newmoonstar: (Default)
I finished the 1820 doll dress! And it actually turned out better than I expected! It was definitely the most difficult dress I've done so far, even though you wouldn't think so to look at it! (I know, I know, I really am going to have to buy a digital camera sometime this year, I'll post pics of all my doll clothes then so you can judge for yourselves!) I think I was just so frustrated with it's construction that I was finding fault with it everywhere; the stitching on the trim looks fine now that it's all finished, and overall, it actually resembles the sort of dress it's supposed to be! I'll just have to remember next time to make the bodice smaller. Luckily, the disastrous side-back pieces are entirely hidden by the sleeves, so you can't tell how much I fudged it unless you specifically look for it! And even though I ran out of pink thread (OMG!) I just had enough left to finish all the outside stitching and used white for all the inner seams. So on the whole, despite the fact that it nearly killed me, (or at the very least made me want to give up sewing forever!) I actually am quite pleased with how it turned out.

TV-wise, I actually quite like Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple. She's very different from Geraldine McEwan, obviously, but Miss Marple is one of those iconic characters that can have more than one valid interpretation. And the direction and supporting cast and eveything else about the production is still top-notch, so a different lead actress isn't actually as big a change as it could be. (Which is much more than I can say for my late, lamented Bramwell, but I don't have time to go into that now! Some time when I have a few hours I'll probably post a long rant behind a cut expressing my very strong emotions about that show!)

And in other news, I went to the American Girl Charity Benefit sale this year. Long story short: I came to buy ONE doll, I ended up buying TEN dolls. Literally. No joke. But they were $25 each! That's like four for the price of one! (P.S. I'm broke now! I probably won't be able to afford to eat anything but cornflakes for another few months.) And I thought I was finally over American Girl! But when you see them in person they're just SO darn cute! When I got them home I thought I'd have a huge case of buyer's remorse, but in the face of all that darn dolly cuteness, I couldn't even feel bad about it! Like I said, American Girl is drawing me back into it's insidious web. But I'm weak; if it's a choice between dolls and food, the dolls always win. ;-D
newmoonstar: (little dorrit (spaceyplum))
Sewing not going well at all. The 1820's doll dress is not turning out as well as I hoped, and I've re-done the sleeves twice, re-done the bodice twice, and I'm thinking I should re-do the trim on the skirt because the more I look at it the more I think the stitching should be much finer. *sigh* You expect things to need adjustment the first time you make up a pattern, but this is just ridiculously discouraging.

Well, American Girl continues to draw me into it's insidious web. They've introduced a new historical doll, and just when I'd written them off, thinking Mattel's evil influence would give us only bland blonde dolls forever more, they come out with Rebecca Rubin, a Jewish New Yorker from 1914. Wearing an adorable meet dress with high-button shoes and all. She even has her own doll-sized samovar. They just have to do everything in their power to get me to want this doll, don't they? But luckily I'm old enough to not desperately need every new doll that comes out; I think I'll just give her books a read, since they look like just the sort of thing I would have loved when I was 10, and let that suffice. Besides, I think I'll probably get Kirsten or Addy if I do ever buy another AG doll. *sheepish grin*

But more happily, some of the good things in life are free, because there's new Poirot on Mystery! this season! It's a nice change to watch one I haven't seen a dozen times! Especially when the wonderful Harriet Walter was in the cast. But I'm a little disappointed about Miss Marple this season; why did they replace Geraldine McEwan? She was so awesome! But I'll give this new one a try anyhow; I can't resist Agatha Christie in almost any form, and hopefully Julia McKenzie won't be as boring as Joan Hickson! That series was so boring even I won't watch it!
newmoonstar: (waterhouse (icons_by_jenn))
Ever have a sewing day where everything went so horribly wrong that you felt like you wanted to give up sewing forever? That was me a few days ago. I haven't touched the 1820's doll dress since then because the bodice is just not fitting, and I ripped out a side back seam I probably shouldn't have, and... well, let's not go into it! I have no idea how to fix it, but I'm trying to pluck up the courage to try again. Which I will do, because I've made up my mind that once I'm finished I'm going to take apart this old pseudo-Victorian dress I made for myself many a year ago. It doesn't fit and only looks vaguely historical, but the fabric is SO perfect for circa 1780-1800, so I'm going to see if I can remake it into:
a) a 1780's robe a l'anglaise
or b) a 1790's round gown
or c) an 1800 open robe.
I'll have to figure it out once I know how much fabric I've got to work with.

Also started reading Agnes Grey. It's just freaky how people are exactly the same no matter what time or place they're in, even down to the things they say. I really do think I've baby-sat for the same families Miss Grey has been a governess in!
newmoonstar: (hark! a vagrant (solidor))
I've actually started a new sewing project! But I'm mad at myself for it, because it's a doll dress, when I promised myself I'd start on my Costume Con wardrobe. Bad me! But you can't have too many pink doll dresses, right? And besides, I already had the sleeves cut out, because I'd intended to use them for the last pink doll dress, but since they didn't work out I've had them sitting there, and I hate to see perfectly good sleeves go to waste, so what was I to do but design a new dress around them? It's going to be an 1820's day dress, and I'm going to put pink ribbon trim on it and it'll be adorable. I'm halfway through applying the trim and feeling a little guilty because my stitching probably ought to be a lot tinier, but why strain my eyes for a cotton dress? I'll bust out the tiny stitching when I get to the silk dresses!

Just found a special edition DVD of the 2006 Jane Eyre at Barnes & Noble, and am now consumed with the need to possess it. It's ten dollars more than the regular one, but isn't that worth it for deleted scenes, interviews and commentary? Heck yes!!! And it comes with the 1998 Wuthering Heights, which I just saw the other day, and though it's not that great (it's sort of like a condensed, Cliff Notes version), and only has two or three nice dresses, it does feature the scrumptious Matthew McFadyen as Hareton, and I could always resell it or give it to someone. See, the reasons to buy this set are just piling up! I'm going to have to give in.

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