Meet Ellie!

Meet Ellie, short for Elena. I really thought about giving her a Chinese or Korean name, but I am pretty sure I wouldn't pronounce it right, and my hearing loss makes it hard for me to learn pronunciations.

I am so happy with her! She came wearing this all-blue outfit (I added the shoes) and I am a sucker for dolls dressed in blue. She has the newer style of bangs. That makes me happy, because Anne has pie bangs, and this differentiates them in addition to their mold.

She has a dot under one eye, and I am calling it a birth mark.

Her hair is a little dry, but I will fix that as soon as I find my braid spray. I like the wave that her hair has. I love her!

Renaissance dress, part 2

I finally finished reworking this skirt so that it fits better! What a big relief!

You can see my post about sewing this outfit here.

Happy Election Day!

Happy Election Day!

Everyone who qualifies, get out there and vote!

Here are some pictures of a new doll quilt I made with 1930s repro fabrics. Very American!

Zia likes the quilt!

New American Girl Simplicity patterns!

Sorry I haven't been posting. My laptop is broken, so that is a pretty significant problem in updating the blog.


American Girl brand is releasing new patterns through Simplicity! Yay!

Pattern 8281 has pajamas!  I am so happy for the pajamas! I have been saying that there are few doll pajama patterns out there that I like. The robe with the cat ears are adorable!

 Pattern 8282 has really cute separates!

This one, 8280, has really cute holiday clothes! Squee!

The holiday clothes pattern has matching patterns for girls. This is a new idea and I think it's great. I would have loved matching clothes with my doll as a kid. I drooled over the girl-sized Felicity and Samantha dresses.

Keeper's Dolly Duds is also coming out with a pattern for '60s doll clothes, and it's amazing.
This release is a solid win for American Girl!

Thanks to Nethilia at American Girl Outsider for finding out about these patterns!

Patterns for Sewing Doll Costumes

I thought it would be fun to do a list of patterns of costumes that your doll can wear to cons, for Halloween, costume parties, or other fun events!

This is not going to be a complete list, because that could go on forever!
Instead, it's a list of patterns that I really like!

Sewing Native American Doll Clothes

Sewing for Kaya is very difficult. Respect needs to be shown for Kaya's Nimiipuu tribe. They are a real people with history and culture. You cannot just sew a lot of fringe on something and call it Native. The tribal clothing has meaning.

Respect, respect, respect. I can't repeat this too many times.

Different tribes have different attitudes towards their clothing. Some tribes are happy to show others how to make non-ceremonial clothing.

Other tribes consider their clothing to be sacred. Therefore, it is considered blasphemous for someone not of that tribe to wear or manufacture their clothing.

Moreover, it is illegal under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act to market anything, such as a pattern, an outfit or other craft, with the name of a specific tribe unless you have permission from the tribe to do so.

Product Review: Our Generation It Seams Perfect

One of my favorite Our Generation sets is It Seams Perfect. A doll sized sewing machine! Yay!

This is a much more affordable set than Isabelle's Sewing Studio, AND it doesn't take up so much space.