The disastrous craft show

We came, we saw, and we sold absolutely nothing.

But the girls showed off their best/favorite outfits regardless.

Sam and Nellie with the holiday dresses and the goody bags

Kirsten and Kanani and the Christmas tree of paper cranes

"I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favorite shop at the craft fair!"

Nellie in denim

The beast at Piney Point

Lime green fabric and jumbo yellow ric rac was a mistake.

Ok, the halter tops are slightly better.

Wait, what's that in the corner?

Oh no!  It noticed us.

...and is coming over here!

OHAI!

Can I play too?

Matching outfits for Samantha and Nellie

Because best friends like to dress alike

More Holiday Dresses

Gold snowflake regency dress

Gold snowflake dropwaist dress

Silver brocade dress

Tshirt with peacock feather applique and peacock print velour skirt

Holiday Dresses

Bodice and sleeves of black stretch velvet with
rhinestones and a venice lace collar

Red velvet with vintage glass buttons and pearl trim

Bodice and sleeves made from a vintage handkerchief

Kanani's sundresses

Sleeveless maxi sundress with ricrac and grosgain trim

Triple tier halter sundress

Kirsten's school dresses

These were all made from the Pleasant Company Patterns for Kirsten

Samantha and Nellie's school dresses

Craft Fair Prep

Kanani lucked out as the girl who got to play (somewhat) with all the toys I ordered for the craft show next month.

...with her games...

...and puzzles...

...and stationary

One of everything

What the floor looked like....

All packed up and ready to go

New fall outfit for Kanani

I had some spare fabric and time, and this looked like a good idea at the time...  One of these things might have been a mistake.

The smock dress is from a free pattern by Jenwrenne (here), and the leggings are from a free pattern by Doll Originals (here).  The leggings made up fairly quickly and easily.  As it turns out, I don't really like the way empire waists look, so I'm unlikely to use the top/dress pattern again.

And the pink fuzzy ricrac is now banned from doll clothes forever.  Luckily, the dolls have been on the receiving end of worse experimental outfits.

Samantha at Mystic Seaport

First off, a new 1870s dress for visiting a 19th century fishing village in Mystic Seaport, CT.  This is a three piece bustle dress made from the Thimbles and Acorns pattern, made from pink gingham and broadcloth, and trimmed with ruffled lace, a rosebud lace, and ribbon rosettes.

The Charles W Morgan, the last wooden whaling ship in the world

Giant Squash

Another wooden tall ship

And a ship in a bottle as a souvenir

Kirsten's fancy dress

Kirsten has a new fancy dress (though it's really more spring colors than fall).  The fabric is a piece of cotton sateen I picked up in Beijing this past spring.  I used the Kirsten's apron dress pattern from the old Pleasant company patterns.  There's lace trim around the skirt and matching trim around the waistband.  I used a different lace for the bodice overlay and trimmed it with a tiny applique rosette.  There's also tiny venice lace on the sleeve cuffs.

Free American Girl Pattern: Remake of Samantha's BeForever meet dress

Samantha was my first doll, purchased for my 21st birthday as my first action as a 'real adult', so I was rather sad when she retired in 2007.  But she's been rereleased this fall!

However, I can't say I'm a fan of her new meet dress.  It looks skimpy and just off compared to the Edwardian patterns I've seen.  So I made her a new one based on a pattern from 1905, so it's even mostly period.

The dress is made of pink dotted swiss with eyelet ruffle at the sleeves, neck, and hem.  I used a scrap of burgundy ribbon in my stash for the waist sash and matching hair bow.  The sash ties into a giant bow in the back.

The pattern is the housedress featured in Le Semaine de Suzette 1905 issue 1 for Bleuette.  I've resized the pattern to work for American Girl dolls.

Free American Girl dress pattern for Samantha's period meet dress 

Free Historical Book Pattern 'The Wonders of a Toy Shop' for 18" Dolls

The dolls have been complaining about a lack of attention to the minor accessories to which they hold dear.  So of course I had to go looking for something just the right size for them.

The book is a replica of a children's picture book from the 1850s (making this period for Kirsten, Cecile, and Marie-Grace).  The original can be found at http://www.read.gov/books/toy.html as part of the Library of Congress's rare book collection.

Instructions
Book Template

Nellie's pretty pleased with her new book.