Sidetracked

Wonderful Husband, quite justifiably, pointed out that my American Girl doll stuff that I was storing in the garage was blocking access to the electrical panel.

So I hauled it all into the family room and started sorting.  Some of it is still there, some of it is better organized and back in the garage (and NOT blocking the electrical panel).  And some of it turned into a project.

I have set up on top of the 4x4 Kallax unit that (theoretically) stores most of the boys' toys Courtney's bunk bed (which came out in 2020), with Courtney and a few other dolls hanging out on and around it.  (The box underneath the bed is the remaining Kallax shelf divider, which hasn't yet been used.)

But!  At some point, I had also picked up from a thrift store (for ~$7) the frame for the yellow bunk bed American Girl released in 1995.  Interestingly, the two beds both have metal frames, but they're very different.  Courtney's cannot collapse; it's built as one piece, while the old one is designed to be packed away for storage.  Courtney's is slightly longer, especially once you count that exterior shelf on the right, and while they're the same width, Courtney's bed is significantly taller, with about 4" more headroom on the bottom bunk, allowing it to be used as a socializing space, as shown in the photo above.

Wanting both beds on display, I relocated a couple of the other things (lamp, fire truck) that were on top of the Kallax, set it up on the other side from Courtney's, and started crafting and sewing.  Because what it hadn't come with was any bedding.  Which, honestly, the original AG bedding was black and white prison stripes, so I wasn't in love with it anyway.

The first thing it needed was mattresses.  And I had a 2" chair cushion that had never been taken out of its package.  I cut a 12"x9" rectangle, then glued the leftover pieces together and cut another the same size.  I had some cream and other light-colored bits of fabric courtesy of Lynn in my quilt guild who passes her scraps to me, so I pieced those together to make covers for the very green foam mattresses.  I made a dust ruffle from a bit of muslin and a lacy scrap, then did the math to make fitted sheets for the mattresses, so I can make others to change them out for a different look later if I so desire.

Then I made a couple of pillows (4"x6") for each bed and pillowcase covers for them.  The sheet/pillowcases fabric is very lightweight, like lawn, but given the way it frays, it's definitely not cotton.  Maybe a polyester blend?  And finally I Frankensteined together some batting scraps and made a pair of identical two-sided duvets that fit comfortably over two sleeping dolls.  I've had this Cranston Printworks fabric, with its tiny quilt squares print, in two colorways for a while and am happy to finally get to turn it into bedding.  Hmm.  Maybe matching pillowcases from the duvet fabrics as well...?

New (To Me) Project

A couple months ago, I picked up a project at the Angel Guild thrift store.  For $6.75+tax, I got a 80'x60' linen tablecloth and six matching napkins.

The tablecloth, with the exception of the gold trim at the edges, is already fully embroidered.

Three of the napkins were half finished, needing only the wheat seeds to be done.  The other three were completely undone.  The bag included the floss, so I'm working to get all six to the same level of done.

I've also been halfheartedly investigating how old this kit might be.  A few clues:

A couple of the napkins have this tag still on them.  Bremer's was apparently a department store in Bremerton, WA, from "just after WWI" to 1985.

Paragon Needlecraft was in business from 1937 until 1982, so that narrows things a tiny bit, but not really by much.

The Metallic Yarn included (of which there is not enough to finish the project, so I'm going to need to see if eBay can come through for me) adds a little bit more help: Lurex was created in 1946.  So I have a possible range of 1946-1982, which is a span of 36 years.  Given the tablecloth is made of linen (and a nice linen at that!) rather than polyester, I tend to think it must be from the earlier half of that span.  But currently I have no closer guess than that.

Costume College 2026 Recap, Pt. 3

Sunday morning, bright and early, is the Bargain Basement sale!  Which is all things that Costume College attendees donate, and subsequently shop for.  The proceeds go to the scholarship fund, to help new people come to CoCo, as well as to help those who might need a bit of financial aid.  The way it's set up is just a touch sadistic, considering it's the morning after the big event Gala Ball.  Basically, numbers are given out at 6:30am, and the doors open for shopping at 7:30am.  Prices are negotiable, but it does fund the scholarships, so...  At 11am, it switches to "clear it out" mode, where you buy a black plastic trash bag for $5 and drag away everything you can stuff in it.  I've always gone for the latter mode before.  But this year, I'd spotted a few things I particularly wanted.

E. and I got up at 6am.  I got quickly dressed in civvies; she remained in her pjs.  We ended up as #19 and #20 in line.  After getting our numbers, she went back upstairs to get dressed; I hung around the lobby killing time and doing my morning set of word puzzles on my phone.  At 7:30, the first 35 people got let in to shop.  One of the items I wanted had already been snatched up, but the 1920s hat I had my eye on hadn't, so I got that and dug through the tables heaped with fabric, etc.  I did browse through the patterns, but only picked out four vintage ones that had some interesting details to them.  Some of what I got is for me-sewing, some is for doll sewing.  I checked out my purchases, then went back a bit later when it was not yet trashbag time, but after everyone who wanted the early stuff had already gone through, and I sifted through the three gallon bags of thread on wooden spools, sorting out the silks.  My grand total for both trips through was $52.

I didn't attend too many panels on Sunday.  Paint Yourself Rainbow was an interesting overview of types of body paint, and Introduction to the Known World: SCA 101 has left me with a bug in my ear about getting in touch with my local group.  Then it was time for the workshop I'd been most excited to get into, after three years of trying: How to Make a Hat Box.

I was... disappointed.  I feel like I can finish my hat box by myself, but to a certain extent that might be in spite of the instructions?  It was the last class of College for me, and the instructor said that we could stay in the room and keep working for the next hour.  Except I couldn't, because I was meeting my writing group for dinner that day.  If it was supposed to be a three hour class, why was it only scheduled for two hours long??  In the end, instead of having a mostly-done hat box that could be a carry-on item, I had a quarter done hat box that needed careful packing into my luggage, and most of the bits and bobs (except for the cardboard, which I will need to source) to finish it:

So a bit of a downer to end on.  But dinner with my friends, who I only get to see in person once a year, was fabulous, and it was great to catch up with them in the flesh.  Plus I got to introduce Marcia to beignets.

E. had already left for home, but I've learned my lesson about flying home Sunday right after College, so I'd booked my room through that night.  I got almost everything packed.  Woke up on Monday and had my leftovers from the night before for breakfast.  Fried okra, it turns out, is quite tasty cold as well as hot!  I double checked the LA Metro website, waited a while longer, then checked out of my room and left my luggage at the bell desk.  Wearing sensible shoes, I set out walking and caught the bus.  My destination: the American Girl store.  I got there about half an hour after it opened, and actually got to see the upstairs this year!  (Last year I was there within an hour of closing, so it was already shut.)  I spent about an hour perusing books and looking at dolls and clothes and triaging my wishlist by means of "no, that really doesn't look as good in person as I'd hoped."  I did not get a doll, but did pick up a couple things, most especially an outfit that is perpetually on backorder on the website.

I grabbed a quick lunch, and then it was back to the hotel, getting my luggage, and heading over to LAX to spend a couple hours waiting for my flight.  My luggage (and everyone else's) finally showed up on the wrong carousel, and Wonderful Husband and the boys picked me up at the curb.  Which is NOT a "park and wait" zone, people!!  (Wonderful Husband was waiting in the cell phone lot, as one is supposed to.)  I think my luggage weight on the way down was 23lbs, and about 43lbs on the way back up.

And that was my Costume College 2026.

Costume College 2026 Recap, Pt.2

On Friday at 9am the classes commence!  I started off bright and early with the Intro to Irish Crochet Lace Making class.  Unfortunately, I was not able to make the lecture on Dressing Like Your American Girl Doll, as it was opposite that.  After that, I dipped into Creating a 1930s Gown, From Fabric Scraps to Fashion, and Costuming for Every Body panels, all of which were fabulous.  The Lounge was also open at this point, with tables of snacks to grab, and hot tea, coffee, lemonade, fruit punch, and iced tea to drink.  I kept popping in through the weekend to fill my tumbler with that last one. ^_^

After classes ended, the Marketplace opened!  I went and perused, though I held off on buying anything until Saturday.  There was also the Friday Night Social, which I avoided.  In a crowd, the low buzz of background conversation often makes it difficult for me to hear what the person right next to me is saying.  Hooray for auditory processing issues!  But my roommate E. went and had a good time.

Saturday started slower for me.  I went to Creating an Elizabethan Capsule Wardrobe and took lots of notes, followed by Trash to Treasure Costuming.  Then it was time for my second limited workshop of the weekend, Beginner's Bobbin Lace.  I initially struggled with it, but after I finally understood the instructions, I loved it.

My bookmark isn't quite finished yet, but I've learned two patterns and am poking at resources to see where I can learn more.  I'm not sure yet if I want to invest the time/money/energy to going heavily into this craft, but it's certainly intriguing to me.

After that class finished, I grabbed a bite to eat, perused what had been donated to the Bargain Basement, and rounded out the day with Custom Costumers Luggage V.2 (which was largely identical to last year's version of the class, but has reminded me to be on the lookout for college trunks at thrift stores), and Finger it Out: How to Fingerwave Your Own Hair, during which I took copious notes.  Then I went to the Marketplace and shopped!

The Marketplace at Costume College is a truly dangerous place to one's wallet.  Particularly with Atelier Mela being there for her last year, and Silk Baron's drool-worthy wares.  In the end, over Saturday and Sunday, I limited myself to largely notions-and-trims purchases at Lucky Deluxe:

 and Acme Notions:

I fully admit to being jealous that E. lives incredibly close to Lucky Deluxe's physical store.

Saturday night at Costume College, is, of course, the Gala Ball.  Which I don't attend for a couple of reasons.  One is the aforementioned noise issue; another is social anxiety; the third is a lack of fancy garb (and a lack of impetus to make said fancy garb).  Instead I used Google Maps on my phone and walked about a mile to the closest In-n-Out in my 1920s clothing, and ate there.  It was warm but not oppressive, and though it was the busiest In-n-Out I've ever been to (which, being fair, I was there on Saturday at dinnertime), it did have the advantage of being right under LAX's landing path, which was cool.  After I got back to the hotel, I checked out the auction and raffle items, didn't see anything I wanted, and went to take a shower and get into PJs.  Also to handwash a pair of my 1920s nylons and hang them to dry, since while I thought I'd brought three pairs, I apparently only packed two!

When E. got back from the Gala, she and I agreed that we wanted to get up in time to get tickets for the Bargain Basement sale in the morning, so I set an alarm and we turned in.

Costume College 2026 Recap, Pt. 1

So we went to England for just shy of a month (of which I will do a separate recap later), and then I had one week to recover from the jetlag before I hopped onto another plane to go down to Los Angeles for Costume College. Literally one week - we stumbled off one plane on a Thursday and I got onto the next the following Thursday.  Fortunately it was just enough time; I started feeling on top of things again on the Wednesday.

I did not take a lot of photos at CoCo.  In fact, hardly any at all.  I've frequently felt like something of a dove among peacocks there, because, much as I love it, costuming takes up such a small portion of my life and energy and I don't have any big fancy garb.  But I do love learning the crafts, and... well.  Some medical stuff here.  I've finally tipped over from being pre-diabetic to actually diabetic.  I get it from both sides of my family, genetically, though not everyone has it.  But what that meant is that my doctor prescribed me one of the Ozempic clones to help keep things under control and, incidentally, help me bring down my weight a bit.  Said doctor actually tried to prescribe it for me last year for diabetes; insurance rejected it.  He tried again earlier this year, this time prescribing it for weight loss.  This time, my insurance approved it.  Which is exactly the opposite of what should have happened.  But whatever.  I am now taking a bitter pill each morning that reminds me of the flavor of grapefruit pith, and I have lost twenty pounds.  Which is... not terribly visible from the outside?  But it does mean I have a bit more energy and my ice skates have stopped hurting.

This weight loss also meant that though I don't yet fit into my medieval garb, I do now fit again into one of my old 1920s dresses.  The one I made many years ago from Decades of Style's 1925 Zigzag Dress pattern.  In light of that, I went with a theme: 1920s all weekend.  Which has the advantage of being comparatively light and small to pack.  I also wore my blue linen striped '20s dress, and the black and gray one I refashioned from a thrift store dress, which I've apparently never photographed for here either!  Due to weight loss, my corset was just barely fitting this year; hopefully I'll need to make another for wearing these dresses in the future.  I did get several compliments, and took a class on finger waves which gave me some idea of what to do with my hair, that (in addition to makeup) being a field in which I am hopelessly incompetent.

So!  Upon arrival at Costume College, or, more realistically Thursday evening, you check in and get your badge and bag for the weekend.  Then you can stand in the line for the other desk in the lobby, and sign up for any of the limited workshop classes that still have room left.  I didn't; I had already signed up for one each day, and none of the remaining classes that didn't overlap or conflict really appealed to me that much.  Instead, I sat at the coloring table and got to work!  For the last several years, CoCo has has these nice canvas bags, and a table near the registration desk absolutely loaded with markers and Sharpies so that you can make your bag yours.

On the right you can see all the badge ribbons I picked up over the course of the weekend.  The lacy one is the finished project from the Intro to Irish Crochet class I took; I thought it was terribly clever to have the class project to be a badge ribbon!  That said, I'm not sure I'll take it up as a hobby.  Anyhow, that's why I also got the I Finished My Project In Class ribbon.

I also decided to decorate the back of my bag this year.

And after briefly browsing the Trunk Show (small vendors selling their wares) which was combined with the Thursday night social this year, I went back to my room, pulled out the bits of fabric and sewing gear I'd brought with me, and added an interior pocket to hold the pen and notebook that every attendee gets with their bag, because in past years I've been sick of hunting for the pen in the bottom of the bag.  I also pulled out the schedule and used the Sharpie and highlighter I'd brought from home to mark my copy of the schedule for the limited workshop classes I had signed up for, and the lecture classes that I wanted to attend.

One Plane To Another

We spent a month with family and friends in England!  I took some handwork with me and promptly got it done, leading me to pivot to writing.  I ended up writing 30,000 words while on vacation!  Four of the last five chapters of my magnum opus that is going to end up being 205 chapters long.  I start posting those chapters next Friday.  Because we got back Thursday of last week, and Thursday of this week (ie, tomorrow), I hop on another plane to fly down to Los Angeles for Costume College!  So, I'm going to be busy on this Friday....

That said, one of the projects I took with me was this!

You may recognize the fabric from the Fiesta dress I made my Josefina doll, and the pattern from the green dress I made for Addy, both last year.  Truthfully, I've had this dress cut out and half finished for a long time, but what was stymieing me was applying the soutache braid.  My main sewing machine is a Singer 15 from the 1950s, and I was trying to find a foot that would allow me to machine sew the soutache trim on.

Such a thing does exist.  It's rare and costs over $150 when one comes up on the market.

So I finally accepted defeat and sewed all the skirt trim on by hand while in England.  It actually wasn't as bad as I'd been expecting, just slow.  Doing it on a doll size dress is... acceptable.  Backstitch works much better than running stitch.  But if I ever wanted to decorate something for myself with soutache, however, I would buy another, newer, machine that has a foot that can handle it, and dedicate it to that purpose.

Anyhow, the pattern is the Cape Island Dress by Kindred Threads, and while I have two tweaks to it (take some width out of the center of the front collar piece, and less foldback on one side of the skirt) it sews up very nicely.  I will probably use it again, as I have six yards of pink soutache to use up at some point....

But for now I need to go start packing for Costume College.

In and Out the Door

So at Jazzy's school I run Popcorn Fridays.  Which are apparently a modest but steady moneymaker for the PTA - I attended this month's meeting and saw the budget and it's a profit in the $400-500 range annually.  And there are some other parents (mostly moms, TBH) who are regular volunteers.  One of them, Jessica, expressed a wish for a Kirsten doll for her daughter before she ages out of such things, but she was having trouble finding one that wasn't too expensive.  I kept an eye out on Facebook Marketplace for a while and spotted a rather run-down Kirsten in a lot with five other dolls for $165.  (A brand-new Kirsten from American Girl right now runs $175.)  I checked with Jessica, bought the lot and got to rehabbing her.

I didn't get any before pictures, but she was covered in red and black marks, including a big black smudge right on her nose.  Her torso was stained.  Her hair was... let's say not great and leave it at that.

Final result:

I made her a set of underthings (chemise, pantalettes, and a tucked petticoat) as well as her birthday dress and apron.  I also made her school dress complete with shawl and some satin hair ribbons:

I dearly wish I had enough of that red to make another school dress because I now have two Kirstens of my own and only one school dress between them and this turned out rather well.  I am a bit proud of the shawl because the pattern called for a 16" square, halved diagonally, and the piece of fabric I found was only 13" wide.  So I cut it in half, matched the plaid, and hand-stitched it together to keep it perfectly on grain.  I still have the other half of the square to hem into a shawl for one of my girls.

I gave Kirsten to Jessica yesterday, when we were at the school making cotton candy for Field Day, and she seemed very happy with her.  Including the AG case I found at the thrift store for $10 the other week, she owes me $100.  Which is definitely not me pricing my labor for what it's worth, but I enjoyed the doll rehab and sewing work, and part of this was me doing a favor for a friend.  And it defrays the cost of the rest of that doll lot, which I haven't even really looked at yet.

Run as fast as you can, just to stay in place

Post title borrowed from Alice in Wonderland.

It has been... a busy six months.  I am not quite burning out but I am definitely feeling like I have too many balls in the air.  Thus I have told the Quilters By The Bay guild that I will not stand for re-election as secretary in July.  I've done it for six years; someone else can have a turn.  I have also stopped doing the Block of the Month for them, since routinely one person participated.  And who that person was varied from month to month.

I haven't done much too much sewing since my last post.  Only a pair of pajama bottoms for Wonderful Husband, and these two doll dresses.  I ended up using a glue stick on all the rick-rack for the blue dress, to get it to stay in place while I sewed it on.  My fingers got so sticky!

I have been volunteering a fair amount at the elementary school, being one of the docents for Hands On Art for Jazzy's class, and running Popcorn Friday for the whole school every week.

Costume College is coming up and I haven't sewn anything new for it this year.  Not that I'm ever the most creative and dedicated of attendees.  I go more to learn than to show off.

And I'm struggling to finish off my eight novels' worth of Tales of Arcadia epic fanfic.  I'm so close, but it feels like the nearer I get to the end, the slower I write.  I've got chapter 200 three-quarters done.  And I promised myself I wouldn't end up with another abandoned story.  I need to finish it, then I can pivot back to original writing.

Just got to find my mojo...

November Block Party

Apparently the Spools block was not a winner.  I had one person turn in one block.  Someone else told me that she loves that I do this for the guild.  (But she still doesn't participate....)

Anyhow, this month's block is another one that I pulled out of my archives and spruced (haha) up for sewing in the winter holiday season.

9 1/2” Tree Block

All seams are 1/4”.

For each block, cut:

• From a strip of 1 1/2” wide green fabric: a 1 1/2” square, a 2 1/2” strip, a 3 1/2” strip, a 4 1/2” strip, a 5 ½” strip, and a 6 1/2” strip
• From a strip of 1 1/2” wide light background fabric, cut TWO each: 1” strips, 1 1/2” squares, 2” strips, 2 1/2” strips, 6 1/2” strips. Also cut FOUR 3” strips
• From the background fabric, cut two 2” x 9 1/2” strips
• Cut one 1 1/2” square, of brown fabric

To make the block: Sew the 1 1/2” x 3” light strips to either side of the brown and green squares; the 1 1/2” x 2 1/2” light strips to either side of the 1 1/2” x 2 1/2” green strip; the 1 1/2” x 2” light strips to either side of the 1 1/2” x 3 1/2” green strip; the 1 1/2” light squares to either side of the 1 1/2” x 4 1/2” green strip; and the 1” x 1 1/2” light strips to either side of the 1 1/2” x 5 1/2” green strip.

Assemble these strips with the green sequentially growing wider, as pictured. Sew the 6 1/2” green strip to the bottom, then the strip with the brown “trunk” beneath that. Sew one 1 1/2” x 6 1/2” background strip beneath the pieced “trunk” strip, and the other on the top of the tree. Sew the remaining two strips (2” x 9 1/2”) to the sides. Press. Finished block should measure 9 1/2” square.

Bonus difficulty level!

Decorate your tree! Use rickrack or ribbon, embroidery or beads, sequins or buttons, to dress up your block as fancy as you want.

This Is Halloween

The boys wore their black-dragon-with-red-wing-insets and HTTYD Toothless costumes that I had made them in years previous.  With the loss of JoAnn Fabrics, it is a lot harder to browse pattern books and pick up material to make... well, just about anything these days!  Michaels claims to be filling the gap, but they're really, really not, and I refuse to set foot in Hobby Lobby for the same moral reason I will not eat at Chik-Fil-A.

So, because the costumes are hoodie style, I won't be putting pictures of the boys up.  I do not share their images online.  But what I can share are this year's jack-o-lanterns!

Jazzy went for scary!  He drew it; I carved it.

Squiddle also went for spooky vibes.  He carved his himself, though I did clear away some of the extra interior flesh to let the light shine brighter through the openings

My pumpkin ended up looking a bit skull-like, so I followed the contours for the carving and ended up with this goofy fellow.

And Wonderful Husband went for representational art.  Pikachu!

Also, this year it was absolutely downpouring all evening.  We usually get north of forty trick-or-treaters.  This year we eked out a mere thirty.  Needless to say, Wonderful Husband's Candypult did not get used.  Ah well, next year....

October Block Party

6 1/2” x 8 1/2” Spool Block

For each block, cut:

• Two 6 1/2” x 1 1/2” rectangles of brown or tan fabric
• Two 6 1/2” x 1 1/2” rectangles of white or cream background fabric
• Four 1 1/2” squares of white or cream background fabric
• Six 4 1/2” x 1 1/2” rectangles of the color of your choice

To make the block:

Place the 1 1/2” squares on the ends of the brown/tan rectangles. Sew diagonally, making sure to sew each seam in an opposite direction. You want trapezoids, not parallelograms! Trim the seams 1/4” beyond the seamline, and press. Sew the six colored rectangles together, making the “thread” on the spool. Press. Sew a white/cream rectangle to either side of the “thread”. Stitch the spool ends to either end of the block. Finished block should measure 6 1/2” x 8 1/2”.

Variation 1: To make the block simpler, instead of the six colored rectangles, use a 4 1/2” x 6 1/2” rectangle.

Variation: To make the block more complex, instead of the six colored rectangles, try string-piecing a 4 1/2” x 6 1/2” rectangle.

Steamer Trunk

So, "totes out in the garage" is not an ideal form of doll clothing storage.  This summer at Costume College I took a wonderful class by Heather Dill-Tullo about how to customize the interior of a wheeled steamer trunk to be proper costumer's luggage, and I've been on a lookout at thrift stores ever since.  I'm not paying $90 at Home Depot for a trunk!  And a month or so ago I found one, in good condition, for $15.  A half-inch dowel was about $3, and a packet of 3/4" #7 screws was $2.  Which turned into this:

I have some adhesive hooks coming so I can hang a few more things on the interior of the lid, and some luggage feet since currently the back of the trunk, due to having wheels, is not flush on the ground, but the lid is.

And I'll keep my eyes open for another trunk or two since this is by all means not all my doll clothes....

September Block Party

Last month no one turned in blocks.  This month one person turned in blocks.  I am going to give Block Party until the end of the year, but if it keeps up like this, I'm just going to drop it. :/

Meanwhile, here's the block I did for the guild for this month!  I'm very much cribbing from my old work this time, as I copied it from the block party I did for the Orange County Quilt Guild in October of 2016.

9 1/2” Framed Pumpkin

For each block, cut:

• Four 1 1/2” squares, two 1 1/2” x 3” strips, two 1 1/2” x 6 1/2” strips, and two 2” x 9 1/2” strips, all of black fabric
• One 1 1/2” square, of either green or brown fabric
• One 6 1/2” square, of orange fabric or Halloween novelty fabric

To make the block:

Using the stitch-and-flip method, sew the four black squares diagonally to the corners of the orange square, making a Snowball block. Trim excess fabric 1/4” from the seamline and press the triangles outward , making a 6 1/2” square.

Sew the 1 1/2” x 3” strips to either side of the 1 1/2” green or brown square. Attach this strip to one side of the orange-and-black octagon.

Sew one 1 1/2” x 6 1/2” black strip atop the pieced “stem” strip, and the other on the bottom of the pumpkin. Sew the remaining two strips (2” x 9 1/2”) to the sides of the pumpkin block. Press. Finished block should measure 9 1/2” square.

Bonus difficulty level!

If you wish to challenge yourself, try piecing the 6 1/2” orange square! Use a Nine-Patch made of 2 1/2” squares, strip piece the pumpkin with 1 1/2” strips, or build “made fabric” using crumb piecing.

In Sickness and Sewing

Ugh.  All the malefolk in the family had a head cold and I caught it last, starting on Thursday.  Kind of putting a damper on Wonderful Husband's birthday on Friday.  He will be getting a rain check for cake and nice dinner later this week.  Last night I thought I actually felt human again - only to have that myth dispelled overnight.  Ah well.  Sleep is for the weak, or something.

I am still trying to get a functional braiding foot and connector set for my very basic low shank Singer sewing machine, so the second dress from the roses fabric remains on hold until that arrives.  However, I did manage to cut out the gathered variant of that dress in a different fabric and spent pretty much all of yesterday sewing it.

This was a third of a yard of quilting cotton I got at the CTA sale; there's enough left that I might be able to eke out a little handbag for Addy to carry her things in.  When sewing for dolls, the scale of the print you're using is important!  The pattern is, once again, Kindred Threads' Cape Island Dress.

The neckline of this dress is a touch wider than I like; I have to arrange it carefully on my Addy doll to keep her shoulder joints from showing.  I might try making it again and stay-stitching the neck pieces first thing, so that handling them doesn't stretch the bias any.  The pleats in the waistband make stitching it to the skirt a bit tricky, and I dislike the second row of gathering stitches in the skirt and bodice pieces being outside of the seam allowance.  I know it's period, and that often the visible gathering stitches were left in (I've seen, memorably, a First Lady's dress that still had them in), but I don't like it, and taking them out after everything was sewn was annoying.

That said, the pattern went together well, and will probably go together faster the next time I make it.  When I'm not 90% made of mucus.  And I'm very happy that I live in a US state that isn't willfully stupid about science, because I've made our family appointments to get our flu and covid shots next weekend, to help minimize future illnesses.

Folklorico

I finally finished the Fiesta dress!

In hindsight perhaps it's a bit plain and could have used a few more rows of trim?  I think it looks slightly better in person than in the photo, however.

The pattern is well-written.  My only arguments with constructing this dress were the moments when the fabric decided to pleat itself horizontally into a horizontal seam and I had to rip out a section and resew it.  Other than that (and running out of ribbon halfway through), I've absolutely no complaints.  I will probably make another version of this in the future.

I have also survived Cake Week!  Squiddle and Jazzy have birthdays three days apart, so a cake for each of them, plus a bigger cake for the family party yesterday.  All three cakes ended up looking more or less like this, except differently shaped (one square, one star, one circle):

And I went to the CTA sewing room sale where I might have spent $42 on the $2/lb fabric and $19 on notions, a couple embroidery frames, and a finished embroidery piece.... ^_^;;  Oh well.  More stuff to sew!

Since the braiding foot has finally arrived, I'd better get to it, and work more on that Cape Island dress, made out of the same fabric as the Fiesta dress.  Onward!

Swimming Upstream

Sometimes projects feel like they've unionized against you.  First I ran out of the ribbon I was using for the Fiesta dress.  Okay, I found a likely match and ordered it and moved to cutting out and sewing the Cape Island dress.  Only to discover that the vintage Singer underbraider and quilting foot that were supposed to work for applying soutache braid... for some reason don't.

So I sighed and ordered a modern braiding foot.  Or thought I did.  I hand-stitched the soutache to the short bodice seams and the sleeve hems.  Two days later realized I hadn't actually hit the "confirm order" button on the website.  So the foot won't be here for another week.

But!  The replacement ribbon for the Fiesta dress has arrived today, and it's a match, so I can continue on with that dress, and after it's finished, cut something else out of this floral (I'm hoping to get four distinct dresses out of this bit of yardage) to move on with in the meantime.

In real life news, Squiddle is twelve today!  One of the two best things I've ever made.  And for his birthday, the school district gave him (and the two other boys in his grade that live in our housing tract) a bus stop he can actually walk to!  So between that and Jazzy being literally picked up and dropped off from our house, I am practically a lady of leisure once I've got them off to school each day.  That said, the early mornings to get them to school are still doing me in.  I've had to take a nap every day so far....

August's Block Party

It's the first day of school, and the house is so... quiet.  (Bar the Roomba whirring away downstairs.)  I am 1.5 loads of laundry into today's 4.5 loads and have been up since stupid o'clock because sometimes your body needs to use the facilities in the middle of the night and won't let you get back to sleep and finally, half an hour before your alarm, you decide "F--- it, I might as well get some work done."

That being said, I am planning on skipping today's meeting of the Gig Harbor Quilt Guild.  I haven't been all summer because children at home, but (a) I haven't completed the blocks for today's meeting activity, and (b) Squiddle now starts and ends school 45 minutes earlier and his bus stop is NOT one he can safely walk home from.  (It involves crossing the highway twice.  I am not pleased with the school transportation district over this.)  So I don't want to risk being late.

Instead, I plan to cut out another doll dress (I ran out of ribbon for the Fiesta dress I was making, and must wait for more to arrive), possibly vacuum, possibly scrub a bathroom clean, and/or possibly finish the newest chapter of my fanfic.  In the meantime, here is the Block Party pattern I gave the Quilters by the Bay for this month:

10 1/2” Framed Ohio Star

For each block, cut:

• Four 2 1/2” squares white or white-base background fabric
• Six 2 7/8” squares white or white-base background fabric, cut once diagonally
• Four 2 7/8” squares green fabric, cut once diagonally
• Two 2 7/8” squares of yellow fabric, cut once diagonally
• Two 1 1/2” x 8 1/2” rectangles green fabric
• Two 1 1/2” x 10 1/2” rectangles green fabric

(Alternately, the half-square triangles can be cut from 2 1/2” strips using an Easy Angle or equivalent ruler. The star points can also be constructed as Flying Geese, using the same method.)

To make the block:

Sew each green or yellow triangle to a white triangle, stitching along the bias/hypotenuse/long edge. Press the seams toward the colored part of the square and trim all dog ears.

Lay out the squares as in the image above, with the green fabric making the star points, and the yellow fabric making the center of the block. Sew together in rows. Press seams as desired. Tip: pressing each row’s seams in the opposite direction of the row next to it will help them nest better! Stitch the rows together and press the long seams as desired.

Attach the 1 1/2” x 8 1/2” rectangles to opposite sides of the block. Press seams outward. Attach the 1 1/2” x 10 1/2” rectangles to the remaining sides. Press seams outward. Square to 10 1/2”.

Bring up to ten blocks to the guild’s monthly meeting to enter into the Block Party drawing.

July's Block Party

For the past couple years I had been running a Charity Scrap Block thing for my guild, wherein each month I did up a pattern and brought in one of the tubs of scraps that I hold onto for the guild, and the members would bring in blocks the next month, to eventually be made into charity quilts.  But the blocks being made and turned in trickled to... zero.

So I rejiggered, and now it's retooled into a Block Party, where theoretically one or more people walks away with all the blocks being made.  We'll see if avarice is a greater motivator than greed, or something?  I say that, because zero blocks got turned in (again) at this month's meeting.  But it wasn't a very dynamic block, and it was the annual picnic, so... we'll see how next month goes.  But in case anyone's interested, here's July's block:

12 1/2” Neopolitan Pinwheel

For each block, cut:

• Four 3 7/8” squares of pink fabric, cut in half diagonally
• Two 3 7/8” squares of brown fabric, cut in half diagonally
• Two 3 7/8” squares of a different brown fabric, cut in half diagonally
• Eight 3 7/8” squares of cream/off-white background fabric, cut in half diagonally

(Alternately, the half-square triangles can be cut from 3 1/2” strips using an Easy Angle or equivalent ruler.)

To make the block:

Sew each pink or brown triangle to a cream triangle, stitching along the bias/hypotenuse/long edge. Press the seams toward the colored part of the square and trim all dog ears.

Lay out the squares as in the image above, with the pink fabric making the main pinwheel, and the two browns making the half-pinwheel and corners. Sew together in rows. Press seams as desired. Tip: pressing each row’s seams in the opposite direction of the row next to it will help them nest better! Stitch the rows together and press the long seams as desired.

Square to 12 1/2”. Congratulations! You have made a block! Bring up to ten blocks to the guild’s monthly meeting to enter into the Block Party drawing.

The "B" Bag

Some months ago, my mother and I were exploring up in Port Townsend.  Among other stops, we popped into Quilted Strait, a glorious quilt shop.  We browsed and I found a couple pieces of fabric, and she was quite taken by a purse they had.  I saw that they had a kit, and asked her if she would like me to make it for her Mother's Day gift.

(Please note that we are now some months beyond Mother's Day....)

She said yes, I bought the kit, and sourced some Soft & Stable purse stabilizer from one of my quilt guilds.

The purse in question is the "Midi" size of The "B" Bag.

I added two internal patch pockets that the pattern does not include.  Just fuss-cut out a pair of the birds from the exterior and measured it to fit.  They are entirely hand-sewn on.

I figured that way, she won't have to hunt for her phone or keys in the bottom of the purse.

Overall, I like the pattern, and I have enough Soft & Stable to make another one.  But I wish I'd known going in that the two halves are joined by hand-sewing.

In any case, the purse is finished, and ready to very belatedly deliver to my mother when I see her on Friday.

Kirsten's Kerchief

The first of the post-CoCo WIP finishes.  I felt it was ridiculous to pay eBay prices for an AG doll accessory I could make myself.  I asked on one of the Discord servers I'm on if anyone would be willing to give me the dimensions for Kirsten's handkerchief, and then grabbed one of my copious scraps of linen.  I pulled threads to make my outline (3.25" square) and tried to match sewing thread and embroidery floss to the dress it goes with.

I had to pull out and redo the cross stitches three or four times before I found the right spacing (~8mm per X).  On the back, the embroidery stitches are completely covered by the folded hem.  And I went just a touch better than the AG-made handkerchiefs because I mitered the corners and hand-sewed them closed rather than just folding the fabric.  Something about the little demon in the back of my head hissing "Standards," at me. ^_^