Call me!

I really want to order my dressmaker's dummy. I'm prepared; I have the funds. I finally got a newsletter from All Brands, and I'm ready to use my discount code. Five dollars off! That's like a quarter of the shipping charges.

But Uniquely You won't return my phone calls, and apparently they don't have a website. I called them on Thursday before noon and left a message on their answering machine, thinking they'd call me back on Monday. Only they didn't. So I called again on Tuesday. Still no response. People, this is no way to run a business. Seriously, phone calls should be returned within two days.

Since I'd like to have my dummy before May, so I can set the skirt of my kirtle on it and think of a clever name for her, I'm turning to my friends list to figure out what size I should pick. I know at least a couple of you have Uniquely You dummies.

So the sitch is this: I'm between sizes on the chart at All Brands. My hips currently measure 41 inches, which tells me to select a size Medium form, but my bust measurement is 43 inches, which pushes me up a form size. Unfortunately, my waist measurement is currently 31 inches, and that's too small for a Medium-Large sized form.

Apart from the challenge of being shaped like an egg-timer, I also need to consider corsetry, since I'd like to use this for historic costuming, too. My Tudorbethan stuff take about an inch off my waist, but my Victorian corset (which languishes as muslin), gives me a waist measurement of 27 inches, no problem. I could get smaller, but it laces closed at this point. Should I just write off being able to match my corseted measurements with a Uniquely You dummy and just keep my duct tape double around for that?

Right now, I think I'll order a Medium dummy with a size 9 cover. Does that sound like the best choice to everyone? Am I overthinking this?

_{P.S. tattycat I've named the icon I'm using with this post "Hoof Hearted." *immature giggle storm*}

Weather? Who ordered all this weather?

It's currently pissing rain outside. There's no other way to describe the cold, wet drizzly stuff that's coming out of the clouds right now. I had to take a shower when I got in from doing calf chores, because I was sopping wet through my sweatshirt and stocking cap, which made me freezing cold. Of course, now my hair is really wet, so same boat, different river.

There's a cat in the barn who's going to have kittens any day now. She let me hold her and snuggle her for a while, and I could feel the kittens turning somersaults in her belly. With cows, if you push on their stomachs when they're getting ready to deliver, the calf will push back. (It's one way to figure out if the calf is dead or in distress; we don't just go around poking pregnant cows in the stomach for giggles.) Cats are the same way, apparently. It was really, really cool. As far as I can tell, there are three to five kittens in there, and they're active.

AND I ordered my dummy. It should be here by April 10, though reviews on the website said they ordered theirs on Thursday and had it by Monday. So maybe I'll have it by Monday! So exciting!

Does anyone have any leads on espresso brown satin? I've looked on Fashion Fabrics Club and it's all vomit-colored. The only acceptable one was cotton satin-back twill, and that's not gonna fly for a bridesmaid dress. I think I'm going to end up going with some Casa satin from Joann Fabrics, because it comes in a billion colors and will not break the bank.