Doll Bonnet to Match Doll Skirt

Well, I've been busy this morning...no, not cleaning...sewing. It looks as though I'm going to have to get through Michael's birthday tomorrow and Halloween before any real cleaning gets done. This morning I decided that Quinlyn's doll had to have a bonnet to match her skirt. I don't think Quinlyn feels this way because--as she rightly says--the women's bonnets didn't match their skirts. But it is a costume after all for Halloween, so I made the bonnet to match the skirt, and Quinlyn's costume as well. So here are some pictures of my Life of Faith doll Millie that I took a few minutes ago. Quinlyn hasn't seen it yet and doesn't even know that I've made it, but I'll see if I can get her on Windows Live Messenger so she can.

I'm ready to relax for a while, so I'll wish you a very good Friday!

Blessings...Mimi

P.S. Quinlyn just saw the pictures and she loves it! She said she just didn't want me to go to too much trouble. So all's well that end's well!

Cutting Out Doll Dresses~

Millie, on the left, is an 18" Life of Faith doll. Louisa, on the right, is a 17" Ginger Brook Hollow doll.

Remember all the material I got to make the Life of Faith dolls dresses? Well, I decided to cut the 5 dresses out while I was on the phone yesterday. Now you may not realize it, but there are lots of patterns out there for doll clothes. And the patterns I bought for the dolls are both from Ginger Brook Hollow, which are the 17" dolls, and the patterns for the American Girl and Life of Faith dolls, which are 18" dolls. You wouldn't think that there would be much difference, but there is: the Ginger Brook Hollow dolls are much slimmer and more refined. In any case--and because I was on the phone, I think--I cut out 3 dresses in the 17" size before I noticed what I was doing. I only have one 17" doll--Louisa--and 5 of the Life of Faith 18" inch dolls--no 18" American Girl dolls. And in reality, I was going to make the dresses for Quinlyn's dolls, which are all 18". So Louisa gets 3 new dresses! Quinlyn and I are thinking that we'll both get more Ginger Brook Hollow dolls, so the dresses can be shared later. Whew!

 Most of you probably have only one size, huh? Oh, and I almost forgot...I also had a dress cut out for an 8" doll, a small Rebecca from American Girl, but hadn't finished it because I didn't have the right lining. I got lots of lining when I bought the dress material, so I also cut out the lining for Rebecca's new dress. She needs one badly, as the only one she has is a winter one. I put a pic below, so you could see what the new dress material looks like. Can you tell that I love pink? 

Rebecca is the only American Girl doll that I have. I would like to have Kit or Molly and Emily. And Felicity and Elizabeth are so beautiful. It's really hard to choose from all the dolls out there! Well, I'd better get busy today. I hope your Wednesday is a good one! Blessings...Mimi

Wrap Top Dress Pattern for AG & LOF Dolls

Here is another pattern I bought online from LibertyJaneClothing.com for my Life of Faith dolls. This is my lovely Kathleen doll...the same Irish girl who gets the green fleece coat. This pattern is modern, and I'm not sure if I'll make a dress for my dolls, or make them for Quinlyn's American Girl dolls. I think it's more for the modern girl! I've bought patterns and material, but no cutting and sewing yet. Hmmm, you can't say I'm not ready when the time comes to sew!

I usually have to stop doing many other things and just sew. It takes a mental adjustment for me to get things set up and get going. I'd really like to make some things before Christmas.

And I make things besides doll clothes. The picture of the throw on the rocking chair is one I made for Michael last year. Green is his favorite color and I got some John Deere flannel fabric for the other side. It is two pieces of flannel put together for a lighter throw. I also make throws with batting in them for warmth.

And don't tell Jamie, my granddaughter, who will be 30 years old in January, but I am planning to make her a throw out of a gorgeous black  herringbone wool. I've already made her a pillow out of it, and I'll put a luxurious black velvet back on it. Just like the pillow. She has said that she'd like one to lay on the end of her bed. She has a very lovely room that she's made very homey. I've had trouble finding black velvet that is 57" wide to make it match the wool. But I found some and ordered it, so it's on its way!

Anyway...I can't get all my sewing done this year, but I can make a start. Cross your fingers.

Blessings...Mimi

More Fleece & More Coats ~ AG & LOF Dolls

This is just a quick post to show you the rest of the material I bought to make coats for the dolls. I'm also showing you some of the coats I made for Quinlyn's dolls last year. I'll put white fur on the pink coat and black fur on the green coat. The green is for Kathleen, a lovely Irish Life of Faith doll. The fact is, I haven't decided whether I'm using this pattern, which is from dollduds, but the patterns  are from LibertyJaneClothing.com. You can't tell, but it has a bubble hem. It's a Bubble Hem Trench Coat! Or I may use the pattern you see with the finished coats and berets. I'll decide that later. I'm getting ready for company and must dash. Have a grrrrreat Wednesday!

Blessings...Mimi

Happy Labor Day Everyone: Fun Patterns!

I've had my yogurt and cherries, but I'm still drinking coffee while I type. I got a new Keurig coffeemaker--Steve & Lisa picked one up for me at Sam's yesterday. My old one was kaput. I like being able to make one cup at a time.

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I want to share these two purse patterns with you, because I think the designs are beautiful and fun. I got the patterns some time ago, thinking I'd get them made right away. I ordered some material from Denver Fabrics--a pink and a purple toile, a solid pink and a solid purple, and a striped pink and a striped purple. I thought these combinations would work really well. I didn't receive one of the materials for 2 months! And I changed my mind about using toile.

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If you go on Laura's website, you'll see that she offers patterns for 60 X 60 quilts, bag patterns of several choices--including a wave tote and purse, a shoppers tote, a double pocket purse, a saddle purse and tote, 2 different quilted wallets, a book pack, a kidney sling pack, 2 round zippered pouches, and a block of the month. What I bought is called the Lotus Bag in the first picture and the Messenger Bag in the second. The Messenger Bag pattern has 3 sizes.

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I've accumulated some material that I think will be perfect for the purses. Some time ago, I'd seen a Big Shirt on an actress in a TV show. I fell in love with it because it was made out of chintz...it looked feminine, but comfortable. I decided that I wanted to make one. I went to Hancock's and bought a Big Shirt pattern, but then I had to find some chintz. The online stores mostly have drapery fabrics, which is where I got in trouble.

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I looked at FabricGuru.com and read a touching explanation of what they're about. They'd been on eBay for years and gained a lot of customers. They're in Bessemer, AL. And I like that they don't have any fabric on their site that isn't in stock. I was looking for chintz...would I settle for the look of chintz? Yes, I would. I chose the fabric you see in my profile pic.

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While I was buying--and they only charge $4.99 shipping no matter how much material you buy--the "chintz" fabric, I would search for black velvet, which I needed to make Jamie a throw. I found a nice black fabric with a design on it and at a cheap price, considering it was (as I thought) velvet. I got them both and they came on a large fabric roll by Fed Ex. I was again impressed with this company.

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Imagine my surprise when the black "velvet" fabric wasn't velvet at all, but a color called "velvet black." That drapery fabric will make a nice sturdy purse! Also, my lovely yellow material with the large pink roses is actually a light drapery material and turned out to be a bit scratchy. Thinking that I'd make at least 2 Big Shirts, I bought another material with large roses in a darker color. It's also going to make a nice purse. Nice, stiff fabrics!

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Now remember that with all this fabric, my priority was to make an outfit for my birthday. I got out the Big Shirt pattern, but realized that it was July, and that it would be hot even in our dry air. So I began looking through my collection of patterns and found an old, but easy one. No zippers or buttons, just slip it over the head. So I decided that I'd use my yellow material with the large pink roses, and I took it to JoAnn's to get some pants material to match. I found a very nice cotton sateen in a green to match--my second try at finding pants material, because I'd been to Hancock's and bought a nice, bright green that didn't look right.

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There is more to this story, but you get the picture of my sewing these days. I've made some small throws and quilts for the kids, but that's about it. I DO love to sew! And if I get a chance to do any sewing, I'll let you know. I'm about to start on a new set of Bible lessons and that is very time-consuming work.

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Have a fun and relaxing Labor Day!
Blessings...Mimi