We have a date!

Mark your calendars: the once-in-a-lifetime SILK SALE in our Etsy shop will launch next Tuesday, September 19, 2017 at 12 noon (Eastern Standard Time).

On our recent trip to Los Angeles we discovered that one of the largest, most deluxe stores in the world-famous fabric district had put their entire two-story collection of amazing, scrumptious, buttery silks into a liquidation sale. Some of the most expensive bolts were marked down to 10% of their original retail tags!

We didn't want any of our doll friends missing out on these gorgeous fabrics, so we rolled up our sleeves and waded into the feeding frenzy on your behalf.

We spent two days in that store, considering weights and patterns and laying bolts side-by-side to create a set of perfectly coordinated, doll-scale kits.

And of course, we also created a Pinterest board of medieval, 18th century, 19th century, and modern gown inspirations to go with those kits.

But then, weather intervened.

We originally planned to launch the sale last week. But with Hurricane Irma roaring in right after Hurricane Harvey, we knew that holding off for a while was the right thing to do. We do not want anyone affected by these terrible storms worrying about silks, or sales — or anything other than safety, family and friends.

We have now rescheduled the sale to launch next Tuesday, September 19, 2017 at 12 noon (Eastern Standard Time).

With the sample kits sitting on the worktable during the delay, and the Lee & Pearl catalogue at her fingertips, "Pearl" decided to create a dream doll outfit...

This gorgeous set — a double-sided silk brocade in celery green and golden tan, with a coordinating green-gold silk velvet with a positively liquid drape — made us think immediately of our Pattern 3001: Late Medieval Lady's Wardrobe.

The result was more beautiful than we could have imagined...

This gown wasn't even that hard to make. We took care with the layout to get a perfect pattern match across the center front seam, but that wasn't any problem with the generous length of fabric we've included in this kit.

And though most brocades are too large-scaled and too heavy to use for doll clothes, this one was perfect — it might have been designed for doll gowns! Plus, quality silk like this is almost as easy to pin and stitch as cotton. Really.

We'd love to tell you that the silk velvet cloak was equally easy to pin and stitch. It's not. Don't even try pinning velvet: hand baste everything. But there is nothing on earth that drapes as well, looks as historically accurate, or photographs as beautifully as silk velvet. Imagine the look in someone's eyes when they find a gift like this under the tree...

We can't wait to sew more garments with these beautiful kits — and to see what gorgeous creations our Lee & Pearl friends make with them!

Think of the marvelous 18th century, Versailles-ready gowns you can make with these dainty Georgian stripes and double-faced satins...

And these rich, deeply-colored dots and striés are perfect for any era or style.

What does that last gorgeous combination make you think of... hmm?

Red Riding Hood? Victorian Christmas carolers? A girl's first party dress — or a certain time-travelling heroine's crimson court gown...?

Finally, we want to thank everyone who's asked about our 1960s Lady's Wardrobe pattern. This pattern went through extensive testing late last year, but then had to be — sorrowfully — packed away when the workroom moved from Los Angeles to Texas.

We are THRILLED to announce that this pattern — now officially named #1964: Darling Doris! 1960s Lady's Ensemble for Dolls — is back on our schedule, and will be our very next release!

In honor of that upcoming release — and the HBO debut this month of our favorite movie from last year, Hidden Figures — here is our American Girl® Melody, dressed as NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson...

...and also as Taraji P. Henson, accepting the Oscar we think she should have won! You go girl!

That's all for this week. See you at the Silk Sale on the 19th!