I haven't completely disappeared! I've been working on this little 10" Izannah Walker inspired kit by Gail Wilson. She has been a very slow project for me this winter. Projects around the house with my husband have taken a lot of our "spare time." When I opened the kit, which I purchased a good while ago, I discovered that the paint containers for the skin had opened and dried out (a miracle that it wasn't all over the other paint pots!). Luckly, I had some GW flesh colored paint already on hand! Then, while getting ready to begin painting her face, her paper mache head feel off the pencil/rag "holder" onto the floor, breaking the back part of her shoulder plate! I was devastated. I couldn't believe how much crying I did over that silly little doll project - she was more important to me than I realized. My wonderful husband came up with an idea on how to fix her using some 2 part epoxy stuff from the hardware store. We molded it as best we could to her, waited a day or two, then sanded it as best we could and painted it. The repair is obvious when she has no clothes on, but I decided it would be good enough to continue and press on. Painting her face was a challenge - the experience reminded me that I'm overdue for an appointment with the optometrist, and that I should probably invest in some mag-eyes for this type of project! But I persevered and did the best I could.
The camisole was made, but my kit didn't have a ribbon for the front, so it took me a while to decide what to use. I found a light blue silk ribbon in my embroidery things, and over dyed it to soften the color. Her camisole, pantalettes and slip are finally done!
Yesterday, I picked out the fabrics for her summer dress, bonnet, winter dress and apron and bonnet. I already had fabric for her cape. I hope I can make quicker progress on her clothes, because my Gail Wilson order from her March sale arrived on Friday! I have so many projects to finish this summer - because in the Fall, I will be taking Gail's on-line class to make 9", 7" and 4 1/2" Milliners Model dolls.
