QUADruple bypass. yup, all 4 of those puppies. Two were blocked at 100%, one at 90% and one at 75%. Think about that before you reach for your next piece of cake. They also discovered that he had suffered 2 major heart attacks. He never knew it. They found that he as Neuropathy of the heart. he never felt a thing. it's too bad really, because if he had feeling, they could have caught this at the first heart attack and he wouldn't have gotten to where he is today. They only gave him a 50/50 chance of making it through surgery. Fortunately, he's too dam stubborn to die so after 6 hours of surgery he made it! His heart now functions as 15% and that's the best it will be. He's got other medical problems that complicate things-way too much to go into-suffice it to say, I stayed with them for a while to be sure that everything was going to go smoothly while dad recouperates. I'm now back home and desperately trying to get caught up. I literally dropped everything and got a flight down to be there for surgery. I'll be back to posting as I finish each catch-up project........

New Uniform for Franciose

2008-04-05T20:18:00.004-04:00

Today I finished a Uniform for Francoise. The pattern is by Patti-Ann Stanley. She designed it from an old G-L fashion "Tipperary". Her pattern went together beautifully. Patti-Ann is a wonderfully accomplished seamstress. I had an old lightweight, gray wool skirt that I cut up for the uniform. It's comprised of three pieces. The dress, which has a white sleeveless bodice, wool skirt with pleats and a ribbon 'tie'. The jacket which has 4 pockets and a belt and a very sharp police style hat. Doesn't she look quite snappy!

A new appreciation

2008-04-04T09:10:00.002-04:00

Wow, sometimes things just come into perspective and give you a whole new appreciation. Now I know why women have babies when they're young. I mean, I'm just middle age, but certainly a ways from 20 something. LOL> anyway, I am now a nanny for my little nephew. 4months old, just a darling little elf always smiling and happy-really a joy to watch. I'm sure you're wondering where this is going to-let me tell you.

Our daughter came into town this week. She works for a very large company and has an important position that keeps her traveling constantly around the world actually. Sometimes this brings her to town to different plants around our state. Anyway, she is the proud new momma of our littlest grandbaby-also 4 months. The babies are exactly 7 days apart in age. She brought baby along for me to watch and have grandma time with (and probably give daddy a breather). For the past three days I have watched 2 four month old babies. OHMYGAWD! how on earth does a mother of twins-or more- do it????? alone????? ohmygawd. I have been so pooped at the end of the day I can hardly move. It's been a cycle of diapers, bottles, pacifiers, juggling from swing, to boucer, to crib, to jumping seat, to boppie, repeat.....one cries, the other one looks at him/her as if to say "what's your problem?", "oh, I see, you need some sypathy", "here, let me help you alert grammy/aunty as to our dissatisfaction","let us cry louder".......

Oh dear, now I know why women are fertile at 20 and not 40!! I have a whole new appreciation for 20 year old mothers..........sigh..........

Tissue Paper Hat

2008-03-31T21:02:00.004-04:00

Who'd have thunkit? Ordinary tissue paper can be cut, scrunched, braided and then turned into a lovely hat? The instructions were for a hat for Bleuette and the ladies in a group I belong to were discussing the hows of it. A couple of them gave some great, helpful tips and I added those notes to the instructions. I had just recently made a new spring dress for both of my dolls and decided that a hat would be a lovely touch for a "Springtime in Paris" type of outfit. I grabbed my tissue paper and pulled out the black, white and hot pink and got to work cutting strips and braiding.

I think the most trouble I had was figuring out what to use as a 'hat form'. I sat and twirled around in my chair looking at all the odds and ends in my sewing room (and boy, I've got some odds and a few ends-LOL). I finally spied a paperclay covered styrofoam egg (it was going to be a doll body-don't ask.....)anyway, I held it up next to her head and it looked like it was about the correct size so I covered it in a plastic bag secured with a rubberband. I carefully started glueing the braid to itself. I only put glue along the edge and worked just a small bit at a time to minimize glue slop. I used the quick drying "3 in 1" clear glue. it worked fabulous. I just need to decorate it. the flower is just placed there for the picture. Doesn't it go really good with the darling dress? oh, and here's a picture of her big sister's dress too. Now I"ve got to make her a hat. I guess I better go find a bigger styrofoam egg!

Paczki, ahhh, I love good food.

2008-02-09T21:06:00.000-05:00

I've always wanted to try making home-made Paczki. My grandmother was Polish and that was where I learned to love these delicious, delectable, oh so yummy pieces of delight. Paczki (pronounced Poonch-key) are basically little jelly doughnuts. Traditionally they were made on 'Fat Tuesday' to use up the lard and sugar in the house before Lent began. The dough is a heavier, sweet yeast dough that is deep fried and then filled with the jelly/jam of your preference. I made blueberry, raspberry, apricot and pineapple. I sure do love to cook and bake, besides my sewing, cooking is my other passion. There's nothing I'm afraid to try making at least once. That tells me if it's a keeper or forget it cause even the dog won't eat it. LOL. not that I have a dog any more, but you get the idea. If the dear hubby gives it a funny look I know it's bad because he's not a picky man. This Paczki recipe made 48! Holey crap that's alot of jelly doughnuts to eat. I gave a whole lot away!! hahahahahahaha. They did get good reviews so I'll be making them again next year.

Tonight I bought a fresh coconut. I have a killer recipe (it was my great grandmother's) for Fresh Coconut Cake. I'm making that tomorrow. One for our house and one for my brother. Oh dear god I'll never be skinny...........

Freebies. I love 'em!

2008-02-02T15:04:00.000-05:00

Wow, I've been a bit negiligent around here lately. I really need to keep up with this better. anyway, a very talented artist is hosting a great Valentine's freebie-wonderful ephemera to use in your creative ventures. Lisa Vollrath is so extremely talented and generous. She's giving away one a day Feb. 1 thru Feb. 14 at her site. Just click here: Valentine's Freebie.

My new bebe

2008-01-19T07:16:00.000-05:00

This is my new Bleuette Francoise. Isn't she beautiful? I am so in love with her green eyes and striking red hair. This was the doll that I traded for-Thank you Pat!!!!! I just got her last weekend and we've been getting to know each other this week. I just finished the lovely knitted snow suit that she is modeling. Its called 'Esquimau'. I purchased the pattern from Inma, who makes the most fabulous knitted items/patterns for Bleuette and Rosette. It was rather easy to knit and I used yarn and trim that I had in my stash. Since I'm not very proficient in knitting I had to look up how to do one thing on the internet. Honestly, isn't the internet fabulous? I was stuck on one stitch and was able to find a fantastic clear, concise video to watch and follow along with. How cool is that??!! And VOILA! I did it!

FQ challenge

2008-01-10T14:35:00.000-05:00

I love a challenge. We have a challenge going on in one of the Bleu groups that I belong to. Anyone that was interested could sign up and they would have an FQ (Fat Quarter) sent to them. We all got the same fabric only in either a light blue or a dark blue. The challenge was to make an outfit for our Bleue from the FQ. This is my entry. Well, my first entry. I've got so much left that I'm going to make a second outfit. The little snowflakes are just the right size for this small doll.

Love Knots

2008-01-09T14:47:00.000-05:00

One of my loves besides sewing is crochet. Again, my grandmother taught me when I was very small. I crocheted many, many doilies, edgings on hankies and of course, doll clothes, even small dolls and toys. Lots of crochet. A very generous lady shared her patterns with me for a darling doll nightgown made of Love Knots. This was through my bleuette online group that I belong too. I made it from a scrumtuous peach thread and embroidered the bodice. I then made a matching peach slip from some leftover silk and crocheted some bloomers and a nightcap from another pattern that was donated. Another lady in our group made the outfit also. absolutely beautiful!! She decided to give hers away in a drawing for the ladies in our group who didn't crochet so I decided that two would be even more fun. The nighty was mailed out today and I'm sure that the woman who won mine will love it. Isn't this just darling? so lacey and pretty. Love knots are a bit tricky but as soon as you figure it out, it's quite a fast stitch.

Sing with me now....I'm back in the Saddle again......

2008-01-08T09:51:00.000-05:00

I know you all know that old song....that's how I feel lately. I've been way too busy for wayyyyyyy too long. What an incredible end to 2007! Whew. My brother and his new wife had their baby on November 30th. A boy. He's a little darling and I'm going to be his Nanny starting the end of this month. That will be loads of fun.

Our daughter and her husband had their first child exactly 7 days later. A little girl. She's the one that's wrapped to look like a little glow worm. She loves to be swaddled. I went to stay with them 4 days before she had the baby. She wanted me to coach her through labor/delivery and then the new parents wanted me to stay and help them settle in to being new parents for the first week. I ended up out of town for almost 2 weeks. It was great fun and the baby is a little doll!

I came home just in time for Christmas. Nothing done-no baking, shopping, wrapping-nothing done...eeeeks..... Whew! Insert Christmas here.....and then.......

The following weekend I drove with my sister-in-law and new baby to New Jersey for my other brother's wedding. It was quite the lovely affair. Did I mention that I got lost in New Jersey. Took a wrong exit (thank you Rand MacNally maps for being really wrong in the worst,worst,worst neighborhood to be wrong in) I had to drive about 15 blocks to find help to get back on the highway. That was maddening. We could see the highway right next to us but couldn't find an entrance to get back on! There was no place that looked safe enough to stop and ask for directions. Even the library had 12 foot cyclone fencing around it!! We finally found a construction crew working on a house and pulled over to ask them for help. Thank the Lord for a really nice construction foreman in New Jersey! So....we made it to the wedding, had a good time and made it home safely.

The hubby and I had a really nice peaceful evening at home for New Years Eve. I've had some time to really rest up and get my dolly mojo back....sing with me.....I'm back in the saddle again...lalalalalala.........

A new ensemble

2007-11-21T08:46:00.000-05:00

I finished dressing the swap bleuette. I sewed the final snaps last night. She's got a darling pale blue sparkly Christmas dress that has snowflake flocked sheer over blue cotton with some ribbon decorations. Her cape is off-white panne velvet that is trimmed in blue embroidered snow flakes and finished off with a blue tassel hanging from the hood. She can't wait to meet her new Maman.

now, I've got to go get my baking done for tomorrow. Mmmmmm, cheesecake and butter cookies.....MMmmmmmmmmmm

Mom's magical crochet hook

2007-11-19T13:11:00.000-05:00

I just love my mother's crocheting. I spent the last week with her after she had her foot surgery and I swear the woman went through crochet withdrawals. She has got to have that hook in her hand at least 12 hours a day or God Help Us All she is not happy. you're probably wondering where I"m going with this.??

I sat down next to her and crocheted a 'pleated' skirt for a new Bleuette manikin that I made while I was at her house. It came out adorable. she wanted to know what I was making next so I showed her an old French LSDS pattern for gaiters. She grabbed the pattern and began translating it and the next thing I knew she had my hook and the baby yarn (that I had 'borrowed' from her stash) and she started to make the gaiters. I ran to the store for her and when I got back, my doll had not only new gaiters, but also a sweater and hat to complete the ensemble! When it comes to crochet, my mom is quite the talent! way to go Mom!!

Countdown time

2007-11-17T18:24:00.000-05:00

A site that I just love is having a Christmas Countdown and free printables each day from Dec.1 thru Christmas. Lisa Vollrath is well known for her fabulous art and exteme generosity in sharing stuff to use to make your own art-everything from tutorials to ephemera etc. so anyway, her Christmas Countdown will be starting soon. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

I've been stiffed and it stinks~or~ up on my SOAPBOX

2007-11-07T10:59:00.000-05:00

well, it seems that my swap partner for the 'Fall n Leaves' swap has stiffed me. that sure stinks. I've been working with the Swap coordinator and even she's smokin' mad. Seems that this lady signed up to swap with 3 partners and hasn't sent to anyone. We all made sure to get our packages sent to her on time. oh yeah, she's come up with excuses-"dad in hospital, husband in hospital, packages were in daughters car but she didn't send them, now their mysteriously sent but no one received anything, she can receive emails but she can't post", (oh, but how interesting that she can post to the group and join in two other events in the meantime and also she hasn't had a problem replying to the cooordinator) you know, I can sure inderstand that life happens, but geesh, at least have a little common courtesy and send out a short email saying you've had a family emergency and will not be able to participate. you don't even have to say what has happended because that stuff can be real personal, but jeesh, at least that would have been forgivable and you can understand and let her off the hook. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. ok, I'll climb down off my soapbox now....~~~~~~~

A new Bleu

2007-11-07T10:45:00.000-05:00

Ooooh, I just love making this little doll. I'm swapping one of my cloth Bleuette with a lovely lady that makes porcelain Bleuettes. I've just finished her doll and now I'm making clothes for her. She wanted red hair and blue eyes. I tried on different wigs but none seemed to look right. then I tried on the curls and voila!! just what she wanted. 'Tres bon Tante' she declared! Je t'aime. well, now I have to see if her new Mamman likes her hair. We may be trying on something else just to see. hmmmmmm.....everyone has different taste.

The construction of this doll is so different. It's learned in Judi Ward's Cloth Bleuette class at Crafty College online. She uses wooden beads and grapes to created the joints. very different but the effect is wonderful. It makes the doll looks so real like the authentic Bleuette. I won't lie and say it's an easy technique. It's not. but it sure is worth all the effort. I guess that's why I have 4 more dolls in stages of construction. If I get too stressed with the part I'm working on, I pick up another doll and work on that one. Time to go make her a new dress......

2 down 1 to go

2007-10-25T13:03:00.000-04:00

Whew~~~wiping brow~~~~~~

Made it through the Bridal/Baby shower 2 weekends ago. Last weekend was my brother's wedding (good gawd awmighty could that have been any more stressful??? I don't think so. nope, in fact I'm sure of it-that took the tops in the stress catagory as I ended up being the wedding coordinator-side note: now I know why those people get paid BIG bucks) now this weekend is the baby shower for our daughter. Then I get to collapse. WHEW...... Now, I live in a tiny house. tiny. 1300 sq. feet and that includes the basement. LOL. we had 6 adults, 1 dog and a severely disabled child in the house. I swear you could see the walls bulging as you drove up the street.

Well, in spite of all the insanity I managed to finish my pincushion for an October swap. The theme was Fall-n-Leaves and I'm really pleased. The first thing that came to mind was a tree. I used a brass candle stick for weight and a center post for stability. I used woolfelt and cut and sewed to get the shape I wanted. I had those darling leaves that were like sequins without holes and those were perfect for the tree. I made some cute little push pins out of Shrinky Dink and silk pins. They made the nicest addition to the tree. She's getting mailed out tomorrow morning.

Phid's new head or MMMMM, that tastes good.

2007-10-16T10:34:00.000-04:00

Well, Phid got a new head....again. I make dolls for my brother occassionally. He loves my dolls. His dogs also love my dolls....ALOT. I've now had to replace Phid's head three times! Maybe three's a charm. (or so the saying goes). Isn't Phid cute with his heads. gee, I wonder if he knows Marie Antionette? LOL. I am so bad.........

Bleuette Manikin cutie

2007-10-11T09:16:00.000-04:00

WOW, I just love a fabulous pattern! So, here's the little manikin I made last night from the pattern posted by the fantastic doll designer Judi Ward. It's her free Bleuette Manikin. A wonderfully designed little doll that goes together perfectly. Judi gives two hand options -mitt and fingers. I did the tiny little fingers. It makes a perfect little delicate hand and posable even! I definately have to make more of these to display all the bleuette clothes I'm making. She's the perfect size for a little girl to play with even. She has a really cute shape and I sculpted a belly button and cute little bum on her to complete the doll. I love the shoulder plate design. She looks like a little porcelain doll. Judi has the pattern available on her website. Judi's Dolls Isn't this the cutest little bum? This is another quality pattern from Judi and a freebee at that! What a generous gift to the doll world!

Halloween goodies

2007-10-10T20:44:00.000-04:00

I love Halloween. I do believe it's my favorite holiday. yes, it is. I had to wait until my swap partner received her pin before writing this post. I belong to a pindoll yahoo group and we have monthly swaps. I don't always swap but I do join in as time allows. I couldn't miss Halloween. that's just too fun. Last year we were to find a good card and use that for my inspiration for a pindoll. I decided to do that again this year as that was alot of fun. I was perusing cards and found the most darling card at http://www.bluemountain.com/. I thought it would make a really darling pin. Here's pics of the card and pin. it's a quarter fold card so you can see the size of the pin. it's about 3-inches tall. It was a real bear to turn those teeny tiny arms, hands, legs and tail. I used black chenille stems to give him posability and also so I had to use minimal stuffing. it wasn't easy adding extra stuffing to some of the areas, like those tiny feet. I also made two more for my dear friend and her mom. I had to dig the pattern out of the trash because I don't always keep the patterns when I do a OOAK. She loved it so much she really wanted one. so, here they are, aren't they cute too! I call them my Scaredy Cats. They really were fun to make. The CAndy corn sack went with the first pin to my swap partner. Her Scaredy Cat hides inside. It snaps shut at the top. now, on to the next project. I'm working on my Halloween swap for my pincushion group. That is coming out really awesome so I'll post that when it's done.

Philomene's new dresses.

2007-10-04T09:37:00.000-04:00

Well, I finished Philomene's new dresses and here they are. I just love reproducing these old LSDS (Le Semaine de Suzette) patterns for Bleuette. They can be a bit of a challenge because so many times now the picture and the pattern don't match. I guess the artist and the pattern maker were two different people and they didn't compare their ideas. LOL. Sizes aren't always right either but they're darn close to fitting this cloth Bleuette. Usually there isn't an appropriate allowance for hems and closures. And, my french is awful especially this really old French but I muddle through. Did I mention the patterns are all in French. oops. The darling pale blue dress is #24 from 1908 Robe D'ete'. It's quite a charming little dress and looks so darling on her. The sleeves in the picture were short puffed sleeves, but when I finished with the pattern as it was drawn, they ended up long. I still like it though. The adorable white w/pink polka dots is Robe habillee #44 from 1949. it is really so sweet and delicate. I just loved the pleated front. Philomene is quite pleased with these new additions to her wardrobe. I think I'm going to make her a Girl Scout Uniform next.

Oh yeah! I won something!

2007-10-03T21:55:00.000-04:00

Woohooooo! My trunk and I won the $50 gift certificate to shop for patterns at www.ClothDollSupply .com. I am so excited!! Now I've got to figure out which patterns I want. So many to choose from. I do love how fair the challenges are on the Vintageclothdollmaking group I belong to. Everyone that enters has a chance to win. all the entries are 'put in the hat' and then names drawn to win. There are always a bunch of great prizes donated and the challenges are good. I'm still obsessing with my Philomene. I made her two new dresses today so I'll post pics of them tomorrow. This was just a short burst of happiness!

Trunk Doll Challenge finished

2007-09-30T10:28:00.000-04:00

Here is the picture of my finished Trunk Doll Challenge at the Vintageclothdollmaking online yahoo group. It will never be actually finished as I plan on making her a never ending wardrobe but this is the picture I am submitting for the challenge. I am very pleased with the way it turned out. She has two dresses. A toy top to play with. Her Hunting outfit complete with jacket, vest, jodhpurs, hat, gaiters, hobby horse, elephant, bird in a cage and a bug house for catching odd specimens. A nightgown, robe and sleeping cap. An Alice in Wonderland costume. A swimming outfit-swimsuit, hat, towel and swim shoes. A lovely Witches costume complete with dress, collar, hat, pumpkin and a pet raven and a lovely curved top trunk to keep it all in. I tried to keep the entire ensemble between 1907 and 1911 but a couple of the things are later historically. oh well, I'm happy with it.

Philomene's new costume.

2007-09-28T09:07:00.000-04:00

I found a darling 1911 Halloween pic posted online and it is supposed to be the cover for a deck of cards. I just loved the little girl in her witch costume and decided that my Bleuette needed a Halloween costume of her own. The pic was the perfect inspiration and so she now has a new outfit. I already had the perfect size old fashioned looking pumpkin for her to hold. The hat only took 2 tries to get the right size. The collar is separate from the dress and the bow is stitched directly to the collar. the belt is held in place by hand-knotted loops on each side of her dress. I may make her a set of cuffs yet to finish the look of the antique pic. that's the only thing I didn't make yet. The outfit is my own design inspired by the pic. oh, and I don't have a pair of dark boots for her. She looked cute in her red maryjanes so they will have to do.

I was finally able to decide on a name for her. I chose the name of one of my great-grandmothers. Philomene. Lovely isn't it?! and I think it suits her well. At least, so far she seems pleased with the name.