Tiny Dress Form

My niece Lucy loves her American Girl Twins, Jack and Jane. Like can't leave home without them LOVE. Having been quite the doll aficionado myself, I fully understand this obsession. But before we get to Lucy, let me tell you about Mrs. Ferguson.

Mrs. Ferguson was my aunt's mother-in-law. I never met her, but twice a year- Christmas and Birthday- my sister and I would receive a checkbook box of clothes for our Barbie dolls. Beautiful, detailed, beaded, hand crocheted doll clothes. Wedding dresses with booties and silver beading. Knit business suits with a button closure tank shirt. Leggings and tunics. Swimming suits. This was amazing work, but I didn't care about that, my sister and I had the most fashionable Barbie dolls in Bryn Mawr. Who was this mystery lady, loosely related to me? Why did she send me these amazing outfits every year without fail? I didn't think about that very long either; I wrote an awkward 7 year-old thank you note and went to organize the next fashion show.

Years later when I purchased my first sewing machine, one of the first things I wanted to try was Barbie doll clothes, to see exactly what Mrs. Ferguson went through. It had to be fun or she would not have been so steadfast in her shipments. I quickly found fit issues (Barbie's crazy 13.5cm-8.5cm-12.5cm figure) and the miniscule scale was beyond my skill.

So let's try something bigger- say an American Girl doll?

For Christmas, I made Lucy sleeping bags for Jack and Jane. Without an actual doll, I was concerned about proportion, so I made a dummy:



This worked fine for a fleece rectangle, but it would never work to design a corduroy swing coat with toggle buttons for Jane and a Members Only style jacket for Jack. No, no. This won't do.


I asked Mom and Alison to keep their eyes out for used AG dolls in the same size. "Are you kidding? These dolls are like gold!" "It's a miracle doll, E. Girls just don't USE them and then give them to Goodwill." Wow. I guess it had been a while since I was in the doll circle.

I stalked Craigslist. In several states. I combed Ebay for something used and abused. Everything was in mint condition with a minty price. I found a naked African American doll with one blue and one brown eye. I placed my bid. I was immediately outbid past my max.

Finally one night, I checked my 'Watch' list-an auction was ending in 26 minutes. In between watching Human Target and checking my bids, I received an email:



I immediately called Mom and Alison to brag about my Ebay bidding strategy. Then I found a pad of paper and started sketching and a week later, Junior arrived.


Junior chills by the Janome.

Now my tiny dress form lives in the sewing room, waiting to be poked, prodded, taped, draped and dressed in the latest tiny couture. I wait to have a Mrs. Ferguson experience. And Lucy waits for her checkbook box.

Only 295 Crafting Days Left Until Christmas

A few years ago, Jay and I found our Christmas to-buy-for list growing larger. To keep the shopping craziness down and creativity flowing, we decided to make small gifts for each other and everyone on the list.

With a fabulous bulk spice store around the corner, we grabbed an assortment of ingredients and developed Mexachusetts Spice Blend, Boston Gahden Herb Blend and North End Italian Seasoning. Since then, I've tried every year to make at least one gift for people on my list. I remember drowning in supplies that ended up being mittens, bread mix, sock monkeys, CD's,
puppets and scarves.



During the frenzy that is the holidays, I've found this is a relaxing way to spend November and December- working with my hands, fashioning a closure, dreaming up and researching an EKR-version of something on the e-mailed X-mas lists.

In 2009, I had a whole Santa's workshop to myself and my sewing machine in my newly built house. It is truly a luxury that I hope I never have to give up- being able to cut and spread out and litter the floor with thread with wild abandon.

I had ALL sorts of ideas, especially for all the nieces and nephews. One was an art-to-go kit inspired by my friend Amy (again). I found a pattern I liked here.



What a great solution for bored kids riding in the car, waiting for appointments or restaurants to blast out some serious creativity. Once I cranked out the first kit, I was a factory and made extras for the occasional neighbor kid visit or birthday that might pop up in the future. As soon as the crayons were tucked, they were gone; a neighbor with a 1 year old had a Christmas party, my nephews have a cousin and that occasional visit happened sooner rather than later.



Another fun project was an aromatherapy eye mask. My yoga teacher in Boston lived in my neighborhood and mentioned this one day on a walk home. We purchased sewing machines at the same time and our latest projects were often hot topics after the 7pm class at Crunch.



She suggested using essential oils to make rice fragrant and filling silk bags with the rice. It has a perfect weight and can also be warmed up in the microwave for sore muscles. I prefer the radiator/space heater method, conveniently located next to my desk!



I made eye masks in double digit quantities and they were soon gone too. Lots of girls in the family and one Lawyer Dad all need personal spa time.



I am excited to use the next 295 days to prototype the best holiday gifts for next year. The suggestion box is open!