Hi everyone,
When I say “trying new things to keep me young” I’m not talking about scary and sometimes dangerous things like Sissy water skiing or Joy snow skiing… I’m hoping to stay young by trying out some much simpler “new things.” Things where I don’t have to get out in the elements, or go somewhere special to do them… I’m talking about trying new things right in my sewing room… sitting in my sewing chair!
I tried something new and it wasn’t that great! It was average, and I only showed it because it was how the pattern said they went together and mine looked pretty much like the ones on the pattern…
But that wasn’t good enough for me… I don’t like to settle for average, so I tried something new.
Anybody know where I’m going?
It’s not as exciting as you’re probably hoping… it’s a new pair of pink boots made from that sherpa fabric.
Are you disappointed?
I’m not because persistence paid off this time…and I think there’s room for improvement in the future.
Okay, let’s get on with it…
I made these boots for the outfit that ends tomorrow night…the one where Chrissa looks like she’s raring to go outside in some snow…
I think it was Linda who said something first… about maybe putting a sole on them in brown because they looked more like slippers.
I thought about that and the wheels started turning in my head…
So I spent yesterday afternoon and last night watching the Olympics and trying to get the pattern to do what I wanted… It wasn’t cooperating… I was using some Ultrasuede in a gray to try things out… I had a boot for the Our Generation dolls that was a molded out of plastic. It did have slits on the back side so I could try it on the doll by slipping her foot into it. It seemed like a great fit, so I decided to use it as my shoe mold and try to put my Ultrasuede pieces around it…
It looked like this when I tried it on my doll..
It was WAY too big and I bet I could pinch a half inch together back at the heel… UGH… It also had wrinkles at the toe area…that meant it had TOO much fabric there.
So I tried modifying the pattern…doing this, doing that, tweaking here and there, ripping out what I’d just sewn and making it smaller, curving it a bit more, ripping that out, clipping the curves more… UGH… before I knew it I had probably tried 10 different times to get it right…
I couldn’t get the sole size right… the width was wrong… so I tried something else… making the seam down the middle of the boot, like this…BONK!
I tried raising up the front seam that goes around the front of the ankle… like in this boot from blue Ultrasuede… WORSE!
These were the pattern pieces I was trying to use… I did add some of the sides and then changed the sole to another style because I wanted a hard leather sole…
By this time, my trash can was almost half full of scraps and boots that didn’t work and pattern pieces that were way off… How could it be THAT hard to make a pair of 3″ boots?
I was just about to call it quits, when I remembered all the patterns that lady gave me last year. I looked through them and only one of the patterns had a boot pattern included. My picture is a little blurry… probably from all the fuzzies on the camera lens… :o)
The pieces in this pattern for the boots looked like this…
The first thing I noticed was how the toe area was longer and reached up the front of the ankle…that’s what I was looking for… so I tried my first pair from the pattern, but I did it differently because I wanted to use a leather sole… I needed to see what the circumference was around the edge of the sole and how much longer or shorter I needed to cut the fabric pieces.
It took me a couple of times of trying to fit the new pieces of fabric onto the edge of the sole, but I finally got it… I cut out a boot from my pink sherpa fabric and did a test to see if it would work… it did!
Here are my boots from my revised pattern… using a leather sole and some trim to hide where the fabric stops and the leather starts.
The back is what I’d like to work on a little more, but I like the idea of how I have it now… It opens up in the back and you can easily slide your dolls foot into the boot… then you lap one of the sides over the other and there’s a little tab with a slit in it.
A button is sewn to the other side and you slide the button through the slit and pull the fur down to the tabs all the way around the top of the boot.
You can also button them and leave them up if you like…
So am I going to add these boots to the auction instead of the other ones? YOU BET I AM!
Well, what do you think? Any suggestions?
I feel younger already! :o)
I’ll see tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
I think learning new things helps keep you young. It’s also a lot of fun (sometimes!). I, too, will sometimes start with an idea and see what I can do with it. I have a sewing journal, and I usually try to remember to write about what I’m attempting to do!
Anyway, even though the things you tried didn’t work well, I’m sure you learned a lot about things like the shapes of pattern pieces and such. And then you found that pattern….I think those boots turned out really well! I particularly like the neat way they fasten. I doubt I would have come up with anything like that. It works so well, and looks great, too!
Congrats on the first bid on the outfit. Once you’ve added those boots, we might end up seeing a bidding war!;
The new boots are awesome! Sometimes we just have to persevere! Love the trim around the bottom where the uppers meet the soles. I could wear these myself!
I have a pair similar in style, soft bottom — slippers!
I could wear them all day. I think I got them many years ago at Kohls?
Good morning, Jeanne! I had a terrible night’s sleep and woke up out of sorts. Seeing these delightful new boots gave me a real happiness boost. Thank you for persevering. : )
So glad that my comment about soles on the boots made you do something to make you feel young again, Jeanne! I just thought that jacket looked so cozy and warm, why isn’t there a sole on the bottom of those boots? I remember when my daughter had slippers like that, without the sole. You did a wonderful job, and now whoever wins this can keep her dolls feet from getting wet!
It took some doing, but you got it and how does it feel to be young again?😊
Amazing what a bit of brain prodding can do! Well, I think your brilliance is what brought on this idea! These boots are super cute.
Now the other boots, they were just pull on, right? I understand, yes, you have to make the boot wider around the ankle. (ankle is a funny word, isn’t it?)
I see a lot of doll shoes now with the split in the back, and I do love how you made this boot so that is does not go all the way down to the heel.
Now… I wonder how doll shoe makers install those tiny little zipper closures?
No, I do not recommend that… haha!! I would have to warn you that it would not make you younger, but maybe crazy haha.
Making these boots is a marvelous diversion and I bet it spurs more
ideas! I need to check the listing now.
I hope everyone has a nice day today. We were spared (too far off the coast)
for the blizzard and I am grateful. Shoveling snow is really hard on my hands, lifting those huge chunks. I am happy to see sunshine today. I hope all of you have sunshine too.
So…… you’re not going skydiving?? I thought maybe you were going to try that to keep you young. 🙂
The boots turned out really cute! You are certainly persistent when you have an idea in mind, and you finally got there!
Well, our little peek at spring didn’t last long and we have snow on the ground again. That’s fine with me, I love the snow! I know people who thought (or hoped) winter was over, but I would remind them that it’s only February, and it’s Indiana. I’m hoping for continuing cold and snow through March and into April, to help kill off the nasty bugs, like ticks. They were awful last year, so I’m hoping for a reprieve this year. Wait and see, I guess.
Who’s next for a new outfit? A Little Darling, maybe, or Ten Ping?
I have a friend who just moved from Florida to Indiana about a year ago. She is having the most fun with the cold and snow. One day she took made up some bubble mixture and went outside and blew them and watched them freeze. But I guess she could have stayed in Florida this year because they’ve had snow there this winter. As for us, we’ve had little winter or even coolish weather. We get maybe three days and then it warms up for twenty and it’s almost the end of February which means the end of winter for us. I totally agree with you that you need some really cold weather events to get rid of all the nasties that show up in warmer weather. I never stopped killing flies this winter and someone notice the red wasps are already out this year and looking for nesting places. And the weeds. Neverending.
Miranda Hart (a British comedian) has written a book called ‘I haven’t been entirely honest with you’ and she was bitten by a tick in California when she was 14 but it was never picked up until she was nearly 50. It caused her untold problems and most doctors told her to ‘just get on with it. There is nothing wrong we can fix’. It is a great read if you can find it.
Fortunately, we don’t have ticks in NZ, along with no snakes, no crocodiles, no alligators, in fact no animals in nature that want to kill you just a couple of spiders that can give you a nasty bite (and one of them was a hitchhiker from Australia).
Anne, what about mosquitos? Do you have them? They are out already here with all of the standing water from the rains. Moving to NZ right away. 🙂
yes, our mosquitoes are horrible.
This might be the deal breaker.
Oh! Lucky you. No snakes or ticks! this sounds heavenly!
Years ago, my daughters first grade teacher (knowing my severe dislike for spiders) shared with me something a student brought in for show and tell. It was a huge spider in a plexiglass box.
She held it up from across the room and I said “no no”
(the body was the size of an large pear)
Well, a new week is creeping up across the skyline. We may receive a little peek of sun before some later rain. But, it is much warmer, so I’m happy. Actually, got in some weeding yesterday out in front before later rains this week. 🙂
And Jeanne’s new and improved boots look great. Her patience and perseverance make me spin. I don’t think I would have gotten any younger making them, but probably would have had a brain fizzle. All of those patterns and calculations would have returned me back to memories of Algebra oh so long ago. Thanks, Jeanne, for putting in the time and expertise so we wouldn’t have to. I love the new and improved boots. I do like the tab across the back and the fold down top as well. I think that Jeanne, should gold plate the final pattern and post it on the wall someplace so that it is always available at a glance for future endeavors. 🙂
Back in time, around here we journeyed down to see the grands on Saturday. More traffic than on our usual Sunday travels, but we had a great time celebrating middle grands thirteenth birthday. So fun to see everyone, and we enjoyed lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Yum. Grand loved her new purse, and it was lots of fun seeing streaming of swim team tryouts for her older brother and a flag football game of her younger brother as well. Oldest grand is really into making things on his 3D printer and gave us a fun elephant Buddha. He has an Etsy shop and sells things like oreo cookie plastic magnetic look alikes. I really want him to make dolly size things though. Like dinner food. Maybe things for holidays like a turkey on a platter. Anyone have any other ideas?
Hope that the week ahead goes well for everyone.
Congratulations to Middle Grand on her 13th birthday. Your grands are about the ages of mine. Skyy will be 16 at the end of July and Jaiden was 14 on New Year’s Eve. Azure was just 5. Sounds like you had a wonderful time visiting. I love the idea of oldest grand using his 3-D printer to make dolly stuff. I’ll be thinking about things for him to think about making in the future. How can I find his Etsy shop?
What a terrific fun week-end you had with your grands and kids, Joy. I am so happy you had a good time! It is incredible to see our grand kids be happy and successful!
The 3D printer is nice. . Ideas, how about miniature food? and dishes?
That does sound like a great idea to try. Perhaps he can try other house hold items like a chair? or a lamp? Wow, the possibilities!
Dear Jeanne, the new boots look very pretty. I am sure that the Mama who receives them will be very happy. She may even want a pair for herself!
Jeanne, the boots are very nice, I love the back, making it so easy to get on.
We went to the Y again then the grocery store. Came come and did laundry. I have a lot of stuff to move around, company coming on Friday.
Y’all have a great day.
I really love the new style boots! I admire your perseverance. I really planned on getting into my sewing room after church yesterday but ended up napping the afternoon away. We had a class after church (we do that once a month with a meal) and it was a bit boring but we stayed to support our friend who was doing the class. It was mid-afternoon when we got home and I was exhausted. It was cold and when it’s cold walking for me is an effort. I resorted to using my cane and it was some help. When it’s warm I don’t have as much trouble.
I’m going to be taking the pictures of my village. I keep forgetting to do that but it’s kind of risen to the top of my to-do list. It’s a “winter” village now rather than a “Christmas” village since it’s taken me so long to get around to finishing some of the accessories and taking the pictures. But I thought Jeanne might need some filler coming up.
It’s a beautiful day here, sunny and in the 60s. I might see if I can make it out for a walk this afternoon. I know I need to move more and my rowing machine is not enough it seems. I’ll use my cane instead of my rollator walker and see how it goes.
Jeanne, well done on the boots I would have given up halfway through probably. They look great.
I can’t believe that it is only a week till we are officially in autumn. I am not looking forward to winter, especially if it is like your winter this year. I don’t like snow!
My tomatoes are finally starting to turn colour. We just haven’t had the sunshine since Christmas. The grapes are also starting to change colour. My son made plum port last year so he is going to try some grape port using my red/black grapes. At least I hope he is otherwise they just rot because no one eats them here. They aren’t as sweet as the imported grapes unless you peel the skin off. They also have large seeds which everyone seems to find off putting. The green grapes will be a bit longer yet. They are very sweet but also quite small. I’ll let you know if he does make the port and if it turns out as well as his plum port did. I didn’t try it, but apparently everyone who did liked it.
My hubby’s hobby is making beer and wine. He also does a very good “moonshine” (can’t remember offhand what exactly it is since we jokingly call it moonshine – maybe like a Rum). We use it when making Pina Coladas. The plum port sounds wonderful and I can’t wait to see how the grape port turns out. My grandparents raised Concord Grapes, and my grandmother made jelly every year. We’ve never tried growing our own grapes.