Mood:  happy

Our next winter crap weather is rolling in, I can just about taste it. One enterprising grocer has signs everywhere, with a brief description of the anticipated bad storm front, along with ideas for items we might want to stock up on, while we're there. How thoughtful of them !

I did go back to Hobby Lobby. Scored some more black glitter felt - 8 sheets - a green maribou feather 'boa' and tiny 's' hooks that are perfect for small doll jewelry. Since the felt had a 'Christmas' sticker, and the small boa and hooks were designed as mini tree decorations, everything was 80% off. So I skipped out of there after only spending some change. Whee !

Thing is, I've stared at the felt, and I know I'm going to make that Velvet dress one more time from it. But I just can't get myself started. I don't know what the problem is. I'd rather sit around and look at doll books and pattern books instead of sew. Found two sewing books at a thrift store I rarely visit - and now I know why both were only a quarter each. Maybe the next charity that gets them can use 'em. They're not stayin' around here ! 

Got all three bras taken down to usable elements, though. And I got snaps sewn on the clothes I've already finished. Had to toss the black skirt Mia was wearing for the Halloween photo. For some reason, it developed small holes on the front. Unless I somehow didn't notice when I was making it - and yeah, it was recycled fabric, so it's possible - I have no idea where those holes came from. Oh, well. It's just a skirt, and those are easy to make. I just hate to throw anything out !  

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Sunday, 14 January 2007 7:13 AM CST

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Mood:  a-ok

Yup. Dearest Son's ill. Not sure what with, he slept for sixteen hours yesterday/last night, woke up for breakfast and shower, then went right back to sleep. Said he was a little dizzy and his tummy was hurting, but not much. So we kept him home. He's quietly sitting up in bed, playin' with his Lego and watching Robin Hood, and says he feels a bit better now. Whew !

So it's a good thing I didn't have grand plans for today. Yesterday, though, I was runnin' everywhere. Picked up a few things for Son's upcoming birthday, did a few returns and exchanges and errands. Bought drink mix Saturday, went to open it...and it was already open. Beloved Hubby and Son say they never went near it, and it squicked me out too much to use it. So I exchanged it. Petty of me, but I've learned after 40 years to trust when my mental alarms go off.

Hit a thrift store I never go to. Found two more sewing books for 25c each (yaaay !) and scored three bras for a buck. Already picked the navy blue one apart for elastic, buckles, and hook/eyes. There's a black one with the tiniest buckles I've ever seen on a bra, and a lavender one that's average-sized, but I don't have lavender anything in stock. It gives me something to do when the hand-sewing's caught up, no book interests, and there's a long wait for school to let out.

Also hit Hobby Lobby yesterday. Got two more packs of size 4.0 snaps - doll sized ! - from their half-off notions sale, and used a newspaper 40% off coupon to get 'Dress It Up 'Micro Minis round' buttons. These really are Barbie sized ! I got the 'Romance' color set - earthy tones. There's also a bright color set - 'Flirty'- and a pale pastel one. But Flirty and Pale Pastel will have to wait for more coupons. $1.99 isn't much for 50 tiny buttons, but you know me, I'd rather pay $1.19 !

Also got a sheet of black felt with iridescent sparkles, and remarked to the cashier that it was the one thing I wasn't buying on sale. I hadn't noticed the 'Christmas Crafts 2006' label, but she did - 80% off ! So even my 25c piece of felt was on markdown, for only 5c ! I'll be going back soon, I really like it. Possibly on Thursday.

Not much time to use any of it today. While Son napped and shook off what troubled his system, I wrote my Yahoo Crissy group - I've been off e-mail for so long, I forgot I was still a member. Wanted to thank Beth for making those patterns available. I got such a warm welcome back that I'm wondering why I left. Oh, and the Crissy group's not the one I've been whining about lately. That's a more 'tony' doll group, and I'll be surrendering my membership in it later today. Crissy group's not fulla snobs, IMhO. 

Wish I could restart my attitudes sometimes. OK, most times.  

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Thursday, 11 January 2007 11:28 AM CST

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Mood:  cheeky

Thought you could use a laugh. Back soon.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 9:51 AM CDT

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Mood:  not sure

Figured out some stuff today. First off, I switched my 'ignore' to 'digest mails' on one doll group I used to frequent. I've been reading the occasional messages, and I realized why I don't go there anymore. I realize my sewing's not the greatest. I realize I use inexpensive cottons and basic sewing. I'd rather have something nice and simple and fits than something dripping lace and silk that's so heavy, it hangs off the doll's waist or is ill-fitting, it's just how I roll.

So when I'd occasionally post an 'I made this ! And I'm happy about it !' photo, I'd get the equivalent of a pat on the head, if I was lucky. Mostly I just got ignored. Ironically, another member sewed for a Baby Bratz doll - and for d@mn sure this was NOT a Bratz doll group ! - and her sewing was...well, she was just starting. And hers got praised to the stars. While I know we all wanted to encourage her - I praised her creations, too, she really tried hard ! - I kinda felt more ignored.

And I tried hard on the list. I commisserated with the sick kitties, never forgot to add to a birthday message, praised everyone.  Yet most of my messages got ignored, and my creations certainly were. And when I did get at least acknowledged, it was a 'That's nice, dear' kind of thing. I left because I got tired of it. And I know I should never have sought it in the first place.  Praise is for the select few, and I'm never part of the Secret Circle - because it's obvious I hate cliques.

While this group was nicer than Prego, I felt about the same. That I was apart, not a part. Again, I'd managed to isolate myself simply because I wasn't on eBay every ten minutes or selling my stuff for $30. a dress. You'd think I'd get used to being a group of one, but all of us want praise. We get bitter without it. And that's why I don't frequent any doll groups anymore. Like TV, it's nice, and most people enjoy it, but I'm better off without it. I'll probably go back to 'ignore' or 'remove from group' later.

 Other thing I realized is that sewing's all abou the one thing I'm usually not - consistent. While the inside seam may not show that I didn't put the edge of the fabric right on that 1/4" mark every stitch, it'll show somewhere. Everything looks better when I can concentrate enough to put that stitch line right where it belongs. To that end, I relish doing simple things over and over, like that Velvet dress. I get to practice lining seams up, and where my eyes and hands go. You'd think I'd have it down pat by now, but sometimes the most basic things are the ones that elude us the longest. 

It's also why I loathe hand-sewing. I can never, never, never keep my stitches even or right where they belong. And as a result, most of my snaps look sloppy, and I'll jump through hoops to arrange fabric so the snap sewing doesn't show. Even when I sew on buttons for human clothes, the stitches don't look as nice as they should. It's getting better, but I still hate having to be so careful on something that doesn't show from the front. Still, for it to look its best, and for it to be something I can take pride in, I have to keep trying. 

One day, I'll get it. I doubt angels will sing, and the multitudes who failed to stroke my ego back then will line up to sing my name when it happens, but at least I'll be happy with my works.  Happy enough to not need angels or faceless voices.

Posted by dorriebelle at 6:57 PM CST

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Mood:  lyrical

Just some random thoughts today - I spent most of the day cleaning house, and barely got near my dolls at all. But I can cook in the kitchen and walk through the living room again, so it's all good.

After years of microwave popcorn and hot-air poppers, I've gone back to the classic 'pot on the stove' method. It just tastes better. I've always preferred it that way, and have gone through two of those crank-handle specialty stovetop poppers. One got bent out of shape in the dishwasher - they're very awkward to clean - the other got its special plastic 'view windows' melted when I turned on the wrong burner to boil eggs. Stank up the house for three days. And because both were difficult to clean, I rarely used them. Now I just pick up a clean pot and lid, and go for it. I get the taste I like and easy cleanup, less trash. Cheaper, too. It's just kind of funny to me. With the dozen or more choices we have to pop popcorn these days, the one I prefer is the oldest possible. Well, the oldest method possible that doesn't involve an open flame...

Did the grocery shopping early, and picked up a small treat for working hard. Since Dearest Son's birthday is coming up soon, I thought of getting him one of those 'slammers' of Lightning McQueen. Don't know if you're familiar with those. It's like a stuffed animal, just character-shaped, that talks in the character voice when it's hit, tapped, or slammed. No kidding. Last summer we got him the Tow Mater, and it's still a favorite. Heck, even I get a kick out of hit when I toss it aside and I hear "Ow ! That there wuddn't very nice !" coming from it. Despite at least six months, probably more, of near-constant play, it still works. Now, the local stores have had Cars slammers since November, even when they had no other licensed merchandise. Of course, now that I've decided we want one, they were out of stock. 

Anyway, now that I've gone into ridiculous detail as to why I was in the toy section -  like I ever have issues with being there  - I approach the point. No Cars, but I found the most adorable Hot Wheels-size AMC Gremlin ! Oh, do I remember the one we had ! I loved that car. I can still remember what the Americal Motors Company logo looked like. They also had a Pacer, I'll probably get that one later. But that dark green Gremlin was mine !

It's kind of funny. The stuff I had and saw as a kid is now approaching 'vintage', with hints of awe-to-come. When Mattel decided to release a collector copy of the original Malibu Barbie in 2002, I almost felt as though my childhood counted. Malibu was, of course, my first Barbie, and much-loved. But to the vintage collector, it was the sign that their couture club was closing, paving the way for Barbie to wear polyester and praire dresses. You know, just like what real people were wearing at the time. Of course, like polyester, this Barbie incarnation was considered something somewhat less than all the ones before it, if the Barbie fantatic was being charitable, disposable trash if not. Certainly nothing since has equalled the pure perfection of the Barbie years prior. I loved my dolls, and that was enough. It wasn't until I got into heavy-duty Barbiedom that I started feeling as though my favorites and my memories weren't good enough. Nobody wanted to mention Malibu ever - only the latest collector-grade doll and the vintage mattered. 

And we all know that the repro Malibus didn't sell well, mostly because there were plenty of real ones still around, and at reasonable prices. Now I kind of wish I'd picked one up. And that this tiny AMC Gremlin could take her for a ride.  I'd tell her I was still proud of her and loved her - no matter what anyone else thought. Same goes for the car. Just because someone else says it ain't good enough doesn't mean that's true.

It makes me laugh a bit to think that one day, Dearest Son might question his adult Cars collection, because all the other guys have these vintage, really old Matchbox vehicles, still in their boxes ! I just hope that the collector gene either skips him, or he has enough confidence to stockpile what he wants, along with his memories, and to the nethers what the  books and mavens say.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 8 January 2007 10:59 AM CST

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Mood:  lazy

Another day that didn't see much getting done.  Played around with the scrap felt cut away when I made Dearest Son's 'Robin Hood' hat, and made Mia one. I haven't made a feather, because in this scale, any kind will do. So next time I find a package of 'em, I'll pick 'em up, if they're inexpensive. Since the feather grab bags are usually dyed chicken feathers, they usually are. 

I think it's cute ! Son's hat is nearly identical. Well, the fit is a lot different...But with a sleek feather, that hat design could even do justice to a 40s-era suit. Goes to show that just about anything can be adapted for dolls. Sorry the photo's not great - it was cold and windy outside this morning ! I wasn't gonna linger to take my usual 20+ pictures !

Anyway - back to 'finding stuff to use for dolls' examples. Got to visit Dollar Tree today. Found a gorgeous Libby glass candy dish - deep and clear, elegant and beautiful. And star-shaped ! It's perfect for Elphie to perch on for photos. Next outfit I make for her, she'll be sitting on it. Actually, she's sitting on it now, I need to move her. It can't be a very comfy chair. 

DTree also had hearts, circles, and squares. But that star sang to me ! I'm sure to have a photo of it soon.  

Also scored a cute little 'Disney Princess' candy keychain lunchbox. Too big for Barbie or Elphie scale, but perfect for my Disney Princesses ! Had to cut the 'keychain' part off with a pocket knife, but the handle fits just perfectly in the Toddler Princess dolls' hands. Here's Belle proudly showing off her new lunchbox. It had a small package of candy hearts inside. If they'd had more than those three identical ones - different colors or pictures - I'd have bought 'em.

Isn't it cute ? I'd love to find a dozen more. Watch, I'll end up haunting candy counters at convenience stores eventually. Not sure where else to look for them.

I had one already - a Wonder Woman red one that probably came with the 'Barbie as Wonder Woman' doll. I found it in a 'free' box at a yard sale. Shoot, I may go back and get a second blue one - and make my own graphic for the front. Wouldn't be that difficult ! Would be nice to have a different color, though. 

Got all the new fabric washed. And scanned in the 'yoke' version of the Velvet dress. I still haven't sewn it yet. That's about it for my day. I have no idea why I'm being so lazy.  Played with the red glitter fabric, but it's so slippery, I know I'll have trouble sewing it. So I haven't even designed what I want yet. I'm kinda getting disappointed in myself, as today was just about a perfect day to spend sewing and crafting. While I'm glad I found some goodies, I really should have stayed home and sewn. Or at least made something ! 

(sigh) Maybe after a good night's sleep, I'll get motivated. Everyone here's tired. It's been one of those days - perhaps I can get it together tomorrow.

Hope springs eternal, ya know.  

Posted by dorriebelle at 9:04 PM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 9:50 AM CDT

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Mood:  bright

Still kind of in a mood. Between believing one thing from Point of View A and then finding out that Point of View B completely negates it, along with my ongoing family issues...let's just say I'm in a weird place. And I needed a treat to break free of it.

So I made good my threat, and went to the fabric store. Actually had money !  Although it's been months since I went, they had mostly the same stuff - just more holiday designs on markdown, and Valentine's Day prints up front. The 'Catch the Dot' sale was interesting - saw lots of '50% off' green ones, but not one orange '80% off', and I was there for an hour. Oh, well. Chances are, if I'd seen one, it wouldn't have been anything I wanted.

Was there mostly to get green felt. Ever since he saw Robin Hood, Dearest Son's been enamored of Sherwood Forest and its denziens. I thought he'd like a replica of Robin's hat. Last few viewings of the DVD, I've been studying it. Google Image'd some photos, etc. until I had the basic shape and the details in my head. Was finishing a sketch of the potential pattern... 

Then I remembered - someone, somewhere online has a pattern for it, possibly free. Googled that, and three hits down, boooyah ! Much simpler than the one I was contemplating. It's basically just a half-circle, one seam, and a fold ! Pressed the fold, and the hat took all of ten minutes, start to finish. Here's the link :

http://home.clara.net/arianrhod/Aldebaran/DoItYourself/Hat03.html 

Couldn't find a decent feather, so I cut the shape from some orange felt leftovers from Crissy shoe attempts. A florist wire (from a pack bought on markdown for a project I haven't started yet) gave it body and allowed shaping, after I applied a double layer of zig-zag stitching over it, with a dash of extra careful to completely enclose the wire ends. A felt circle 'button' attached feather to cap, just like Robin Hood's.  Son was ecstatic. Not bad - and I still have 2/3 of that half-yard left. Wonder how that Velvet dress will work up in felt...?

Only took about an hour and about 75c worth of felt. Next time I'll make one to fit him - the pattern link makes an adult-size one. Even that's fine, the movie has Robin giving his hat to a young bunny, so the 'big fit' still works.  

I also scored a slinky red fabric with iridescent red glitter - that was half-off - hopefully 1/2 yard will make Aria and Elphaba gowns. I know Elphie already has that blue one, and I'm not usually much on special-occasion wear, but that fabric called to me !

And against my statements to never do it again, I scored a grab-bag for a buck. Ever since Hancock's switched to opaque bags, I haven't bought 'em. I mean, I kinda need to see a little of what's in there ! The one I got had a slight hole - I swear, it was there when I arrived ! - and peeking in, I saw a lovely green 'bohemian' style print, some denim, and some other possibilities. Into the cart it went. There's always something exciting and a little exotic about buying what you can't see. 

Ended up with ten pieces of new material. A black-and-white checkerboard quarter yard has already been hemmed - it's going under Son's Cars birthday cake, as a table accent. It looks so much like a checkered flag, it'll probably become one after the party. The boho print was as lovely as it looked, very fine and soft. A half-yard of blue is darn near the exact color I wanted for a Little Mermaid 'Tour the Kingdom' skirt project, so that's in the laundry bin, cheap-serged for the wash. I got some slippery white lining material, a super-thin length of fine white cotton, a quarter yard of denim that's right between blue and black in color, a piece of upholstery fabric, a holiday snowman print, a tiny floral bit, and perhaps an unusable by me chunk of hard blue canvas. It'd be great if I were redoing a doll's director's chair ! Just too stiff and hard to be clothes or shoes - although it might work as a shoe insole, now that I think about it. 

Guess if I think long enough about it, I can use darn near anything that gets close enough for me to claim. For some reason, our trash didn't get picked up today, and our neigbors, perhaps figuring we wouldn't notice, added several gift boxes to our can. Theirs was already overflowing. Well, I did notice, when I went to add one more small bag - and claimed the great boot box and the stiff, lidded stationery box. I can use those, definitely !

Inside the boot box was a lovely felt Christmas tree, perhaps two inches tall. It was three colorful layers sandwiched between green, with a hand-stitched and beaded ornament sewn to it. A gold cord loop and jump ring showed that it was probably a gift attachment. Darn shame they were tossing it out, it was really pretty ! And it'll be an ornament on our tree next year. It's already in the decorations box. 

I kinda felt sorry for our neighbors. They've probably never had to reuse things, or think of new ways to use old stuff (i.e., trash). Especially so if they can toss out things so pretty and useful ! It's not such a bad thing to be poor. It is a d@mn shame to be uncreative and unthinking. Ask me, and I'll say out loud that it's a worse form of poverty !  

Posted by dorriebelle at 8:44 PM CST

Updated: Friday, 5 January 2007 9:09 PM CST

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Mood:  d'oh

Not a lot happening. Had time to sew, just didn't, for whatever reason. I just wanted to sit and stare at the monitor. About all I got done today was a new alteration to the made-four-times Velvet dress. I added an inch to the hems, and cut it to form an ungathered yoke. And even after that, I wasn't interested in sewing it. Maybe this weekend. Guess I'm in a stupor.

Looked at Beth's 'Children's Advocacy' pages - and there's not really anywhere I can donate. So I'll send a donation to the local shelter. It's not much, but it alleviates my 'grabby guilt'.

Forgive me, I'm in a mood again. Few weeks ago, we downloaded the Japanese version of a much-loved show that aired here in the States in the 80s. Oh, how I adored this show. I loved its soap-opera romances, kind of got into the politics, tolerated the mecha (robots, spaceships) aspects, grabbed snacks during the extended battle sequences. Let's face it, I was there for the romance ! I used this show frequently to illustrate my point that animation doesn't equal sub-par dumbed-down kids' show.

So. Getting back to the point. We got to see part of the Japanese original. And in many ways it was superior. But where it counted, it bothered me. Mr. Hero, the apex of a love triangle, doesn't choose the character I liked. Oh, he ends up with her, but it doesn't seem to be by his choice. He never said he loved her, ever. At least in the last US episode, he realizes that he does. Not so in the Japanese. Little Miss Singing Star basically says she's going back to her life, been nice to know ya, Mr. Hero Stud. So he stands there with Character I Really Like, and it snows. End of series. 

As a result, I feel a bit cheated and angry and oddly out of sorts. Same thing kind of happened with something else today, so I'm in a mood. Hopefully I'll bounce out of it soon.

Maybe I'll hit Hancock Fabrics. Haven't been there in months. 

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

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Mood:  a-ok

Whoo. Busy day. Got tired of the huge pile of VHS tapes scattered everywhere, and set out to organize it. Two hours later, I was done, and tired ! Eight tapes will go to the next charity that calls for a donation, ten were culled to use for repairs or blanks, and all the 'Disney Clamshells' are in Dearest Son's room. Got all his 'Thomas the Tank Engine' tapes together, too. He had about twelve of those, and most of the animated classics from my younger years.

On seeing the wealth of videotapes in his room, Son exclaimed how happy he was. Looking in his eyes, I could see that he just knew he had the treasures of Midas at his fingertips. I felt much the same way. Just having them all  organized differently made them seem new again. Watched two of them tonight.  

As predicted, today was too busy to do anything doll-related. But the Velvet patterns are now up on Beth's site. They're smaller icons of the larger pattern images, below, on the same page I listed yesterday. Hopefully next week, I'll be able to send something to her children's charity. I feel vaguely guilty about downloading the four I have without contributing, even though Beth doesn't ask that we do.

On the Crissy group, someone mentioned other patterns for more 'up to date' clothes. While I think you could make darn near anything from any era out of what Beth gave us - nobody says those patterns have to be worked in 70s-vintage polyester - I can understand the interest. Not everyone gets a week of happy evenings out of continually altering a pattern. Several other companies and designs were mentioned, and off I went to eBay, clam-happy. Once I looked at everything listed, I shrugged. Nothing really new, nothing I didn't already have. 

But I was rather happy to potentially want something. It's been a while since I did. And since the Crissy patterns have been dropped into my lap for free (darn near), there's one more off the kinda-sorta list. I guess I kind of miss wanting stuff.

Go figure.  

Posted by dorriebelle at 11:00 PM CST

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Mood:  down

Still getting over and getting used to stuff. It's kind of like writing "2007" on checks. Ya hafta think about it, and it'd just be easier if you didn't have to.

Anyway, I haven't had much time to get back into doll stuff. Dearest Son goes back to school tomorrow, and he doesn't want to go to sleep ! I mended a small tear in his backpack - hand-sewing ! Gosh, I hate it ! - and got as much ready ahead of time as I could. Makes the mornings go smoother.

I'm aiming to sew Thursday, as tomorrow's gonna be too busy. But here's something I can share with you. Author Beth Colvin (formerly BethGunter, she wrote Crissy Doll and Her Friends) has the best Crissy site anywhere. And now there's a bonus. If you visit her "Sewing for Crissy and Her Friends" page, you can download complete Adobe copies of all the patterns made  for Crissy ! Wow ! I only had two of 'em, so I was darn quick to get the rest. Whoopeee ! Just click on the image of the pattern envelope and that's that !

She'll add the Velvet-size ones later. Wow. Each of those goes for about $10. on eBay, and there was one I've kinda-sorta wanted for a long time. Of course, that's the one that often goes for $20. each time I think to get it ! She has a children's charity page as well, so when we're a bit more solvent, I hope to send some 'thank you' funds to it on her behalf.

Here's her site :

http://www.crissyandbeth.com/ 

And the 'Sewing' page :

http://www.crissyandbeth.com/Sew.html 

And here's a bonus tip for Crissy fans. There's a Yahoo Crissy group - I'm a lurking member. Well, I scanned the Sewing for 20th Century Dolls Crissy patterns from Books 1 and 2, added them to the group's files. Some members had LOTS of problems getting them to the right scale, and frankly, after sending them via e-mail several times, I got tired and kind of left the group to occasionally lurk. I wish I had Adobe, I understand it makes stuff like this super-easy. But it's expensive ! The free 'Reader' doesn't save like I need it to. 

Anyway, the group's pretty nice, I just let my ego get in the way, and got a bit tired of the resends. I may yet go back, I have some questions.

If you're interested in the group, it's at :

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crissydollclub/

Gotta finish dinner. Sorry this isn't much content if you don't like Crissy - but it's better than another week of silence (I hope !) ! 

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

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