A Great Holiday Bazaar

 

Saturday's weather forecast is for bright and sunny skies. A perfect day to attend the Flanders Fire Company and Rescue Squad Holiday Bazaar. It's one of my favorite shows and for such a worthy cause. It's a fairly new bazaar run by friendly people and gets bigger and better each year.   Come out and see what's new at Unique Threads and Yarns; the shop for all your 18" doll clothes.

Libraries Are More Than Just Books

Many of my 18" doll dresses are on display at the Library of the Chathams during November and December! The idea began back in May 2016 when my friend Cathy, a volunteer at the library, asked the head of Youth Services, Jaime Sabonya, how they chose the displays for the multiple cabinets throughout the library. She said that sometimes the library creates them and sometimes groups/people apply. So, that's just what I did. I emailed Ms. Sabonya my ideas and sent her my blog link to view my dresses. She replied they were beautiful and thought the main display case would give better exposure. The month of November was open and Unique Threads and Yarns was written in. I did have one major concern; the dolls would be on display during my busiest craft show season. Once again, a friend came to my rescue. Her daughters are now in high school and college and she had stored their AG dolls. She graciously loaned me three of their dolls. Could not have done both the display and shows if she had not done so. Thank you Gretchen and daughters. Being that the display was in a library, I wanted to bring in more than just the American Girl dolls dressed in my handmade clothes. (It's the teacher in me. I want to make everything a learning experience!) I found my daughters' original books for Samantha, Molly and Addy. Digging deeper into my closet led me to discover I still had Welcome to Samantha's World. It's a great book that explains all about growing up during the Victorian Era. It has so many interesting facts and pictures. I also put together a timeline of important happenings about the American Girl dolls. And that was that... I just finished, with the help of my friend Cathy and Deborah Fitzgerald, one of the librarians, setting up the display. I think it looks good and I hope it creates lots of interest in Unique Threads and Yarns.

Library of the Chathams Display

2016 Holiday Craft Show Schedule

Destash, Destash

 Destash, destash. It's off to destash I go!

Is destash a real word? It doesn't matter. It's what I'm doing the next few weeks with all the material I have stored in my craft area. The material is creeping into the family room! I am determined to use my stashed material when sewing my spring line of clothes for 18" dolls.

Now, how to decide what to sew? Sometimes just looking at the material tells me what to sew. It "speaks" to me. Some material I purchase with a certain outfit already in mind. And sometimes I even remember what that outfit was! However, most of the time I sit surrounded by the material and patterns and just pray for inspiration to strike. I have a Pinterest AG Inspiration board. Seeing what other doll seamstresses create often ignites my own creativity. I even pin pictures of vintage children patterns. I really like the ones from the 1950's. They bring back so many childhood memories.

I'm trying, really, really trying, to NOT buy anymore material until my stash is decreased by 50%, well.....maybe by 25%. Unfortunately, many of the destash outfits I'm working on just need a little amount of a contrast color that's not in my stash. So, I'm keeping a post-it note by my machine to track what I need to buy to complete some of the destash outfits! Hopefully, I'll deplete my stash before the fabric shopping withdrawal symptoms get much worse!

Here are some pictures of my destash outfits.

Last of my hot pink white polka dot material. I used an original pattern that I call My Favorite Dress.

1950's style dress. Whenever I find polka dots or dotted Swiss, I purchase A LOT. I just love the dots. It's not surprising that dotted Swiss was in my stash. This is one of the outfits I'll finish later. I want to make a bright yellow short jacket and pillbox hat to complete the outfit.

Two shirts made from material leftover from My Favorite Dress polka dot dresses and crop pants made from white material I always have sitting around.

I really do have non-dot fabric in my stash. Just look at these destash outfits.

Maxi skirt with coordinating t-shirt made from a Pixie Faire pattern. The material is from a deconstructed new shirt. You just never know where you'll discover doll material.

Dress adapted from Simplicity 1443. I made it sleeveless and added satin bow n the shoulders and center front.

Believe it or not, I inherited this material from my mother. No idea how old it is but it was nice and crisp which made sewing with it a delight. I'd like to add grosgrain ribbon around the bodice. Yellow would be perfect but I don't have that color in my stash. So.....onto my list of needs it goes!

Seasonal Mixup

Hoilday season is over and I am grateful to have had a very successful craft show season. Each year I've added a new show and have been able to continue to increase my sales. I don't know if I will add too many more fall/winter shows because that means I either have to have a larger inventory or sew a lot between shows. I like having flexibility in my retirement schedule to visit with my granddaughter and friends and not feel obligated to use all my time for sewing. I'll just have to see how I feel during the summer.

...and that brings me to the title Seasonal Mixup. When I sew for myself and family, I sew clothes for the season we're in. Well, that's not how it works when you're a crafter. I should be sewing spring/summer outfits in the winter and vice versa. I just can't seem to get "in the mood" to sew summer outfits. Sewing spring outfits when we have a blizzard outside does not make me warmer! I'd rather be sewing a wool coat or corduroy overalls. Now, that's the kind of material to keep you warm!

Lucky for me, I never seem to complete all the planned seasonal outfts before it's time to move to sewing for the upcoming seasons. And because of that, I've been sewing winter dresses and outfits since the arrival of the cold weather and snow. I know. I know. I'll have to start using those beautiful pastel fabrics before too long to be ready for spring shows but that's for another day. Perhaps for when the sun finally returns.

Two of the late winter outfits I finished are below. 

With winter still here, they would make great Valentine Day gifts. 

Maryellen stays warm working in her overalls. The overalls are made from a soft corduroy and have metal hooks just like on real overalls. The blouse is 100% cotton with working buttons for closure. The outfit sells for $25.00

Maryellen is already to attend the St. Valentine's Day ball on a wintry February evening! She is wearing a Ruby Red gown made of shiny satin with a shimmery organza skirt overlay. The neck bodice has glistening ruby and diamond rhinestones for an understated elegant look. The outfit comes with a soft fleece cape lined to match the gown and closes with a snap covered by a ruby rhinestone. The gown and cape sell for $30.00

Email me at uniquethreadsandyarns@gmail.com if you are interested or would like to special order. There's still time to place a Valentine order.

Wishing for warmer weather......

Comfy Slippers for those Cold Morning

I've added flannel pajamas and nightgowns to my fall and winter inventory. I love working with flannel because it's soft and cuddly. After sewing a few outfits, I decided they needed a pair of matching slippers.

I make sandals for the spring and summer outfits and thought slippers would be fast and easy. I looked through my patterns and discovered a McCall’s pattern and sewed it up…

Boy, was I wrong!! It was fast and easy but the fit was horrendous! The bottom was too short  and flexible. The top was so loose that they kept falling off the doll's feet.

And so began my quest for an easy yet perfect fit slipper....

For the sole pattern, I used the sandal's sole since I knew it was the right length. For the slipper top I started with a half moon shaped piece of material and pinned it to the sole piece while on the doll's foot. 

Pattern success...
                     now on to the prototype...

My vision was to cover the cardboard insoles with flannel, glue the tops around the front insoles, hot glue foam bottoms to insole bottoms, then glue braiding around edge where the insole and bottom meet. Simple, right? Not so! The foam soles just did not look right on the slipper. Changed to flannel covered cardboard for both the insole and sole and changed from hot glue to the cool glue gun to have a thinner line of glue. Last step, hot glued yarn around the soles and bows atop the slippers.

Finally, satisfied with the results.

But wait,

what do you think about flannel or velour bathrobes to complete the night time outfits?

Craft Shows for 2015 Holiday Season

I've been spending a lot of time readying for this season's craft shows. I always think I'll sew all summer long so that I don't stress out at crunch time right before the shows. Well, I did sew some this summer but not enough! So, I'm busy sewing, knitting or crocheting everyday and hoping that I have more than enough inventory for the 3 shows I'll be selling at November and December.

I will be at the following shows this season and I hope to see you at least at one of them.

Show 1:

November 14, 2015 from 9:00 - 3:00

Flanders Holiday Bazaar

27 Main Street, Flanders, NJ

This show supports the Flanders fire department and first aid squad. To learn more about this show and see some of the vendors that will be there, visit their Facebook page at 
https://www.facebook.com/events/982302325164309/

Show 2:

November 21, 2015 from 11:00 - 4:00

Holiday Shopping at Indian Lake, 

91 East Shore Road, Denville, NJ

To learn more about this show and see some of the vendors that will be there, visit their Facebook page at  https://www.facebook.com/events/868315149888814/

Show 3:

December 5, 2015

Holy Family Christmas Craft Fair

35 Orchard Road, Florham Park, NJ