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Dorrie's Doll Diaries
Thursday, 15 March 2007
Much to learn about shelves...
Mood:
 lazy
Now Playing: "Herbie : Fully Loaded" - Dearest Son's choice, even thought we finally found 'Robin Hood'
Still ill, but it's clearing. Dearest Son had a party at therapy today, and got to ride the golf carts. He's so happy - I just wish I had more energy to play. Beloved Hubby fixed the shelf - turns out I should have angled the nails, not pounded 'em straight in. At an angle, the bracket 'catches' better, and doesn't slip. I'm just glad Elphie and Fiyero are safe. I really need to do something with the MSB dolls, besides hang up their clothes. But they got tons of outfits already ! :)
Posted by dorriebelle
at 12:01 AM CDT
Wednesday, 14 March 2007
Had another asthma attack last night...
Mood:
 cool
Now Playing: "Cars" - Dearest Son loves the Deleted Scenes now...
Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if I'll *ever* be well again ! Haven't gone near my sewing room today, and about all that happened with dolls is that the shelf I put up fell down, dumping Elphie and Fiyero to the floor - on top of MSB Casey, which knocked her over. (sigh) I think I'll just rest a while. Then go clean up the mess, and prevail on Beloved Hubby to re-hang that shelf for me...
Posted by dorriebelle
at 12:01 AM CDT
Tuesday, 13 March 2007
I actually sewed something !
Mood:
 irritated
Now Playing: XM 80s - "Rebel Yell", Billy Idol
Well, it's something I've tried - and failed at, miserably - several times before. But this time, it wasn't so bad. Maybe 'not quite so miserable' is more apt...
One of my favorite vintage Barbie dresses is 'Modern Art' - a simple knee-length cotton dress, slightly off the shoulder with an overlay of organza and a rolled organza collar. Long time ago, I bought the Aileen's Petite Fashions version of it, #135. About a month after buying it, I tried it, setting the first of a chain of failures off. The directions aren't the greatest, to start with. It never mentions when to sew the shoulder seams - far as I could tell, you *never* do ! It also doesn't say when to turn the organza/cotton bodice right side out, or mentions that the armhole seam and back seams will be visible. Even on the 'finished item' image, the collar isn't as low as it should be. Yet, for some reason, I decided to try it again today. After all, it's been at least two years, and it could be that I got frustrated back then and read what wasn't really there - or misunderstood. Two years is long enough to garner some new skills and calm down. And I still really like that dress...
I had most of the same problems then as now, but it did look better. I used cotton and tulle instead of cotton and organza, and I used thread that glared in its non-matching brightness. So the 'finished' bodice looks like crap, but it's closer to the original than I've ever been. I still think it's badly written, for a pattern, and not really that close to the vintage version, but unless I wanna go after it m'self, I can't whine too much. I'll probably try again tomorrow, with some other fabrics, so I can show ya what I mean. It's just so frustrating to *buy* a pattern - and then find out it's screwed up ! In my overstated opinion, if I'm gonna shell out hard-earned, the author should have his/her crap together. Makes me glad I don't buy patterns from any source anymore. Seems like I'd often be better off making 'em myself, all the frustration and wasted time and materials could at least be headed towards a goal.
Posted by dorriebelle
at 8:15 PM CDT
Monday, 12 March 2007
Still sleepy Monday...
Mood:
 a-ok
Now Playing: "Cars" - Dearest Son loves the Deleted Scenes now...
...I wanna take a nap soooo bad ! But I actually did some stuff today - got a few more boxes moved from the garage to where they belong in here, put away Mt. Clean Laundry, and did dishes. Realized that, while I hate doing dishes and laundry piles up fast if I'm lazy for a day, I didn't mind doing it. I love this place that much. Did discover a few minor things - there's fleas in the garage, the dishwasher doesn't work, and beetles thrive in the laundry room. But these are all work-aroundable. Heck, I hate doing dishes, but by the time I get 'em ready for the dishwasher, they're 90% clean already. Won't take much more effort to just wash 'em, and use the washer racks as a place to dry them. Garage just needs a sweeping out with borax, same for the laundry room. Now that I've organized Beloved Hubby and Dearest Son's closets, putting laundry away won't be such a chore. So even the negative things aren't so bad. All the housework didn't leave me much doll time - yeah, I'm still sick, too, but I'm nowhere near as tired and sleepy as yesterday - but I got the sewing machine set up and running. It's right under the front porch window, I can see Son when he plays from the sewing chair. Got the new fabrics I bought last month cheap-serged and ready for tomorrow's laundry. Hard to believe it's been nearly three weeks since I sewed anything at all ! Maybe I can get Rick Hunter measured tomorrow, or just sew a bit. It's funny, you'd think with a sewing room all my own, I'd be chomping at the bit to get in there, but for some reason, I've been reluctant the few minutes I haven't been ill. And does anyone but me think that this year's Daylight Whatever Time really tanks ? I'm driving Son to school in pitch darkness !
Posted by dorriebelle
at 12:01 AM CDT
Sunday, 11 March 2007
I'm taking today off...
Mood:
 down
Now Playing: I wish I cared...
...I just wish it was by choice ! Cough's come back with a vengeance, and the only thing that keeps it at bay, even a little, is an allergy medicine. That conks me completely out ! No joke, I've fallen asleep writing this much. so I'm gonna go lie down. Just hope I'm 'closer to specs' tomorrow. Hope your Daylight-whatever-Time is going better than mine !
Posted by dorriebelle
at 12:01 AM CST
Saturday, 10 March 2007
Finally - some doll things in the Doll Diaries !
Mood:
 bright
Now Playing: "Robin Hood" - we finally found that DVD !
As promised, doll stuff ! Just now found the USB cable for the camera, it's been gone all week. Gosh, am I glad to have that back ! While I haven't had any sewing time since Lisa Hayes-Hunter's dress and jacket were done, I did have some time to shop today ! Had a 40% off coupon for Hobby Lobby, so I headed there first. I always hit the markdown shelves and walls first. Ya never know what yer gonna find. I snagged some silver silk rosebuds (18c for 10), some gold grommets (20 for 25c), and finally got the mannequin I've been wanting for some time - with the coupon, it was still $9., but it's perfect for hanging my scissors, and I just love it. And now I don't have to keep sighing over wanting one anymore ! I also found the shirt Fuu (Magic Knights Rayearth) is wearing. It's a scrapbook dealie, but with some scissors, Fray Check, and snaps, it fits slight-figured Fuu just fine. The mini t-shirts retail for $3., and come with a tiny metal coathanger. This one was on markdown for some reason, for $1.79. If you're curious, you can see the whole line at http://www.eksuccess.com/ . Just type in 'mini t-shirt' in the box. You may have to root around the site to see 'em all - the one Fuu's wearing only shows when you do a search for Tinkerbell. It is tight at the neck, so I just hand-hemmed the back opening and added snaps a bit down from the neck. I could probably add a bit of fabric to the back opening so larger-figured dolls could wear this, but I rather like it the way it is. So many outfits hang on the smaller-bodied dolls. Fuu herself has a story. I used to go to anime conventions, and I wanted a Fuu doll so badly ! But I didn't have $80. - yup, import dolls cost a ton ! However, at the next convention I went to, Fuu-chan was only $30. Wheee ! I had my Fuu, at last. And I found out that some of my con-friends had also bought Magic Knights Rayearth dolls, too, so we played on the floor of Mariah's room while our guy friends cooed at the spectacle. Then went to watch a Jackie Chan movie. Her hair really is like that, right out of the package. I need to do something with it. Her original costume, armor, and glasses are 'round here somewhere. Unfortunately, the dress I had her in has transferred a bit of red to her legs, so I have to treat that soon. I've often thought of switching her head to another body, as she has the unfortunate 'legs wide apart' sitting posture. It'll just be a while before I can find a body pale enough for her head !
Posted by dorriebelle
at 12:01 AM CST
Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 9:56 AM CDT
Friday, 9 March 2007
And today, I got the kitchen stuff done !
Mood:
a-ok
Now Playing: "Jungle Goddess" - MST3K ancient VHS that somehow works on this player !
Took almost two hours, but since I did the fun stuff yesterday, I had to do the not-so-much fun stuff today. All the dishes are done, and the kitchen's nice and clean. Living room, too. Next week, I get to do the serious daily cleaning - vacuuming, toilet scrubbing, etc. - but at least the basics are nearly caught up. Not sure when I'll have time to get to Mt. Clean Laundry. I got at least six loads to put away ! Tonight, though, I get to spend time with my Beloved Hubby. Dearest Son is at his grandparents', and I'm looking forward to tonight ! :) There'll probably be doll stuff tomorrow, since it's Saturday. Sorry there's none today, but it happens !
Posted by dorriebelle
at 12:01 AM CST
Thursday, 8 March 2007
I at least got the fun stuff done !
Mood:
lazy
Now Playing: "Herbie : Fully Loaded" - Dearest Son's choice, we can't find 'Robin Hood'
The fun stuff being, of course, moving the last of the doll stuff into the studio. I thought it was four small copy-paper size boxes, but it was that, a huge Mart box, and two more I forgot about. Also Fiyero's clothes' box, the MSB dolls' shoes box, and a small misc. bag of various props. I've found storage for most of it, but I still have prop boxes against the wall, with stuff peeking out. Tomorrow I go through it all, see if I can get it down to those five copy-paper boxes that close flat at the tops. I mean, that's still a lot of stuff ! Got Baby Chrissy's stuff all hung up. Was going to buy two or three sets of children's hangers ( I would have needed three), but since most of it is full back or full front opening, regular hangers would work. I'll probably have to replace the three skirt hangers I used for pants, shorts, and diaper covers, but I still saved a quick $3. For some reason, when I cleaned Baby C's stuff out of the drawer, it was surrounded by other doll clothes. I don't remember wedging those in there, but I got 'em all separated and mostly stored. Donated some. I found a maribou feather trimmed set of slippers in there, even though they fit Timey Tell and Dottie best. They'd gotten a bit dusty, so I shook 'em off - and poof ! Feathers everywhere. Evidently the darn things molted. Took 'em outside and picked off the maribou strip. Slippers look better already. And I've probably confused the heck out of some local birds. Still didn't get to the cheap serging, much less the housework. At least what I did was fun !
Posted by dorriebelle
at 8:05 PM CST
Wednesday, 7 March 2007
I had every intention to...but...
Mood:
 happy
Now Playing: "Fox and the Hound" - found Dearest Son a new F&H book, and he wants to see it over and over.
Yeah, it was one of *those* days. Where the day before, ya make all these 'tomorrow I'm gonna' plans, and you go to sleep thinking of what a grand day the next one will be. My first indication that things weren't gonna go that way was Tuna's limp when she came in last night. It was bad. She couldn't use her visibly swollen right rear leg at all, and wouldn't let me near her. So I made sure her new litter box and dinner were close at paw, and left her alone for the rest of the night. But I knew I'd be at the vets - if I could find one to take her - for part of the day. Her favorite room is, of course, my studio. :) Second was that I got very little sleep again. Coughing a lot. Since I was feeling better, I'd slacked off considerably on the medicine. Bad move. Now the gunk remaining was the stubborn, hard-to-eliminate kind, and the coughing you end up forcing from your chest is the type that makes strangers edge away from you while praying for your health. So I'm back on the nasty tussin-type stuff, at least until Friday. If this hasn't cleared up by then, it may be a serious issue, according to the label. Third was that DSL was out again. And when it did work, it was flakier than gramma's finest pie crust. Beloved Hubby had a short list of some stuff I could do for him online, but it wasn't happening. So I called and got some guy I could barely understand, who mostly had me unplug the modem. Like I hadn't tried that six times in the last 24 hours. He then wanted me to unplug the phone and modem, and plug just the modem directly into the phone jack. Wouldn't that disconnect the phone, would they call me back ? No, he'd get another caller. So...wth ? Tried to puzzle it over with my 'customer service' rep, who basically couldn't help and it was OK with him that we'd be disconnected. I noticed that the old wall-plug filter from our old place was on the desk. We were using a splitter-type one they'd sent us. I thanked the accented guy for his help, didn't want a work order ticket that might cost us $$$ unless I tried what I knew first, and unplugged the splitter. Plugged directly into the wall, the modem still didn't work. But plugging phone and modem into the filter, then securing the filter to the wall socket - that worked. It's been stable and super-fast all day. So forgive my bragging, but it's not often you can say you fixed the DSL all by yourself (even if my fix was dirt-simple !). So I didn't get any of my grand sorting and unpacking and housework done. I barely even got the dishes to soak. Haven't been eating, which makes my stomach ache, and along with everything else, all I've really wanted to do all day is sleep. Which is what I did, twice, after Tuna's visit to the vet. She's OK - didn't get hit by a car or throw her leg out of joint. She has an abcess on that paw, on the big center pad, and it's infected. She got a shot - I've never heard her make *those* sounds before ! - and had her temperature taken. That was really not something she enjoyed, either. A cat's normal body temp is 100.5 to 102.5 degrees. Tuna's was 104.5. It was odd to me, because she felt like she always does when she's on my shoulder or lap, not hot at all. Beloved Son's recent fever you could almost sense from the other side of the room. By the time I got out of the vet's office, I was exhausted. All the pet dander and the effort of keeping Tuna from bolting came with a price tag. I only had an hour and a half before I had to pick up Dearest Son from school, and, you guessed it, I slept an hour and fifteen of it. Passed out again watching a movie later. Sad thing is, I could just lie down and go right under this very second. I'd really intended to cheap-serge the new fabric, get the last of the doll stuff out of the garage and into the studio, sort a few additional boxes, and finish the kitchen cleaning from the weekend. Didn't do a bit of it. Oh, well. Provided my coughing improves, I know what my plans are for tomorrow !
Posted by dorriebelle
at 6:34 PM CST
Updated: Wednesday, 7 March 2007 6:42 PM CST
Tuesday, 6 March 2007
I'm back ! Didja miss me ? :)
Mood:
happy
Now Playing: XM 150 - Uncensored Comedy
Whew ! Looks like we're finally back up ! As you can probably tell, I wrote a bit each day while our DSL was down or the computer was in one place and we were in another. I figured a little cut/paste would be fun and easy, and a way to keep track of everything. But for some reason, our DSL has been wonky. Wouldn't even load the blog or the site until today. Went off for hours for no discernable reason, and came back up the same way. And everything timed out from taking sooooo long to download. Probably the only reason it works now is because I found the old DSL filter switchplate and used it instead of the splitter they sent us. Got the fabric all placed, and there's only a few boxes of Barbie-scale props to fish out of the garage. Then my studio will be complete, until I decide to redo something or find out that this arrangement doesn't work as the one I'm newly imagining will. Or something. No time to play, though. Moving all that fabric gave me the wheezes. I hereby ban myself from *ever* going near material again. I have soooo darn much, I don't need to look at more for the rest of my days. I do need some infant hangers for Baby Chrissy's wardrobe. It's currently in a drawer, but I want all the doll stuff in one place, and I can hang her stuff up. She wears real baby clothes, ya know ! Oh, and I lucked out and found the next two sizes of Dearest Son's shoes - identical to the Cars ones on his feet right now ! By the time he wears these two pair out, we'll be ready for his next beloved fad...hopefully ! :) It's been a long day of material handling and sorting, so I'm heading off to bed. I'm so glad the online connection is back up, and hope you don't mind the 'moving blogs'. It's all live from here, everyone !
Posted by dorriebelle
at 12:01 AM CST
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