I'm back to cutting chain-mail for a costume for another one of my dolls. This time it's for an MSD-size Celtic Maiden. Instead of knit silver crochet thread, this one will get the real thing. I'm getting better at understanding the chain-mail, and how it works. The cut-off fingers are uneven at the tops and bottoms, and I tried reusing the cut-off links to fill in the spaces. I did manage to get the links into position, but there was no strength to the closed links - they just came off again. I thought I'd have to learn to solder, but the thought of soldering every tiny ring seemed overwhelming. In my online research I discovered many people had no problems making chain-mail without soldering the rings, but they were using new rings which had been cut with a saw, and so had flat blunt ends. Then it dawned on me - the rings I had cut off the glove had sharp pointed ends - not flat butted ends - so it was super easy for them to unlock from each other. I looked in my stash for similar-size jump rings, and had ones that were a lot bigger, and some that were a bit smaller. I used the smaller rings to fill in the spaces at the ends of the chain-mail fingers. It wasn't even that hard, although I could barely see afterwards. Now that I can reattach separate sections of the chain-mail, I'll be able to make the glove go a lot further. I'm planning on giving my original Celtic maiden outfit real chain-mail sleeves, and I have an elven warrior planned that will probably use up the rest - I just need to find some tiny jump rings the exact same size and I'll be all set. After that I'll need to order some more online. I found a US source - Ring Mesh - that sells all different sized flat sheets of the tiny chain-mail.
I'm in the process of making the pleated skirts for the two Celtic Maiden outfits. I have to do it the old-fashioned way by pinning each individual pleat and then pressing it in with the steam iron. I need to fish out all the plain straight pins out of my pin box - the ones without any plastic heads, as they can melt, or at the very least, create big dents in the pleats during pressing. Well, Isar won't be showing up today after all. First thing this morning I checked the tracking, and sure enough she had gone through Customs and had been released to the Post Office - BUT then they mis-directed her and sent her up north to Barrie. So, maybe tomorrow? Or Friday?
I received my shipping notice for Kaye Wiggs Hope last night, so she's finally on her way too. Hope was ordered way back at the beginning of November, and is coming from Washington state. In the meantime Isar seems to be stalled in transit. She seems to have arrived in Canada just at the start of a four-day holiday weekend postal shut-down, so it took until late today for her to even be scanned into Customs. Normally Iplehouse dolls fly through Customs in a minute or two, but this time she's being held for inspection. I'll have to check again later to see if she's been released yet. I'm hoping so, since she's currently in Mississauga, and that means she could be sent to Scarborough or Pickering overnight, and be delivered tomorrow. Here's hoping!
After spending all winter stored away in a dark little box, it was finally Asa's turn to get the body with the beautiful red gown, and the first thing she did was go out into the garden for some fresh air and to enjoy the lovely spring flowers. There she found the patch of miniature daffodils..... I love the miniature daffodils - not only are daffodils such cheery spring flowers,
but these tiny ones are the perfect size for my dolls. Well, it's back to work again, and hopefully it will be a good week. Last week, and the weekend were total write-offs as far as getting anywhere on the two Celtic outfits - one for Nelly, and one for Narae. Even thought they are for very different sized dolls, I am working on them both at the same time. Nelly's will have the usual "simulated chain-mail" knit from silver crochet thread.
I caught Nelly today busy in the kitchen painting some special Easter eggs.....
She takes her painting very seriously - those are some fancy eggs! Woke up to a shipping notice from Iplehouse this morning - Isar is on the way! Which means she'll be coming early next week. Then it's off to Charie's spa for a faceup and body blush. I think I've found the perfect costume idea for her while looking through my "Making of Lord of the Rings" books - a gorgeous gold and brown elven warrior with lots of chain mail. Of course it will probably have to wait for awhile because I doubt it can be added to the list of things I have to finish during the next six weeks before our trip.
I'm supposed to be working on two new Celtic Maiden outfits but am having trouble focusing on sewing this week. So I'm catching up on photos. We went to the scilla field for the final time last night and took a few quick photos of the three Kaye Wiggs girls in their baby dresses with Easter baskets. I put together a Favourite Photos page with my favourite shots of the three girls. Most were taken in my backyard in the upper garden where there's a whole area in bloom with mini daffodils. Each spring we buy a few pots of the mini daffodils in bloom, plant them in the garden, and the following year they all come up again. The flowers are just the right scale for the girls.
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AuthorMartha Boers is an award-winning Canadian doll maker and costumer specializing in fantasy and historical-style costumes. Archives
April 2024
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