Renee, Are You There?

I had a nice comment from Renee on my last post and I want to respond to her. There was no link to her, so Renee, I hope you are reading! I think your plans for your daughter's doll sound great! The American Girl dolls are very cute, but not neccessary to the fun of having a companion doll because, as you said, they are very expensive! Your doll will terrific after you make her some new clothes. If you have a Hancock Fabrics near you, you probably know that almost every weekend they have sewing patterns on sale for .99. Usually just one brand at a time, McCall's or Simplicity or Butterick. It doesn't really matter because they all have patterns for 18" dolls. So that is your quickest option. Pick the simplest pattern and have fun with it!

Another way to go is The Doll's Dressmaker by Venus Dodge. This is a fabulous book! It is out of print so your options for getting it are more limited. This book has so much good information and so many great ideas. With this book, you won't need to buy patterns anymore for doll clothes. Now, if you are somewhat new to sewing, you will need to be patient and do exactly as the book says as far as getting the patterns to fit your doll, but once you've done that, you can use your pattern again and again.

I hope you will write to me (bettsi_mccombATyahooDOTcom) if you have any further questions. I'm happy to help and I'm jealous! My daughter grew up too fast and she was never much into dolls anyway. Grandchildren seem like a long ways away too! Good luck!

Apple Blossoms and...

cherry blossoms and daffodils! All of these lovelies have burst into bloom this weekend. So glorious! Daffodils were my mother's favorite flower and at her memorial, we gave everyone a bulb to take home and plant in her memory. The ones we have planted have not opened...yet! But I know they're going to! The daffodil is also the flower of the tenth wedding anniversary which Earl and I will be celebrating this April. I figure that my daffodils are just trying to accomodate our special day! I hope that wherever you are, something is blossoming. It makes Spring feel like just a breath away.

What a busy three day weekend! Saturday I had a great time thrifting with Carmen. We have a Stanford Home Thrift and Treasure near us and on Saturday mornings, everything is 50% off! Picked up lots of goodies for selling on ebay. So far I've only listed the boxed set of The Chronicles of Narnia, but I have plenty more to list. There is a hand embroidered tablecloth that is to die for- it is so pretty and minty fresh. I can't wait to list it! I did keep these 70's pillowcases for us though:

Oh my! So pretty we need to get a closer look!

Sunday was all about housecleaning for humans and dressmaking for Hitty. I set the timer for 15 minute increments and would spend two increments cleaning in one zone and then 15 minutes working on this dress for Hitty:

I love it so much! I have lots more of this rosebud print and I'm thinking about putting together little kits with the fabric and my pattern and making them available for sale. The other bonus at the end of Sunday was having a clean living room to relax in. I set up some candles on the coffee table (one in a thrifted vase) and found that my candles were just as cozy and tranquil as any fireplace! Not having a fireplace has been a huge regret for me in this house, but not anymore. It was a lovely discovery! I just wish my photo could have captured the ambience.

Monday was the most exhausting day! I bet you thought my bathroom was fixed, didn't you? Nope. Since December we've been having baths only in our bathroom. We are finally closing in on a shower. After replacing so much drywall, we had some serious texture issues in there! I did a wall treatment I saw on Decorating Cents and I'm okay with the result. In a few years we'll have the money for a real re-do, but until then, this will work. It kind of looks like a bruise, huh?

I am feeling good, which has not been the case so much lately. I just wanted to let you know that! I hope you are feeling good too!

Popping in for a quick Hello!

Hi Friends! I made a purse! I woke up a few weeks ago at 3 in the morning and couldn't get back to sleep. While laying there, this little "rock band" popped into my head and demanded to be born! Once they were done, they needed a project in which to showcase them. So, voila! My version of a rock band. This purse makes me happy when I look at it AND it's big enough to hold all my stuff, but not so big that it looks more tote than purse. You know what I mean? This weekend I also worked on my compo doll refurb. I made friends with the Dremel that Earl bought for me last Christmas (or was it 2004?). Anyway, now I'm hooked! What a great tool! I'm so glad I removed all the old paint. Once it was gone, I found some flaws in the actual composition that I wouldn't have found otherwise so now I can fix them and soon I'll be priming and painting. Sorry if the photo creeps anyone out. She sure is going to be pretty when she's done!

Also, I went thrifting this weekend and found some cute aprons that I now have listed on ebay.

School has been fun, but strangely hard. I took College Composition 26(!) years ago when I was fresh out of high school and got an "A" in it. I don't remember it being so hard! I think I'm just getting old, but I must admit it has been a great experience.

I've been missing Bloglandia. I read blogs on Sunday until my eyes burned! And I'm still not caught up! But I have to say, it's been very good to focus on accomplishing some things and I can't do that if I'm hooked to my computer all the time! Hope everyone is well- have a marvelous day!