A Sweater for Isabelle

I finally finished some new clothes for my American Girls a couple of weeks ago, and though it's far too rainy to take any of the dolls out for a photo shoot now, I did get some photographs of Isabelle while it was still dry outside. I've actually been busy sewing clothes for a very different kind of doll lately. I find sewing clothes for my new Makie, Christina, much more enjoyable than making them for my 18 inch girls. You'll be seeing a lot of Christina and her lovely new outfits in the future, but for now I'll show you all the stuff I've been sewing for Izzy and her gang.

Here's Isabelle wearing a coral and gray sweater that I made. Mother and I modified the pattern to make it a bit more sweater-y. I didn't make these pants, but I did make some jeans to go with another shirt/sweater that I'll show you soon.

I do love Isabelle's blond hair. The color is just a bit lighter than mine, and we even part it the same way. She does, however, have hazel eyes instead of turquoise/blue/green/brown eyes.

Even Isabelle takes selfies. And yes, that is the string that holds her head on straight.

I hope you enjoyed seeing Isabelle in her lovely new sweater. I'll be back with some more doll clothes soon!

The Loveliest Time of the Year

Hello, everyone. How's your day going? My day is going quite well. I have a wonderful idea for a story, and I plan on working on that today. I suppose you're wondering why I've written another blog post in one week. Crazy, I know. I've decided that today would be a good day to explain why I never blog.

 I like to think I spend my days frolicking with my pets, writing stories about wild, mysterious lands, and dressing my dolls in their wonderful handmade clothes. But the truth is, I'm just a boring, lazy teen who likes to procrastinate more than anything else in the world. At the moment my pets are sitting patiently as they watch me play around on my computer, lots of unfinished stories are waiting for their endings, and my dolls are lying around naked wondering what happened to that new shirt I've been working on for a month. It's tragic, I know, but that's why I'm here today. Perhaps if I keep up on my blog, I can slowly get better at not putting things off. I know you enjoy reading the things I write, and I enjoy writing them for people to read. I love people's responses to my posts, and I love putting a smile on someone's face. If I start blogging more, it will help me improve my writing skills, which I need, seeing as I'm in the middle of about ten different stories. I can show you all my doll clothes that I make, even if they're not the greatest, because you probably won't even see all the flaws. I can provide you with short stories to read (I have a few good ones that I've almost finished). I can even give you lots of pictures of my animals, including all my new chickens. I'm certainly not lacking ideas for new posts, I simply have to take the time to write them down and share them here. Once I get started on something, chances are I'll keep it going for a long time. Now that I've started blogging again, I think it's safe to promise many more posts in the future.

On a lighter note, it's currently my favorite season, and it feels like it. I love walking on the crunchy orange leaves and feeling the delightful crisp air on my face the moment I step outside. It's wonderful to be able to wear sweaters outside without being too hot or too cold. When I look outside it's obvious that it's fall, and that makes me smile. Fall makes me want to go outside and take pictures of my dolls, go for a bike ride with Rosey (fat old thing that she is), or just walk around and enjoy the beauty.

Well, I've been working on this post for about an hour, so I should probably end it now and work on something else. I'll be back soon!

A Fourth Trip to California

Good morning, my friends. As some of you already know, in September we went to California to visit with my brother, sister-in-law, and two nephews for a few days. We had a lovely time there and on the way back we got to see one of my aunts and my other brother.

 We left on Friday and got there very early Saturday morning, whereupon we went right to sleep. Later on Saturday we went to Morro Rock.

This is Walter.

This is Owen.

Here's my mommy, who was very pleased to be holding her grandson again.

This is my lovely sister-in-law, Margaret.

This is my brother, Matthew.

That's me with Walter.

Here's Mother with Walter.

Here's Daddy with Walter.

We read to the boys a lot the whole time we were there.

Owen loved his grandpa.

And Walter Loved the homemade raisins Grandma brought him.

 On our way home, we stopped at my Aunt Sue's and my brother Patrick's houses.

We had a wonderful time with everyone, and I can't wait to see them again. But, of course, it's nice to be home.

Originally I had called this our third trip to California, but it's really our fourth. I don't know why I thought it was only our third. Perhaps it was because I didn't write about our trip last year, but whatever the reason, this is our fourth trip to California, not third.