Sewing for Xmas 2016

Hi there, Iv'e not been on for a while as I've been busy doing and overseeing more changes to the house, new bathroom and decorating , and all the time sewing for the webshop.  I've recently added  a few Halloween outfits and Christmas outfits.

There are lots more like these in the shop

Now to tidy my workshop before starting on the doll's winter school uniforms --coming soon!

New doll shoes and new stuff to the shop

Hi there , I've been making doll's shoes in the workshop lately, they aren't perfect but I have been altering my normal shoe pattern and making little tweaks here and there to try to get a lace up shoe for the boy dolls in my shop. I think I have just about got it now.

These are waiting for the adhesive to dry so that I can stick in the inner soles.

I have also been making teddy bear clothes which I put into the shop recently, no takers yet but one lives in hope   :)



And here are some of the doll shoes.











Some more Boots and shoes and a new arrival

Yesterday I dug out some of my leather look fabric to make some more boots for the shop

I made two pairs of boots, you can see them for sale in the shop later, I will be adding them soon, here is one pair I made for baby George, the 18 inch high brother for Annabell, although they would do ok for Annabell too.

They have cute little felt cat faces on the front and are made from a brown vinyl fabric.
Then I thought I would have a go at making little lace ups shoes, so I drafted a pattern and made a blueprint pair, making notes along the way.

 They aren't perfect , but I will keep trying and hope to put some in the shop when I have tweaked the pattern more.


Earlier in the week there was this little lot waiting to be bagged up and listed in my shop....

..

 

...........Outfits for Annabell as they were running a little low in the

shop, I will be adding those today, here is a taster.

The first one is a raincoat and hat, and also showing the boots I made yesterday, they will be put in the shop sold separately though in the footwear section.  The second one is of a cute dress with an Easter theme. There will be several more outfits for Annabell in the shop later today.
And ...... coming soon to this shop......

Outfits for build a bear!  Sadly the outfits for Cabbage patch dolls didn't do terribly well

But I am hoping that these outfits may do better, one can only experiment and try!
The weather seems to be picking up although last week we had a lot of snow here in Yorkshire it did quickly clear and I managed to get a few plants in my pots on the decking.

Its very pleasant working in my workshop when its sunny as I sit in front of the window, does vitamin D count if it's through a window?  I'm a retired Nurse! I should know!

Dolls footwear and handbags

Dolls footwear and bags

Happy new year to you!
Last year I added some new items to the shop, and managed to devise a pattern for dolls boots using the simple shoe pattern that I already use as a guide, after a couple of tries and tweaks I managed to produce these!  I was quite  excited about my  discovery I can tell you!

 

And they seem to be a success as I have sold them all!
I do find that since I retired I have more time to experiment with new additions to the shop, but boy do I have trouble keeping up with making boys dolls clothes?!, anyway on to new bags I have made.

 

This is a pretty backpack to fit American Girl dolls.

And one with a cool snake motif to fit Baby Born Boy dolls.

A stylish little dolls bag for American girl dolls.

halloween outfits now in

I am now officially retired and had a 'do' with work freinds last Saturday, a lovely meal and a great time was had by all. I now have much more time to sew and am busy sewing and stocking almost every day. I have been making clothes for halloween, 

And at present I'm busy making more footwear and bags, photos of these to come next time .
Ive also been busy doing a custom order for a customer in Minessota US. She wanted some outfits for her daughters twelve inch doll who looked rather poor.

Hoping these oufits will cheer him up.

And I could'nt let this order go without a new pair of these!

I recently went to our local museum to see this victorian sewing exhibition which was quite interesting, such painstaking work in those days.

All those beads to sew on!

And this little book on sewing written in victorian times.
 

A new Doll---Cabbage Patch

Looking around the local charity shops I came across a Cabbage Patch doll, and thought about making clothes for Cabbage patch for the shop! Why not ? I thought as I know these dolls are becoming popular again with children, and also are the prized possesions of some not so young collectors.  She has a yellow smear of felt pen on her and I suspect someone has been chopping at her hair, but I took her home and gave her a bit of a clean up with kitchen wipes and a magic sponge and she doesn't look too bad now.

  I drafted some basic patterns for her and started to sew...

I made her some little black felt shoes so she would look better on the photos.  And here are some of the finished outfits....

They are in the shop now.  Just click on the link and your there!

New Kitchen , garden, and workshop

Well, as promised, if a little late, I now have the photos of my house improvements, which so far is the kitchen, the garden, and an outdoor studio to sew in and do all the things I do for my online shop selling dolls clothes. I am very pleased so far as I am using my NHS pension to make the improvements to my little house, and therefore have something to show for all my years of working as a qualified nurse, and it makes for a pleasanter retirement. 
So first of all the kitchen before---

And the kitchen now-----

Although I have now painted the wall here since this picture was taken, here are some more of the new kitchen, showing the other sides.--

Including a nice new cooker

And bags more cupboard space

On to the Garden , I have had this completely decked so no more weeding flower beds or lawns to mow, which is much better for me as I have fibromyalgia. I don't have any before photos of the garden.

Smart new table and chairs

Lots of plants in pots, string lights,

My lovely new buddha and a lantern,

And best of all, my outdoor studio/workroom!  Now if you are not too bored with all these photo's I will show you inside my workroom, where I spend a lot of my time now.

 It is so easy to work in here now with everything to hand on the shelves, much easier than using the kitchen like before. I painted all inside in mint green , and made the curtains which you can just see to the left of the photo.

 I have my old cassette player, inherited from my dear dad, my new dab radio, and a little fan/ heater, which seams to be adequate for heating so far, as the walls are lined with lambswool.I have my stitching books, and of course, another buddha.

 My hubby, an upholsterer and antiques restore, brought me this little chair to sit at the sewing machine, just as I was finishing painting and bringing all my things in, nice suprise!

This is the inside of the door, a little window open on the left, security system, and a lovely little wooden plaque that my son had made for me takes pride of place above the door.
Everything is very light and airy.
I'm so happy with my little workspace now.






I have also opened an 'Etsy' shop, so next time I will show you the latest dolls clothes to go in the shop, and the things I have made for my Etsy shop. Till then take care