Hi everyone,
This was my outfit for Violette that didn’t sell… I determined, for some reason it was her shorts…
When we last were together, I had started a pair of white linen shorts for Ruby Red Fashion Friends doll, Violette. Things were going well until I noticed the fabric shown through when I added the pockets. I didn’t like that look and determined I could make a better pair for her.
I searched my entire sewing room and found nothing like a denim or twill or a heavy cotton in white that might work. So I thought I could find a pair of white summer pants or shorts at the Goodwill. I found some nice, and like new, pants that I thought would work. I especially liked the pair I bought as they were a very bright white AND a size 24 women’s, so there was plenty of fabric in them to make many many pairs of shorts, pants and skirts…AND they were 25% off, so only $2.79!! :o)
See how bright they are?
I cut them out and they looked so crisp and tailored…but then…I realized they had Spandex in them… the bright white fabric blinded my judgement on sewing anything with Spandex except swimsuits.
So here is a glimpse of what happened….
…and why I won’t be finishing these either!!!
I even divided the inside of the pocket into sections, part of it with sheer batiste fabric so there was no chance of the white pocket showing through…
In the end, I went back to my original denim, like the first blue ones I made for her… only these are more feminine and I finished them! Violette was VERY pleased with me that I got them right!!!
They are topstiched in all the right places and look very flattering on Violette!!
I also changed her hair ties to a single headband with one bow tied on top. It snaps behind her neck…
I am hoping to make a tote bag to go along with her outfit…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Well, Jeanne, I’m with you on the spandex in anything other than swimwear or lingerie! I absolutely loathe the stuff. It’s itchy, for one thing (I may have a slight allergy to it) and, worst of all, eventually…..it DIES. I have socks that prove the case. One pair, which because of the color I don’t wear as often is still okay; the rest of them from that package are so stretched out (because of being worn and washed so much) they are about twice the size of that one pair! Unfortunately, my feet are too small to fit the ONLY 100% cotton socks I know of (Buster Brown, I think, available thru Vermont Country Store), so I try to look for ones that are the most “cotton rich”.
Anyway, I can see right off, the issues with that fabric. It might work okay on regular human bodies, but not something like a small doll body!
However, the new denim shorts you made for Violette are really lovely, and look so much better than the other ones, which to me look more like board shorts, or at least more casual ones.
You will all be proud of me. Today I got the snapdragons repotted into the largish planter I have on my front step. It took two 8-qt. bags of potting soil to fill the pot (it got totally emptied once when all I asked was that the plants be pulled out. ) I will try to get some more pictures. I already have the “before” ones, and hope to send some to Jeanne in the near future. However, the next three days will be busy for me, as we have evangelist Ken Lynch at our church this week, and he will be holding services M/T/W, before he and his wife Joan go to their next stop.
Monday (it’s still Sunday night to me) I will be taking flowers to the cemetery as it’s our wedding anniversary, and I may go out for supper before I pick up a friend and head to church. Tuesday is ladies’ Bible study and, later, service. Wednesday is usually afternoon prayer service (although it’s not in the bulletin so maybe not) and then evening service.
Thinking of you on your anniversary, Charlotte.
Snapdragons are very easy to grow and maintain. They are one of my favorite annuals. I loved them as a child because we would always pick them to use as earrings or clip onto our clothing or string as necklaces.
In my one childhood book I saw that snapdragons allowed you to “talk to the fairies” Yes, I was a whimsical, imaginative child and I’ve never lost that imagination and sense of pretend.
Even other person used to like snapdragons. You know, to squeeze the blossom and pretend that it was a real dragon and eating someone. He loved to pop fuchsia pods too. I have to admit that I too indulged in playing with some of the blossoms. 🙂 Thanks for the memories Laura.
I agree about the cotton, Charlotte. I loved just about everything made of cotton even with the ironing factor. Haven’t thought of Buster Brown shoes in years. Those lasted a long time. 🙂
Good morning, Jeanne, and everyone! It feels SO good to be back and feeling much better! It seems that I had a 24 hour stomach virus that took several days to recover from, and I just did not feel like commenting while being so down and out.
I loved the blue shorts, and with our patriotic holidays coming up, the red, white and blue color scheme is perfect! I never cared much for the white shorts, they just seemed a bit too bland, but the new blue ones pop! Another thing, who puts white shorts on a little girl? Not me! The white shorts almost looked like underwear to me too! So the new blue shorts make a lot off sense and look perfect!
Thinking of you, Charlotte, as you remember your wedding anniversary today.
So sorry to hear about the stomach bug. Very glad that you are feeling better. I hope that some kind of a summer or 4th scene is planned for the dolls at your place? I’ve been looking at those old metal refrigerator and sink units again. I think that I had Wolverine. At least I have the stove, as I haven’t found any without major rust or damage yet. Maybe some day. 🙂
Linda, I am very glad you are feeling better. I hope this week you can slowly gain back your strength and over all well being.
I can’t stand being sick! There are a lot of little viruses sneaking around.
Good morning dear ones. Happy Monday!
I hope all of you had a very pleasant week-end.
Jeanne, the white fabric is good, just, very disappointing it has spandex in it.
It is great that you gave it a try and tested it out. We are still living and learning…. It would be difficult to even find small piece of solid cotton white fabric that would “match” only to make the waist band.
Violette looks so so cute in these blue shorts. I love the length of these too, super sweet. Yes, a tote bag would be sweet. I love the sandals.
Adorable!
It was a nice week-end. I watered our property here at the new house (very small) Hubbs and I went to the old house on Saturday to meet a peppy guy that would take our treadmill I had offered for FREE on facebook. He brought a friend to help him. They had to dismantle the treadmill which took about an hour and a half. Both of the guys were quite pleasant and happy, and strong.
Hubbs and I took apart his old computer desk. one of those heavy as a beast pressed wood models. It was beat up, nothing special about it. It was a lot of work with way too many different sorts of screwdrivers and hex keys. wow.
We must have assembled it back in the 1990s and there was wood glue involved too.
After so many beautiful perfect days here, we are getting some seriously hot days. I do not have any urgent needs to go out, so I will address the indoor projects and hopefully spend some time in my sewing room.
Or, I might play the piano. I found something new to try, an old favorite of mine I found the sheet music to. Beethoven’s Sonata #13. It only has three flats.
Today it is going to be very sunny and 93º
Charlotte, I will be thinking of you today as you visit the cemetery to bring flowers to Ron. This will be a beautiful week we encouraging events at church.
Glad that you found some one who wanted the treadmill. So heavy to move. And we too have one of those heavy particleboard desks around here. But, I can’t get other person to part with it yet. It is going to be a huge job to move it out.
Rosemary may be too warm today, but it’s 40 here and raining AND we may get snow tonight. As long as it’s wet, no one minds.
I agree with Linda on the blue shorts — red, white, and blue for our 250th. And these fit so nicely. A tote bad would be a great finishing touch. You could put a teddy bear in it. I don’t suppose anyone is making RRFF sunglasses.
I have finished my proofreading for the day. Remember when elections for judges were dull? I’m for a return of that, though paying more attention to elections is probably good for us all.
Graduations are starting. Do the RRFFs need a graduation outfit? Maybe on a different day, we can talk about what we wore to our graduations.
I like that idea, Marilyn! I still have my HS graduation outfit here, although I did wear a robe over it, too (and we didn’t get to keep those back in 1964–they were rented!)
Violette goes from Daisy Mae to a polished sweetheart. Love the new hair tie on her beautiful hair and more girly shorts too. Although, I liked the board shorts as well. I hope that the little tote bag is completed which would be a perfect addition. Maybe a little pet might be poking his head out from the bag? or some picnic supplies? So sorry about the stretchy fabric. I hate that stuff and really prefer the old jeans made from all cotton. I’m not sure that they even make them anymore.
Yesterday, we had major winds here which caused a lot of havoc. Two, in separate incidents were injured by falling tree branches. One person died. Lots of clean up to do around here today. In the middle of it, little Winnie from next door came scratching at the front door and came right in to visit. We quickly headed back out and found her owner heading down to find her. The wind was howling, but it didn’t seem to bother Winnie at all. She only had her milk bone treat in mind, I guess. We were all discussing what more bushes need to go along our properties because of the fire danger. Our neighbor wasn’t here during the big fires, so is very nervous. Anyway, when I came back inside, I looked out the slider and there was poor Callie Cat literally huddled on top of the barbecue tucked down and screaming in the wind. Crazy cat. Why pick there to hide and not under the deck? Don’t know. Anyway, I calmed her down, poor thing, and she had some dinner and finally went to sleep in her spot on the front porch bench. It’s still windy this morning, but not like yesterday. Our power did not go out, but it is out all around the county.
We were also at the other house yesterday, checking things out, but it was so windy, there wasn’t anything we could really do. We’ll go up this morning and see if the fence is still in one piece and if the silver maple dropped any branches. Crazy weather.
I miss jeans made from all cotton. I think mens jeans have a few brands that are 100% cotton. Any pants made with some or all spandex or other stretchy material are just so rumply in a very unpleasant way.
I am so happy to know Callie Cat was able to find some protection from the fierce weather! I hope you maintain power! So terrible that winds create such devastation and damage. Too bad someone died. ☹️
I really don’t like wind, especially when it comes at night and I can’t see what’s going on outside. We get those straight-line winds here that are close to being a tornado. They take apart small buildings quite effectively. So sorry to hear someone lost their life to the winds. That happens here a lot, even bringing down trees into people’s bedrooms while they’re sleeping. Hopefully your fence at the other house survived. Seems like you are well known as the place to go by the animals in the neighborhood. Love your stories about Winnie and Callie Cat. Would make some cute children’s stories.
Around here, there are lots of redwood trees. Huge and they drop branches in major winds. Our neighbor has several and had a lot of branches fall last night. Fortunately, they were on his deck and not the roof. A few years back, a redwood tree fell on a home over by the river and unfortunately, killed a little boy. Very sad. Other person drove up to the other house this morning and it looked okay. We’re heading back up there now. Tks on my crazy critter tales. I think my mother wrote a children’s book, way back. Not me though. If I did, Marilyn would have a huge job editing and punctuating. Ha ha
Hi Joy,
So sweet that Winnie and Callie Cat know your place is the one for treats, dinner, and safety. I love that reputation as well. So very sad that someone lost their life in the storm. Tornado season has started her so we are vigilant about watching the weather.
As to 100% cotton jeans, you can find them. It’s just far more difficult. Some companies like Lee (my favorite brand from the 80’s do). I I also greatly dislike pants or shorts that hit below my waist. That “comfort waist” is far from comfortable.
I have found luck even getting the 1980s style dropped v waist pleated jeans I still love by searching for new with tags dead stock.
If I hadn’t worn them out I could actually wear my highschool pairs. My size 6 today is the equivalent of my 10 or once in a while 12 I wore them. All you have to do is measure your waist size and buy that waist in the vintage. Yeah, I’m still trying to wrap my head around 80’s being vintage.😲😲😲
I’m going to have to look up a hundred percent cotton jeans. Good idea. That is great that you can still wear your HS jeans. Nope, not here, but I still have the pair I wore when we got married. 🙂 You’ve reminded me to find the Laura Ashley, I think it was, white blouse that will fit now. They look great with jeans. 🙂
Sorry about the pants. I hate things with Lycra (except swimsuits) and have no idea why that got added to jeans. I have to look long and hard for 100%, but I do find them.
I also greatly dislike pants or shorts that hit below my waist.
Violette’s new shorts are definitely more feminine.
I’m probably the only one on the sofa who is okay with spandex in clothes. In fact I look for it. These days I aim for comfort and every time I buy a pair of pants that are all cotton they just aren’t comfortable. But I do have a problem with the fact that they tend to get “stretch marks” in certain areas and so don’t live as long as my pants used to. But I do have some gabardine-like pants with a little stretch and they hold up well. I wear them for dress. But I would not use something with spandex for doll clothes other than swimsuits, leotards and such. I’m still laughing at seeing Violette’s stretchy white shorts. Sorry you had to make such an effort for that result, Jeanne. But I needed a good laugh so thanks. Tell Violette it’s nothing personal.
I really like the new blue shorts and the top is the cutest. I liked the board shorts too but this outfit is probably more saleable now.
I went the other day to make an appointment to start my PT. I couldn’t get one this week but did get a good day and time for next week. I think the reason my referral fell through the cracks is that they were in the process of moving – and will be doing it again before the end of the month. When David went there after his knee surgeries they were very small and in a small strip center. Then they grew and moved to the building that used to be the Family Dollar. So I went there first and saw the sign they had moved to the outlet mall (which is no longer an outlet mall but many other things). The woman who has the therapy and wellness center is married to a man who has a gym so they are joining forces in one building which will still be in the outlet mall but on the other side. Hopefully that will be the last move for them so they can get better organized.
Have a great day everyone. Rain expected here so hubby and the boys are home this week.
We are back from the Y and grocery shopping. I have to go water plants today and
spray “Deer Out’ again. Our rains have stopped for awhile.
This week is really busy with our Priest leaving we have lunches Wednesday and Sunday
for him. Funeral on Friday, lunch with my high school class on Thursday, and 4th Saturday
group dinner with our subdivision. We will eat at home only twice this week!
Jeanne, the shorts look very sweet, and when you finish it all I know it will sell! I hope George is felling better?
Charlotte, I love snapdragons and looking forward to seeing yours. Thinking of you and your anniversary.
Linda, I am so glad you are felling better. Stomach problems are not fun!! Hope you will feel even better tomorrow.
Rosemary, you make me want to get all the pile off of my piano seat and pull out the sheet music.
Wow, Joy! Sounds like you were in a hurricane! I am glad y’all are ok, and you saved the animals!
I have the same problem with my piano. It has been a while since I’ve sat down to play since my back was bothering me. Now it seems it’s not my back any longer so maybe I can get back to it but first I need to remove the stuff that seems to accumulate on the piano bench when I don’t play.
I couldn’t agree more about stretch fabric….I am not a fan of working with it but have used it it for dressy gowns and ballet outfits. Also use it for doll’s underwear and socks, and thigh-high stockings.
Jeanne….I sent you my photos of the horse with the English saddle I made from thin black leather from my old wallet, and the Siblie doll wearing the Equestrian riding outfit, along with photos of the doll in her other outfits to go with this set. My grown daughter loved the set….her hubby videotaped her opening the gifts on his cellphone, and the first thing she said before she took the lid off of the Siblie Doll box was, “Oh….I have my own Siblie Doll!” She will save the set for a possible future Granddaughter she may have someday and my daughter will share her love of horses with her. I told my daughter that if she only has a Grandson, Ruby Red sells a Boy-Siblie doll! By the time her Grandchild would be able to play with a Siblie, I may not be able to sew doll clothes or craft like I do now.
I had dressed the Siblie doll (Sunny) in the riding outfit when boxed and just tucked her purchased outfit into the box. The riding pants, jacket, and black riding hat were all made from separate 18 in. doll patterns which had to be reduced and tweaked a bit to fit the 12 in. Siblie. The tall black riding boots were made from felt with a long back-closure of velcro….all done by hand as I didn’t have leather that was super thin that I could have fed thru my sewing machine.
The cowgirl shirt/vest/skirt/hat and boots were all from a reproduced McCall’s pattern that sold for 35 cents back in the day! Found the pattern online, and it is for a 13 in. doll and only needed a bit of tweaking. I found that chamois cloth worked perfectly for the cowgirl hat and the short boots. The horse-print fabric for the dress was found at Hobby Lobby in the fat quarters section, and the solid resin horse (meant to be a fake wood-carved statue) came from there too. Had to fill-in places with air-dry clay, sand the horse, and painted him. The English saddle had 24 pages of photo instructions and took me two weeks to complete, along with the bridle/reins from yet a different pattern! Made an extra bridle and two lead ropes which are in the closet.
The closet is a converted Daphne’s Diary Advent Calendar which my daughter sent to me and it came as a “buy one/get one free” set. So I used the second one to turn into a wardrobe closet for the Siblie Doll!
I am missing the horse’s “company” as he sat on my work table for the entire time it took to make everything, so I purchased another horse from Hobby Lobby (I believe he was $16.99) and this horse will be painted to look like “Maximus”, the Palace horse from the animated Disney film titled “Tangled”! This film has always been a favorite of mine… for the animation of the horse, the storyline, the actors voices used for the characters. The horse’s actions and antics are so humorous…he really makes the film special. Who knows….I might even be tempted to purchase a blond Siblie someday to make the “Rapunzel-like” long dress!
Wow Elizabeth, you are so clever. Can’t wait to see the photos
Looking forward to seeing all of your pics. That saddle sounds spectacular.
Elizabeth, I am so happy you sent pictures to Jeanne. I am excited to see the result of your careful work. What a lovely gift for your daughter!!!
You are so creative, Elizabeth, and you get so much done. Can’t wait to see the pictures.
Good morning all. It is Tuesday here and Tuesday is coffee morning.
We had an exciting weekend ….. not! Saturday was the Alice Quilt class. Everything was great until just before lunch. Then Sam sewed through her finger. It wasn’t a simple needle through the nail job, Sam doesn’t do simple! The needle broke in three places, in fact it looked as though it had bent and gone back up. Anyway, she had three pieces of needle sticking out of her finger. It was obviously an Accident and Emergency job. We had gone to the class in Sam’s car which I don’t drive. It is considerably bigger than my tiny Suziki Celerio so I am nervous about it. An emergency wasn’t a good time to learn! One of the ladies drove us to the hospital, I did have the presence of mind to pick up our lunch! A&E wait times can be pretty long. ( My DIL had spent 10 hrs there with her mother the day before). However, when we got there we didn’t spend even 5 mins in the waiting area before we were shown to a cubicle. After a while there she got a shot to numb the finger, which Sam said hurt more than the finger. By this time it was 2pm so I ate my lunch but Sam wasn’t allowed to in case she needed surgery. At about 4pm she had an x-ray and fortunately that showed that she didn’t need surgery but the thick part of the needle had gone through the bone. About 4.30 the doctor pulled all three pieces out and the long piece of thread that was in there as well. Then she had to have a tetanus shot and wait for 20 mins to make sure there wasn’t a reaction. In the meantime I had been ringing the family to find someone to take us to the car. Once Sam had the finger dressed and in a splint she felt she would be able to drive OK. Eventually Darren came, I hadn’t been able to talk to him because he was at soccer but he saw my text and rang right away. We made it home at about 5.40pm. The ladies in the class had packed all our stuff up and one lady lives quite close and she took it home with her and dropped it off on Sunday afternoon. Sam isn’t allowed to get the dressing wet so, in the absence of any of her children offering to help, all Sam’s jobs that involve water fall on me.
Then, yesterday, Sam had the report from the University about the testing they had been doing on Asher. She has autism and ADHD. They linked it to trauma which of course was the earthquakes but her father is obviously autistic though he has never been tested. What it means, practically, is that the school can use it to get extra learning support for her. Jono and Kai may also be able to get help for testing from WINZ now. Interestingly, Asher had no difficulty learning to read, unlike her father and Jono wouldn’t have been able to if it wasn’t for the efforts of my friend who worked with him a lot.
I still don’t know what is wrong with my cat. The blood test didn’t show anything obvious so the vet will ring me today, I hope, to tell me where they go from here. she can’t afford to lose any more weight.
Jeanne, the blue shorts look great. I use a lot of jeans when making bags but if they have stretch in them they have to have some kind of iron on interfacing in them. Personally I only own one pair of Jeans and they have shrunk in my wardrobe!!!
Linda, I am so sorry you have been ill, I must have missed that. I hope you are back to normal now.
Have a lovely day everyone, enjoy the spring. Only two weeks to meteorological winter here. UGH, I missed it last year wish I could again.
Wow, what a day you both had. I can’t imagine doing that and how painful it must have been. Very glad that no surgery was required but know it will be very painful for some time. Please tell Sam, how sorry I am and hope that she feels better very soon.
And, getting the diagnosis for Asher, should be so helpful. So many very smart kids have had to struggle on their own, in many cases I’ve seen over the years.
Anne, wonderful but shocking update today. What a week-end. I hope Sam recovers nicely. … just OUCH! It is just not something you expect.
Please give Sam my most sincere best wishes for a quick easy recovery. If she wants to take a shower and not get her hand wet, she can put a plastic bag, like those bread bags you can buy, over her hand and secure with a rubber band. Just for 10 minutes max should be okay if she wants to use her other fingers to wash her hair, when she feels good. It is good to use the other fingers to keep the circulation and muscles going.
I hope the vet was able to communicate with you about your sweet kitty. I hope she perks up. Our Princess, cornish rex kitty, turns 9 tomorrow. She has always been very loud and vocal. Often times while we are on the phone. haha If she gets quiet, I will start worrying. She is probably our last kitty pet. Oh I love kitties dearly, but the loss is always very difficult for us. Just last year, on the 15th we had to say good-bye to our old Miles, our red mackerell tabby cornish rex boy, and it was heart breaking. I hope your kitty has a quick fix up.
Here, two weeks until Summer!!! and it is quite warm today. This Spring has had the wildest swings in temperatures. Later this week, we will need a jacket!
Enjoy the winter.
So sorry to hear about Sam’s stitching her finger. I understand that back in the days of the treadle machines that kind of thing happened often. I know it happened to one of my aunts when she was a teen. I know Sam’s finger has to be really sore but I’m glad she got the matter taken care of.
Okay, I am back right now. Jeanne, I found the courage 😂 to go through some boxes (that are stored in the upstairs bathtub shh don’t tell) and looked for denim. At first, I could not find it…. I knew I had a stash but not sure of the colors… they were in one of the boxes.
So I moved a few boxes one by one, over to the toilet 😆 nope, no denim… then put those back (nearest the faucet, haha) and the second row I removed that stack over, wow, where is that denim?
Then as I was moving all of those boxes back and then grabbing the bags of fabric, one of those hefty storage bags tumbled to the front. denim!!!
I found white. I will mail it to you.
Love, Rosemary
Well, that was my laugh for the day! Denim found at last. But, the best is the bathtub storage. That is the one place that I haven’t thought of to store things. Humm Maybe doll boxes can go there?? That is if other person doesn’t discovers them.
Oh Joy, it is kind of embarrassing. 😳 When daughter came to visit, she slept down stairs nice and cozy next to the piano, and used the down stairs full bath.
She did go upstairs and look at the upstairs bathroom and complimented me on the cuteness! I did not ask her to look behind the Shabby Chic pink roses curtain (Target a zillion years ago in the sale pile) It is neat and tidy on one side, the far end from the faucet is a jumble of bags. Oh gosh. Just stuff.