. . . and FREE Shipping

I'm still stitching a stocking and eating cookies. But I just added free shipping to my shop for the month of December. Check it out, if you want to:)

Etsy Shop Sale

While I'm busy sewing somebody's stocking (and eating cookies), I decided to put everything in my shop on sale.

I also have more fabric waiting for me--I'm planning some on some Josefina-esque things soon (because Abby and I are almost done reading the Josefina book series. We also can't stop singing "Feliz Navidad" to each other.) Elizabeth is still hanging around just in case I get inspired by Regency-style stuff, and I may have started something very pretty for a doll with a romantic Shakespearean-sort of temperament. It will be red with gold trim. Perfect for someone willing to die for love . . .

Until then, I am busy, busy, busy stitching so some sweet little baby I love will have something for Santa to fill on Christmas Eve!

More Holiday Dresses And Bows

I've made some more dress and bow sets for my shop--one in red and one in green. Perfect for Christmas. And now I must really finish someone's Christmas stocking!

Swedish Julie and Holiday Charlotte

Here is Swedish Julie again wearing a white cotton blouse I made for a custom order. Kirsten is all dressed up for the holidays in her St. Lucia gown. She is sitting pretty on my book shelves and so she's exempt from any dress fittings or photo shoots this month.

Speaking of the holidays, every doll around here has a pretty holiday outfit except for our new doll Charlotte. So I made her one. I cut up one of Abby's older Christmas dresses that was too small and had a small tear in the skirt.

I used the bow from the sash to make a hair bow. And now Charlotte can properly celebrate the season.

I like this little dress so much I'm planning on sewing some similar dresses for my shop. Abby has outgrown the stretch velvet/taffeta poufy Christmas dress full of tulle--she says they're too itchy and that she's too old for them. Sigh. Gone are the days of buying her Christmas dress from Costco . . . And I'm so sentimentally attached to most of her old Christmas dresses that I don't have the heart to cut into them. So it's a good thing I found some pretty taffeta on sale. I should be working on a stocking, but I think I will be sewing dolly holiday dresses this weekend!

In the works . . .

I just finished these cute pillow covers for my sister. She brought me the fabric almost a month ago, but I was so busy sewing doll clothes, I didn't get around to them. So when I finally sat down and whipped them out in a half-hour, I felt guilty. Especially since my sister is CRAZY about Christmas and started decorating her house two weeks ago. Sorry, sister. Come and get your pillow covers--they are ready and cute!

Speaking of sisters, I have another sister who had a little boy in August. I'm working frantically on his Christmas stocking. I wanted to have it done by Thanksgiving, but I am only halfway finished with it. (see above reason.) I've made stockings from Bucilla felt stocking kits for both of my kids and my new nephew's big brother. My aunt did the same thing years ago for all of us cousins, and I wanted to keep the tradition alive. But man, these stockings take a long time. Hopefully my baby nephew will have his stocking by Christmas Eve . . .

Meanwhile, I have some new fabric intended for some new things in my shop:

And look who I borrowed for some modeling:

The dolls don't really like it when Elizabeth comes to town because she gets all of the attention. Maybe I'll keep her hidden so Abby forgets that she's here . . .

My Etsy Shop Is Open!

Well, I finally did it. With doll clothes bursting out of every nook and cranny in my sewing room and the play room, I decided to channel my doll clothes obsession into an Etsy shop.

I'm really excited about it! When I told Abby that I was going to open an Etsy shop, she asked if she could work for me. I think she pictured a cute little doll shop like the one we love to visit, but all I could offer was a job picking threads up off the carpet in my sewing room. She declined.

But I have been busy at work (and play) and have some fun Kirsten-inspired things for sale. I hope to add clothes from other time periods soon. Here are some of my items:

You can check out my shop by clicking on the link in my sidebar, or you could just click on this:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SewedHerMind

We'll see how it goes, but I think it will be fun. If anything, it will at least give me some sort of excuse to manufacture so many doll-sized dresses!

Nightgowns Are Better

Here's another Kirsten nightgown. I just wanted to show how cute it is in red flannel. So much better than a pair of Molly's pajamas!

Molly's Pajamas (make me feel dumb)

So this is a set of Molly's pajamas from the Molly's Pretty Clothes patterns. I found the perfect candy cane striped fabric and thought these pajamas would make a great birthday gift for someone I know who has a new Molly.

But you know what? I should have just bought Molly's pajamas from American Girl because I really dislike this pattern. It made me feel dumb. And I just hate when patterns make me feel dumb. The collar and shoulder seams on the pajama top took me forever to figure out--and still after a lot of finagling, the collar seam is kind of wonky. And then I got frustrated that a pair of doll pajamas was so frustrating. I mean, they're pajamas. For a doll. Oh brother.

To make up for the wonky collar, I sewed real button holes onto the front closure instead of just slapping some Velcro on (like the pattern suggests. Boo.) I also used a piece of satin ribbon for the sash because I was out of fabric. But you know, if the person I give these pajamas to decides to buy her Molly the real thing, I will so not be offended.

And if I decide to make any more doll pajamas, I will find another pattern!

Hacienda Julie

Here is Julie wearing an embroidered camisa, skirt, and rebozo. This outfit was custom ordered for a Josefina doll.

I should have had my Josefina model these clothes, but she is too elaborately dressed right now, whereas Julie was just sitting around in her pajamas.

The camisa is my own pattern and it's hand-embroidered. The skirt and rebozo are from Josefina's Pretty Clothes.

P.S. I am not a great photographer. I don't have an awesome camera and my house has really poor lighting. Oh well . . . at least I can embroider doll clothes.

Swedish Julie

This the third nightgown I've made from the Kirsten's Pretty Clothes patterns. It's a fun pattern, and it's perfect for keeping a little doll warm at night, whether she's Swedish or not.

Halloween Is Coming

When I packed away Abby's sewing station before school started, I went a little overboard and packed away all of my sewing stuff as well. So there hasn't been a lot of sewing going on around here lately, but Halloween is coming so the dolls needed some costumes.

Here is Julie dressed as a witch. Her dress is made out of some black taffeta I used for my own witch costume a few years ago. I combined patterns from Kirsten's school dress and Josefina's holiday dress--my two favorite American Girl patterns.

She also has a black felt hat trimmed with a red bow and a spider. And she has a tulle cape trimmed with red rick-rack. I bought the tights at my favorite doll shop and should have bought some doll-sized trick-or-treat pumpkins, because Julie is not the only trick-or-treater around here . . .

Here is Ivy as a black cat. Abby insisted that Ivy insisted on being a black cat. So there was no negotiation. But that's okay, because this costume was pretty easy. It's just one of my "groovy" housecoat/go-go dresses made out of black knit and trimmed with sequins. The mask also came from the doll shop as well as the little black headband I used for gluing on the felt ears. It's not easy to see, but Ivy also has a black sequin tail. She's all ready to ride along on Julie's broom if Julie had a broom--I was going to make one, but got sidetracked with this:

I told myself I was sewing this costume for Abby, but let's be honest. This is my doll and this is my costume. I used the apron dress pattern from Kirsten's Pretty Clothes and the cape is from Butterick 5661 (which I think is out of print.) I made the bodice thing out of black felt. The hood doesn't really fit over Kirsten's hairdo, but oh well. It won't stop her from trick-or-treating through the woods to Grandmother's house.

Here is Josefina's costume. Its not new--it was Julie's costume last year. But I added the head bandana because I still had scraps of the fabric left. She makes a pretty cute pirate.

The funny thing is that I usually sew over-the-top costumes for everyone in the family, but not this year. Instead of planning elaborate costumes, Abby and I are making do with what we already have. So I guess my enthusiasm for sewing for Halloween has manifested itself in the doll costumes. At least I had all of the material and trim in my stash already--I really just used what I had. (Although having that much red cotton for Red Riding Hood's cape was a bit on the lucky side.)

So Happy Halloween! Everyone is ready for some serious trick-or-treating.

Although I hope Abby doesn't think she is really taking all of these dolls trick-or-treating with her . . .

New Summer Dress

I did another American Girl Playthings sewing swap and this is the darling dress we received in the mail yesterday. Abby loves it. Our swap partner also sent a crocheted shawl, a hair ribbon, and some pretty groovy earrings for Ivy:



Abby loves everything. It's always fun to have a new summer dress! (Even if summer is rapidly drawing to a close . . .)

Victorian Julie

I found a cameo button in my button jar and decided to make a Victorian-style dress. I used the party dress pattern from Samantha's Pretty Clothes but added the short sleeves from the birthday dress.

Good thing for us, the Samantha doll is archived and no longer available. So we are not tempted to buy her because of her pretty Victorian clothes (or is it Edwardian? Whatever.) It's also a good thing for Julie, because she certainly looks pretty in her dress circa 1904.

The Rest of Josefina's Wardrobe (for now)

Josefina now has a good-sized wardrobe. And since the box she came in is stuffed to the brim with all of her new clothes, I think it's a good time to stop. We don't want to spoil her or anything.

Here is my version of her weaving outfit. The original had more embroidery on the camisa and the sleeves and neckline were edged with wine-colored piping. But I got kind of lazy and just made the camisa plain instead.

And here is the outfit with a new rebozo. Abby really likes to play with the rebozos. In fact, last time we played dolls, her Julie hogged both of Josefina's rebozos. (Notice how I'm using the words camisa and rebozo as often as I can.)

Here is another version of the holiday dress. When I made the pretty clothes patterns for our Kirsten doll, I loved her school dress pattern. It became my favorite doll dress pattern ever. But this holiday dress pattern is now my new favorite--there are so many different things you can do with it.

Josefina's last dress is another holiday dress, but I added a ruffle to the bottom and made short sleeves instead of the long ones.

We just finished reading the part in Josefina Learns a Lesson where Josefina sews her holiday dress from a sewing diary that her aunt had given her and her sisters. It contains the latest styles from Mexico City and when Josefina is finished hemming it, she puts it on and spins around because "she had never had a dress made in this elegant, new, high-waisted style before." I asked Abby how it would be to sew her own dresses by hand. She said she probably wouldn't have that many dresses.

Not as many as our Josefina doll. She has lots of clothes to share now and when all the dolls want to pretend they live on a rancho, they have camisas and rebozos galore. Maybe we'll make a miniature sewing diary with sketches and swatches for Josefina and the other dolls. Because if they want any more dresses, they may just have to sew them themselves!

Black dress with a red ribbon

This little dress is the holiday dress pattern from Josefina's "Pretty Clothes" patterns. Josefina's holiday dress is my favorite outfit that American Girl makes, so it's no surprise that this pattern is my favorite doll pattern ever. I've made two other versions and now I think Josefina's wardrobe is pretty much finished. Unless I keep sewing more of these holiday dresses . . .

That would not surprise me.

What to wear to a party

Here is a party skirt for Josefina. I'm still sewing from her "Pretty Clothes" patterns. The skirt patterns are so easy and fun that Josefina will more than likely end up with at least a dozen. So she is not only ready for a fiesta, but is probably also going to be the best dressed doll around here. . .

Embroidered Camisas

This little ensemble is the first outfit I've made for our new Josefina doll. It's a rendition of her "Harvest Outfit" that was retired a while back. I used the skirt pattern from "Josefina's Pretty Clothes" but the shirt--I mean camisa--was something I kind of made up as I went along. I also did a little hand embroidery on the camisa and took the doll clothes crazy up a notch.

Here are two camisas that I made for a custom order. They turned out better than my first one and look more like the original. I think the short-sleeve one is particularly sweet.

It's so nice to have something cute to wear for the harvest.

Better Than Disneyland (and probably just as expensive)

Last month Cody and I went to Denver. And we visited a pretty fun store.

Okay, Cody may not have thought it was that fun, but I was having fun . . . shopping, that is. Yep, I got a few things here and there. Someone like me could go crazy in a store like this:

There was so much to look at. But I really wished I had Abby with me. She would have just loved seeing this:

Cody and I also thought it was funny how the little girls shopping in the store were practically googly-eyed over the doll displays. We overheard several little girls gasp out loud and say things like, "Oh here's Molly in her pajamas!" or "Don't worry, Rebecca is new and she'll be on the market for a long time." It was so cute.

Speaking of doll displays, I happened to really like this one:

One of those pretty dolls may have found her way into that shopping bag over my shoulder:

Okay, okay it's true. I got a Josefina doll and she's already a big hit around here. I've made a few things for her that I'll show soon. She needs some clothes because I only bought her one outfit at the store. To be honest, someone like me can't go too crazy in a store like this.

But it was fun! Abby's coming with me next time though.

The Fourth of July

Every year on Christmas Eve, I have that moment where I stop and say to myself, "I can't believe it's Christmas Eve." I have that same moment on the Fourth of July. Time sneaks up on us so fast. I can't believe it's almost the Fourth of July and that the year is half over. And you know what that means--Christmas is only six months away . . .

Last year I started a Prairie Schooler sampler called "July." It took me a long time to finish because cross-stitch just takes sooo long, but I finished it last summer. Not in time for July, though. So I rolled it up and stashed it in a drawer until a month ago when I took it to a local shop to have it framed. When I hung it on my wall, it felt like the past year had rushed by way too fast. When I finished this sampler, I thought it be forever until I displayed it. Nope.


I really love Prairie Schooler sampler designs. Maybe I'll stitch some more and have all twelve months done by the time I'm sixty-two.

I also made some flags. I got the idea from Cody's aunt last year--she had such a cute table centerpiece full of these flags. Mine turned out okay--but I'm about as good as arranging flags as I am arranging flowers. I'm somehow not capturing the cute old-timey Stars and Stripes display as well as Cody's aunt did.

But I do love ticking. So much. And that ticking you see is left over from a much better project that involves a mattress and pillow. (Doll-sized of course. I mean, why would I make anything that isn't doll-sized these days, right? Geesh.)

So have a Happy Fourth of July! Eat some ice cream, blow up some fireworks, and think about your favorite Founding Father.

(Mine's Thomas Jefferson.)

Abby Sews Her First Doll Dress

On the last day of school, I set up a little sewing station for Abby. Besides setting up my old White sewing machine (which doesn't really work--oh well), I set out a bin of doll patterns, some project books, and made a sewing kit with scissors, pins, a measuring tape, needles, thread, and a seam ripper. Abby was really excited to start sewing.

She wanted to make a Kit-style 1930s dress for her doll Julie. So she picked out the 1930s Signature Dress Pattern from BunnyBear. We then went shopping for 1930s fabric at a local quilt store. Lucky for us, all the 1930s fabric was on sale that day! Abby was delighted that the bolts of fabric were labeled as "Feed sack" prints--just like the story about Kit's aunt who makes her a dress from a feed sack. She picked out a yellow print for Julie and a pink print for Ivy.

I cut out the pattern and the fabric. I really thought that I would be doing most of the sewing, but Abby surprised me with how steady and straight her seams were--in fact, she kept batting my hands away as she sewed saying "I can do it." And she could. She sewed all of the straight seams and even topstitched the cuffs. The only thing I did was serge the edges and sew the collar onto the bodice. I also sewed the velcro closure in back. The pattern called for snaps, but sewing snaps can be so tedious, you know?


When the dress was finished, Abby was so proud of herself. I was too. It was fun to see her so pleased with something she made.

She immediately had to put the dress on Julie . . .

She said that Julie loves the dress.


Later on we found just the right shoes to match. And for her official blog photo shoot, Julie looks pretty cute--just like a little girl in her first feed sack dress should.



I thought this little project would be enough for awhile, but Abby is already asking if she can make Ivy's dress yet. The fabric is all cut and ready, so Ivy will have a 30s dress in no time at all too.

It all just makes me so happy.

By the way, that pattern was perfect for a beginner sewer. The only problem is that there are so many cute designs to choose from. I'm thinking that Julie and Ivy will also need the matching apron. You know, for preserving fruit and stuff. Depression style.