Mood:  celebratory

We had a nice Thanksgiving - hope you did, too ! Posted a new Aria photo on the Home page, her dress wasn't quite what I envisioned, but it's still cute.

Over here at Chez Insanity, we mostly lazed around. Beloved Hubby slept all day, Dearest Son watched Cars twice. He loves it when the closed-captioning is on, and it might just help his reading skills. 

Not a lot happened. I decided to make Aria's 'Ariel Tours the Kingdom' dress next, and studied some photos from The Little Mermaid. Blouse and skirt are easy patterns from Doll Shop Deluxe, but the black over-bodice was one that we didn't have access to. So I studied the one that couldn't print - 'cause we didn't pay for it - and sketched my own. 

Did you know there's tons of printable coloring pages on line ? I even found some for Dearest Son - Cars, of course ! Anyway, there's the 'Kingdom' dress, and on top of the skirt and dress, in a lovely floral print, is the new bodice. It's incorrect, much too big, but I tweaked it to fit so I wouldn't have 'wasted' the time. I still have to put the little 'v' in the front, and decide if I want to resize it correctly, or just tweak the next one like I did this one ! 

I also need to decide if I'm going with canon movie colors - that shade of blue's not something I have already - or just go wild. After all, I'm sure it'd look good in other shades, and it's a pretty design. I may do the black bodice in UltraSuede - that, I already have - and I have white for the blouse. I defy you to find a sewist who doesn't always have some white cotton around !

Oh, and this may be one of the last photos you'll see from our old camera. Beloved Hubby bought me a new one last night, and oh, is it ever nice ! I just hope I can learn all the features. Hopefully, you'll see better doll photos here in the next week or two ! I'm really excited. Dearest Son has already claimed our soon-to-be old camera, he's quite the six-year-old shutterbug. I like to see what captures his fancy in photos. 

Don't ask me why I'm so nervous about the new camera's learning curve... 

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

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

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Mood:  bright

But it's only Wednesday. Dearest Son's off from school 'til Monday, and Beloved Hubby got to sleep in for a while, too. It was nice to have some time together.

Then I ran around, paying bills, keeping the Dollar Tree visit promise I made Son, and grabbing some lunch. DTree had the cutest pull-back Mach 5 and Racer X cars in - Speed Racer is kind of a running gag with Hubby and me. So I got him the Mach 5. Son wasn't interested. They had Cars markers and stickers in boxes, waiting to be placed, and that was more his speed. 

I got a plastic shoebox to keep Aria's clothes in, and that was all. Don't really need anything much these days. Looked through all the Black Friday ads on bfads.com, didn't see anything that's gonna get me into that mess ! Even the Cars sheets that Target has on sale I can either get online, or just pay $4. more for the set Son prefers at W-Mart. 

The next outfit I'm making Aria is another shift dress like the one on the Home page, but in white, topped with a short, fluffy green gingham skirt. Made the gingham skirt today, and the pattern's ready to go for the white shift. I might get to work on that tonight after dinner. Or tomorrow.  After that, I'm gonna make her some shoes. Playmates Toys never got back up with me about the ones she came in - I didn't really expect them to - so it's up to me !  They'll be clumsy, but they'll fit and be flat !

I just love my new glasses ! But I'm gonna take 'em off for what I gotta do now - dishes, ugh. We're down to the last clean fork, and there's only one set of clean plates left, so I gotta get on it. I just put it off for as long as I can !  

Posted by dorriebelle at 6:29 PM CST

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Mood:  special

 They make me feel soo pretty ! I actually got identical frames, one pair with the prescription without a tint, the others are sunglasses. I was lucky that Beloved Hubby was able to get some time off work to help me pick them out ! 

Where I wasn't lucky was, I got almost all the way back there, to pick them up, when I felt a sudden weight and a pull at my hair. Tuna ! That darn cat had gotten into the van, rode all that way with me, then suddenly jumped on the headrest - while I was driving ! Grrr. Luckily, the glasses fit, so I had enough time to take her back home before I had to pick up Dearest Son. Who immediately crowed, "Mommy got new glasses !" on seeing me. :)

While I was in the area, after my eye exam, I stopped by TRU. And discovered they had nearly zero Cars toys. Yikes. They did have one of the Big Two Son wants, the Mack Truck playset, so I went ahead and got it. Came home, and found that it was the #1 toy sold on Amazon.com ! Lucky I found one ! 

Not much doll time. I've got an idea for a dress I want to make Aria, and printed out the pattern. Oh, and I found out something else when I visited Office Max. They don't do the 'old ink cart = new ream of paper' anymore - and I got completely ripped off on that ink cart. The one I was talking about that printed terribly despite the printer saying it was half full ? We paid $28. for it - it was an Office Max refilled cart. I went to see if it was the 'moderate printing' refil - and it was. I basically paid $28. for a refilled cartridge that had less ink in it than the $33. Lexmark one. I paid $28. for a used one, the same thing that Lexmark sells brand-new for $20.

Well, we won't be doing that again ! And add to this - they had laser printers at the front for $120. I talked with the manager, saying my husband might be interested in one, so she might see me tomorrow. Found out tonight that that exact printer goes to $70. for the Black Friday sales. Manager didn't say a word. I know, she's not obligated to, but shoot. I doubt I'll be visiting Office Max again any time soon. Least, not without some bad eggs...

And that was my day ! Son's happily playing with some Play-Doh, I'm plotting out doll clothes, and Hubby's on his way home. Happy ! 

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

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Mood:  lyrical

Busy day today ! 

Did the grocery shopping - I don't know what it is, but let it be cold two weekends in a row, and I start laying in supplies ! You can't get a lemon wedge into our freezer, it's so packed, and the pantry, small as it is, had to be completely redone to accomodate everything. There were sooo many good deals this week, I took advantage of as many as possible ! Even our fridge is full of food. For some reason, I take comfort in the abundance. 

As noted yesterday, our printer's been screwing up. Hated to shell $30.+ on an ink cartridge - the printer says our current one is still half-full, so it may not be the cart that's the problem. Well, I found a sort-of solution. There's a 'moderate yield' cartridge now, for $20. While the packaging for neither size says how much ink is inside, I figured I'd save the $10. or so, and go for the moderate. That'd tell me what I needed to know, and if we don't get a new printer - Beloved Hubby's looking at laser printers lately - before it empties, I'll just get a full size next time.

And, as it turned out, it was the ink, printer works fine now. Printed out a skirt pattern I hope to work up for Aria later this week. I just think it's a kind of rip that there's two sizes, and no information to compare them. If one is 18mL and the other is 28mL, for example, I'd know what I'm dealing with. But for all I know, I just bought 3ml, there's no way to tell.  At least I can get a free ream of paper from Office Max for the old cartridge. We usually donate those to Dearest Son's school.

In other off-topic news, I have a 9am optometrist appointment tomorrow. By this time Tuesday, I might have new glasses. I have a spare pair that I hate wearing, so I invested $2.28 in some stinky epoxy to try a repair on my much-missed sunglasses. They're drying now, I hope it worked. Probably not, but I had to try.  

Did a little Christmas window shopping for Son. Beloved Hubby and I just upgraded our computer, and we're getting a new TV - and I'm getting glasses ! -  so we're pretty much shopped for already. But we haven't yet decided what the boy who wants everything is getting. He's been vocal about two specific Cars toys, a mountain race set and the Mack truck playset. And more of the individual Cars characters, specifically Guido, the other two racecars, and a tractor (to tip). If everything's in stock, we could finish his shopping in ten minutes ! 

But I don't dare hope. The mountain race set - 'Radiator Springs Mountain Challenge Track Set', to be precise -  has bad ratings for being unstable, but I know our son. He'll most likely use the parts in other ways anyway, even if it is flimsy as pictured. Heck, we played with Lisa's 'Earthquake Manor' (the first edition Barbie Townhouse, it got recalled for falling apart) until her mom boxed it for returns. We liked it better when we didn't know if it'd stand or topple, and the furniture was fun. Here's a leeched image off eBay. Man, I remember this thing soo much, and I didn't own it. 

 I'll probably hit TRU tomorrow, if there's time after my appointment. See what's still out there. I ain't leavin' the house on Black Friday. For one, Son's home, and even if Hubby's here, I just refuse to be caught up in the insanity. That video game system fracas has about turned me off to 'bargains' I have to battle for. I'm better off hunting the specials at the grocery store - those don't hurt anybody !  

I can't believe it, I'm still thinking of 'Earthquake Manor' ! Well, I guess it's the season for memories and musings, of toys and holidays passed.  

Posted by dorriebelle at 11:51 AM CST

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

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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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