In which it's my birthday and we try designing another pattern....

Didn't it do this last year on my birthday, too?

However, last year was unexpected and didn't really hang around. This year, however - let's just say that I think "Nika" translates roughly to "cold gray dreary bucket of suck."

(John-John, BTW, keeps calling this one "La Femme Nikita." And why the heck was I thinking Nastassja Kinski was in that movie?)



"Uh, Maddy? Seriously?"

"This is supposed to be how most doll designers draft patterns," she said.

"Okay, so does this mean I have a doppelganger somewhere made of paper towels? Please say no..." For some reason I was thinking of Alien Resurrection, when Ripley finds out that not only is she now a clone, there are a whole bunch of other Ripleys that didn't quite turn out right floating around in jars.

"Clothing patterns," she said. "I already used enough of the pink batiste on that first version that didn't come out right."

"It wasn't that bad." Trimming a circle skirt with satin ribbon at the hem had seemed like a good idea at the time.

"For a Frisbee," she said. "Try that on. See what you think."

"Ummm. Hmmm. Well----" She looked somewhat unconvinced. "Hmmm. Turn around. Let me see the back."

"Okay..." That didn't sound encouraging. "So how come I can take a clothing pattern and do just about anything with it, but I can't design one from scratch?"

"Didn't you design the pattern you made me from?"

"Yeah, but - dolls are easier. I can make you guys no problem, but dressing you is another matter sometimes."

So we went back to a pattern we've used before, raised the waistline and - look, someday it WILL get warm again and I will be able to wear this, okay? You can't hang around here forever, winter. Mark my words....