Mood:  chillin'

Used the 'barely got it to print' pattern for slacks to make Aria a new pair. Last one, in the photo below, were big at the hips, ballooned when she sat, and the crotch was low. Right after I cut them out, of a difficult to handle black fabric, I got slack, and just kind of threw them together.  Bobbin thread didn't match, I didn't press any of the seams and hems, and I screwed up the waistband.

But...they fit. Beautifully.  There's only a minor change to the crotch curve, and this pair has darts. And they fit, so good. Just can't figure it out.

Didn't have time to sew the blouse again. Dearest Son and I spent two hours putting all his toys away. Five toyboxes - well, actually, one toybox and four variously-sized plastic totes - worth. I hope to go through it all Tuesday, get rid of some broken, never-played-with stuff before the holiday deluge.  

Beloved Hubby has made me promise to call the optometrist tomorrow, set up an appointment and get the prescription for my new glasses. I know I need to, it's been years, I just hate spending money on me this close to winter. But he's already put the cash into my hands. I'll have to let you know what glasses I end up with !

That was about the whole day. Hubby worked, and we had a big chef's salad for dinner. I forgot to have lunch, so I'm kind of hungry, but I'm more tired. Who knew you could break a sweat pickin' up toys ?  

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

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Mood:  irritated

Didn't get much done today - removed the buttons from the blouse I posted a photo of yesterday. Did a little shopping, found some great green gingham for a buck a yard. You'll be seeing that as an Aria dress soon.

I didn't like how tight the neck was on her blouse, so I re-measured her in DSD. As it turns out, I over-measured everything already ! I thought I'd add a quarter inch to her neck circumference, turns out I already had. Tweaked her crotch curve a bit, added a half-inch of length to her legs, a quarter inch to her arms. Then printed out new patterns.

Well, at least I tried to print out new patterns. While our printer says we have half a black cartridge, it prints as though it's down to fumes and the memory of ink. Cleaned the entire printer, even cleaned the inkjets, rollers, and trays, and it improved - enough to print the front of the shirt pattern. Ended up drawing the seam allowance of most of the other pieces. I'm not sure if we need a new ink cartridge - most printers keep a running tab on what you've printed, they don't measure the actual ink supplies - or our printer is slowly dying. (sigh) Just hate to shell $33. to find out it's the printer. It's impossible to tell with these ink carts if they have ink in 'em or not.

I also broke my favorite sunglasses. I've had 'em since 1992. Prescription lenses and everything. I may try Plastix on 'em, I hate my other pair of glasses. Beloved Hubby wants me to make an appointment at the optometrists. I hate to spend the cash right now. Grrr.

So that was about my day. In frustration, I cleaned out a box of Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil Triscuits. My mouth is still burning a bit, but they were sooo tasty. I'll try again to clean the printer, but for now, I just wanna relax. 

Hope your Saturday went well ! 

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

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Mood:  a-ok

Got a large potato baking in the microwave- yum, potato with cheese and butter for lunch ! - and ours is small and wimpy, so it'll take a while. Time to write !

Yesterday was almost frantic. If my bottom warmed a chair, it was a fleeting heat at best. But I got to sew, even though it didn't turn out well. Here's the photo exclusive. I won't post this on the main site, it doesn't look very good, and I want to re-make the whole thing. And it's about the last you'll see of this fabric, I doubt there's enough to make a Barbie skirt from the scraps remaining.

Looks like we have another minor struggle with DSD on our hands. The blouse is waaaay too tight at the neck, and is actually on backwards here. The front was so tight, the sleeves wouldn't lie right. So I flipped it. It looks kind of funny, like I sewed darts for her shoulder blades, but what the heck. 

I'll probably remove the buttons, too. They looked cute at first, but here look rather 'clowny'. Having it as a simple placket might make the neck look less tight, too.

Pants are huge and baggy in the seat. I think I know where I went wrong with that - y'see, DSD doesn't draw the entire pattern sometimes. It often kind of tapers off at the crotch points. I end up guesstimating, and here,  I was waaaay off. I'll modify it, and next time, see how 'Fitted' pants work - these are 'Semi-Fitted', but they're quite loose at her hips.

 I also sewed a sort of pinafore apron, but it looks...not the way I wanted it to. I may donate it on top of what the Cinderella doll is wearing. Should fit. Still have to make Aria some shoes that fit - the ones she has on here are Crissy's, much too big for her.

I also bought the hair I'll need to reroot that bald Leia lurking around here. Back when I haunted the eBay 'Barbie' section, I bought doll lots. Somewhere along the line, I ended up with two Leias besides the one from my childhood. So I bought hair months ago, but it was human hair and wouldn't knot for anything. I hope to start the reroot this weekend. I'd love it if I could finish her by 2007 ! 

Everyone else here at Chez Insanity's doing well, if also busy. I'm getting better at twenty-minute dinners. Beloved Hubby is going to bed earlier, and Dearest Son is writing his full name now, along with his phone number and the word 'racing'.

And my potato's done ! Hope your day gives you some happy ! 

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:24 PM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 9:47 AM CDT

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Mood:  silly

Almost hectically busy day - I sewed Aria a blouse that doesn't quite fit well (it fits better with the back as the front) and pants that are baggy, sorted some more stuff, took some photos.

Then my tummy started to ache, so I lay down, and just now woke up ! So I'll have to write a nice long entry Friday. Tummy still hurts, darn it.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

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Mood:  sad

...but I swear, I didn't get to write on the 5th - Beloved Hubby was online literally all day - and the next thing I know, it's the 15th, and I haven't written since. I need to set aside at least a half an hour a day for this, because it is important to me...you are important to me.

I used to think 'days getting shorter' was just silly. Now I know, fall days are super-short around here ! Seems like the day goes by and I never know where it went, but I'm tired as anything, and all I wanna do is sleep !

Not a lot doll-related has gone on 'round here, which is probably why I didn't write on the 6th, either. After wrestling around and around with deciding if I wanted it or it was just a passing fancy, I finally bought a doll I'd seen back on a Toy Fair image website - a World of Ariel 'Royal Wedding' doll. Oh, she is soooo pretty ! She's not much bigger than Little Ariel, but she's still gonna be a 'big sis' like Crissy and Isabella.

Her photos, and where she got the name 'Aria' are on the Home page. I get to sew everything for her, as she doesn't fit anything I already have. Shoes, too. Playmates gave her flat feet - and her shoes have heels with a sole that angles up, so I can't just saw the heels off. Screwy. Why didn't they give her flats ? I wrote 'em about it, but I doubt I'll ever get a response. 

Just finished a jumper style shift dress from Doll Shop Deluxe for her, and it looks nice. Used a Dollar Tree clear Lucite photo cube to pose her on - I took out the box inside, turned it inside out, and put it underneath, you just can't see it. It helps her stand without being a stand. When I sew her pants, I'll probably pose her sitting on it.

I'm considering donating Cindy ( Little Cinderella) in the next few days. I mostly got her because she was inexpensive (thrift store), and I truthfully don't really care for her much. Plus, she's in great shape, her hair's still in the factory rubber bands and ribbons, and Christmas is coming. I'd like for her to go to someone who'd truly love her. 

Making a donation to Toys For Tots this year ? We do, I usually select a doll - of course ! But this year, we're letting Dearest Son do the choosing, and he's so enamored of Cars, someone will probably get a very nice, big Tow Mater or Lightning McQueen under their tree. I just hope he understands that it's for another child, not him. I mean, this kid once had a one-word answer for the perennial question, what do you want for Christmas ? 'Everything.'

I've gone through all my doll magazines, and there's about 20 more patterns to scan...which gives me around 50 or so. And there's a stack of magazines two or three inches tall I don't want. Believe me, there's plenty I'm keeping ! Most have patterns in 'em. Very few don't.

Well, it's time to start dinner. I'm gonna try to make some more 'doll' time. I've missed you like anything !  

Posted by dorriebelle at 5:33 PM CST

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Mood:  irritated

Whew. Got half the magazine patterns scanned - 31 down, 30 more to go. Never got to the fabric sorting, unfortunately. But I only have one more 'big' scanning day and that's done. And that should last me a good long time. I can't imagine wanting any other patterns for a while. It's not like McCall's or Simplicity has put out anything new except for American Girl dolls for the last two years anyway. And half the ones I see as originals on eBay...well, let's just say I scanned some very familiar looking images this month and last...

Sorry. My eyes are a bit blurry, and it's already semi-dark. And I had another crappy experience at GoodWill. I can get felt squares all day long at Hobby Lobby or the Mart for 20c or so. At least four times a year, HLobby puts 'em on sale 6/$1. So I have no idea why GWill had a stack of 'em marked at 25c each, complete with free dust bunnies and unidentifiable wads of...stuff and fur.  Also ran into the 'marked "Dollar Tree Distribution", but the GW price is $2.49' phenomena again. Plus the party tunic blouse on the 'special' rack - too bad all the glittery spots had worn away at the hip and underarm, and that display was right under a lightbulb that really made the lack apparent. And it was $12.50. I've about given up on thrift stores. Since the cashier was  busier hanging clothes than cashiering, I may not be the only one.

I don't know why I'm whining. I have more patterns than I can scan in a day, and don't need anything from anywhere - save for milk and eggs - for the rest of the year. No dolls have really caught my eyes in months, and most of what I could buy anywhere, I can make. I'm seriously considering doing a jewelry instruction page this week, just to keep busy. Only reason I haven't already is due to the Oct. funk and our going-downhill-and-gaining-speed-towards-oblivion camera. So I have no idea where this fine whine is coming from.

Maybe I need a drink or something ! Or I should curl up with some of these magazines I'm so intent on scanning, possibly actually bloody *read* one for a blasted change. It's entirely possible I'm already feeling the Christmas rush - I'm looking at you, Toys R Us, thanks for sending out those toy catalogs two weeks ago ! - and the attendant frustrations. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, our local Mart had the big air-blown Christmas decorations on display at the end of the Halloween tunnel last month. (sigh) Scariest thing I'd seen all frackin' year.

So don't mind me. I'm in a mood, even though there's no real reason. But, heck, it's better than the void I was in for most of October ! :) 

Posted by dorriebelle at 5:00 PM CST

Updated: Saturday, 4 November 2006 7:02 PM CST

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Mood:  caffeinated

Not sure where the day went - but I was nice and warm. Oh, it's cold outside, but unlike yesterday, when I accidentally blew out the heater's pilot light, the heat's on and comfy. I actually took a nap this morning !

As recorded yesterday, I'm finished flagging all the Doll World magazines. Just never got around to the scanning. While waiting for Dearest Son's pick-up, I sewed the snaps on Leia's green ensemble, featured on her page. I'm getting better at matching snaps, getting more than one on, say, a shirt, lined up evenly, but I still don't always get it right. The snaps with holes in the middle help, but that's still no guarantee. Anybody have some sure-fire methods ? 

Christmas is coming up fast, especially at Dollar Tree. Went today to snag a kitchen timer, and there was three rows in the front of the store, and four more in the center, all holiday/winter themed merch. No new dolls or good stuff yet, though.

Got Son a Happy Meal. It's amazing, sometimes, the toys that come in them. While the Barbie 'Dancing Princess' toys were cheap crap, even discounting the great sin of them being downright ugly, the mouse he got from Ardman's Flushed Away is quite nice. Even if it does have a compass in its stomach. It has that distinctive smell of yer better quality plastic toys. You know what I'm talking about. I still wonder how many of us 'old kids' are semi-addicted to that scent. 

Hubby's on his way home, so I'm happy. Did your day go well ? It's Friday, you're alive, so it can't be too bad - and there's always a chance tomorrow's gonna be better !

Posted by dorriebelle at 7:46 PM CST

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Mood:  bright

Thought I already posted this, but I guess not. So I'll just retype and back-date it, it's not in the 'Draft' folder or anything.

Still going through all the old Doll World magazines. I've tabbed all the patterns I wanna scan with torn Post-It notes - 36 magazines, 60 patterns. And that's not all the patterns in them, just the ones I want that I don't already have six different ways. I mean, I'm not much on sunbonnets. But I have eight patterns for them, scaled to fit everybody from Gracie and Casey to Kim Possible. 

So this weekend's gonna be busy. Last time I scanned 47 patterns, it took me six hours, almost non-stop. I'll probably start Friday after Granddad and Granny pick up Dearest Son. Once it's all done, I'll back it up to CD-Rs. Last back-up took three of 'em to contain everything. Wonder if all the new stuff will bump it up to four ? 

When the scanning gets to be too much, I can always clean out fabric ! 

Beloved Hubby defragged our computer last night. We have a 70gig hard drive, have had it for about two years now. It's still not half full. Since we don't play many games or store entire movies on it, we'll probably keep it going as long as possible. Although he was talking about updating our system, new processors and memory, that kind of upgrade, we instead bought a new monitor - oh, and it is *gorgeous* ! - and CD-DVD drive, which is enough of an update for now !  

 And I need some food ! I don't scan well without chow. Hope you get to do some stuff you've been meaning to do today !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

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Mood:  a-ok

Where is the year going ? Seems like we just got Dearest Son in school, and it's almost time for Thanksgiving ! That's my second favorite holiday. What's not to like about cooking, then sitting around and eating all day ? :)

Slowly but surely catching up on neglected housework. Put away Mt. Clean Laundry, did three loads of dirty clothes. It's all air-drying - I hang everything up on racks and chair backs, it keeps clothes nicer longer, adds moisture to the often dry air, and saves on the electric bill. Takes a while, but when you can drift from room to room the next morning, picking out your wardrobe of the day, it's kind of fun.

Oh, and I forgot to mention it 'til yesterday, but I won a boxload of doll magazines. 42 in all, mostly Doll World from the late 70s through to the mid 80s. I've barely had time to leaf through 'em, but today I started really going through 'em for scanning. Averaging two patterns per magazine - often more. Most of what I'm finding is for either the Crissy family or the Disney Princesses, but occasionally there's a treat for Timey and Dottie, with two so far for Baby Chrissy. Amazingly, there's darn little for Barbie. 

Not long ago, I won fifteen Doll World, Doll Designs, and Doll Crafter magazines, and those yielded 47 patterns that I could use. Took me an entire Saturday to get everything scanned. So you can imagine what I got looking at me right now ! I've used two, a shirt crafted from a dress pattern for Crissy, and a pair of capris for Mia and the Disney Princesses that was originally for the Fisher-Price My Friend dolls. The capris took some minor alterations, mostly in the crotch curve - there's a big difference between the soft-body My Friends and the vinyl Princesses ! Mia's wearing them in the Halloween Greetings photo on the home page. Hmf. I need to change that tomorrow...when there's time ! 

Still have about 25 magazines to sort through. Last time, I just leafed and scanned as I went. This time, I'm marking the pages with Post-It flags with the name of the doll I hope the patterns fit. I'm hoping it'll save some time.  I can only do about ten in the wait to pick Son up from school. So the rest of this week is about taken care of - I don't like to be bored waiting !

Not a lot else going on. In a few days, I'm going to have another fabric clean-out - Son's therapist was thrilled with our last donation. Some of the kids love the texture books volunteers make them from all the fabrics. So on this clean-out, I'm going for fabrics that feel distinctive. Not just the soft stuff, either. Guess I'll finally move some of this tulle outta here ! :)

But I think I'll be scanning this weekend. I've already got a backlog of magazines ready for it. Much as I hate scanning, you'd think I'd get to sewing ! 

Posted by dorriebelle at 8:26 PM CST

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Mood:  hug me

...maybe I needed it or something. Beloved Hubby's business has been beyond the concept of 'busy', so I've been helping in any ways I can find. One day last week, I balanced his business checkbook, glazed 30-some cabinet doors, and took Dearest Son to an appointment. Slept well that night !

But that's not really why I've been away so long. While Fall is my favorite season and Halloween is my bestest holiday, it's also a time of deep contemplation and examination for me. Especially in October, for some bizarre reason. Each year, I find myself doing stuff I used to love, but just don't do anymore. I study animation again, for a while...I read radio and TV trade publications, because that's what my degree is in, Mass Communications. The very notion of transmitting ideas and thoughts to more than just the ones you can see has always been fascinating to me. I watch foreign ads, as a window into other cultures, and possibly how a US ad agency would portray the same ideas.  When my kindergarten class went to a radio station...well, it started a lifelong dream that unfortunately I made come true. And now, radio isn't the dream anymore, it's a picked-through wasteland of shock and blah.

"There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it." - George Bernard Shaw

Anyway. Some things just hit you harder when you're older. More you have, the more you have to lose. And I saw this PSA (Public Service Announcement) that has bothered me for weeks. I hesitate to post the link, because I can gosh-darn guarantee you that it will disturb your evening. Especially if you have kids. But I also hate it when somebody talks about something but leaves me no way to see what they're yarping about. So, with misgivings, here's a YouTube.com link - http://youtube.com/watch?v=4nr9R4F_QH8

It reminds me how fragile everything is. How fast something flies beyond anyone's control, and how much each of us can lose in less than a second. I've had to build a mental blockade against thinking about it, picking apart the velocity and probability of what's portrayed. But it's still there, and even writing about it in my personal journal hasn't lessened its appearance and its effect on me. It's not like I've ever driven drunk - I don't drink, and the older I get, the less I enjoy driving. But it's been a painfully powerful PSA.

So I've been pretty morose and upset lately, and haven't gone near my dolls, even for solace, in weeks. I  hesitated sharing this with you because I didn't want you troubled and I knew I'd have to share the link. Odd, how an idea that really shouldn't affect me this much has shaped my days these last coupla weeks. 

I'm just now coming back to myself. Beloved Hubby and I finished Dearest Son's Halloween costume Thurs. night - his school did the parties/costume thing on Friday - and he adored it. I made him a racing suit, complete with a big '53' and his name as 'Driver' on the front, and Hubby decorated a Big Trash Day scavenged Power Wheels Beetle as Herbie, the Love Bug. We removed the mechanisms, repainted it, and even made a custom license plate for it. Straps allowed Son to 'drive' Herbie, and if there was a happier boy around Friday, I'd like to meet him. It was like Christmas to Son, and just seeing his joy was balm to my psyche. 

So Halloween - and my Beloved Hubby and Dearest Son - saved my spirit. In truth, I wasn't much good in the mood I was in, to anyone. Hence the absence. I'm still screwed up, but I'm more my own kind of screwed up than I've been in a while. So, there's more to look forward to, especially since I won a metric ton of old doll magazines in an auction !  :)  

Are these sudden existential psych-dramas what they mean when people talk about  'having a mid-life crisis' ? Frankly, they suck... 

Posted by dorriebelle at 6:52 PM CST

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