Wow, what a mohnin' montage, glittering dresses designed to securely hug shapely contours as well as bring tears to the eye's of the photographer, discussions of "manly" birthday stew, combination kitchen/"li-berries", and epic posts from those thought long lost. What could be better? That is a pretty dress, Brenda. My first Barbie (I still have her) had an evening dress (which I no longer have) that was similar in silhouette. It must be a trifle overwhelming to see your baby girl all suited up for her nuptials, but very special, too. Nice to indulge something besides Cat. diesels, huh? When's the big day? I didn't quite understand what happened in the cornfield with the bike. Did they impale it with one of those pointy things on the front of the combine? How about a shot of the Combine and a basic lesson on what the parts of it are? that will prove important next harvest when the Idyllettes descend on the your farm like Grackles on a lawn. And "ladies foundations" are indeed the order of the day for those with "fuller" (Rubenesque?) figures, though they should NEVER be uncomfortable if they are properly fitted. Many moons ago I was an alterationist in a very swanky dress shop that also sold ladies foundation garments. The women in that department were all older and were "corsettieres", they knew exactly how to measure and fit undergarments and specialized in prosthetics for mastectomy patients. I learned A TON from them and found the niche fascinating and very rewarding. Every woman should go to a good lingerie shop to be properly fitted for a bra; and drive right past some place like Victoria's Secret. ;) The discussion of awfice temperatures made me smile, Cindy. I see that as the next potential conflict in the shop, since there are a lot of windows (that are drafty) and all the baseboard is covered with used pattern material, dust, etc.. It's chilly in the morning and sweltering in the afternoon when the sun streams in the windows. My "office sweater" is a fleece-like arrangement with a zipper up the front and a snowflake motif on a black background. It was left in the shop by a worker who "couldn't take it" after realizing that sometimes sewing can be downright frustrating. Anyway, it has bits of foam "dust" stuck to the front of it and the visiting cat frequently sleeps on it when it's not in use. I cut quite a picture in it. 'bug, I'm to open all windows in the Salon for the first few fires in the new stove and not touch the painted castings as the paint becomes soft with the initial heating. I have a ways to go before "firing that mother up", though. The helpmeet put up the trim pieces that cover the edges of the pulldown ladder to the bahn's attic yesterday. I've dutifully filled the finish nail holes and will sand and finish it this afternoon. And he has all the posts and rails for the stairwell finished, too. I went over them yesterday evening, removing errant pencil marks, filling the deeper, more jagged areas and generally "distressing" the sharper edges. They're made of Hemlock and the wood's grain is quite pronounced and tends to be sort of brittle. It's not ideal for any sort of woodworking for that reason, but it is pretty when it's pickled (I did a sample last winter) and I'm willing to fuss over the parts to get the splintery parts sanded into submission. I've spent a lot of time thinking about your individual trials and family worries, lately. Sometimes it's hard to know what to say, but do know that I try to send good thoughts to the cosmos for each of you and understand that sometimes the toll can be very high. Sometimes just knowing someone understands is helpful. So are "boring" peeks into someone else's mundane existence. ;) I have to "suit up" for the chilly morning. Unlike TCS I'm pretty good at bringing all the accessories home. And like TCS, I sometimes misplace things in safely zippered pockets, too. And it's confession time, Julie. Yesterday I peeked under the couch as I was on my way up the stairs (the railing around the stairwell is open and you can look across the floor at eye level). A scary sight, indeed, with tumbleweeds of animal hair and get this: a full tick, dead as doornail, about the size of kidney bean. She must have succumbed crossing what must have seemed like a tick's equivilent of the Gobi... And on that note, mes amies, I shall head off to work (very late!). Be productive and have some laughs, OK?

Linda, Thanks for looking at these. Took several more photos of the monstrosity - hopefully these show better detail....? The doll is made of plastic. The head and arms are soft plastic, the body is a harder plastic material. The hair is not painted, I guess a 'wig', then? She's about 18" tall, with a baby body and eyes that close. The printing on the back of her neck says Reliable Canada so I took a look at their web site, but can't figure out which doll she would be. Thanks, again. Margaret

Technically, the quilt itself can be copyrighted, just like any other work of art. While the block pattern cannot, how you choose to use it, the fabrics, color scheme and techniques that you use combine to make it an original work of art. However, speaking as a pattern designer and writer, I personally don't think that a quilt made from a published pattern is as much an original work as it is a variation on another's work. It's a grey area and has led to much controversy in the quilting world. Speaking as a designer, I figure that I was paid for my labor when you purchased the pattern, so I don't have a problem with you making a quilt from it now and then and selling it, HOWEVER, I would expect to be credited on the label of quilt as the pattern designer, just as a courtesy. There would be a problem if you went commercial with it on a large scale. In an instance like that, I would expect to receive royalties on each item sold. Some patterns even add a copyright clause that limits the number of items that can be made and sold before you have to enter into a licensing agreement. Annie

Years ago our daughter's had the Fisher Price My Friend Jenny and Mandy dolls. I made all kinds of clothes for them. I have always had 3 of them tucked back still in the boxes. They sell for a lot on eBay but I decided to make them a wardrobe for our church bazaar coming upon November. I have had so much fun doing them. I will be there all day the day of the bazaar so I will get to see who buys them. My girls and granddaugter's all love playing with dolls.