School starts August 17th!
I’m not going, but my daughter’s starting kindergarten this year. And after a summer of hardly getting anything done, am feel very ready to get back to work.

Right now, all the smocked dresses currently in my Etsy shop are marked down. This sale runs through Sunday, August 16th, or while they last. This applies to in-stock only and does not apply to new orders.

Which brings me to the Back to Work part…

I think it’s probably been about a year since I seriously took on commissioned work. I got really stressed out about having so many outstanding promises, and that, along with the feeling I didn’t have time to experiment, helped me get burnt out on the work.

Still, I loved taking commissions, meeting new doll-lovers, and planning these dresses with you. I loved knowing that what I was working on was something that someone really wanted. I’ve missed it.

So if there’s something you want from me, whether it’s a smocked dress for Blythe or Lati, a pattern you’d like to see, or something else you think I could do for you, email me at susan402 at gmail dot com and let’s talk about it.

Dana’s Smocked Dress

Originally uploaded by susan402

I’m really happy with the way this came out. I think I’ve just about got the pattern the way I want it now.

I don’t think I’ve got any plans to make more just now, so for the time being, this size/style is by request.

Yesterday was about cleaning up and spending some time at the pool. So in the evening, all that got done was taking new pictures of the dresses I finished last week and getting those listed on Etsy.

DH is building our daughter a playhouse for her birthday. Last night he informed me that it would be ready for painting to start after the weekend, so paint shopping this weekend and I’ll probably have to get started on that in earnest this coming week.

This was all I got done today. Smocking for Lati Green is a bit more than I’m used to. Little Blythe has me spoiled. I think I’ve got blisters!

Dresses cut for Blythe

Originally uploaded by susan402

Late last night I got the pieces cut out for the 7 Blythe dresses I’ve been working on. But come this morning, I didn’t really want to work on those.

So instead, I decided to tackle a pattern for Dana, my Lati Green. One thing I wanted to try was a duct tape dressform. The doll is covered with plastic from a grocery bag, then that is covered in strips of duct tape. The form is cut up the back, taped back together, and stuffed. Then it becomes a pinable dressform.

I knew that I’d need to keep the tape wrapped tightly and use as few layers as possible, so as not to add a of bulk. On a person, that’s not such a big deal, but on a doll, a few layers of tape add up. I finished the form, draped a bodice sloper, sewed that in muslin, and tried it on the real body. And found I had an extra inch in circumference. The vertical measurements were not as far off. It was fairly easy to fix the sloper and I think it was easier to do than flat-pattern drafting from a bunch of measurements, and easier than taping fabric to the doll. But it shows that a duct tape dressform can’t substitute for having the actual doll as a model.

So anyway, I went from the sloper directly into working on the smocked dress pattern. The picture is the first draft. Even though there are problems with it, and changes to be made, I’m pretty happy with it because the fit is good, and the changes are about proportion: bigger collar, longer front yoke, shorter smocked section…

And Dana’s pleased to have me working on something for her for a change.

I had intended to post some progress sooner. But I was waylaid by a giant sackful of green beans.

Still, our Independence Day weekend, though very busy, turned out to afford me a fair amount of smocking time. I finished up the backsmocking on these last night. (Backsmocking is a row or rows of cable stitch worked on the back of the piece to hold the pleats together if the design on the front isn’t dense enough to do the job.)

Briar (DD almost 5) and I had ourselves a girls day out shopping trip on Friday. In addition to hitting a bunch of fabric stores and spending some time at Chuck E Cheese’s, we also finally got to the Dollhouse and Minatures Shop when it was opened. We ended up ordering the Aster Cottage kit and hope to get that at the beginning of next week.

I need to have a cut-out day to get the rest of the pieces for these, then it’s on to collars and cuffs…

Now that the Spring’s Final Frost dresses are finished, off my table and my conscience, I’ve got a handful of solid color dresses to do: a spider theme by request, 2 beaded for a trade that I’m very excited about, and 4 more beaded just because I feel like it.

But I do manage a few comms on LJ, and I’ve noticed that I have a serious preference for my LJ client.  Even if I have LJ open, if I remember something I need to post, out comes the client.

So I thought: If I had a client for this blog, maybe I would at least think to give shop updates?? 
Hence the test.

In other news, in my last post here, at the end of December, I had just ordered DoD’s DoC Petsha.  I got her shipping notice yesterday, which was day 99 of the wait.  I’m hoping she’ll be here on Thursday.  Pics will most certainly appear on my Flickr, at least.

No more new dolls for me in the meantime, though my wishlist grows. Currently obsessed with Mature Minis.  One of each, please.

New in the Etsy Shop today, a quartet of smocked spring sundresses in butterfly motifs in pink, blue, green, and yellow.  Currently working on another set in similar fabrics, but with collars, sleeves, and extra embroidery.  I hope to have those out next week.

Thanks to Christmas funds received and marked specifically for these doll puchases, I just ordered Petsha (lower right).  I’ve also go funds for two of the three JamieDolls in this pic, but they have to wait until until the next restock.

Petsha is supposed to take 5 weeks, but I stopped in to the DoC Waiting Room at DoA and found I should expect more like 11-12 weeks.

Although it was kind of sad, not waiting for anything, I was pretty well resigned to my dolly diet.  Now I can just feel the irresistible pull of dolly avarice overtaking me.

I spent a tremendous part of yesterday looking at wigs and eyes.  I’m looking for long black wigs with loose curls for these girls, and violet eyes.  I think Petsha’s name will be Sigrid.  Other names I’m toying with are Annika, Anya, Katrina, and Katerina…

Anyway, the here’s the link for the new page for Lati Yellow Patterns, and both .pdf and printed versions are also listed in my Etsy shop.

I’m not sure what to do next or what doll I want to work with, but I have some ideas.

This week is getting more complicated.  I had managed to get myself out of most all holiday meal preparation, as my brother was coming for a visit and I didn’t want to ask him to spend any real time at our house because of our cats.  He was supposed to arrive last night, but now seems to be snowed in until the 26th.  So though Santa will come on his schedule, the rest of our Christmas is a bit on hold, and I will probably have company at my house for Christmas Day.  I think that will require to me to do at least two meals.

I think I’d better get myself off to the grocery store.