One outfit on three dolls

Alice Cherry Blossom, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

I made a little romper. It'll go on etsy soon. It's a little loose in the legs on Alice Cherry Blossom (the piggy) but it fits Ringo and Puki Fee Ante perfectly!
 

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays to all who read!  I wish you all the best this season!  Look who was a perfect little poser this morning!

Sewing for Real Dolls

Olivia is growing!  She's 7 months old and about 15 pounds.  I made her some overalls today from a KwikSew pattern.  The KwikSew book of basics for babies is great.  The patterns are easy to follow and simple enough to allow customization however you want!

In other news, I plan on restocking my etsy shop in January.  I have two items done already and more cut out and ready to sew.  I don't imagine it will be an enormous number of outfits, but do keep an eye here for the announcement that the shop is stocked and possibly some sneak peaks as I get a chance to photograph the outfits already completed.

New look

Dollmore Monadoll Mong-a, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

I redressed and rewigged Dollmore's Mong-a. She looks pretty in just about anything!

Andrew

Andrew, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

I had a few minutes the other morning while Olivia was napping to finish up this pair of overalls. The doll is actually my Anne of Green Gables, rewigged as a boy.

Cassie by Helen Kish

Cassie by Helen Kish, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

Finally, I had a minute to photograph this! Cassie is wearing a hankie dress that is made from instructions from Sissy Lingle.  Now I have to make one more outfit for the last of my Beach Girls, Buffy, and I will have everyone redressed.

Getting bigger!

Same outfit, same baby--she just barely fits in it anymore!  She's up to 10 pounds at this point.  She's doing great!

I'm still not finding much crafting time (no surprise) but I have a hankie dress in the works that is handsewn and I find a few minutes every few days to make a little more of it!  It will fit one of the Kish Beach Girls when it's finished.

Meet Miss Olivia Wren

Well, my long term craft project decided to be ready three weeks earlier than expected!  This is my Miss Olivia Wren, born May 3rd.  She's wearing the last craft project I'll have time for for a while, I think!  The bloomers are from a pattern by See Kate Sew, and the little onesie is embroidered with a motif from Aimee Ray's Doodle Stitching Motif Collection.   Miss Olivia is now almost four weeks old and we are getting along well.  She's growing fast, which is good because she was teeny when she was born (only 5 pounds 9 oz).  Hopefully I will have time for craft projects and doll projects as she takes longer naps!

New Chicken Run in Progress

New Chicken Run in Progress, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

Not a very exciting photo, but this is an exciting project! We have been having a new run built for the chickens. My fantastic construction guy is building this to match the duck run with the change that the chicken run will have a solid cement floor to prevent any burrowing animals from getting in (like sneaky minks and weasels). I will finally be able to have some comfort that nothing will eat the girls if they are in here while I am out. As the construction guy said, if something gets into this run when he's done there was no way anyone could have stopped it! It is being lined with hardware cloth (1/2"). I will put sand down in there to keep the girls' feet comfortable and give them something to dust in (I will likely put an actual deeper sand box at one end) and roosts will be added in the corners for them to sit up on. It should be done by next Wednesday or Thursday. I'm so glad to be able to have this done!  The chicken girls turned four a few weeks ago.  They are laying really well for being older ladies. They make an average of 6-7 eggs per day from the 10 girls.

A closeup of the cement floor:



Spring appears to have finally arrived around here, after a lot of cold weather!  I will have a new spring arrival in about a month; more about that later!  Spring is the best time of the year!

Primroses:



Daffodils:











Hyacinth:

Heartstring Jackie - My Birthday Doll

Jackie Closeup, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

This little girl is only 8" tall and is a Dianna Effner sculpt for Jo Flitton's doll shop. She is "Simply Jackie with Green Eyes" and arrived several weeks ago as a birthday gift. I haven't had time to photograph her till now! She is wearing a crocheted dress made by my friend Monique several years ago for Riley and Friends.

Dollmore Mona Doll

Mong-a, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

This is "I am Mong-a" from Dollmore, in her originals. She's resin, has blue glass eyes and a blond mohair wig. She is jointed more like one of my vinyl dolls: at the neck, shoulders and hips rather than knees and elbows. I am looking forward to seeing who she will share clothes with and making her some of her own!

Beach Girl Patty by Helen Kish

Patty - Portrait View, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

This is Patty, one of the Beach Girls by Helen Kish. I have had Betsy for years and recently was able to purchase Patty and Cassie. I'm still looking for Buffy. I redressed Patty in a dress I made just for her last weekend from a Rosemary Ionker pattern.

Cute Giggler

Cute Giggler, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

Little Miss Bobbin has claimed the small birdcage in the craft room as her home! She is wearing a little knit dress from MyHeartforCrochet on Etsy. It's beautifully made and I love the little pointed hat!

A new little dress

Mia's Babydoll from Dollmore, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

This little one got a new dress last weekend. It still needs the snaps sewed on on in the back!

Playing with Toys

Playing with Toys, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

What to do on a cold winter's day? Play with a castle playset, of course! Iplehouse Nami and Byuri are pictured playing with a Playmobil micro set.

Rachel by Helen Kish

Rachel by Helen Kish, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

I have had this beautiful girl for a full year and have not photographed her yet! She needs a different outfit, too, because it's way too cold around here for a sundress.

This is Rachel and she's 16" tall and joined my Classic Kish collection with Four Seasons Fall, Basic Brunette Jo, and Kathy. Rachel came wearing Jo's dress.  My Jo is wearing blond Jo's dress and came that way, so it appears that no one around here has their originals!  There's a full view of Rachel on my Flickr account (click through this photo).

Sunrise in January

Sunrise in January, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

This photo does not fully capture the sky's color. This was this past Thursday, Jan. 24th at about 7 AM. It was 0 degrees but I still grabbed the camera!

Anza is silly

Anza is silly, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

Just a goofy photo to brighten your day!

Princess Gives Me a LOOK

Princess, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

Princess said she wasn't so sure she wanted her photo done! I took this yesterday. She is doing very well and is quite happy that Edward is her new boyfriend. Status in male ducks is apparently conferred by the status of their lady friends, I think. Eddie went from being second-lowest to being the most dominant male duck because Princess is his girlfriend and she is the most dominant female.

Janie in her Christmas Swap Dress

Janie in Christmas Dress, a photo by elizabeth's*whimsies on Flickr.

Janie is wearing a dress we received in a swap from Sandy on the Our Little Darlings Yahoo Group. It's beautifully made by Judy LaManna and has a dress, pinafore, petticoat and undies! Sandy also gave me some candy (already eaten!), a gingerbread man in a stocking and a lovely bar of scented soap from Colonial Williamsburg. Lots of fun!

 

In other news, there has been a lot of quiet on the blog lately because I have had no sewing time!  I have been spending every free minute making my duck run completely covered in hardware cloth and with no gaps greater than 1/2" in diameter.  There was an incident involving a mink (during the day, while we were home) that I am still not feeling up to discussing.  There are seven remaining ducks and the chickens have been on lock-down inside their coop with only supervised run time since Dec. 14 when it happened.   A completely mink/weasel proof chicken run is in the works for the spring, but until then we are making  do with what we have and being very careful.  I cannot catch the mink in my havahart but I'm still trying.  It has been a bad year for predators around here.