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It's a Girl!!

3/30/2016

Our newest little granddaughter, Emily Marie, made her way into the world at 3:09 am, early this morning, weighing 7 pounds, 6 ounces. She was scheduled for a C-section delivery this coming Friday, but she had other ideas. My daughter had been to the hospital several times in the past two weeks, thinking she was going into labour, but this time it was the real deal.

So, a big welcome to our newest little family member Emily Marie.....

I can't wait to see her, but it's a 400 km drive (each way), which is a bit long for a quick hospital visit, so we are waiting until Mom and daughter are sent home. Probably in a few days..

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Beads and Fringe

3/28/2016

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The native regalia is coming along nicely, although a bit slower than I'd like. Chamois can be challenging to work with. When it gets wet it can lose it's shape, and shrink. Which it did. So I've had to sew small extensions for the back of the jacket, in order to sew snaps onto, since the two sides don't overlap anymore. But that's probably a good thing, since a fabric extension will be less bulky. Most of the decorative beading is now done - except for about an inch away from any seams, since my machine won't like sewing over beads. All the fringe has been cut as well, although it still needs to be stained and crinkled to make it look more authentically 'aged'. The jacket may also need some adjustment under the arms, but I'm waiting for the under-dress to be finished first, so I can check to make sure. So I'm waiting to sew the underarm seams....

The painted sections have all crackled now, which was to be expected. The paint doesn't seem to be absorbed into the surface, but sits on top, and like all leather, the chamois stretches a bit. So all the painted areas end up crackled. But that only adds to the authentic look.

I'm working on the beading along the bottom of the skirt. I had to trim the skirt a bit since it became a bit deformed when I wet it when adding the stain. The bodice also shrank too much, so wouldn't overlap anymore, so it has a fabric extension - which won't show when the dress is put on.

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Easter Baskets

3/26/2016

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It was just Natalya this morning, as the other two girls are away on holidays. So we did some Easter art and crafts, and then her doll and mine had fun filling Easter baskets for their friends...

Natalya wanted a picture of her bunny and chick she had coloured at home...

Those little chicks get everywhere!

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Hunting for Easter Eggs

3/25/2016

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Well, this has to be a first.....it's time for the annual Easter Egg Hunt outside,
but everything is covered in a layer of snow and ice...

"How are we supposed to find the eggs under this?"

But Coco has come prepared with a shovel....

"This should help us dig through the ice, to find the eggs..."

So he started digging, and soon had a basket full of chocolate eggs and bunnies....

"Wow! Can you help us find eggs too?"

So Coco kept digging, and filled Ringo's basket....

Soon everyone had a basket full of chocolate eggs and bunnies...

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More Snow!

3/24/2016

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Well, the storm they've been forecasting all week, finally arrived in the night.
First a layer of snow, and then freezing rain all day.

"What ever happened to Spring??"

"I sure hope the Easter Bunny is still going to come!"

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Starting to Paint

3/22/2016

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Got out the plastic tablecloth, chose the paint colours I want to use, and I've started to paint the top for the native ensemble. The chamois is way too pale, so I've added the first layer of 'aging'. More will be added later once I see how it dries. (the pale unpainted triangles on the right are the natural light colour of the chamois) So far I've worked in some diluted light brown and yellow ochre.

The main colour scheme will be turquoise this time. Here's a closer look....

There's still many hours of painting ahead.

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Working with Chamois

3/21/2016

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I have no idea what kinds of chemicals are used in making chamois, so I thought I should make Lily some 'long underwear' to protect her resin. I've never worried about it before, but then my own dolls only ever wore their native outfits for short periods of time. The Lily who will be wearing this new costume will most likely be wearing it forever. So I made some tights and a long-sleeve top.

Working with chamois is challenging. I can't pin it, so I thought maybe I'd glue the seam allowances of the chamois top and cotton lining together with a glue stick. It worked great!

Sewing is also a bit of a challenge. My machine didn't like it if I tried to sew with the chamois on top - it would skip stitches. So I had to turn it over and sew with the lining on top, and a sheet of paper underneath. That worked quite well. The darts in the chamois bodice will need to be sewn by hand.

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First Day of Spring

3/20/2016

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Today is officially the first day of Spring, but even though it's nice and sunny, it's still very cold. In fact there's snow in the forecast for several days this coming week. Anyway, some of the girls wanted to go out and enjoy the sunshine down by the lake. With the temperature right at freezing, and the wind blowing off the lake, it was bitterly cold out there. I should have remembered to put their mittens on, but they had a good time anyway.

It was Nyssa's first chance to try out her new sweater and hat...

Holly picked some pussy willows....

...and Nami had fun with her puppies....

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This and That

3/18/2016

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After an uninspiring start to the week, I've got my act back together, and am now in the process of working on several things. I'm refreshing an old doll buggy that belonged to my daughter, and she'd like to have it so Elliot can have a place for his own baby doll when his little sister arrives. The buggy will go to his sister eventually, but for now he'll be able to play with it.

But the buggy was rather dusty and the fabric was stained, so I removed it all, picked off the limp bows, and lace, and washed it. I also washed 30 years of dust and grime off the buggy itself. So now I'm ready to sew the fabric hood back on.

But working on the buggy reminded me that I have a lovely little woven doll bed I bought at a doll show many years ago. I had wanted it turned into a doll-size baby buggy, and now might be the perfect time.

The native outfit for Lily is going so slowly that it's almost not moving at all. I did finally make the test bodice for the dress, and we did go to Canadian Tire for a new piece of chamois, since the pieces I had in stock were not big enough to make the entire outfit.

So, from car care to native wear...here's Lily with the chamois for her native regalia....

I'm also in the process of finishing off some incomplete BID outfits for my smallest dolls. I find I'm losing my ability to make snap colour choices, and am constantly having to remake things to look better. So today I need to cut out yet another little doll jumper.

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One Dance

3/16/2016

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I had all my JIDs dressed and ready for a series of Masquerade photos. There was going to be food and dancing. But then nothing wanted to work out. I don't have a suitably 'elegant' interior, and the lighting wasn't working at all. I took a few group photos on the weekend, when it was cloudy outside, but then the sun came out, and the curtains had to be drawn, which made the entire scene way too "peachy". I tried to fix it in Photoshop, but was only partially successful. Something about the way the colours were playing off each other just wasn't working. So I cancelled the party.

Owen and Leona did manage one dance though, before I decided to call it quits.....

So I've decided to postpone the Masquerade Party until some time in late summer,
when it can be held outside in the garden. Hopefully, that will work better.

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