I Love My Dolly! :D

   I'm in looove!!! Remember when I told you that I'd make a doll from a Dolls & Daydreams pattern? Well, I made her, and she is gorgeous! Even if I say so myself. :D

Made using the Little Sister doll pattern by Dolls & Daydreams

   I LOVED the pattern, it was easy to work with, used very little materials and the results were great. I even learned a couple of new tricks, thanks to Sarah's great instructions.

   She was made using 100% cotton fabrics, acrylic felt and polyester fiberfill; her face was drawn using Sharpie Stained fabric markers. I used acrylic felt because I made her for myself but if I was to sell a handmade dolly, I'd definitely use wool felt. I might even give wool stuffing a go, what do you think?

   Here are 2 sneak peeks of the dolly I snapped a couple of days ago through Instagram.

Have a nice week!

My Month Through Instagram

   It's been a while since I showed you my life through Instagram, so I thought, why not?

1. Breakfast: Oatmeal pancakes!
2. Scrap basket after it was organized.
3. Super happy mail day.
4. Zipper wallet, second attempt.
5. Coin pouches.
6. Handmade heart applique.
7. Homemade pizza.
8. Curry chicken with white rice.
9. Shoulder bag, I really love that fabric.
10. Some of my creations ready to be sold.
11. Finished custom clutch.
12. With the family eating pizza.
13. The pizza I ate with my family.
14. One of my dream cars.
15. Fabric shopping.
16. A Singer Featherweight someone left at the repair store where I got my precious machine. :D
17. Rice flour pancakes with bananas and strawberry jam.
18. First thing sewn entirely using my precious vintage sewing machine.
19. Dinner: Steak with loaded mashed yam.
20. Another shoulder bag made from lovely fabrics.
21. Shrimp in a coconut-curry sauce with fried plantain.
22. Chocolate cupcake with meringue topping.
23. My retouched blue streaks.
24. Tacos!
25. Getting ready to list some items on Etsy.
26. I listed many items on my Etsy shop: 18.0.7
27. Baked potato with shrimp.
28. This one is unbelievable, someone left that cute ginger kitten at my window. I woke up to his cry and I obviously brought him into the house. I bathed him, fed him and treated his ear-mites. I'm not sure he will stay (I would find him a loving home in any case) but I'm trying to decide on a name. What do you think, Lucky or Chester?

Would you like to see these (and some others) happen in real time? Then follow me, my username is: yadiras_adventures

Musings of an Amateur Doll Maker

   You already know that I normally design and make bags, purses, clutches and all kinds of fabric receptacles, but I want you to know that I'm also an adventurous crafter who likes to try everything at least once. Over a year ago I went through a doll making phase; I even have evidence to prove it. I made 2 dolls of which I am SUPER proud, even if they were just for fun. Making dollies is so rewarding that I'm ready for another try! ;-)

   I'll write about my first doll making experience in a very tiny font, because I need to take the experience off my system but I don't like talking about bad things here.

I purchased a pattern from a doll designer and I changed some details . These were very simple, I added a collar as embellishment and at that time I didn't have the skills to transfer the face template so I made my own. I can't publish a picture of my doll in my own personal blog because since she is slightly different from the pattern I'd be going against the designer's policies.  Not to mention I still am disappointed with this designer's service. When I asked her how I should act about my doll, she never even answered my message. So you'll have to take my word that my dolly is really cute. :-D

   I was so much into dollies at the time that I even designed my own, I went through a trial and error process until I ended up with Lola, and it was love at first sight. My doll making heart was pleased, so I went back to my purses. <3

   I always wanted to tweak the pattern but I think she is pretty cute as is, so I'll just design another that has been in my sketches for several months. Would you like to see that?

   In the meantime my doll making heart keeps beating so I bought this gorgeous pattern by the awesome Sarah Hanson from Dolls and Daydreams and I'll be working on it in the upcoming days. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Via Dolls and Daydreams

1st Blog Anniversary + A New (to me) Sewing Machine

   I'm the worst blogger. Can you believe that I forgot about my own 1st blogiversary. :S

   I actually blogged the day of the anniversary (last week) but I didn't remember it was a special day. So... the post before this one would be the 1st Blog Anniversary post, I just forgot to mention it. LOL Happy Birthday little blog! Better later than never, right?

   I might be celebrating it but I need to decide how I'm going to do it. I'll keep you posted.

   Ok, on to the actual post. :D

   I've been in need of a new sewing machine because my trusty Brother decided she wouldn't let me trust her anymore. She started acting up to the point where I needed to unpick all my top-stitches and do them all over a couple of times until they were acceptable. They would look awesome from the top thread/needle side and look AWFUL from the bobbin side. I tried everything, I changed needles, adjusted tension, bought expensive thread and nothing. I think it might be the bobbin case but since I can't wait for the piece to arrive I decided to get me another sewing machine to keep working on (and to be a back-up) until I figure out how to solve my Brother's problem. So I bought a Singer Simple, it had nice reviews and it was super cheap so I didn't give it much thought. I've been using it and I like it. :D

   But what I actually wanted was a machine that I could really trust, one for which parts were easy to find and to repair. So yesterday I went to the sewing machine twilight zone. :S

You can click the pictures to see them full size, they are from my Instagram.

   And I brought a little treasure for my sewing room. :D

   This is not a Singer, it's its Chinese cousin or so I think. I researched about it a little but didn't find anything that would help me calculate its age. On the top, where it should read "Singer Manufacturing Co." blah blah, it reads "Made in the People's Republic of China". I think it's a clone/replica of the Singer 15-90 the only difference being the position of the bobbin finger; in my machine it faces to the right (1 o'clock position) where it should normally face to the left (11 o'clock position) and of course the name and designs. On its front where it should say Singer it says Flying Dove and all of its decals/markings are Dove themed. Original Singer parts fit flawlessly in case anything ever breaks.

   It's in perfect working order and sews beautifully, also the pedal is new and the bobbin winder is not its original because the original was broken. I still need to clean it really well since it came from a repair shop and it's super dirty but otherwise I'm pretty pleased with my purchase. The lady at the repair shop told me that this machine would probably sew through anything and I'm almost sure with the right needle it would. So in conclusion, I now have 2 new machines one that is easy to work with and modern and one that sews beautifully and should last me a lifetime if serviced properly; I got both of them for less than what I got my Brother for. I'm sew happy now! ;)

Oh! I accept cabinet donations. LOL The machine works on any surface but is too strong for any plastic table. I noticed the hard way. After just a couple hours of sewing, I have a dented plastic table to prove it.