Hi everyone,
Thank you to the dear lady who bought Mae’s dress tonight on Ebay. I’ll tell Mae all about who will be getting it.
Also, thank you to everyone who chatted today. I was busy doing things and didn’t even make it into my sewing room until almost 9:00 tonight. “Aunt Sally” is coming again next week and there were things I needed to do.
When I DID get in my sewing room I was still sort of excited about my new background “beach” scene and thought “who can I make a swim suit for that isn’t a Ruby Red?” I decided I would try cutting out a swimsuit for the 13″ Little Darlings, by Dianna Effner. I grabbed Lian because she has shorter hair and is easier to work with. I tried one of my swimsuits for the RRFF dolls on her and thought it just might work, but it needed to be shortened a bit in the body, as they are an inch and a half shorter in height.
So, I found a pretty swimsuit in my stash to cut up and just hoped it would work… BONK…it was horrible…
Not only was it too wide in the shoulders… look at it from the side… Worse than horrible…
It almost looks like it is on backwards…
I took a picture of Lian’s shoulders from the front and the side…They slope downward, and I’ve known for years that they aren’t the exact same on both sides. Each shoulder is slightly different.
So… not to be defeated, I got Sydney, a 12″ RRFF doll out of the dolly cabinet. I don’t use her very much at all, because her eyes have turned red and they are a bit creepy looking to me. I see people selling things on their Siblies dolls and they have lavender or pink eyes, and I just can’t make myself do it. Maybe I could make her some sunglasses and get by with it.
Not great, but better than Lian. So, I took some pictures of Sydney and then took a few of them together.
When I put them back to back, you can see how Sydney’s arm comes forward, where Lian’s arm is straight down. But when you look at their chest area, Sydney is much thinner and her chest isn’t nearly as protruding as Lian’s is.
By now I was feeling a bit defeated. It was going to take a major adjustment on the pattern and probably a new pattern from the start for Lian to have a swimsuit, so I pushed it aside, laid my dolls out of the way, and grabbed another swimsuit to cut up.
I got Sarah out this time, (I know back to the Ruby Red Fashion Friends, but I wanted to have something to show you, and this was the quickest thing I could come up with.)
Finally, something to show that fits! I made Sarah this pretty little swimsuit from a blue and white with a touch of peach swimsuit. It was a ladies very pretty suit and I knew it would look good on Sarah with her blue eyes.
I also made a fun little skirt that she can slip on if she wants. It just slides up her legs and sits wherever she likes.
There are 3 tiny buttons added to the front.
The back is such a pretty fit on these dolls.
Well, that is it for me today. It’s time for bed!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Well, gosh, it seems like “Aunt Sally” has been showing up too often of late! But at least we are forewarned, and you know us, Jeanne, we’ll sit here on the sofa and chitchat until you get back. Maybe some of us will have pictures to send you, too. I know I meant to take a picture of my latest quilt today, and had it all bagged up with my camera–and then forgot it at home! So hopefully in a couple of days I will get those pictures taken and can send them on the Jeanne.
Little Darlings definitely have a somewhat different shape from some of the other dolls. You might need to add some fabric in the armscye area and narrow the neckline a bit as well as the shoulders, to get a better fit.
I do like Sarah’s new swimsuit and skirt, though. Very pretty and feminine.
Congrats on the successful auction!
Rosemary, i replied to your question on yesterday’s blog, if you’d like to look.
I will look, Charlotte
Yes, we will have a lot to chit chat about.
Charlotte, gather up a lot of photos, and please add even some
possible indicisions we can help you with.
I just read it. Yes, we are SO fortunate to have the internet to learn and share ideas. I have always used regular 45 width fabrics and pieced the the backing. However, according to my brilliant calculating skills (just kidding) the wide backs are sometimes far less expensive. I have yet to buy such a size in quantity……. I have a few quilts stacked up, well, more than a few. I am sort of looking for a big sale on a super attractive backing. I am inspired by your productivity.
Jeanne, It just shows how just a bit of difference in dolls body can do. I love the one you made with the little skirt. The colors are so pretty too. I sent you an email last night after I WON Mae Day! I have wanted one of your Mae outfits for so long and, to me this is the sweetest one yet. I just sold a Meadow doll for a good amount and just decided I would try to win it for Mae. She has no clothes except the Asian outfit I made for her 2 years ago. She will be so pleased. The Anne sweater will go to her friend Tia when I get time to sew. I have it all ready to make a whole outfit around the sweater. I will send you a photo of Mae in her new outfit when it comes. I am so thrilled to have it.
I am super happy for you Sissy.
I have to admit, I was wishing I had a Mae dolly! just for that outfit and the blue shoes
Congrats Sissy! I really loved the May Day outfit and glad that you still have your Meadow girls. 🙂
That is wonderful, Sissy! I can’t wait to see a picture. I agree, the sweetest one yet.
Congratulations, Sissy! I think more than one of us was wishing we had a Mae (or similar sized doll) to get the outfit for! I’m glad you won it. Your Mae will be so excited!
Congrats, Sissy, on your win! I was hoping one of the Sofa Sisters would win this one! I am looking forward to seeing your pictures!
I love that sweet swimsuit on Sara, Jeanne! I won a swimsuit from you that my Sara has now, and I can attest that it fits very well! It also has a skirt that she can wear with it. Your summer swim shop is going to be a hit with all those cute swimsuits and shorts!
Today I go to a lunch with my three sisters. One lives in Arizona, but is here for her high school reunion, so I will get to see her for the first time in two years. We four never get together much at all, so I am looking forward to some sister time!
So Aunt Sally visiting again! I certainly hope it goes well!❤️
Hope that lunch went well and you could catch up with your sisters. 🙂
This swim suit with the skirt is the cutest ever! I love it. The fabric is really sweet! Sarah is a really lovely model!
I love ❤️ this idea with the skirt!
Oooh that is sad with Sydney’s red eyes. Pity. Is there a way to fix her eyes or does that involve surgery beyond your expertise? Sunglasses would be helpful for now.
Yesterday I puttered and sewed all day. It rained a bit, that was nice.
I have 4 gooses left and I am going to finish the eyes on the baby goose (did I ever show the baby goose to all of you, with the fuzzy wings? Not the tiny goose for the AG dolls, this pattern I just shortened and reduced the size of the feets and wings) and hopefully drive over to Elizabeth’s house and just drop them off, with a fancy mother’s day card. I think I can do that tomorrow as today the baby’s eyes are not done.
I won’t ring the doorbell because I do not want to intrude or surprise visit, so I will just text her on my way back home. Gosh I miss her and her little family. I know she is really busy though with 4 kiddos.
I almost finished another tiny bag. I know I told myself that the more bags I make the easier (neater and tidier too) they will become to make, and yeah, this one was easier, but wow, tiny sewing. Jeanne! You are the master of tiny sewing. Do you use tweezers?
I have a nice pair of Miltex brand from my nursing days.
Good luck in prepping for Auntie Sally. I hope that is a smooth week for you.
I hope both of you are feeling good and strong today!
Today seems like it should be a Wednesday but it is Thursday already!!!
Time is just flying, ladies!
Rosemary, I don’t think anything is beyond Jeanne’s expertise when she sets her mind on something. 🙂 I have seen where people have cut open the top of vinyl doll heads to replace eyes that have changed color like this. So it can be done! Maybe she will try it – I would!
I too have a couple of Ruby Reds with the dreaded red/pink eyes. There are many on the RR Facebook groups that have replaced the eyes with great results. I think it takes some bravery though. The way that most do it is to heat the doll head until it is squishy and then squeeze and pop out the old eyes taking care that the eye corners aren’t damaged. Then, reheat and pop in the new eyes. It may involve removing the lashes first though and then glueing them back on after the eyes are in place. I believe that there are tutorials on the RRed FB site specifically for the Ruby Red girls. I know that RR used to provide new eyes, but don’t know if they still do. They will also repair the doll for a price, plus shipping to China and back. I have not tried changing eyes yet. Maybe Jeanne, is braver than I am. 🙂
Jeanne, there are youtube videos on how to replace the eyes in vinyl dolls… 🙂 And we know you aren’t afraid to try new things… 🙂
I have purchased eyes from https://www.schoepferseyes.com/ Nice quality, and the prices aren’t too bad, and they are in the U.S.
Love the little set you made for Sarah! (or any RRFF) It looks really cute from the back, too.
A big congrats on selling Mae’s adorable outfit. Someone’s Meadow girl will be so stylish soon.
Can’t believe that Jeanne was busy all day and still found time to produce all of the swimsuits. Very interesting to see the girls and their different body types. I do love Sara’s suit with the optional skirt. So adorable.
Here, after a walk and visiting with Winnie the pup next door, I got back to some yard work. It was still wet and muddy and it made all those seeds that other person had flying everywhere more visible. There are so many. When it dries out a little more, I’m going to try the shop vac trick. Years ago, a friend was able to actually vacuum up seeds similar to those I now have. Should be interesting, but worth a try. I’ve never vacuumed real dirt before. So, I did find that because it was still so muddy that I could yank out some of the blackberry much easier. I even crawled under the deck since it was more cleared out and managed to dislodge several clumps of blackberry fairly easily using the twist and yank method. Also filled another can with a lot of the chopped up pieces that other person left behind with the weeds. Callie Cat wanted her dinner and kept nagging me until I finally had to quit around 6:00. So much mud that I had to wash my clippers in the kitchen sink. Anyway, I hope to return to cleanup today, and if I can locate the shop vac, I’m definitely going to try it.
You really work hard in your yard, Joy! I used too, can’t do what I used to. As for Mae Day, I won her sweet outfit. Just couldn’t resist. Hope you get a chance to rest!!
“Aunt Sally” is visiting quite a bit lately, but we will chat while you are busy.
I love Sara’s swimsuit! The fabric pattern and the sweet skirt makes it perfect.
I really love that swimsuit you made for Sara. Such pretty fabric. And a skirt too. What a great outfit. I was tempted to go for the Mae Day dress but won’t have my Moppet for a while so I decided to not bid on this one. So happy that Sissy won the auction since she really wanted the dress and her Meadow doll really needed an outfit and this one is so cute. Congratulations Sissy!
Jeanne….I love the swimsuit with the slip-on short skirt! The fabric print is so sweet for this size doll. And your fabric-panel backdrop is just wonderful for summer fashions. Swimming suits for a doll….makes me wonder if there is a pattern for an old fashioned swimsuit…often done with bloomer pants and finished with a sailor look trim. Seems to me I have seen one somewhere online and I might have to look into it….you’ve inspired me!