She really is very beautiful!
Took Soa down to the lake yesterday afternoon for some quick "mood shots". She really is very beautiful! I need to take all the studio shots of my Jennet outfits today, so they can finally go to their new homes. Only problem is, I have to wait until this afternoon, as tracking shows my mice are in Pickering, and I'm all excited about them coming, and nervous I'll miss the mail truck if I go down to the basement studio. The doorbell is very finicky and sometimes won't ring. I've had "Failed Delivery" notices put in my mailbox even when I'm home.
Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada, and for the first time in many years, we are not away on a trip, but are at home, with guests, and planning on having a big Thanksgiving dinner. Hope and Kayla are helping to harvest the corn and pumpkins. They especially like the multi-coloured Indian corn. They even found some very small ones, just their size.
Because it's a holiday weekend, most doll work has come to a stand-still. Final photos need to be taken of the Jennet outfits so they can be sent off to their new homes. But that will have to wait until tomorrow. It's going to be one exciting dolly week! I don't know why dolls always have to come all at once, but that's just how it seems to work for me. Tracking shows that the Manuna mice I ordered back in February have cleared Customs in Mississauga. So has the mouse I ordered in July. Which means they'll probably arrive tomorrow. It's been six weeks since I ordered Owen and Bonnie from Iplehouse, and last night I thought I'd ask them to see how much longer they think it would take. This morning I woke up to shipping notices! Bonnie and Owen should be arriving this week too. The mice are painted, but will just have to stay naked in photos for awhile, however Owen and Bonnie are coming blank, so they'll need to go to Charie for faceups. This week's Colour Challenge Game colour is RED. I've started an album with the 'COLOUR' photos, and will add to them each week as a new colour is chosen. Byuri is babysitting Nami's dragon, and trying to keep him entertained with her Elmo puppet, but the dragon is more interested in sneaking some chocolates from the box in the wagon. I've also posted the entire story about Nami's dragon. Just click on image below. It's the Thanksgiving long weekend, so today I need to clean up the house, and prep for tomorrow's big meal. My daughter and son-in-law are coming to help with the kitchen trim,
and they are expecting a Thanksgiving lunch tomorrow. So better get cooking! I don't know how much doll time I'll have the next two days. I still need to take studio photos of the dolls in their Jennet outfits, and there's several Special Days coming up that need to be taken. I showed my granddaughter what fabrics I was making her costume out of yesterday, and she was very excited. She loved the periwinkle lace and the lavender and gold flocked velvet sheers. I would really like to have it finished by next weekend so I can take some nice portraits of the girls without the excitement, hustle and bustle of Hallowe'en itself. Plus, I can't be at two houses at the same time to take photos, so better do it at my place when they are all here. After the surprise at Elin's banquet, Nami took home her little baby dragon, and is raising him to be a very friendly, well-behaved pet. She's named him Flame, and has made a leash and collar for him so she can take him on walks. The collar is covered with little bells, so all the little animals can hear him coming. Flame loves freshly roasted meat, and even though everyone is very happy all the mice and rats are now gone from the palace, they are no quite so eager to lose all the other small animals and birds that make the castle their home. Nami's friends come over for a visit and are surprised how much Flame has grown. Byuri is a bit fearful, but Elin decides to try and make friends with him... I borrowed the dragon from my sister Marianne. He's a sample from a dragon
workshop she used to teach. He's sculpted of Paperclay over a built up wire armature, and is the perfect size for my little girls. With Iplehouse having just released Violet, a new JID in their 'Addiction" series, their story is that her love interest is going to be Victor, an EID who has yet to be released. Well, Violet is one of their most mature JID sculpts yet, and has a bit of resemblance to my Isar, and I do have an EID guy. Makes me wonder what IH is thinking, but since so many people are wondering how a JID girl would work with an EID guy, I thought I'd take some comparison shots. It's a bit like Tinker Bell in love with Peter Pan! Very weird! My sewing machine seems to be working okay again so far today - I say very tentatively. I don't know what was wrong yesterday, but so far it's been sewing just like normal. Jan's out kayaking, taking advantage of what will probably be one of the last nice days this fall, and I'm sitting here waiting for the shade to fall over my picnic table so I can take some dollie pictures. I wanted to take some pictures of my KW girls in the cornfield, but with days becoming so short, we made it there after dinner just as the sun was going down. Today has been one of those days when everything seems to go wrong. My browser kept crashing, I spilled my pins everywhere, when I tried the old "snip and tear" method of cutting strips of fabric, they went all wonky - narrow and wide like I've never seen before - and I was having all kinds of issues with my sewing machine, I started work on the last Hallowe'en costume, thinking there would still be plenty of time left this month to make a few things for my own dolls before tackling some more requests.....and I was making good progress too.....until my sewing machine decided to really act up. Now it doesn't seem to want to work at all anymore. Each time I start to sew, the thread disappears off of the take-up lever, and the thread tangles into a giant mess and the machine and fabrics jam. I carefully snip the fabric loose, re-thread from scratch, both top and bottom, and it's does the exact same thing - over and over. I have no idea why the thread won't stay on the take-up lever. I'm going to have to take it in to the quilt shop tomorrow and have them look at it. I really can't do without a sewing machine! I suppose I can haul Jan's old thing out of the basement, but it sews like "a kangaroo with an awl". But maybe that's still better than nothing.
Today is World Egg Day, and the Lady Elin has invited her friends for a very special feast. On the menu are eggs - but not just any eggs. The main course consists of very special, and very rare dragon eggs, served on a bed of mashed potatoes with gravy, broccoli and carrots. Yumm!! But, before they can even take a bite, something very strange starts to happen.... "Could it really be???" Looks like someone is going to get a new pet!
I was looking for a good wig to go with the new Blue Jennet outfit, and my eye fell on Narae and her long red mohair locks. Perfect! Soa had been wearing a short Roxie wig up until now just so it would be easier to fit clothes on and off her, but she has a small head on a long thin neck and really needs something longer. It always takes awhile before I settle on a default wig for a doll, and I hadn't found anything I really liked on Soa yet, but I think maybe I've found it. The only problem is, this red one belongs to Narae. Which means I'll have to make one, and it's not something I enjoy at all. Sewing the mohair wefting and gluing the main part of the wig is fine, but it's that top part that's so difficult. Hot glue is VERY unforgiving, so if any seeps through, the wig can only be worn with a hat from then on.
Today is National Chess Day, so the Lady Elin has invited her friends over for a game of outdoor chess in her estate gardens. Being less experienced players, Byuri and Nami are working together, trying to decide what their next move will be - the White Knight to...????? Elin's favourite piece is the Black Knight, who she dreams will come riding
in to sweep her off her feet some day.... My daughter went for her mid-term ultra-sound yesterday, and sent me a picture of her baby.
My next grandchild is going to be a little boy! It's so amazing that technology can give us a glimpse of the little cutie way before he actually makes his entrance into this world. |
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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