Oye. With a side order of artistic validation.

I wondered why none of the usual suspects had commented on yesterday’s post. When I moderated comments, I discovered that I hadn’t changed the time stamp on the draft from PM to AM. So please know that I was not twelve hours off-schedule from the rest of my ward, and chalk it up to a senior moment. I came home from church happy and completely wiped out. [The good news is that I did not doze off in sacrament meeting, at least not that I remember.]

After my nap, I finished tweaking the tie skirt. The tulle underskirt is still just a skosh too long, but I’m not going to snip it from the top and redo the casing for the drawstring until I can try it on Jessica and see precisely how much shorter it needs to be. I think the proportions may be different when they’re flowing over her curves than when the skirts are draped along the back of the couch.

I like how the belt turned out. I have about an inch and a half of both trims leftover, and I will figure out a use for them: I might just snip the beaded fringe off and reuse those beads for a pair of earrings for me, or as a pendant for a doll necklace, or an ornament for one of my miniature Christmas trees. Everything but the squeal, y’all, everything but the squeal [i.e., what my farm-kid father told me was made use of, when they butcher a hog].

I went to the bead shop and bought four more vials of beads that pick up the colors in the tie skirt; I want to make a multi-strand necklace and possibly [eventually] a beaded bodice or vest. When I walked in, one of the clerks was wearing a cool witch hat and sparkly jangly beaded earrings with a torque to match. Something I would not be embarrassed to wear, had I not developed an aversion to things touching the sides of my neck. I was wearing Autumn Asters, and she loved that as much as I did her jewelry.

I love getting compliments on my work from other artists artisans, because they have some idea of what goes into what I make, as I do with their stuff; I suspect that she had at least 100 hours invested in that torque alone. [Not that I’m ever unhappy to hear nice things from all y’all. Quit it some more, quit it some more!]

I also found one of my tatting shuttles, so now I can make much of my own trim for my doll clothing and see if my idea for a tatted necklace was inspired. [Or merely insane.] And I curled up on the couch with my three new knitting magazines to see if one of the sweaters wanted to be scaled down to Jessica-size, but it was hard to keep my eyes open.

I think I am about done with the swatching; it’s time to cast on and get serious.

Happy birthday, SisterMine!