Current Mood : Pretty happy !
Current Image Notes : Here's the good trial, the one I did with UltraSolvy. I have no idea what the difference is - same tension, same thread, same design, same machine. Only the stabilizer is different, and most others use it with no problems at all. Oh, well. Can always use the junk on towels and such.
Spent on fabric : $1.93
Spent on dolls : 75c
Spent on embroidery organization : $2.16
Spent on embroidery experiments : $1.01
Since the Wii goes with Dearest Son to Granny and Granddad's lately, I get to skip doing the Fit on Saturdays. Which I think is good this week, I kind of needed the break. My back is fine sitting or driving, but standing for a long time - like during today's shopping spree - requires frequent stretches and involves occasional pain. Guess my body's adjusting still. If the Wii is here, though, my brain nags at me to hop on the board and get my workout for the day until I do it. A mind is a terrible thing when it nags.
I had lots of fun today. Returned the shirt to Mal-Wart (see if I allow anything labeled ‘Contour Fit' in the same zip code as me again !) and stopped at Game Stop. After the Wall-e debacle, I'd promised to get Dearest Son a new game. He was interested in the Petz Dogs one - kind of a pet sim game - but I read reviews this morning, and it didn't seem as though he'd enjoy it as much as we thought. But I was willing to try, and since renting it for a week is $8., ya may as well buy the thing. At Game Stop, it was $20. new, $18. used. (sigh) Is it just me, or does it seem as though there should be a greater divide between new and used...?
Beloved handed me two of ‘his' games that he never plays, and that neither Dearest nor I play either, and asked me to see if Game Stop was buying. They were. I got $15. for the two of them... and found ‘Hotel for Dogs : The Game' in the Used section - $18. ! No new ones. So I got it almost free, and can't wait for him to see it when he comes home tomorrow. And I ditched the Wall-e game. I am sooo glad we didn't buy that one, new or used.
Hit the flea market, but it wasn't much. My favorite cheap doll seller wasn't there, but the car set lady - Brenda - was, so we chatted a bit. Kind of a washout this week. Hardly any vendors. They filled less than half the usual space. Spent a big 75c - on a bag of misc. doll clothes, a perfume or bubble six-inch Disney Princess Snow White, and a tiny Dawn dress. I've always wondered if Dawn clothes would fit the Musical Princess line. They do - like they were made for them. You'll get photos soon, promise !
From there, I stopped in at Big Lots, since I hadn't been there in months. Scored some leftover July 4th tacky bead necklaces, but I'm a sucker for stars. And at least they were half-price. Found a pretty green binder with sliding - not snapping - binder rings inside. Since the design print out binder I was using had only one flaw, a gap in the middle of the center ring, it made sense to buy this one, guaranteed not to gap or catch. Plus, it was green and two bucks. And I found a TV series on DVD that Beloved likes for just $6. - a whole season ! - so I snagged that for him. He nodded off on the sofa watching it.
And since Hobby Lobby was across the street, and I'd printed out a 40% off coupon, I decided to go. Got the first all-black t-shirt I've ever owned, to embroider on. Seriously. I have a selection of black pants and jeans, but I never wear black shirts. I never liked black as a kid, and I'm only coming to peace with it now as an adult. I'm thinking of embroidering that crown design I got as a freebie from EmbroideryDesigns.com, and adding a lace collar. On me, black near my face just makes me look grey and tired, so a bit of white near my face should help.
Also grabbed a cotton tiny-flowers remnant, and a bit of balsa to embroider. The remnant's flowers are small enough to use even on the Snow White doll I bought today, and the balsa wood... OK, I admit it, I read a tutorial on UrbanThreads.com about stitching designs on thin balsa, and I wanna try it. Only problem is, I got the stuff that's too thick, so I'll have to go back for the right size. When I do, I'll have another coupon, and I'll probably keep snagging white shirts in my size to stitch on, ‘til I run out of cash, coupons, or clothes to buy. I'm planning on a very festive and colorful year.
Got home, soaked with sweat and weary with heat, and unpacked the goodies. Snow White is adorable, and the baggie of Barbie clothes was mostly Kelly outfits. That was fine - since the blouses and skirts made for Kelly fit Snow pretty well, too ! A baby bonnet for a larger doll became a dress for Snow - I just need to alter it permanently - and I had fun dressing her in Kelly's skirts and shirts. There was a weird fur rug in the baggie, a blouse for a larger doll, a Perfect Pets bandanna, evidently for a toy dog, and some mismatched My Scene feet and odd plastic pets of some sort, but I got my quarter out of that bag, for sure ! Wrapped and taped the bandanna around the ‘Hotel for Dogs' game, and it's propped up waiting for Dearest to come home. And the Dawn doll dress fits Snow as though it were made for her. So I'll have to try that scan of Dawn designs I have. I'm sure my collection would like something besides gowns to wear !
That all lead to an extended eBay visit, where the don't-have-one Ariel doll in that size is still about $20. or so, the similar-size dolls (Starr Modeling Agency, Dawn, Pippa, Family Corners, Rock Flowers, etc.) are about the same price, and the clothes and especially shoes, are still too expensive. So I printed out a page of Dawn patterns I've had for a while, and studied them a bit. You may be seeing a few soon...
Sometimes, I like it when things are too pricey for me, or the price is about what it always is, I just don't wanna pay it. It engages my creative gears !
