Ellowyne’s New Robe

I have spent the past couple of days designing a quick and easy robe/ swimsuit cover-up for 16" fashion dolls. There is no pattern involved, just some simple measuring and cutting. As I was sewing, instead of haphazardly jotting down notes on scraps of paper (my usual modus operandi), I kept track of everything in a great program from Microsoft, called OneNote. I didn’t even know I had the program until a few weeks ago. It ships with Microsoft's Office Suite. And I don't know how I managed without it! You can assign notebooks to each of your personal and professional projects, add dividers, add or delete pages, add scans, audio and video clips - and cut and paste data from the web. The feature I like best is that you don't have to remember to save anything. It's all automatically saved.

"Quantized!"

Ellowyne found one of her mom’s old dresses in the attic – along with the de rigueur white “go-go” boots. Who didn’t have a pair of those back in the day?

I made the dress from this pattern.

The background is a big piece of lutradur I painted a few years ago in Susan Sorrell’s wonderful Personal Symbols class.

Waiting for Mr. Darcy...

DH and I are thoroughly enjoying the “Emma” series currently running on PBS. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but I have been on a Jane Austen kick since last summer. I’ve read Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion, so far, with the aim of reading all of her novels. I have them downloaded to my E-reader and ready to go!

I'm particularly inspired by the fashions of the Regency period and have purchased a few patterns to create costumes for my Ellowyne dolls. Here is my first attempt modeled by dear Pru. I think it really suits her. The fabric is just some old quilting cotton from my stash. Prints on dresses from this period were mainly small floral or fern designs.

Ellowyne Goes Christmas Shopping...

In the holiday rush, I forgot to take a photograph of Ellowyne in the new fur jacket and hat I made for her two weeks ago. The jacket is from a pattern that is in the current issue of Doll Reader magazine. The hat is from a Kitty Collier doll pattern.

Ellowyne’s Christmas tree pin is actually a cheap earring! Her miniature shopping bag was one of several in a package from the dollar store. Who doesn’t love the dollar store?

Ellowyne’s Summer Suit

I combined the new fitted skirt pattern with the vest pattern I made for my Ellowyne doll last year to create a basic summer ensemble from some scraps of khaki cotton. Ellowyne thought the outfit needed a little pizzazz so we added a big “brooch.” It’s actually a cheap plastic button from my stash. I simply used wire cutters to snip off the shank (so the button would lie flat). Easy! I’ll definitely be going through my junk button box to see what can be used as doll jewelry. It’s strange I hadn’t thought of cutting off the shanks of buttons before, because it really opens up a whole new world of embellishment possibilities.

A Wardrobe Basic for Ellowyne...

For quite some time, I have wanted to make a lined, modified pencil skirt to fit my Ellowyne doll, but didn’t have a pattern. Adapting elements from two commercial patterns for smaller dolls, I made up a pattern from paper toweling, cut and sewn to fit her proportions. This is Ellowyne’s friend, Prudence, modeling her custom fitted skirt. Since it’s made in denim, I lined it with thin white cotton to avoid the possibility of staining. Prudence is so happy with it; she wants another in khaki...

A Hat for Pru

DH and I are in the process of turning one of the bedrooms (currently used for storage) into a cat-free room for the Christmas tree and a music room for me. Usually, the big tree is up the day after Thanksgiving, but we are still in the process of clearing and reorganizing. We are also going to be moving my art studio upstairs and our office downstairs - a major project. While cleaning out some boxes, I stumbled upon some partially completed baseball style caps I had designed for woodsman type Santas a few years ago, and, for fun, tried one on my Ellowyne doll. I thought it looked kind of cute so I decided to finish it up for her. I sewed a lining in and covered a small button with material to match the brim. Ellowyne’s buddy, Prudence, is modeling. Of course she’s nagging me for an outfit to go with it…

Ellowyne’s New Outfit

I bought Ellowyne a pair of cute silver sandals the other day because she needed them for summer. (Never mind that I’ve worn the same old pair of sandals for the past five years!) Then, she needed a little dress to go with them. I made this sassy little number yesterday from a pattern I purchased on EBAY. Again, I used cotton from my stash. El borrowed a necklace and bracelet from glamorous film actress, Gene Marshall, to add a touch of bling. I think she could go anywhere in this outfit, from a Sunday brunch to a summer wedding.

“Dear Prudence”

This is Ellowyne Wilde’s friend, Prudence Moody. She arrived here a few days ago, and I just love everything about her. Like my Ellowyne doll, she has three wigs – for three completely different looks. Pru came dressed in a cotton gingham checked teddy with striped stockings and darling little white lace-up boots. I’ve spent the past couple of days making an outfit for her, consisting of a long skirt (made from an old piece of quilting cotton), embroidered vest and a chenille tote bag trimmed with vintage fabric and a twinkle button. Now, she’s all ready for a pleasant afternoon of antiquing. Sewing for the dolls is helping me to reduce my “stash.” Hehe, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it…

Below is a close-up view of the embroidery on the vest. I adapted the design from a charming book, 101 Iron -on Transfers for Ribbon Embroidery by Deanna West Hall. The embroidery was done after the vest was near completion, before the side seams were stitched. So the back of the embroidery is hidden by the lining. It was a bit awkward to work this way (as you can see!), but knots would have been unsightly.