What if I could do the “Dorm Room” on the Small Living Room base (aka the Friday Monologue room) ? I’d use  the wall with the door in it (after all it’s a dorm so who cares too much about that?) So I decided what the hell?  I’ve got the walls handy (I just need to give them a couple coats of paint & some skirting boards) toss the beds in and a barbie desk (and wardrobes) and there it is! Ready to go!

The great thing about this is that if I’m careful & tweak things just right–I might actually be able to start proper episodes & photostories for the Quinlan Chronicles.

• I’ll have the local cafe
• A student Dorm room
• Maybe a student Lounge if I  decide to use the Small Living Room set as that (and I don’t see why I couldnt??)

Then really–at least as far as the student stuff goes—I’ve got just about everything I need! (Ok not everything but a lot!) and I can use the same base & part of the walls from August’s Living Room set for a student classroom if I decide I need to do some of those shots in the psys!

Ok so anyway, I was taking a break right???

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigght!

I saw a thing called a ticker tape quilt. There’s an awesome tutorial that made me feel it was doable: SewMamaSew . So  I wanted to try to make one.  I’m not all that good at quilting (up to now I’d never even completed a quilt) so seeing one that made me feel like “hey, I can probably do that!” was nifty. So I got to work on it–after all if I was going to make a dorm room (for multiple people) different bed treatments would be needed etc.

This is how it sort of started out:

I was lucky that the rolls of scraps I’d gotten last time at the fabric shop had a LOT of small prints. It helped make the quilt seem a little more in scale than it would otherwise have done.

After  all the sewing (and sorry they’re small but they’re still pain in the ass things to sew) I washed it roughly a couple of times in very hot water. I wanted to get the patch pieces to fray (I wasn’t sure if they would since I’d prewashed everything before hand) and I wanted the base of the quilt (white) to have that kind of rumpled/used look that they get.  (I’m not sure how well you can see that in the pics)

I know, not a lot to look at and not really a palette that I would have chosen… Which led me to wonder which of the students it would be meant for?

Yeah. Looks like Eff has claimed it!

Anyway that’s what I was working on the last two days.  Overall I’m happy with it and I learned as I went along which is good. I doubt I’ll ever be a “quilter” since it’s so fussy & nit picky (and part of the reason I liked this kind of quilt was that it seemed to be less-so than usual).

Comments?

I’m going to sit down and clear off my sewing area and try my hand at quilting again. For those who remember–I was working on a 1:6 log cabin quilt

Of course, though–I wouldn’t be me if I hadn’t misplaced my box of quilt squares! (someday I’ll figure out what “safe place” I put them in! but until then I’m going to start on something called a Ticker Tape Quilt.

They seem kind of my speed and certainly a little bit less labor intensive than the log cabin blocks (I’m still racking my brain for where they are–especially after I made that special trip to buy more fabric for the colors) I’m going to try to do one for one of the student Dorm room beds. We’ll see how it goes. If nothing else it’ll help keep my brain busy & functioning!

I’ll update with that, and the cafe when I get back to it. :happy:

First off, I had to pick out what kind of furnishings would really go with August’s personality. He’s obviously a modernist/contemporary kind of guy so that’s what I realized I had to make for him (even if it doesn’t totally appeal to me).  His personality is very dominant (and selfish).

Modernish design?  Check.

What kind of fabrics did I have on hand that I could use for said furniture?

Of all the stuff I had the only thing that really struck me as right for it was some black leather. I’d gotten a leather pair of pants at the rag market in Birmingham for £5.00 which seemed like a good deal at the time even w/o knowing what I’d do with it. ( FWIW I don’t really like using animal products in my customs but I don’t mind as much if I’m recycling stuff that’s already out there. The ethics of it are fuzzy for me.)

And the Roomset– how did I want to design it (with what I had on hand) to reflect his personality & tastes?

Well I’d already decided I was going to try to use this wall (cut down to fit the now standard large roomset base)

I figured that the wall could work for a living room provided I set the rest of it up right (and managed to make some decent window treatments) I’m thinking possibly roman blinds.

Ok, so we can figure that I’ll use the matching wall opposite (nothing to go wow about, just a white wall w/ skirting-board), and of course the door with the “apartment door” that makes its way into most of my sets. This makes the room pretty sterile IMO. And not as dramatic as I think someone like August would want it.

So, what am I going to do?

I’m experimenting with making brick for an exposed brick wall. For the feel that will be kind of like this:

I have a plan.  I’m working on the wall today as well as another couch.  I obviously need practice, and if the one I make today comes out a bit  better then I’ll be happy (and it’ll go on etsy to help pay for the visit to the Vet that Max is in need of).

Annnnnnnnnnyway, yesterday was the first time in more than a year (almost 2) that I sat down with the intention of making furniture and nothing else.  As usual the whole process became one long learning experience… I’d do it differently next time (if I did it at all).  :dizzy:

I don’t find leather as easy to work with for furniture as I do regular woven fabrics. I’m guessing that with more practice (I didn’t have much so I tried really hard not to screw up  and did anyway!) I’d probably get the hang of it and end up with something that looked better than “sub-par” for my efforts.

I know, the whole set isn’t finished & I really shouldn’t judge it yet–at least not until it’s in the roomset & being used. The legs need doing, the table finishing, I need to make the side tables (need to get supplies for that ran out), chairs need doing, floating shelves, and of course the incidental “decor”.

Unfortunately for August, he’s stuck with what I’ve made because I don’t have enough leather to try again.  I should probably explain that his sofa went from being a sectional to a single because of the aforementioned screw ups which required more of the leather. *sigh* So I am going to scrounge a bit and see if I can find something to use for the chairs.  The lame-ass coffee table started life as an ottoman but I couldn’t get the top cushion to look right so I said screw it and made it into a low table. I’m not 100% certain that it works….but for now, it stops me from throwing the whole shebang into the trash and saying “No furniture for you!”

Some further info:

All aspects of her outfit were made to be removable.  After all, a steampunk adventuress she may be–but Natalia might not always want to dress that way!

Her ensemble consists of:

• Raygun (I need to actually take a pic of it alone)
• Goggles
• Necklace
• Cage crinoline
• Camisole-type top
• Panties/bloomers
• Underskirt
• Overskirt (lined with biscuit silk)
• Underbust corset
• Spats & shoes

The majority of the outfit was sewn from 100% silk (biscuit color, teal) and the underskirt was made of a coppery/bronze polyblend.  Her cage crinoline was made from copper & brass with a bit of leather.

I really wanted to make her a lot grittier but I struggled a lot because I don’t think that my mental image of a steampunk female adventurer would go over so well with many of the convention goers…so I tried to find a happy medium between the two…Not really sure that I did.

I lost patience with the FR body’s lack of tension & ability to hold a pose–but you know what they say; “One man’s meat is another man’s poison” and in this case, as much as I admire some of the headsculpts that Integrity puts out I feel I’m firmly going to avoid any that I can’t re-body.

Completed the corset for the outfit today. It was something of a bear and I really don’t know what the hell I was thinking to decide to make it lined. Surely unlined but with a bit of interfacing would have done the job as well?

It looks a little thick but I suppose  I can cope with that.

I’ll update later on if I manage to get the cage crinoline (mini) done. I can’t move on to the skirts until I have that done and on for fittings–otherwise I chance that thinsg won’t fit and /or hang right.

My original plan for her skirt patterning has changed since I don’t have the right momme of silk to use for the over skirt. So instead of careful little swags & folds I think it will be either ruched up (to display the cage crinoline) or else I may make a flat one and trim it with ruffled silk (ala the time period). It’s good I chose the biscuit colored silk because at least now I can afford to make both versions & see which I like better.

I was stumbling a bit as to what to use for the hoops on the cage crinoline but I salvaged some copper wire which I think will work. I’m considering using heat shrink tubing to join the ends but I might also just rough em up & glue them to some leather and then sew that. Aesthetically that might look more in tune. I’m still worried about how the variety of silks & cotton & metals are going to balance.

Also, I know I said I wasn’t going to repaint her (I know! I change my mind so often) but I definitely think that the Natalia needs some work done on her lips. I won’t be doing it though until the outfit (and gadets to go with it) are made. We’ll see.

Anyway

When I’m sewing for myself I can barely be bothered to sew on snaps or hooks & eyes. Most shirts are simply pinned up the back because I can’t stand the repetitious hand sewing. I design bunches of outfits but I don’t make them –because I’m just not motivated enough to make them–for myself.

Now throw a friend into the mix.
Someone who doesn’t sew, or doesn’t do it frequently. Said friend mentions things that I know I can make…Can someone explain to me why I’ll go out of my way to make things for other people, I’ll spend hours sewing on stupid snaps & hooks, adjusting pieces etc. And I still won’t think it’s good enough?

*sigh*

Anyway, here’s a few pics of the stuff I made today.

Anyone wanna guess who they’re for?

I’m not sure how good the things are but I’m trying.  I’m making cupcakes & sweets & some smaller props to use.  Valentines has never been a holiday I paid a lot of attention to–but this year I think my dolls may demand a set of  goodies for themselves to keep. (that’s fair, isn’t it? I can keep some of the stuff I make….right?)

I’m being treated to a trip to Birmingham today! I’m going to the quilt shop there to pick up some more fabric for my in process 1:6 quilt. I started it with some various pieces I had lying around but am running out quickly & know there won’t be enough for all the additional blocks I have yet to make.

So here’s to a morning getting lost in Birmingham!

I’ll  check in later & update the Top 10 list with number 3 (and maybe number 2 also)

This is where the diversions come in!

Diversions are things that for me–force me out of a general mode of thought or action. For instance, This Christmas season I’ve been pretty blue. I haven’t really felt like making doll clothes (except as gifts), painting doll heads or generally customizing. I haven’t felt much like writing either. When I hit this kind of wall I have to break out and find something that interests me, but also isn’t something I know a hell of a lot about. I like learning new things–and new crafts are especially desirable to me. Of course, a lot of crafts require money & an initial investment to get the supplies.

You lump it or find alternatives.

Anyway, this sort of goes hand in glove with my Christmas season. We were doing low-to-no budget xmas gifts this year (the job situation being what is is) and I asked for a new 1:6 bedroom set.  Yea I know, you’re thinking what do I need one of those for? Don’t you already have one erica?? How often do you do room scenes with beds? Huh?

Well the thing is, that the 1 bedroom set I have (which consists of a bed & 2 barbie bedside tables) is nice but it’s a particular style & belongs definitively to Alison. Alison loves Art Nouveau.  I designed it specifically with her in mind. So no one else is ever going to claim it!

below: Devra is house sitting & borrowing Alison’s bedroom

The other problem with that bed is the size.
It’s scaled smaller than the 3rd generation  Fashion Royalty dolls & to be fair it’s a pretty tight fit for the Hot Toys guys.  Which limits who can pose in it (and be naughty) The older Dragon/BBI bodies will fit but it’s tight.

So, I thought a new bed set would be nice.  And it might also nudge Mark into the right direction–C’mon folks, I know when you see what he can make you’ll want to get him selling! (I’ve told him we can set him up an etsy shop if he makes stuff) Anyway–back to the diversion issue– Bed incoming right?

Well it’ll be in need of bed linens & stuff. (I guess I also have to make the mattress for it too LOL)

I’ve always had an interest in quilting. No experience other than making a 9 patch block once.  Lost patience real quick (I’m not a big hand sewer). But I thought eh, I’ll try doing some 1:6 quilting. Why not?
(Um, maybe because I don’t have a large amount of patience?) I decided I’d give it a-go with some of the fabrics I had.  It was sort of hard coming up with some combinations that I thought worked together.  Right now it takes me about 40 minutes to do a block.

The blocks look crummy in the pic, but they haven’t been squared off or trimmed down to size yet.

Who is Inessa?

Inessa is one of Natalie’s characters and an all time favorite of mine (so much so in fact that I created a sister just for her–I love interconnected characters).  I was going to link a pic of Inessa here, but her profile page needs updating *nudges nat* However you can see  Inessa here. (please forgive how horribly blurry most of the photos in that story are)

Anyway, Nat’s been mentioning that she’s been at a loss to dress the poor woman.  Not enough clothing in her closet that fits her style.  I can empathize with that since I have a few figures like that too….So I volunteered as an x-mas present (and with the ulterior motive of seeing more Inessa photostories) to make her an outfit.

  MERRY X-Mas Nat! 

Hope you like!

This is what I came up with last night (and this morning & this afternoon). Hope Inessa likes it (Yseult, her sister is modeling it on a borrowed E body) As usual, click the photo for a larger version (and inside the little funky box for an even larger version to see well, whatever details there might be)

This is a 2 piece set– a black shirt & a gunmetal grey/silvery skirt. The skirt fabric was really difficult to photograph.  It definitely looks better in person!

I felt kind of bad that Inessa was only getting one outfit–and wanted to make things interchangeable, so I added an additional skirt with the wrap & stuff to make it more complete.

The check skirt, black top, leather belt & faux fur wrap

Now, on a related topic—-Clothes & the organization of them!

Actually, I think I’ll post more on that tomorrow!

So far it’s going well & according to plan *knock wood* and by the end of the day I should have something (I hope worth showing)  for my efforts.  ^_^

Tomorrow will either be a sewing or a clay day I’m not sure which (and consequently sat will have to be a photo day–I wish it were easier & less hassle to set up for photos but everything always needs to be evacuated, moved or stuffed elsewhere in order to do it)

PS: I sorted through my fabric and am sad to report that I don’t have enough bits of my fqs left to start the quilting project.  I’m going to have to wait and see what happens with that (A pack of FQs costs about £10.00   xD   ).

Anyway that’s it for now!

I’m trying to gear myself up to do some though!   :woot:   I’ve got a couple of spare heads to practice on (since it’s been months since I’ve done a face-up I know I’ll be horribly rusty & will have to struggle again to remember exactly how I do it) .

So the plan for this week:

• start getting a feel for painting again (3 or more heads painted)
• make a replacement 1:6 couch (black I think)
• sew some CG & Goh guy clothes
• answer pending emails (very late on those)

If I get 3 of those 4 things done I’ll be happy.

As I get the face-ups done I’ll photograph them for those of you who’d like a look at how it progresses.

Here’s what Damara looked like when I started this morning: (you can see part of the boob-plate in progress in this pic as well)

While not all of the work has been 100% satisfactory for me, I’m just feeling pretty good about doing something.  So far since earlier this week — I’ve managed to make her 2 different breast plates (which still need some sanding and detailing done) and they fit fairly well although there was apparently some shrinkage (which I didn’t expect).

I also managed to do her re-root –replacing her default hair with some black hair I had left over from my last restoredoll order.

(you’ll have to check the blog later today/tomorrow for picts of her new hair and breasts)

I was particularly lazy tonight and after spending all the time rooting her–yea, I couldn’t be bothered to do a proper boil perm. Instead I ran the hot water and stuffed her head into the water. Then I doused her in cold tap water. It may not take, but what the hell, right? I’ve got nothing to lose.  Maybe when I get up tomorrow am (or actually I guess it’s am now) I’ll check it out and see 1) if it’s dried and 2) if it worked well enough to at least let the hair lie flat.  I really do hate re-rooting. It is so tedious…but at least at the end of it you know you’ll end up with something. Not like when I sew and I never know if I’ll end up with a usable piece of clothing or something for the scrap pile.

Anyway, it’s about time for bed.

Despite feeling somewhat burnt out, I think I may end up doing some more sewing next week…What can I say, I’m a masochist!

On a photostory related note:

I have been struggling the last week or more to figure out exactly how many students I needed for the photostories. I’ve settled on a total of 10 male characters (broken down into groups of 2 for room assignments) & 18 female characters in total.

Both the Male & Female numbers reflect having RAs (resident advisers–2 each). so that the number of freshmen & sophomore students is actually 8 & 16 respectively.  I know the girls are outnumbering the guys at the moment–but for a few reasons that I’ve skewed the gender ratio.

1. I don’t have enough male figure bodies handy to make more.
2. It seems to me that there will be more girl groups/girl related plotting going on.
3. I need to have some generic girls to use as “filler”/ background/bit part players.

For the dorms I figure that they are smaller older buildings. Each floor has 10 rooms (2 of those are singles) and a large multi-person bathroom/shower/bath room. I think that the student lounge may be located at ground level (insted of my original thought that there is one per floor).

So back to the characters:

18 girls sounds rather overwhelming, doesn’t it?

Well it could be except that a lot of them (at least initially) only pop in and aren’t main steam characters. So they aren’t really that important to start with. They may become important later but only time will tell.

Regardless of their importance, I felt the need to figure out who they are, and of course, who they are rooming with! (that actually is important for continuity.) Which meant that before I could do up the room-chart I’d have to know who I have, who I need etc.

Talk about a pain in the ass!

the first issue is that I am running seriously low on supplies. So that means I’ve got to make people with what I have on hand–no matter how crap it is.  That doens’t make me happy, but I guess all I can really say is que sera sera.  and suck it up.

So who do I actually have made already? (18 doesn’t sound as bad when I look at what I have handy)

1. Mallory
2. Eff
3. Karly
4. Alex
5. Abbey
6. Felicity (she’s gone back for an update, but hopefully she’ll be back soonish!)
7. Raven

If I hadn’t sent Meg & Frid off to Texas, they’d have rounded the number up to nine. Instead, I’m left at 7…which means I have 11 figs to make.

I’ll update more about them as I go along (and figure it out)

Sewing related:

I know–I know!

I promised almost a week ago that I’d share some photos of the clothing I was making & had made…

Well… you need to wait another day!!

sorry about the delay, but I keep wanting to finish one more piece… Hopefully, tomorrow, since I’ve had the blind replaced in my workroom, will be a good time for photos.

So far today, I have managed to get the following sewn (all items still need to have hooks & eyes or snaps sewn in place. I prefer to do that while I’m downstairs on the couch which is waaaaaay more comfy than sitting at the work desk/table)

The majority of this stuff is for CGs since I need to earn some money to pay this month’s student loan bills.

• long sleeved pink sweater
• denim skirt with white & pink trim
• black, grey & pink knit dress
• Op-Art black& white skirt
• pink,black & magenta skirt
• black & white striped short sleeved shirt
• white printed t-shirt
• Black & blue gypsy/ren-esque shirt (hard to explain)

(pictures will come tomorrow when I have the patience to clean up enough space to shoot photos)

Now, back to sewing and then off to bed!

Seth is the closest I have to Lexian coloring wise.

I promise the next corset will look better!

……

The pics show off Merrit’s new shirt, and one of Raven’s new outfits. The set up is minimal (sorry, it’s all I can manage right now. The story was just an excuse to show off the printables I made today)

Today was nice in so far as taking a break from sewing goes. However…I’m not really willing to classify making printables as “fun”. While I generally am happy with my attempts at making printables to use as props in my 1:6 dioramas I don’t find the actual process of making them that much fun. (I know, you’re asking me, but what about those books? Didn’t you spend hours and hours scanning them?)
I should clarify: I would enjoy the process MUCH much more if I had a flat bed scanner that was bigger than a sheet of A4. I never really thought when I left it behind in the states that I would miss my ledger sized scanner. An 11×17 bed would make a lot of this so much easier. Eventually, when I feel more up to it, I’ll take some decent pictures. And make better printables. They would probably have come out better on ink jet paper. Next time. Meh.

Annnnnyway—-What you’re here for is the photographs, right?
Click the photos below for the link!

*sorry for the few typos & errors in wordage. I’m tired and I wanted to get this done before I went to sleep. those are my only explanations.*

Close up of basket:

At the moment I’m kind of in a swing with sewing and don’t want to have to take the time to do a set-up and lots of detailed pics….So right now, you get the bare minimum. Snap shots… (Tomorrow, I’ll take shots of all the outfits & their associated figures. Really!)

Merrit, because he’s the reason I am sewing to begin with:

I am having problems getting his t-shirts to come out the way I want them to. It’s the collar that’s giving me trouble. Somehow or another it’s ending up…well….too large for the area. I’m considering that it may be a problem with any of the following (but I don’t know since i make it all up as I go along)…

• the pattern. I may need to alter it to make the neck opening smaller.
• It could also be that I need to add some form of stabilizer to it before I try sewing the neckband in. Who knows?
• could be the fabric. it stretches. maybe. but I doubt it.

Merrit in Stripes

Merrit in Stripes 2

Anyway, I also mentioned the other day, that I crocheted some half assed scarves for Raven. Here’s a pic. Along with a pair of striped leggings I made her.

Raven with Crocheted Scarves

When I don’t stress about how to do something! Haha

I sat down with every intention of sewing lots of goodies for Merrit. You know, blue haired, mohawky geeky boy. Unfortunately that’s just not what’s happened…

Instead of Merrit getting a new wardrobe…he got a teal T-shirt.

Raven, on the otherhand got 3 skirts, a pair of striped leggings, a black long sleeved t-shirt (to be fair this was meant for Merrit, but the neckline looked so weird with his scrawny neck. At least it gets hidden by raven’s hair), and Raven also got 2 scarves…one purple. One red.

Alison got a skirt & shirt set.

Maybe tomorrow will be Merrit’s day. (I’ve cut the fabric for 3 merrit T-shirts. All of which will require some geekiness or dorkiness to be transferred onto them).