Kona Coffee Festival - T Shirt and Board Shorts

Just a quick little post. Here is Reilly in a little tee shirt (dipped in coffee to give it just the right hue.... okay and a bit of brown food coloring too) So she's all set for the Kona Coffee Festival on the Big Island in November :D

The T Shirt pattern is free from Liberty Jane here

And the board shorts she's wearing are an augmentation of the fabulous Eva pants pattern here

This pants pattern is wonderful and I've used it on numerous occasions. The pattern comes with a shorts option which is very good but didn't look right for board shorts. I simply cut out both the pants an shorts pattern and used the pants pattern but folded it to match the length of the shorts. You can simply place the shorts piece over the pants piece and match them up at the top, then draw a line where the bottom of the shorts end on the pants piece. Cut it off the bottom bit if you only want board shorts or simply fold it on the line and use the pattern that way so you can unfold it later to use for making the pants (which as I said are awesome).  Happy Trails :)

The Lost Posts... and a new Beret Pattern

Okay so I knew it had been a long time since I last posted, I didn't realize it had been about a year. If anyone is still following my blog they may well have noticed that my posts became less and less frequent after I moved to Texas. The reason is this, after a couple of months in the state, my health began to tank, in small ways at first but then things became much more noticeable and debilitating as time went on. It became just too difficult to keep up with even the things I loved. As it turns out I cannot handle the pollutants in a big city. If I hadn't grown up in the wilderness of Alaska I probably would have discovered this long ago. I had visited many places but had never stayed more than a month so I had no idea that I would react so badly.

Anyway, suffice it to say I couldn't stay in Austin Texas knowing what I now know. My husband and I now live on the Big Island of Hawaii and I seem to be slowly recovering tho I still have my bad days I hope to return to some state of good health soon. Anyone inclined to prayer if you would be willing to pray for me (if that's alright to ask) please will you do so. I may never get back to where I was but I hope to at least be functional and (hopefully) a more frequent poster about the things that I love.

And now on to more fun things... this is Reilly

She's a sweet little American Girl doll I bought used on Ebay. I thought at the time that I as buying a girl with the Josephinea face mold, but realized that she is instead the rare Marie Grace mold (the face only ever used on the Marie Grace doll). I was very pleased, she has many of the features I like on the Josephinea mold but excludes some of the things I don't care for as much. You cant see it very well in this pic but she has her right hand partially chewed by dog (I'm assuming) and is missing two fingers (hence the name Reilly - for Radar O'reilly the character on the TV series MASH, the actor who played him had truncated fingers as well) She also has a small nick on her upper and lower lip on the right side. I got a very good price from her because of these little things. I don't mind her hand being different at all. I might try the 'dip in boiling water' method on the hand to reduce the chew marks on the remaining fingers... but the missing two... nah, her being differently abled is just fine. This outfit I made in anticipation of her arrival and I was just finishing her dress when she came to me.

And this is what she looks like now...

I repainted her lips and glossed them (covering the nick on the bottom lip) and I gave her freckles and a tiny mole (just on the right above the lip, hiding the other nick. Oh yes, and I pierced her ears. So far I'm quite pleased with her. I've yet to try boiling her hand but I think I've done enough for now.

And for anyone who is interested in the beret...

It's available here. Stay warm everybody! :)

Fall Holidays...

Just a quick little check in. Here's all my Makie (and faux Makie) kids hanging out for the season...

And this lovely little outfit was a gift from Eliana Blanco from my Just Icy group on Facebook! So generous and so gorgeous! I knew about the suitcase but the dress and pin were a total surprise. And the colors and style of it suit Bronwyn beautifully!

And lastly my new Icy girl Dulcinea.

 To customize her I bought the darkest bod I could find on Blythe Holmes and painted the Icy head with Rustoleum Painter's Touch 2X Ultra Cover Paint and Primer in Khaki. She's my 2nd dark skinned doll since Cheri and I'm pretty pleased with her. :D

A Maxi Dress Pattern for Blythe (and Makies too)

It's taken some time to finish the PDF but I finally have the maxi dress pattern sized to fit both Blythe (and of course any doll with the original Blythe-body type: Icy, Jecci Five, Factory girls etc... and of course Makie girl dolls. Here is my beautiful Bronwyn modeling the results...

If anyone is interested the buyer has permission to sell finished items made from this pattern. The pattern is available for sale at Craftsy or if you prefer Etsy.

Just a little Dolly Love...

Posting a few photos of the Makie crowd, I've made two more dolls Nanala (blond) which is Hawaiian for sunflower and Huey (based on huey Freeman from Boondocks).

Nanala is up for sale on my Etsy tho Huey will be staying with us for a bit...

Beatrix got a refreshed faceup with a more permanent lip color, you can see how pleased she is to have a brother now. :)

And a few shots of a gorgeous fabric I found...

Moonyeen eagerly wanted to model this one. I liked it so much I wanted to create a summer dress out of it as well and this is what I came up with...

I love the little cap sleeves and the ruffled bottom, I was going for a vintage look and I think I achieved it :) Both dresses are up for sale at my Etsy... tho I think Moonyeen will insist that I make another one of these just for her.

Bronwyn's Coming out Party

I finished Bronwyn's faceup and made her a new outfit. She knew exactly what she wanted and was very particular (with one's going to take some work keeping her happy I think). Now I just need the right pull charm for her. I'm really pleased with how she turned out. I took some pictures of her by the Evening Primrose which is still in bloom here. If anyone is interested in the pattern for the coat to make their own, it is available at my Etsy or if you prefer Craftsy.

My First Icy

My Icy girl from Blythe Homes came in last night (yes I bought an Icy). I've never owned an Icy before and I wasn't sure I would like her but she's just so adorable. The first pic is her in the little orange dress she came with. When I saw the blue bag she was in I thought that they'd messed up and given me a boy. Her quality is just astounding, well worth it, and beyond what I expected for the just under $20 price tag. Her hair is so fine and soft and there were no funny chemical smells to speak of. I'm so pleased. She told me her name was Bronwyn, I thought she was mistaken as it didn't seem to go with the pink/blond hair but she insisted. She's also started requesting what sort of clothes she'd like to wear. Seems she wants a more British look and has a light interest in steampunk, I guess I'd better get on that. She came with a pull that says Angela, I wonder if they all come with a pull like that? Guess I better educate myself. I know they are supposed to be a bit of a Blythe knock off but honestly (other than body type and eyes changing color) she really seems to be her own girl. Very pleased :D The second pic is her on one of the dresses I've made for spring.