Everything in a day...

 

Current Mood : Capricious

 

The living room wasn't spotless, but I did have delivery people visit ! Actually, I wasn't feeling too good this morning, and I'd just stretched out on the sofa for a few minutes, so my head would quit spinning. I have no idea what I got into - or what got into me - but I was light-headed and a bit nauseous all day. Beloved Hubby said he felt much the same, and Dearest Son's school called, saying he was pale and sound asleep. Beloved picked him up, he was running a slight fever. Dearest, not Beloved.

 

And, of course, I'd just gotten to the warm and floaty place when I sensed movement outside. Mail call ! It was the Country Living Home, finally. The box was... creatively made from a shipping package and a cardboard soda can flat, but at least it got here.

 

It wasn't packed very well, either - all the chairs had come apart, but I was able to fix them. I'm not sure if that crack in the roof was there before or during, it didn't show in the photos, but it wasn't too bad. I was feeling generous, and decided instead of giving them their first negative, I'd simply relate the slow shipping in the comments and go neutral. I was glad to have just gotten it.

 

At least, I was - until I saw they'd shipped it Parcel when I paid extra for Priority. They did, however, spring for delivery confirmation. Well, sorry guys. It's one thing to wait nine days after I pay to ship, but when I pay for Priority, I should get Priority. Sure, it may not have made a difference. But I hate feeling ripped off, and this auction was just one disappointment after another. So, after agonizing over it for two hours, I negged ‘em. I still feel petty and mean, but if I can get my sold items schlepped across town, when I don't even have a working vehicle, surely someone else can make an effort.

 

Still, it's in mostly decent shape, so I'm gonna enjoy it - later. Because my sewing machine came in two hours after that ! Dearest, however, had extracted a promise from Beloved to install Lego Batman  on Beloved's computer, since the laptop was struggling with it. Unfortunately, Beloved had to go back to work, so it fell to me. At least it'd be something fairly restful for him to enjoy, he was still pretty pale. So I got to it.

 

Two hours later, I was done. Whew. The game, while possessed of an extremely kludgy control menu (more later), wasn't that difficult to install. It was Dearest's joystick controller that was a PITA. Couldn't find the drivers, had to download and install ‘em. Then, once the game was up, assign ‘Axis Y' to ‘travel left', and I can assure you, that menu was a serious butt-burr. Got it all done, and started it up - much better ! - and Dearest gladly took the game controller from me... and it seems I set up everything wrong. (sigh) After a half-hour of play, he was pretty frustrated.

 

So, I had to halt the game, take the disc out of Beloved's computer, put it back in Dearest's, copy down all his control assignments, then put the disc back in Beloved's, and fight with the menu again. This might have taken an experienced gamer ten minutes, tops, but I was triumphant, and I count it as a personal victory that I did it, with no further plaints from Dearest. Whew !

 

By the time I got that done, I just wasn't in a mood to immediately go after unpacking and setting up the new sewing machine. And I was nursing the hints of an impending headache. So I rummaged for a late lunch and intended to just relax for a half-hour or so. Plus DFIL needed help - he'd locked his keys inside his car, and was hoping we had a spare. Nope. Kinda felt bad we couldn't help.

 

An hour and a half later, I dragged myself off the computer and got the new sewing machine unpacked. I was oddly reluctant to move my Kenmore/Janome. I was actually sad about it. It's not like I'm gonna abandon it, or give it away, but I'd had some great times and learned a lot with KJ. At least I could still see it every day, and would probably still use it occasionally. But I still felt the bite of nostalgia and a sniffle of sadness.

 

Plus, the manual to the Brother machine took two pages to explain how to turn it on, so I was a bit apprehensive about the learning curve I'd soon be under. When I looked over the ‘how to wind a bobbin' directions earlier this week, I found m'self studying a diagram that looked like a flow chart for installing fuel cylinders on the Space Shuttle. This is how I can explain my apprehension and reluctance to open a brand-new, sparkly, amazing sewing machine.

 

But I got KJ stored where I could see it, and installed Brother. Wow. It took me several minutes to thread it correctly - even with all those drawings, a text manual, and an animated tutorial on the machine's menu screen, I couldn't tell if the thread was supposed to go behind one silver piece or not. Once I got it right, though...wow. Quiet, easy, and fun. The needle threader is fun to watch, even though it's not all servomotors - it's actually spring-loaded, and you control the switch. And there, at the end of the directions, was a few small lines of ‘once threaded, it should look like this'. About three pages from where I could have used it. Oh, well.

 

I soon negotiated through the stitch directory, and sewed a few lines of decorative stitches, played with the needle placement, and found ¼" from both center and left positions. I haven't played with the embroidery functions yet- no time and a headache worked against me - but I will, and soon !

 

Plans and hopes...

 

Current Mood : Restless

 

Well, I finally got a tracking number for my dollhouse - the one I ‘won' back on 02/05, and didn't hear jack about until I emailed the sellers on 02/14. Yup, the package I've obsessed about nearly all month is a dollhouse, specifically the Barbie Country Living Home. I fell in love with the graphics on the walls, because they're so like my much loved Friend Ship airplane's designs and colors, and they were only a year apart, from what I can find.

 

Anyway, after losing my third auction for one, always at the last second, I found a Buy It Now, and hit the button. And evidently, the sellers just forgot about it. So glad I paid extra for Priority shipping ! You should have seen me haunt the mailbox all last week, only to find out Saturday that they were intending to mail it that day ! I still had to ask them for the tracking number Sunday, possibly they forgot about me again, the... kind intelligent folks.

 

It's left the neighboring state, so with any luck it'll be here tomorrow. And then I'm waiting on the sewing machine (wheeeee !) and a design set I ordered. With all that, I should be quite sated with stuff for a while... at least, until Friday. There's a flea market - not the Collectables one - at the Fairgrounds...

 

On second thought, I may be too busy. According to UPS tracking, my sewing machine should be here tomorrow, too ! Wow ! You know I'll be hovering at the door all day Wednesday. Living room's gonna be spotless.

Sometimes I don't believe how wonderful my life is...

 

Current Mood : Lucky !

 

Dearest Son was supposed to have today off, but the snow we had last month made it a school day after all. So he was in a mood from the time he woke up. Can't say I blame him, I hate getting up early for school, too.

 

Today was wildly fascinating. While poking around Craftster.com, I found a few ideas for AG-clone doll food that were cute. But what was better was the link someone added in reply - I was able to download all six American Girl-issued pattern sets, for free ! Those same patterns as hard-copy originals run about $20. to $30. on eBay, since they're long out of print. Let me know if anyone wants the link.

 

In that same message (it was a goldmine, I tell you !), there were links to You Can Make This (http://www.youcanmakethis.com/) and it was awash in downloadable freebies, and not just for dolls ! Want to make chef hats for kids and you ? Freebie. Want a hanging star made out of recycled jeans lying around ? Freebie pattern and directions. How about some fresh spring headbands ? Several AG-size doll skirts and a blouse, a Smores-theme scarf, quilting and ruffler tutorials, crochet flowers, paper bag books, Santa pillowcases and window treatments ? Yup, all those and more are all free downloads, you just need Adobe Reader, and you can save a copy to your hard drive for later. There were also patterns for sale, but crafty types like us could go for weeks on selected freebies. That said, I have two patterns saved in my WishList...

 

Then, there was a link from there to SWAK Embroidery (yup, swakembroidery.com), and I was lost for at least an hour or so there. I found a solo ‘I sew stuff' design that I want - I'd seen it on another site, but it was part of a $20. set. Here, it was just $4. by itself. Hooray ! There was nothing else I wanted in the set ! By signing up for their newsletter, I got ten magnificent butterfly designs for free, too. Wow.

 

Only things I don't much like - and it's a weak whine, I'll admit - is that you earn a point per dollar spent with both sites. Which is nice, they don't have to do that. But if you wanna buy stuff with your points, the $4. design is 79 points ! Wow. But hey, free stuff often comes under someone else's rules, so I'm being petulant and spoiled. With such nice stuff on both sites, I'll soon have points to spend. I'll be so broke that's all I can spend, but hey.

 

I signed up for the sewing and general newsletters at You Can Make This, and the embroidery one at SWAK -and they sent me more freebie patterns and ideas ! I really like those guys ! (smile) There's also a newsletter for the yarn aficionados, but since I don't knit or crochet, it'd be wasted on me. Perhaps you might can use it though !

 

Gosh, I'm still so atwitter over the new sewing machine - and it hasn't even shipped yet. HSN says it has, but all UPS.com has for me is ‘we've received pickup notice'. I reserved some machine embroidery library books, but I'm about fifth in line, but that's OK. Again, ya can't whine when it's free, or you sound like a spoiled little snot. Surprisingly, our Barnes & Noble shop didn't have a single machine embroidery book on their shelves this weekend.

 

So instead, I reserved some other books, including the next three in the juvenile ‘Princess School' series. I read the first one I found at a thrift store and liked it, so what the heck. It's cute, and a fun read, but I don't need to keep ‘em forever. I'll probably pick ‘em up when we run to the Post Office tomorrow - amazingly, the item I put up on eBay has already sold as a Buy It Now, and I wanna get it on the way ASAP.

Just one of those (overwhelmingly good) days !

 

Current Mood : Blessed

 

Today was just one of those really super-nice days. We lazed around all morning, and hit Hancock Fabrics shortly after they opened. Turned out, I wasn't the only one cruisin' for doll patterns ! I'd gone over my list last night, and there were two on it that I already had ! Embarassing. I have got to be more careful !

 

Anyway, with both Simplicity and Butterick on 99c sales, my list was long and fun. I knew there'd be some duplication, so I did what I normally do - select all the ones I think I want, lay ‘em out straight, then winnow the herd. I'd pulled two from the pile when another shopper remarked that she was there for doll patterns, too, but they didn't have one of ‘em that she wanted. Yup. It was in my ‘return' pile. I ended up making her happy twice when I noticed two Winter '08 Butterick pattern catalogs at the register. Were those up for grabs ? Sure, if I wanted them. Well, the same shopper had been just in front of us in line, so I offered her one before she left. She has the same enthusiasm for those I do, so she beamed at me.

 

Poor Beloved Hubby and Dearest Son were getting a bit restless as two other veteran sewists detailed all the joys and pitfalls of machine embroidery to newbie me. It was so nice to socialize ! One woman said her machine cost $10,000., and I believe her. I saw those when I was researching. Only problem with those is you can't drive them to the craft shows. Sorry, but if I'm layin' out $10K for something, it should have either a roof or a steering wheel. But it was interesting to hear her describe it. She actually prefaced it with, ‘You'll probably both be jealous of what I have...". Well, I tend to be more jealous of people's experiences more than their stuff, but it did sound like a nice machine.

 

Dearest was getting beyond restless and into obnoxious, so we moved on, after I returned the other four to the drawers - and I still walked away with ten new patterns ! I probably could have cut it back to eight, but Beloved was willing to shell out a few bucks so he didn't have to endure Elimination Round #2. It may surprise you to know there actually were ten or fifteen patterns I didn't already have, but I confess so you can laugh - they're mostly 18" doll sizes, for Jenny.

 

We got fabric for a Bat-cape for Dearest, and I'll probably get that done Monday. When we went out Saturday, we got him a new Lego set, and much as he wanted the cape, he wasn't much interested in standing still for it. We decided against two of the embroidery books, instead figuring we'd put those funds toward either Embird or PeDesign software. Besides, I have one of those books on hold at the library, when it gets returned.

 

I also found a pretty pale green ‘gemstone' star charm, for 89c. It's supposed to clip onto one of those rubber ‘Croc' clown shoes, but I think I'll attach it to the sewing machine cover instead. Or, if we're back there any time soon, look for a second one, and make earrings.

 

Came home and puttered, all of us. I decided I wanted a bulletin board behind my computer, for school notes and the calendars I print out, but my previous one is behind Dearest's desk. So I grabbed a Priority mail box, flattened it out, attached fabric to it, bored holes to attach the ribbon to hang it, and poof ! Instant freebie bulletin board.

 

We let Dearest talk us into McD's for dinner, and again, he decided on the Hello Kitty/Sanrio watch toy. The nice young lady at the counter gave him his choice - a star-shaped ‘Little Twin Stars' design, or a brown ‘Choco Kitty' one. He picked the cat, and I told him we'd try for the star one for me later. Got home, and she'd tossed both in the bag ! How sweet of her... I hope she has a great tomorrow. It took some doing and an x-acto knife, but I got the too-small strap off, and I'll make a new one. If you decide to do the same, there's a peg in the middle of the watch housing, so unless it's a really narrow replacement strap, it won't go through. I'm probably gonna use two straps of elastic, or maybe fabric, with snaps. Kind of a lot of work for a cheap digital watch, but I like it.

OK, who ordered the Princess MegaLoad ?

 

Current Mood : Miffed and anxious

 

Happy Valentine's Day ! Hope yours is going well !

 

Unfortunately for me, Beloved Hubby has to work, so I'm puttering. Downloaded at least another 40 free embroidery designs, and my butt is aching from me sitting on it so long. Since we didn't eat the thawed Christmas ham leftovers for dinner - thanks for a great dinner to DFIL ! - I'm having ham steaks for lunch. Yum !

 

Another ‘win' on eBay I had to track down - I ‘won' the darn thing on the 5^th, paid Priority shipping, had cash in PayPal... and don't have it yet. Recently, I sold something, she won Sunday, and had it Wednesday, and she was further away than my seller. So I wrote and asked when it'd been sent... and they promised me it'd be mailed off today. Aaargh. This is why I hate eBay. I can make sure I have all my crap together, but the other end can just blow me off for over a week. We had flippin' tornadoes this week, they haven't even had heavy rain, and they didn't bother to tell me there'd be a delay or anything. I wonder if I hadn't bothered them if they'd have stirred enough to mail it. Did they think I just tossed money at ‘em for fun ? And have they sent me the tracking number ? Nope. Negative feedback, coming up.

 

I'm thinking of listing something else to sell - boy, machine embroidery is an expensive hobby ! - so I was checking current auctions when I saw something interesting. A box of velvets and brocades, lots of yummy scraps. There's only one problem with buying a random shipment of scrap fabric - by the time shipping's added in, you've spent enough to buy some really, really nice material. That you chose. Another cotton scrap box that had my attention contained some luxe, gorgeous fabrics, and the bid was good. Too bad it cost $20. to ship ! Most fabric lots are like that. For $30., I can pick and choose some good stuff on my own.

 

It's like that with machine embroidery designs, too. While a single design can run $25., a group or set might cost $10. for five or even 20 designs. Problem is, of those 20, there may be five you like. There's CD sets available, with insane numbers, like 500,000 designs for less than $50. A lot of money, sure, but it's just fractions of a penny per design. Problem is, you don't get to see the actual designs until after you buy it, cataloging it all is up to you, and it's probably safe to figure that ya won't use 499,872 of them. You'd have to use nearly 70 a day for twenty years to use ‘em all. So it's probably best to get what you want, specifically.

 

And there's loads of free stuff - or $1. and $3. designs - to snag. After this week's little downloading spree, I'm calling a moratorium on getting more until after the new machine's here. Doesn't do me much good to spend all my time looking and creating new folders if the designs don't work with it. But it looks like I'm all ready to start gaining some experience with it !

 

Just call me 'Dorrie Download' !

 

Current Mood : Still bedazzled by possibilities

 

(sigh) Yeah, guess what I spent 90% of the day doing ? Yup, downloading free embroidery designs. I probably have about 40 already, with a heavy lean towards stars and cats. (embarrassed) Fifteen stars and eight cats. I have found so much I love while getting ‘em all ! You can best believe this one is on the ‘fast track' -

 

http://www.secretsof.com/content/2357

 

Scroll down a bit to FSL Doll Shoes. Yup. I can make lacy doll shoes, and it looks like they might stretch a bit for some of my non-Barbie girls ! The hats are nice, but I'd be likely to stick a stick in ‘em and use them as umbrellas. And the bigger shoes are cool, but I don't know if they'd fit any of my dolls. (sigh) I still need to write up ‘how to make doll shoes' for the site, too...

 

But I'm trying to not spend right now. I mean, the machine was quite a few pretty pennies ! And sooner or later, we'll need to invest in embroidery software - you know we want to customize our stuff ! Once the machine arrives (scheduled for 2/23 !), we'll try out some of the free ones, but I have a feeling that, for what Beloved Hubby wants to do, we'll end up shelling for Embird or PeDesign. $$$ !

 

And for now, I'm gonna shelve 'Best Buy Friday'. With everything else going on, I just haven't found time for photos. I'll pick it up again, though, because I still like the idea, even if my execution ranks ! 

 

In other news, Dearest Son came home loaded on sugar and Valentines. I separated the two - most of the cards had candy attached - and stored the cards in a bag for him. As I did so, I mentioned who gave them to him. Evidently the party took up so much time, they didn't get to open them at school. The ones from the girls got a little kiss before going into the bag ! The ones from the boys earned me an explanation of who was friends with whom, and which kids had been in trouble recently.

 

For me, it was nice to see that there were kids with worse handwriting than Dearest's ! I know I'm petty, but at least I can be petty in the bubble of my own living room, so it doesn't hurt anyone.

 

Before we knew it, DFIL picked up Dearest, so it was just me and Beloved. And we enjoyed the time together, looking at AirSoft stuff (his) and embroidery designs (mine). And chattering. DFIL works at a restaurant, and brought us dinner to go, which was very sweet - he said he wanted to celebrate our anniversary, too ! DMIL called, and I offered her my Kenmore / Janome, if she wanted to take up sewing again. I'd keep it, everyone on various embroidery web sites says to do so, but it'll lock up if it sits around, and I don't really have the space for two machines. And her machine is down. She's thinking about it. I can store it in the Lab closet for now, maybe take it for a spin every month or so.

 

Gosh, the next thing I sew may be the last thing I sew on it. I feel sad about that, excited as I am about the new one. This should tell you something - there's a flea market today and tomorrow at the Fairgrounds, and I am not at all interested in going. I am, however, all jazzed at Beloved's promise to take me to Hancock Fabrics Sunday !

Dazed and enthused...

 

Current Mood : Durrrrrrr....

 

I still can't believe it ! I'm overwhelmed - and stunned. Wow.

 

Well, here's what's going on. Beloved Hubby and I were chatting at lunch - he was in another city, so he often calls for company - and he quite casually mentions that he'd like me to do some research today. Ok, that's fine, I love doing that, what does he need ? Paint suppliers ? Decking material quotes ? Car parts for Molly-car, hopefully ?

 

Well, yes to Molly's parts next week (yaaaaay !!), but for now, he's more interested in making patches and such. And for that we'd need... an embroidery sewing machine ! Could I look up prices and functions and such ?

 

Could I ? Oh, now there was a choice assignment ! I signed up for trial membership at PatternReview.com, and dug around on Google. Learned quite a bit about embroidery patterns, embroidery design formats, free embroidery design downloads, design pattern software, sites that sell designs, what FSL is (Free Standing Lace, more later), how proprietary some formats and entertainment companies are (Disney, I'm lookin' at you !), how appliqué works with embroidery machines, that electronic combo embroidery / sewing machines are drastically cheaper than embroidery-only ones, and significantly, that all-electronic combo machines aren't much more than standard mechanical ones. In fact, some are only about $100. more than what we paid for my current Kenmore / Janome. And some embroidery-only machines cost more than a new car - but they're still listed as ‘home' machines, not ‘your own embroidery business' ones. 

 

I soon found two that were quite reasonably priced, yet feature-full. One had a USB port to enable downloaded designs to be used on the machine, long as you didn't need to edit them, the other was an identical machine, same stitches and presets - hundreds ! - without the USB. About $100. cheaper, too, but it meant you'd have to buy a $70. card to do the same thing, and the cards are actually kinda hard to obtain. As you can tell, buying the machine was far from the last thing you'd buy for this enterprise !

 

Beloved came home, and I was all astir ! I probably didn't make much sense, because to explain why this was important, I needed to define that. And ‘that' is only on these machines, and if it isn't you have to buy the other. But he asked some good questions, and soon, between the two of us, we had a good idea of what we wanted, and what the theoretical machine would be used for, and some of the future possibilities. And purchases.

 

It was then he handed me the ATM card, and told me to order the one we'd studied the most. Whaaaa ? I thought I was doing the ground work for something we might be able to afford this summer or something ! Nope - he said he wanted to get me something I'd be excited about, with our anniversary and Valentine's Day coming up, not to mention our somewhat lean Christmas. OMG !!

 

So, believe it or not, I have an embroidery sewing machine coming. Wanna see it ? Of all places, the only way to get it - we were NOT going through eBay ! - was through Home Shopping Network.

 

http://crafts-sewing.hsn.com/brother-embroidery-and-sewing-machine-with-usb-port_p-4279542_xp.aspx?web_id=4279542&ocm=sekw

 

There's even a video of it from just before Christmas, when it aired. It's so amazing. I can't wait to get my hands on it !

 

Please forgive me if I'm a bit dazed. I'm darn near delirious !

Little bit of everything...

 

Current Mood : Capricious

 

A rather quiet day today. I took some photos of Shinobu's sewing room - they came out OK, but since it was for a contest I didn't win, I want to re-take them for the site. But I'll probably put them up anyway. I really need to break it down so I can sew, but my motivation unit is damaged beyond repair. I just can't seem to access any motivation at all lately !

 

I got Jenny's issue outfit repaired while waiting for Dearest Son's bus. It's amazing how much stuff frays when the edges aren't treated with Fray-Check or cheap-serged. Jenny's little riding coat that makes everyone look British (the proper term is probably ‘dressage jacket') is actually fairly well-made, just not finished well.

 

I'm thinking of keeping the big Baby Sitter's Club doll - Kristy - that I got from the junk shop last weekend. She's pretty, and her joints don't squeak. I had two before, purchased from a flea market, and they flopped and creaked. So I stripped ‘em, gave their clothes and shoes to Crissy (they fit her perfectly !), redressed and donated them. I tell ya, Jenny doesn't know how lucky she is, since I usually find it very easy to donate most blonde dolls that cross my path !

 

We had to venture forth for sustenance and stuff for Dearest Son's school party Friday, and Mal-Wart was a zoo. Luckily, he immediately decided on the Lego Racers cards - they had sticker puzzles on ‘em ! No teacher cards, though, so I got one of the big ones from the three Disney Princess sets I have. Dearest said she'd like that much better than the cars ! He also got new shoes, which he needs like clockwork every six months. He's very hard on shoes - only a couple pair from his earliest years were fit enough to donate, and I kept one pair for the My Size Barbie girls !

 

PS to Manda - That's so sweet of  you ! I think I may have one, let me waft through the Barbie dresses first, though. Thanks !

 

PS to Rachel - Sorry I took so long - it's been nutz around here ! The site is 

http://www.streetrat.net/princess-jasmine%E2%80%99s-dresses-the-ultimate-list 

- and the whole site is fulla Disney cool. Enjoy ! Love to see photos when you're done !

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

 

Current Mood : Stormy ! 

 

Interesting weather today - we're on a tornado watch. And Beloved Hubby's working outside. Called him with the update, hopefully he's inside now, or on his way home.

 

Today I did more housework than doll work, since my guys were running out of socks ! Got four loads done, including Dearest Son's favorite jacket that's almost always dirty. I barely get it dry before he has it on, and it needs a wash again ! Got the new fabrics - the bandannas and the neo-retro TV-print - washed, along with Jenny's issue clothes. Her pants came mostly clean, so that was good news. Just have to reattach a coat sleeve button. She came in a riding costume. I'm thinking her original owner liked horses, since I bought three pair of riding boots separately, including the ones Jenny came in.

 

And I remembered why I never bought a knit-picker, even though they're cheap. I have large-eye needles that are even cheaper, and can do the same thing. I just thread the snag, or part of it, through the eye, and pull it to the other side. One less tool to store and keep up with. That said, I really like my bodkin, even though a safety pin works as well. I can usually find the bodkin a lot faster, too ! I just can't resist 80% off sewing gadgets...

 

We've had clouds and on-off rain all day, and every one of my photos has looked terrible. I think I'll bag it for today and just enjoy the drama. There's lightning now ! So I'd best power down while I still have a computer. Hope your weather is more pleasant !

 

Update - the worst of it has passed, and about all that happened was that we have a front yard littered with large tree limbs and we finally did home-made pizza for dinner. Winds are so fast and hard, they whistle ! Our relative, who delivers pizza for a living, is about to get run off his tires - evidently the worse the weather, the busier the delivery biz ! Hope everyone tips well for this ! 

Monday with Jenny...

 

Current Mood : Enjoying completing stuff

 

Jenny's hair came out quite nicely. Not much of a curl to it, not even with the curling iron, but it still looks good. The bangs are lying down and forward better, and she looks darn cute with her shorter hair. It's about shoulder length now - plenty of length to style for fun. Guess she's an OOAK now !

 

Finished the Barbie v. 2.0 shirtwaist dress, finally. I had the snaps on Friday, but the sleeves still didn't hang right, and needed the seam allowances tacked down. Pushing a doll's arm through the sleeve pushed the cuff out of shape, but that's taken care of now. Also sewed the snap in the neck of the Heart Family dark pink dress.

 

That cleaned off the sewing table, and now that Jenny was dry, I could dress her in something new while her issue clothes went through laundry and repairs. I sorted through the doll clothes, wishing I could get the jumper started - when my eyes snagged the denim underpants I'd taken off an infant skirt to get it to fit the My Size Barbie girls. Last week, I'd taken the seams apart and gotten it down to component pieces. Today, I re-hemmed the leg seams in pink thread, made a ribbon casing from the piece that attached to the crotch, hemmed the raw edge, and added Velcro to the back. Jenny now has a denim halter top ! From the butt-half of the denim panties ! Took maybe ten minutes, and the pink thread looks so cute ! Fished out the skirt from one of the two decade-old Mal-Wart outfits, and she looked adorable.

 

Here's hoping I can fix the snags on her equestrienne pants and the buttons on her blue jacket. I'm seriously considering purchasing a knit-picker when I go to Hancock Fabrics sometime this coming-up weekend - 99c pattern sales, guys ! If I understand ‘em correctly, about all a knit-pick does is help pull snags to the opposite side. It's like a tiny latch-hook. They're cheap enough, usually less than $2. or so, but like a bodkin, I never see fit to buy one unless it's on markdown or I really really need one !

 

It's kind of funny. I always figured I'd end up with an Our Generation one, but the Fibre-Craft ‘Springfield Collection' dolls were also possibilities. Those are even cheaper than the Target dolls, and almost giveaway priced with one of Hobby Lobby's frequent 40% off coupons. But heck, Jenny was opportunity knocking. Actually buying a new doll that size wasn't really ever on the agenda, no matter how cheap she was.

 

While helping Beloved Hubby load up the Diesel for work this morning, I'd found a strip of thin wood, possibly cedar, cutaway from a project. Mine ! It's now the wood flooring under Shinobu's sewing room. Looks so much better than the grey cutting surface with the yellow grid ! I'm hoping to take photos tomorrow. Including a couple ‘Best Buy Friday's !