My First SAL

Thanks to the motivation and inspiration of Annemarie, I've completed my first SAL.

This is Carriage House Samplings "Primitive Stocking". Though this is a slightly "abbreviated" version, as the fabric was cut too small, I still like the result. I added a piece of vintage style calico to give the stocking the long, lean look I admire in the CHS stocking series. Looking forward to bouncing around to the blogs of the other SAL members to see what they've been up to.

One more night of mandatory "FUN" and then I begin my break from the gym until 8 June. I am simply bubbling over with ideas for crafting, sewing, gardening, cooking and yes even cleaning to fill my days. Tops on the list are some new doll clothes. The 1923 Franklin Simon Catalog has been a source of inspiration for my 16" vinyl doll creations. I try to designate a doll for each of my favorite fashion time periods. The redhead Tyler doll will get a new suit of blue and brown tweed with a blue and brown floral print silk blouse underneath. I even went so far as to splurge on a new doll. Her beautiful face and hair style pushed me to bid $24.99 on eBay and to my surprise I won with my low bid! This is 16" Tonner Doll Company "Tess Trueheart" from the Dick Tracy collection. Don't know much about Dick Tracy comics or the supporting characters, but I just love this new doll. Although she is dressed in a 1940's dress I made last Spring, I think she will become my 1870's model. Her hair style just reminds me of that time period. It's hard to see in the photo, but the back of her hair is a large bun of twisted curls. In order to make those clothes I splurged again, on Amazon this time, and bought three more "Wishbooks" by Susan B. Sirkis. This lady was amazing in her authentic period pattern drawings. With very few adjustments I can suit the patterns to the 15.5" to 16" vinyl fashion dolls. Any doll collectors who likes to make their own clothes....I highly recommend this series of books. They are out of print and a bit hard to come by but the Sirkis family has their own website that sells Susan's books. A Google search of "Susan B. Sirkis" will bring good results. So far I have 1806-1810(my Jane Austen collection), 1871-1875, 1880-1885, 1895-1896 (those are the three new ones I bought this week) and 1900. The 1920's also intrigues me but the styles were quite plain cut then and relatively easy for me to draw up my own patterns for those outfits.
An absolutely gorgeous day.....80F, sunny and only the slightest breeze. Ideal for stitching outside. I have two more hours and then the "Marathon of Fun" at the gym. Then the real fun begins for me tomorrow!