and some progress reports-

I am working on several things and am mostly trying to get fixed up again in my attic, but I did get this done-

this is a collar with lace. I “dyed” the lace a purplish grey by painting it with watered down acrylic paint. I’ve used this technique before.

and then my quilt-

I am doing the last bit of hand stitching on the binding- the end is in sight!

I am working on the doll’s clothing. I hand-stitched the bands on the waistband and leg cuffs. I am now working on the coat.
The coat is made from an antique (I think) coat or robe that I got at an estate sale. The robe is completely covered with moth holes. The design of the robe is almost exactly what I want my doll coat to look like- fitted bodice, flowing skirt.

Here is a closer picture of the bodice- maybe you can see some of the moth holes.

Here is a detail of the fabric- it is wool with chain-stitch embroidery. The lining is silk.

I has having some trouble trying to place the pattern pieces around the damaged areas so this is what I did-

I taped it onto the window! That way I could see the holes. I had no trouble finding enough fabric for the smaller pieces, but it was a real challenge to cut out the 2 pieces for the skirt. I wanted to make it out of one solid piece but that wasn’t possible.

And here is where I am now-

lots more work to do on it, but at least I know it fits. woohoo!

By the way, I have finished quilting all the circles on my quilt! Now I just have to put on the binding. I can’t believe that there is an end in sight for this forever project!

Last week I spent some time communing with my fabric stash and it has inspired me- as I’d hoped it would. I’ve finally gotten started on dressing one of these poor girls!

Here is my sketch and also a photo that I’d cut out of the newspaper a few months ago. It is a picture from the movie A Series of Unfortunate Events. I like the coat that she is wearing.

So far I have done the basic sewing on the shirt and pants. I have finished the hand sewing on the pants since I took the photo. Tomorrow I hope to make a muslin mock-up of the coat.

2 little knitting projects- a sweater and a scarf-

working away on my quilt. The big picture-

it’s a queen size. And a close-up of what I am doing now-

I am stitching a circle in the middle of every 4 blocks. I keep thinking about Easter eggs and sewing circles… that’s because I am still brain-foggy with my cold/flu recovery. Everything is still going in slow motion.

I have been feeling totally uninspired about designing clothes and dressing my dolls, mostly because I’ve been feeling lousy, but also I decided it was because I haven’t been surrounded with all my fabrics- a problem when I move out of the attic because of cold weather. I need to see and touch my materials!
Yesterday I spent some time getting reacquainted with my stash. I put together some groupings of fabrics that I am excited about- now I can get out the sketchbook and start drawing.

vintagey reds-

pinky-purple organics swirls-

this looks far eastern exotic to me-

and some trims to inspire me-