Time On My Hands

On Wednesday, I had a little free time on my hands.



First, I baked a batch of gluten- and dairy-free chocolate chip cookies, using this recipe. Thank Goddess for people like Karina, who so generously share their culinary artistry with food intolerant folks like me. With so many luscious recipes, who can feel deprived? These cookies rock!

Then I made good on a promise last week to provide Dolly with proper attire. I riffled through my vintage patterns and came up with this one from 1965.



View 4, since it's sleeveless -- and that petal shaped collar! Dolly is a rather delicate flower, after all.

I thought about using the serger for it but decided to do it up old school with my vintage Singer 301. That's the one I found at the thrift shop several months ago.

Meet Vivian. Viv for short.



I debated about naming my machines and came to the conclusion that it might be easier than saying "vintage Singer 301" over and over again. I am all about the shortcuts when they're useful, and also mnemonic devices. Think: "Vintage Viv."

Remember Viv from The Lucy Show? Played by Vivian Vance, the same actress who played Ethel Mertz in I Love Lucy. Viv was the perfect sidekick, initially trying to be the voice of reason but soon caught up in the crazy situation with Lucy just the same. My favorite episode is when Lucy and Viv put in a shower.

Confession: I did indeed love Lucy, but whenever she got herself into a pickle, my anxiety meter crept toward the red zone. Certainly, it was my own good-girl, perfectionist tendencies causing me to fret about how much Lucy was screwing up. (I was a preteen during this time.) Of course, that's what made the show hilarious, but I couldn't watch it without those little twinges of angst.

Back to sewing. Here is the blouse I whipped up for Dolly.



Now doesn't she look like she could bake you some cookies and try, unsuccessfully, to talk you out of your schemes?



If she had appendages, that is.