Tag: dolls

Sometimes a great [sewing] notion…

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the dead-of-night hours Thursday/Friday were the worst of being sick. Even though I felt like crap physically and had insomnia, visiting dogs (Sugar, Rex, and Pixie) made for some highly comedic moments in the battle of mattress real estate. Somehow we all eventually got sleep.

Last year, a storm called Ike had whipped itself into hurricane status out in the Atlantic by this time. Here at The Compound, we had no idea whether Ike would impact us, but looking back at my day planner, I see that I was making notes about it, just as I had Gustav. I moved to Houston in 1989, and I don’t remember giving much thought to hurricanes and tropical storms even when our city was flooded because of them. Katrina changed that in 2005. Now I pay attention.

But last year, Ike’s landfall was still more than a week away. I’d just returned from the Southeast, where my family and I held my mother’s memorial service, and I was looking forward to a visit from Mark G. Harris. We’d planned to do lots of sewing, and as Mark reminded me in a note I got from him on Friday, we did just that, sitting at the table in the dining room with this on the floor next to me.

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Rambling Random Run-on blah blah blah

Note: Kroger-brand cranberry juice is crap. I’m sorry, Kroger, but it just is. The grape juice and apple juice are okay, though.

Second note: If there’s anything Hewlett-Packard does right, it’s the way they set up a return/recycle feature with their printer cartridge packaging. Holla.

For the past couple of weeks, I haven’t felt…me-ish. I haven’t felt sick, though there were a couple of little indications that I might be. But because I like to self-diagnose with my degree in An Aries Knows Everything, I sort of ignored it. I felt fine on Tuesday night when I got to see my friend Lisa (she who my writing partners call Big Hair Lisa to separate her from other Lisas) for the first time in forty forevers. (Hi, Lisa! And the other Lisa, too!)

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Lizzy runs this bitch.

A long time ago, someone told me “Every day, you see a cow.” I wanted to deny it, but in fact, I’ve come to believe it’s true. You see them on commercials, in pastures, in magazine ads, in kids’ drawings, in online stories and ads, on other people’s blogs, on kitchen towels, in art stores, in toy stores, in museums, on milk cartons or containers of sour cream, ice cream, cottage cheese, or even glue–they are FREAKING EVERYWHERE. And that’s okay with me, because unlike Gary, I feel great affection for cows. I’ll admit that at times I’ve been edgy when walking around a group of them, because they stare at me with those bovine expressions of theirs and I start to wonder, What are you up to, pretending to so placidly chew your cud? Are you planning a revolt against your oppressors and murderers?

(Full disclosure: Yes, I do eat beef. I’m fully aware that makes me a cow killer, and I frequently apologize to the cows and find that I’m eating fewer and fewer of them. Also, I attempt to atone for it in this feeble way: Having fed baby calves from huge bottles when I was a young’un and seen their sweet eyes looking up at me, I have never and will never eat veal. Your grazing habits may vary on either side of this fence; I leave it to you to pontificate about the meat issue on your own blog or journal. This is the journal of a guilty cow killer.)

click here to read more from a guilty cow killer

LJ Runway Monday: We Expect Fashion (PR 6:2)

In the second episode of Project Runway, the designers were asked to create a maternity outfit for any type of occasion–their choice. Guest judge model/actress Rebecca Romijn said she was interested in a silhouette that suggested “pregnancy chic.”

For the rest of the season’s challenges, I’ll be switching models. So who did I pick this time?

Click here to see!

The return of LJ Runway Monday! The Red Carpet (PR 6:1)

I was a little disappointed when the challenge for the first episode of Season 6 of Project Runway was a red carpet look that showed innovation and the designer’s point of view. The last real design I did for Summer was a red carpet dress for the Oscars. Tim suggested that I visualize her at a much different awards show, and I realized that it was time to add a little bit of rock and roll to Summer’s look. So I took down her hair, grabbed some leather and tulle…

And then what happened?

It’s that time…

Can’t wait for Lindsey’s opening tonight, and it’s also the return of Project Runway. I don’t know if anyone else will do the challenges for dolls this year, but as for me…


Designer, models, fabrics: check.

The show has moved to Lifetime. Check your local listings, because tonight, there’ll be a two-hour All Stars show featuring previous designers. Then the first episode of the season airs, followed by a new thirty-minute show featuring the models of Project Runway.

Do you love dolls? Like to sew? Have some fabric and sewing notions lying around? Check out the LiveJournal group: LJ Runway Monday.

With a LiveJournal account (it’s free! you only pay if you want to upgrade your account), all you have to do is watch Project Runway (on Lifetime or online), complete that week’s challenge for one of your dolls, and post a photo of your doll wearing your design to the community. There may be “judges” dropping in to make comments, but there’s no win or lose.

All are welcome to submit photos and make comments. See you on the runway!

Trash to treasure

Saturday I was running errands when, for some reason, I found myself at a resale shop in the Heights. I was shooting pictures for another web site and found a few stocking stuffers (be afraid; you know who you are). A couple of little boys digging through some bins of toys were having such a noisy great time that I started watching them. And that’s when I realized that tossed into those bins were all kinds of goodies for me.

Of course I’m not planning to share them all today. Today you get my latest Mystery Barbie. I’ve put her in my Mystery Doll set on Flickr, where other doll collectors have been enormously helpful identifying dolls I don’t recognize.

Someone had been chopping at her hair. She was dirty and naked. I gave her a bath and shampoo. I dried her hair, cut a few random wisps, and added some product. This afternoon I made her a Little Black Dress of her very own. One thing I like about Barbies is that unlike the Top Models, they can wear the original Barbie shoes. I think when a doll has some bite marks on her ankles, that’s the least she deserves.

So here she is:
Model by Mattel
Fashion by Becks
Art by Timothy J. Lambert


From $1.50 to a million bucks.

Who could top the Edith Head collection?

Mattel and little girls’ moms, that’s who. Since Barbie celebrated her fiftieth birthday this year, I thought I’d bring out some of my vintage fashion for Mark G. Harris. In honor of your birthday, Mark, though you are much younger than Barbie, my Twelve Top Models want to remind you that being a classic has nothing to do with age. Poise, nerve, style, maybe a dry martini, and you’re set.

I’m putting photos of each outfit behind the cut, but anyone who wants to read more about the clothes–all of them are from the 1960s–can see descriptions on my public Flickr set.

Click here for more photos.

Random Roundup

Lynne has gone back to the Old Country for a few days (i.e., the Deep South), so we get to enjoy the company of the Green Acres dogs:


Little Blind Sparky and Minute the Great Armadillo Hunter.

Tom obligingly went through bins in the attic and garage looking for Barbie stuff OTHER than dolls. I’ll be posting about some of that later, but in the meantime, I found this scrap of honest-to-goodness 1970s fabric. I don’t know what I’ll use it for–it’s not much material–but I’m sure you’ll eventually see it on one of the Mattel Top Models.

Last week–or maybe two weeks ago–Tim and I were running errands, and I unexpectedly discovered a trove of fabrics for WAY cheap. (In fact, when the associate checked me out, she was exclaiming over one of the remnants that she’d missed when she was going through them. She and some others use them in quilts they make for the children at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Since I always run into the kindest people when I shop, it seems like I’d enjoy shopping, but I don’t.)

The picture below doesn’t feature the fabric she liked, but is one I bought that night. I decided to use it for a Barbie dress from a pattern circa early 1960s. The price is vintage, too: I made this dress for less than fifty cents. Doesn’t Tamala wear it like a million bucks?


Last party of the summer.

Hump Day Happy

It’s back! I listened to the three or five hordes of people who missed HDH the last two weeks, so here we are.


Poor flat-footed Barbie. My intention to cobble her some shoes hasn’t yet found a way into my schedule. Still, she has something to be happy about: this groovy little sofa and pillows I made for her and her friends.

If you respond in comments with a page number between 1 and 611, and another number between 1 and 25, Barbie–or whatever her name ends up being–will flip through 14,000 Things To Be Happy About for you.

As soon as I wake up.