Month: May 2009

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Choosing fabrics

I’ve been doing a little fabric audition for “Emily and Edwin”. I pulled out all the fabrics I had that I thought might be a good fit. Right now, I’m leaning toward the ones above because, to me, they have a circus feel, which works well with the elephant idea.

Earlier today, I was leaning toward the combination above. I did a sketch of how I thought they’d be assembled, a polka dot ruffle underneath the gingham skirt, with an embroidered white apron on top, maybe a decorative ribbon on the apron as well.

Then there was the plain and simple look, with a solid green over skirt and a subdued purple underskirt that matched Edwin the Elephant’s base. Decisions.

I ran out to mow our field of dandelions this morning. There’s a country wedding out here today, and that wouldn’t do for a backdrop. No, not my wedding, although that would be a funny story if I ran out to mow a field before the ceremony!

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Beatrice Bunny’s dress is finished!

Beatrice is finally clothed and Beulah is happily nestled in her pocket.

I was just about to take these photos today, when it started to rain cats and dogs. I got lucky and it stopped before the light outside disappeared.

We are so happy with how Beatrice and Beulah turned out, and the dress suits them just right. It’s so nice when something comes together just the way you’d like it to.

There’s even an opening for her fluffy tail to peek out.

I’m still loving those big feet.

I’m determined to finish up at least one more dress before these new dolls go up for adoption, but I will be sure to let everyone know when they are up on the Ruffing’s site. In the meantime, more photos of Beatrice and Beulah can be seen in this bunny rabbit set on Flickr.

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Trying out some new feet

Beulah Bunny, original miniature bunny rabbit art doll by Max BaileyI’ve been trying out some new presser feet for my sewing machine. That’s little Beulah Bunny, enjoying her new apron pocket. Husqvarna Viking keeps coming out with new, clear versions of their presser feet, which make certain tasks a lot easier. So far, I have their Clear B Edge Stitching Foot, (below left), and their Clear Open Toe Foot, (below right).

Clear edge stitching presser foot, clear open toe presser footThe Clear B Edge Stitching Foot helps guide you along edges while you do decorative stitching. The Open Toe Foot is great for machine appliqué stitching, because you can see where you are going, when you are following a raw edge or a line. Both have a tunnel on the underside to allow the bulk of your decorative stitching to slide through without jamming anything up.

Using a clear edge stitching foot to sew along the edge of a pocketI used a chalk pencil to mark a straight line on my fabric, when I was putting my decorative stitching on my apron pocket. Then I used the Edge Stitching Foot to follow my line. That kept my decorative stitching nice and straight.

Happy Memorial Day to everyone!

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Hug Me! Kitty

Meet Darla, my new black and white, tuxedo “Hug Me! Kitty”. I took a little sewing detour to play around with my pattern designs and came up with a kitty. That doesn’t seem too surprising, huh? Lots of cats.

I like her curly appliquéd tail.

She’ll be ready to give someone a hug over in my Etsy shop soon.

I’m still sewing doll clothes. I stopped to make some blueberry apple muffins though. They were about to be blueberry muffins until I discovered I didn’t have a whole cup of blueberries. A happy short-coming though. The combination worked out nicely. I made them from the same buttermilk muffin recipe I usually use, and added a teaspoon of freshly grated orange zest. I also substituted some plain yogurt plus some milk for buttermilk, since I was also out of buttermilk, trying to get it to about the same consistency. That worked out fine too, but it must be time to go food shopping again!

I hope you have a great Memorial Day weekend, everyone!