Please excuse the yawning...

Oh my lordy lord.  Things have been insane around here.  My poor little Beanie baby has been very very unwell (last count, six different viruses/infections in the last two months)... the last one was particularly nasty, so much so we ended up at the children's hospital, but it fortunately proved to be nothing to panic over.  She spent four days (and nights) glued to me, allowing me to put her down two or three times a day when she rallied (an occasion which she invariably marked by doing a little dance, bless), but it usually lasted no longer than half an hour, then her temperature would sky rocket again and I'd have a sad and sick little Bean in my arms once more.  Of course Fudge was away on a work trip at the time... does it ever happen any other way?  I've been a nervous wreck with worry and am sooo sleep deprived...

Thankfully, for the moment, apart from a cold, Bean is much better.  Fudge is home, day care attendance has resumed, and I am s-l-o-w-l-y catching up on sleep.  And somehow, in amongst it all, I've managed to finish another three pairs of shoes!  I still can't quite understand how I did it, but I did.  I have proof.  Three pairs worth of shoes type proof.

Miss Jane's try-on Miss Eleanors

First I finished the Miss Eleanor samples for Miss Jane to try on.  She did, and to my relief (and amazement) they fit like a dream.  Yay!  Next step is to get started on Miss Jane's real pair, which will hopefully happen sometime this week.

Then I finished my Miss Eleanor shoes... I am so absolutely in love with them... especially the over-sized bows which make me feel like a 1930s showgirl (from the ankles down)... 

Oh so sparkly...

BUT - tears of disappointment and frustration - they hurt my heels.  I normally use leather stiffeners for the heels and toes of my shoes (sooo comfy), but found a heat activated plastic-y substitute which is a MUCH cheaper alternative.  I thought I'd give it a test run.  On my beautiful silver Miss Eleanors.  WHY did I do that?  It hurts.  A lot.  They rubbed painfully on my heels for the full five minutes I managed to wear them in class. I may be able to come up with some sort of extra padding/shielding solution when I have some time to play around.   

Sigh...

For now I must be content to just look at them. Massive note to self - STICK WITH THE LEATHER STIFFENERS.  Sob.

Miss Chris' try-on Miss Anns

And lastly, but not leastly (?), I finished the Miss Anns for Miss Chris to try on.  Which she is yet to do.  Crossed fingers they fit.  Very happy with the way these turned out too.  I'm finding my feet again with this shoe making caper (pardon the pun) and each pair is getting easier and faster to make.  And the results are better too.  Not that they've ever been bad, but when you're a perfectionist there is always room for improvement.

Now that I've got these sample pairs finished I'm feeling a lot better, like things are actually moving forward.  I'm really looking forward to making the 'real' pairs for Misses Jane and Chris... and to getting fit samples made in a few other sizes too.  I've got 'mock ups' sewn and ready to be lasted for my two other styles, and once the patterns are confirmed as correct I can set about making samples of them in other sizes for people to try on.

I'm beginning to think I might just be able to make a real go of this shoe making business... early days though Janine, let's not get ahead of ourselves...