plain baby jane

Ack! It's been so long!

2008-09-02T16:04:00.001-07:00

Two months without a blogger post! I am so behind. The good news is that's because I have been sooooo busy. I've been making undies like mad, both child and adult size. Like these, see?

I've been experimenting with different fabrics and elastics and I think I finally understand the nature of the beast, so to speak. The ones pictured are cotton/lycra fabric, with picot edge elastic. Low rise bikini cut, and very cute I might add. Too bad they are too small for me, or I'd keep 'em! I guess I'll have to make another pair (my daughter is begging for a pair of cherry-pants in her size, too).

I also happy joined the Venus Vanguard congo, where I'll be stocking on the new and full moons.

My other awesome congo, Artiste, is holding a membership drive for our Yahoo newsletter group during September, so if you haven't already entered, you should!

Be one of the first people to hear about Artiste
stockings, sales, and special events!

Join our Yahoo Group in September and be
entered into a drawing to win

$25 in merchandise from any of our Artisans!

Craftaluma

2008-07-01T17:49:00.000-07:00

Craftaluma was a lot of fun! Some photos of my table from the event:

I learned a ton about what it takes to do a craft fair, and will probably do it again! I love selling in person, in large part because it avoids the environmental impact of shipping goods hundreds or thousands of miles.

Where have I been?

2008-06-16T18:02:00.000-07:00

Sewing like mad for Craftaluma! I'll be there, sharing a table with Unpaper. I'll have lots of Plain Jane dolls, plushrooms, pocket gnomes, mini matroyshkas, and UNDIES! I'm soooooooo excited to do my first craft fair.

Happy Birthday USA

2008-06-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

The Artiste stocking theme for June 5th is "Happy Birthday USA". I am not too keen on patriotic colors/motifs, so I went with the Happy Birthday part. I intended to do a pair of cupcake twins and two sets of birthday crowns (one boyish and one more girly), but with family visiting and my other cart(s) stocking last week, I just didn't get to it all! So one Plain Jane and one birthday crown set. This Plain Jane was the most ill-fated project; I think everything that could go wrong, did. I remade her legs three times! But in the end I think she turned out very sweet.

Stocking June 5th at Artiste.

under where?

2008-05-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

Stocking Wednesday 5/29 at the PBJ HyenaCart.

New Plain Janes

2008-05-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

A boy and a girl, Henry and Hazel. They'll stock the 25th at Artiste!

I have to say, I love the bun hairstyle the best. It may just end up being the signature hairstyle for the girls.

Plain Jane cloth dolls

2008-05-21T18:40:00.000-07:00

While I love Waldorf dolls, they don't always have the "spark" for me that some other dollies do. I think it's the simple faces, although I appreciate that Waldorf faces let children use their imagination. I love the Waldorf dollmaking methods because they include such beautiful, natural materials. However, they are also extremely time-consuming to make. I wanted to make a doll that retained the beauty, natural materials, and simplicity of Waldorf dolls, but added an element of fashion and spunkiness (informed by my interest in Japanese fashion dolls). I also wanted to find a way to make a nice doll in less time, so that I could pass the lower labor costs along to the customer. This is what I came up with, the Plain Jane! She is made of linen "skin" with cotton velour hair in various styles, long thin arms and legs, and cute cotton print clothing. She's stuffed with pure carded wool. Her face is embroidered in a simple style that still has a lot of life and character. Click pictures below to see larger versions.

I have one dolly left in stock at Artiste, as well as a custom slot, and I'll be stocking a few new dollies on May 25 (spring-themed) and June 5 (birthday/cupcake-themed).

new stuff at artiste on april 25

2008-04-22T16:13:00.000-07:00

For the next Artiste stocking on April 25, I made a handful of pocket-size Waldorf dolls and some accompanying plush mushrooms (aka plushrooms). I debated whether or not to sell them together and ended up deciding to make them separate things, so that people could choose whether or not they wanted both the dolls and plushrooms.

Little Elf

Moonbeam

Pinky

Little Bear

latest and greatest

2008-04-05T12:47:00.000-07:00

After Holiday Lane closed in December, I debated whether to open my own HyenaCart storefront or join a new congo. The verdict (because I'm slightly insane) was to do both. I'm happy to announce that Plain Baby Jane both has an individual storefront and a place at the new Artiste Congo!

At Plain Baby Jane, I'll be stocking a wide variety of items, from trainers to clothing to toys to housewares. At Artiste I will be stocking primarily dolls and doll accessories. I make Waldorf dolls (especially small snuggly ones that fit nicely in a pocket), but I'll also be stocking cloth dolls of other persuasions.

Squirrel cape remake

2007-12-18T08:17:00.000-08:00

Last week I finished up a custom cape for a trade with another HyenaCart WAHM. It wasn't exactly a custom order, I guess, because I ended up choosing most of the elements. The customer had requested something similar to the squirrel cape I had stocked on Holiday Lane.

I didn't want to duplicate it exactly, so I picked another motif from the fabric to inspire the applique, and used a different colorway of the fabric for the lining.

It went along with a hedgehog and mushroom plush toy set very similar to the one I stocked before, except the hedgehog is bigger and the mushroom slightly smaller.

I'm really looking forward to making more hedgies and plushrooms when my PBJ HyenaCart opens in the new year!

Baby Bunnies

2007-11-18T20:12:00.004-08:00

I just finished up a custom order for a group of ladies who commissioned some baby bunnies for five new mamas on their forum. They all had girls so I chose some very girly floral fabric. I drew the pattern myself and I think it turned out okay. These small stuffies with lots of separate parts end up being very labor intensive, but they're sweet and playable and I hope the babies like them for a long time. They have lavender in their tummies so even if they don't get a lot of play in these early months, at least they can scent the diaper stash or the linen closet.

Lulu Lamb

2007-10-30T11:32:00.000-07:00

My (not-so-secret) love is toymaking, so I was really excited to get a custom order for a toy lamb. She is designed to approximate Lulu from Here We Go, Harry. I used a vintage pattern and changed it up a bit so it would resemble Lulu more. She's made of organic cotton fleece and black corduroy, and her eyes are wool felt.

She's from the same pattern as a previous lamb I made, but the result is quite different!

Japanese Houses Hood

2007-10-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit it, I've been hoarding this Japanese house print canvas for almost a year, waiting for the perfect project. It was almost a mei tai, it was almost a messenger bag...but I'm so glad it ended up lining this little wool cape. This cape is the 3T-5T size. The houses on the front are actually the pockets!

Giraffes!

2007-10-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

This custom hood was an excuse to use everyone's favorite giraffe-print jersey. I just love this colorway, with giraffes in eggplant, carnation pink, and juicy tangerine. It matches really well with the pink wool. The only down side to the giraffe print is that the jersey is super thin and stretchy, so it's really challenging to sew! It's worth the outcome, though...it's such a cheery motif. Originally I embroidered little giraffes on the pockets, but they turned out looking like llamas, so I recut the pockets and hand-appliqued a flower motif instead. This hood is the usual 12-36 months size. I've tried this size on my 3.5 year old niece who is growing into a 4T and it fits her great, so the size range is conservative and may fit children younger and older than listed, depending on their body types.

Red Riding Hood

2007-10-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

My first custom cape was a perfect way to start: a Red Riding Hood! It was so much fun to work with corduroy. The inside is lined with organic cotton sherpa. The hood is lined with a Japanese Little Red Riding Hood print and interlined with the same sherpa. I sized up my usual pattern to fit a three year old for a couple more years (hopefully!). Click the photos to see them in a larger size.