MORE WORK FOR JANE ANNE

For the past few days, I have been working on finishing up the doll clothes for Grace's American Girl doll, Julie.  I sew best late at night when the house is quiet and no one is requesting anything.

Our older Collie, Baden, usually comes into the utility room and lies FIRMly beside the bookshelf (not real close, but in the room and out of the walkway).  I can hear his quiet snores mixing with the hum of the sewing machine, and there is a certain peace in these moments....

Here he is beside the front door, sleeping with the Wolf Cubbie....He sleeps a lot. Tells me he's a bit "curious" about why he sleeps so much.....I'm just glad he's still sleeping and sharing his life with me....

ANYway....Back to the sewing machine...I've been sewing and designing all week, and wanted to publish the "results" before I package them up for Christmas Day.

Once again, I am using Jane Anne as my "fit model." I'm thinking Jane Anne desperately neeeeeds a haircut, but I am certainly not the person to try that---especially since Jane Anne's hair isn't gonna grow back anytime soon..."At Least," I would tell my children, after I'd botched yet another trim job on their bangs, "It'll grow out, and no one will remember...."  Sigh....oh yeh...."they" remember all right....It's one of my Worst attempts at parenting, this bang trimming thang.....I FINALLY realized my limitations and began taking them to the beauty shop even when all they needed was to get the bangs out of their eyes....

Jane Anne doesn't seem to mind the tousled look...She just likes the attention, so here's a few pictures....

Remember, of course, that Julie is a "70's girl," and not yer basic Littlehouseontheprarie kinda chick....But I figger that Every young girl needs some sort of prairie outfit in her closet...Ya nevah know when you might need to re-inact a Land Run or something. Besides that, I just HAD to make a pinafore out of this lacy curtain....

Here's a silky denim pantsuit. Shell buttons with snaps underneath.  This was made from a shirt someone gave me. I also used the material under my Snowman Nativity here......

You probably see a yellow dog in front of the Snow Nativity....Okay, so I will digress a bit further and include a picture of yet another Nativity scene nearby...

Yeh, Bikeman got that one for me one year.  It has several breeds, but....sigh.....no Collie.....

ANYway....back to Jane Anne and the clothes.

Pajamas.  Made from a pair of sleep pants I did not want..... Of course, a girl in Kansas City has to be warm in the evening....So, Of Course she needs a matching robe!

And speaking of keeping warm in Kansas City, she could certainly us a leather coat....I made this from a red leather skirt that I got from the thrift store.....

Pretty cute, huh?! The belt with the snapper is the original skirt waistband....

And then, of course, there's a Sweater Outfit.  Made from a mohair sweater that I did not wear anymore. I used the ribbing for the collar and the bottoms of the legs and hem of the sweater. Julie should stay plenty warm in this liddle rig....

In an "effort" to create a few "Bohemian" articles of clothing, I fashioned this shirt out of a cotton shirt I had in my closet. I think the tie strings are a bit too long, but I'll let Grace make that call. 

And, now, ladies and gentlemen, it is Party Time!!!!

A silk shirt that I never wear anymore.....green net-like material I found on sale at Hancock's (thinking of making future dance collars for the Collies)....

She can also wear the glitzy top with this funky skirt....The skirt is a "recycled" ladies' boot.....Yeh, the top of the boot is the skirt with the ankle embellishment for the waistband.

And here is my Favorite, overthetop outfit of all!  The blouse is a sheer curtain (lined with material from a pillowcase), and the skirt an old blouse I found at a rummage sale (you can see the buttonholes on the hem). Flounce petticoat  is yet another color of that "net-like" material I originally bought for the dance collars. 

So...there you have it! Julie is officially "Christmas'd UP," and I am ready to find a suitable box for her wardrobe. There's a small trunk outside in the storage barn that I used as a prop for one of the boyz performances....(please keep in mind that this was done over 2 years ago...We have learned a Lot since then).

NOW....another cuppa coffee and count the minutes until we leave for Christmas and Family!  Or, as Grace would say, "Only three more sleeps...."