Tripod trouble and Mattel's latest madness...
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: "Garfield 2 : A Tale of Two Kitties" - DVD rental, looking forward to returning it.

 

Right now, I really am beyond angry at Tripod. Took me a half hour to write today's entry, and, like Monday's, it has vanished into the ether. The fourth try actually went through. So, from now on, I'll write in Word, and bring it over. That way, I won't have to try to remember what I've already written and forget things. Man, this ranks.

 

Anyway, the good news is that I finished the individual pattern cataloging today. I'm way ahead of schedule. Bad news is that there's 13 books waiting for similar treatment, not 11, and one has over 190 images for me to cut, clean, resize, bleach, and organize. Seriously. No more ^&*%ing patterns. My eyes are gonna end up square-shaped from the monitor at this rate.

 

To break up the monotony, I cleaned Dearest Son's room, with his occasional help. Took three and a half hours. The only people less prepared to spend that amount of time in one small space is the crew and passengers of the Minnow. Took out three Mal-Wart sacks of trash, and one 13-gal bag of papers, unidentifiable substances, and bits of broken toy. Man, and I thought I was overindulged with my dolls and sewing ! 

 

In a few minutes, it's time to clean the living room and put *those* toys away. Yup. Spent almost four hours, and not even all his toys were in there. If you don't hear from me for a few days, it's because I'm beneath a wave of Lunchables Transformer toys and Lego pieces, and I can't get up !

 

So, while there's not much doll news here, I can tell you the global doll news, at least from Mattel. Their overall sales health is good, with profits up 15% this quarter (Q2). They report global Barbie sales as up 6 percent, but 4 of those percentage points are from currency exchange fluctuations. Stateside, Barbie is still continuing her lackluster sales, this quarter, down 5%. They're hoping that 'Barbie Girls' will save the day.

 

I'm hoping they didn't bet the farm. Barbiegirls.com is a site, sort of like a Second Life avatar-based virtual reality. Girls can personalize an avatar, try on clothes, mall -virtual-trawl. With the addition of a $60. flash drive 'doll', more content and options are unlocked. But the site itself is free.

 

I don't know why they insist on calling the flash drive/MP3 player a doll. It has snap-on changeable hair, and looks like a Bratz figure painted on a $15. flash card by a guy who took a flyer on a description, never having seen one. Tiny body, huge head with an indiferent expression. And the snap-on hair. I don't dress up my Sansa SanDisk, it's not a doll. In any case, the big question is whether or not Mr. and Mrs. Public is gonna shell out $60. for a non-IPod MP3 player just so BrytianneAnnye's avatar can have puffed sleeves instead of the cap ones.

 

And I understand that they're just trying to stay alive in a fast-changing world, where 8-year-olds want IPods and avatars instead of baby dolls and sleepovers. But I really don't see how this is gonna generate much interest, much less income. There's already more, better, and cheaper, and a password and naughty words filter isn't much reassurance for parents who've seen too many 'to catch a creep' Dateline episodes.

 

It's not just Barbie who has sales to make Mattel weep. They own American Girls, and their sales are down 10%. A new historical doll is due out, the first one in years, probably just in time for the '07 holiday crush, but I can't help but think that Pleasant Company sold out just before the bubble burst. Quality is nice, especially in dolls, but if Caytlynne is outgrowing dolls before she's outgrown Happy Meals, few parents are gonna shell the kind of numbers AG dolls demand.

 

Boy toys, however, are doing quite well. Matchbox (Mattel owns 'em) and Hot Wheels are selling well, and Cars is the surprising sales powerhouse. While most licensing is down, Cars toys continue to sell well. I understand that one completely. The only place I could find the Luigi/Guido/Tractor die cast set last Christmas was eBay, and I refused to squander $48. (plus $12. for first-class - not even Priority ! - shipping) on a $7.88 toy. It wasn't out for Son's January birthday, either. Last month, it was. And yes, I bought it. I don't think I'm the only one, either. Poor Tractor's been tipped a few thousand times, I can tell ya.

 

Fisher-Price (yup, Mattel owned, too) is doing very well, with a 10% increase in sales globally. It's funny to think that the classic Popcorn Popper push toy is subsidizing a nearly-50 glamour queen, but there it is. Or that toy cars that usually retail for less than a buck are keeping a toy giant afloat. Strange world we live in.

 

Here's links, so you can read without my editorializing :

*Mattel 2Q profit rises 15 percent ->

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070716/ap_on_bi_ge/earns_mattel;_ylt=AsCWai8kubVcop4agyYjxzrMWM0F

*Mattel's Barbie Girls act like avatars, rock like MP3s ->

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2007-04-27-barbie-girls_N.htm

 

Even when there's not much going on at Chez Insanity, there's always something I can go on and on about ! :)

I am so po'd at Tripod. Fourth try to get something to show  up.

If you liked yesterday's 'low content' entry, you're sure to adore today's...
Mood:  lazy
Now Playing: "Comic Party" - anime DVD series Beloved Hubby ordered. Pretty good !

 

Two more pages of pattern cataloging done. I have 15 more patterns and 11 pattern books to go before I'm done. I'm into the R's now. And starting to get thoroughly sick of the entire enterprise. Geez, if I ever buy another Barbie pattern again, I deserve to be smacked in the mouth with a three-days-dead wet trout. I'm serious !

 

Got to go to Dollar Tree today. They were having RGIS over for inventory, so there were beeping sounds echoing throughout the store, like a herd of rabid crickets. I hated taking things off the shelves while they were working so hard, but if customers buying stuff mid-inventory it was that much of a problem, they'd do it at night or close the store. About all I got was more document protectors - DTree's the cheapest, at 5c each, not even the big boxes at Office Max are less expensive - and a packet of small Cars stickers for Dearest Son. They're about the size of your pinky finger, from the fingertip to the first joint.

 

I really like those stickers ! There were 100 of 'em in there, iridescent and pretty. Just about every character, too, even the ones not frequently seen.  Son loved 'em, and decorated his blue Beetle with about 95% of the pack. In addition to the regulars (McQueen, Mater, Sally, Luigi, Ramone, Filmore, Doc Hudson, the Beetle now sports Red (firetruck), Boost, Snot-Rod, DJ, and Wingo (the hot rods),  The King, Chick Hicks, Flo, and the Sherrif. There were also '95' logos in a circle, and a 'LowNSlow' license plate. Son handed me a Filmore sticker, and said I could put it on my green Barbie Beetle. Isn't he so sweet ? And it's there, on the back window. I may go get the 'Disney Princesses' pack and decorate the bumper ! :) Not sure what I'll do with the other 97 or so...

 

And I'm not sure where the rest of the day went. It vanished out from under me !

Late entry, little content...
Mood:  irritated
Now Playing: "Comic Party" - anime DVD series Beloved Hubby ordered. Pretty good !

 

I'm about to freakin' lose it. For the fourth time, I've typed and five times I've sent today's entry. And the only thing to show up is the 'WTH' test message. Which kinda ranks, as none of the four versions I've sent had much content anyway. (sigh)

 

Anyway. Here we go again. Raise your hands if you wanna go faster !! Apologies on yesterday's wonky format, and today's lateness, my general lousy attitude, and the fact that there's just not much here. Two more pages are done on the pattern catalog, and I'm mid-way through the M's.

 

Had a focus group to attend tonight - basically a group survey on why the local paper is so lousy, none of us re-subscribed. It was a bit of a drive into The Big City, which made me nervous. Ridiculous, because I used to drive The Metro every day for work, in worse traffic with always-being-repaired roads. I saw more hazard cones than I saw flowers most years. But now, driving in heavy traffic makes me titchy. Go figure. Must be getting old. Made it there safely, got lost coming home. Remembered from my Google map research that one highway leads to the interstate home, so I just paid attention, and got home faster than I got up there.

 

And now I know the way to the only Kay-Bee toy store in the entire region ! It's easy. I may have to go sometime. Another plus is that the survey company paid me cold, green cash, so now I don't feel so guilty about my little doll and Beetle spree Saturday. Dearest Son still plays with his daily. I've seen stuffed animals, GI Joe, and a wooden building block driving it.

 

Well, I've about had it for one blog entry. Hope your day is going better !

Beetles and dolls and navels, oh, my !
Mood:  quizzical
Now Playing: Crickets ! A few thousand of 'em, in concert !

 

I got a 'Dream Date' Ken yesterday from GoodWill. Only $2., and still in his original tux, right down to the shoes. His velvety jacket's Barbie-pink boutonniere is missing and the all-in-one pants and shirt need cleaning, as well as some minor repairs. After 15 years in the same outfit, he didn't complain about the more casual outfit I put him in. Besides, the outfit - or more likely, sunlight through the outfit, since the MIB ones I've seen aren't like he is - seems to have stained his neck and two strips down his chest an odd shade of yellow. No biggie. I actually prefer dolls with some imperfections - they're more fun to play with that way ! We are our scars, after all.

 

Spent a good chunk of yesterday evening and today cleaning yesterday's acquisitions. Dearest Son loves his new blue Beetle, it's rarely more than a few inches from his hands since he chose it. The green one had three plastic Easter eggs in the trunk, almost exactly the same shade of green. None of them had seat belts, keys, or the side mirrors, and only one had the rear-view one inside. Two had the 'hidden keyhole' license plate cover, but without keys...Taught Son how to open the trunk by putting his hand inside and gently pushing it up. That's how I'll be doing it !

 

Baby Ariel's hair, while still in the factory set, was tangled and a bit wooly, so I took it down and brushed it. And brushed it and brushed it...ad nauseum. Whoo. Toddler Belle's hair was also wooly on the ends, and I never took her hair down, either. I cut about an inch of the dolly equivalent of split ends off Belle, and may need to do the same with Baby. In my opinion, shorter hair suited Belle !

 

I sort of wondered why I had such a need to brush out Ariel's 'do. It was OK the way it was. But I know that it's too easy to give away a doll when you have no interest in playing with her hair ! Once I got it down, it was easy to style - and it went down to her butt ! And folks say Baby Crissy's hair is unrealistic ! I say, for dolls, both are typical. Ariel's hair is fairly easy to take down and put up - the rooted part is easy to find, but doesn't limit styling - and maybe with a bit of conditioner, I can tame hers a bit. It looks more like a fire-engine red mane right now. Didn't have time to sew for her, she's wearing one of Mia's little shift dresses. Almost fits her, just too tight at the neck and the armholes could be a bit bigger.

 

Did two more pages of pattern reference sheets. I'm into the L part, only 39 more files and 11 books to go. I should have it done by the time Son's school starts. I've spent so much time on it, I got paranoid and backed it all up on CD-R. I'll probably take a complete copy, once it's all done, to the library or a Kinko's to print it out. Library uses laser printers, at just 10c a page. I know our inkjet is much more expensive. Dunno what Kinko's charges, but I may find out in the next few days.

 

Not a lot else going on - I slept in, and now I'm wiped out. Cleaned the kitchen to start the week right, and did a couple loads of laundry. I think I'm still behind from May ! Oh, and the surgeon who did my recent operation has pronounced me healed and ready for Life. But he wants me to wait 'til August before I attempt skating again. Well, he's the expert ! What's funny to me is that my navel has changed. It's a different shape and depth now. Odd how you go through your days, figuring your belly-button will always be the same, and one day you notice it's different.

 

Lot of things are like that...

It's all Dearest Son's fault. Oh, and my DMIL's too.
Mood:  bright
Now Playing: a silent Beetle fleet

 

Yes, it is. I was completely innocent of ulterior motives when I left the house for a quick yard-sale run. I knew that Dearest Son wanted another Barbie VW New Beetle - the one my DMIL got him from a yard sale was quite literally played with to death. Which kind of ranked, it was silver, and I sort of wanted to play with it, too. But he loved it, and played with it. Not overly rough, it was the mileage Son put on it that killed it, not accidents and abuse. He loved the doors off first. Then the rest just came undone. Sometimes too much love can be fatal, especially for toys.

 

Looked 'em up on eBay. While they're pretty cheap, shipping isn't. So, when I found a sweet green one at a yard sale, I snapped it up. Only one problem. I love green. How were we gonna be able to share it ? I packed it and the $2. in 25c kid's books I got him in Lightning Molly's trunk and drove to the next sale. And GoodWill.

 

Alleluia ! Another Beetle ! How wonderful - we could each have one ! But...there's another one ! A yellow one and a blue one ! In decent used shape, too. Not as cheap as the yard sale one, but not expensive, especially considering these were around $20. new. Which one do I get him ?

 

Well, we all know how it turned out. Yes. I bought both. And it's all Dearest Son and my DMIL's fault that I have three Barbie VW New Beetles beside me in Easter-egg colors. I had no intention of buying a fleet of the darn things ! I'll let Son pick out which one he likes, but they all need cleaning and sticker (and sticker goo) removal. Green one's mine, though.

 

I also had no intention of bringing home any new dolls. I have plenty, thanks. But...there was a Dream Date Ken, still in his complete outfit, even shoes. His neck and waist were a bit loose, and his chest had some yellow to it...whaddya expect for $2. ? I asked myself.

 

But truly not playing fair was the nude Baby Ariel doll. Her little arms reached up from the 'donations to the sales floor' cart, asking for someone to pick her up, play with her, maybe get her some clothes. She's also by Playmates, a line extention of their 'Before Once Upon A Time' todder versions of Disney Princesses. I just couldn't leave her there ! Hair still in the factory set, not a mark on her, but some smearing of her butt markings. This makes the sixth Ariel doll I own - and I'm not a big Little Mermaid fan ! If I were buying off the shelf, I'd probably get Belle, but I didn't really like her infant version.

 

Hmm. A quick tour of eBay shows numerous Baby Ariels. From stuffed to porcelain to miniature. Here's a good photo of the one I got - http://www.amazon.com/PlayMates-72503-Baby-Princess-Ariel/dp/B000HFQRV4 . While she didn't come with any of that stuff, she's one cute baby ! I'll probably get her measured for Doll Shop Deluxe tonight, unless Beloved Hubby's hunting Napster for more music. Now that she's home, I've noticed she kind of smells like baby powder. I couldn't tell that at the GWill.

 

I also scored a brand-new ring binder (I have a use for it already !), a wicker loveseat that'll fit Elphie and Fiyero, a starburst trophy (good doll backdrop), a local calendar (more scenery), some storage boxes, and a kids' meal Shrek The Third baby girl ogre. I wanted that one for some 'Elphie Baby-Sits' photos, but I'd already embarassed myself getting the Madame Alexander Wizard of Oz Witch of the West when those were out.  So when we didn't get 'em in Son's once-a-week treat, I figured they'd turn up at yard sales. And they have ! I have two of the three, so I'm happy.

 

Man, I just wanted to go out for a bit. Instead, I come home with Ariel, Ken, and a baby Ogre, and a fleet of Beetles. At least I didn't spend much, it was all less than $20. total. And it's all Dearest Son's fault ! Those darn Beetles - and all those new dolls ! Wheeee !

 

It's my fault...but I'm too busy having fun to regret a thing ! :)

Doll shopping in the USA...now with music !
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: "One More Time" - Daft Punk. Sorry, but I LOVE that song !

 

Well, I finally got to see some of the Birthstone dolls. They look just like the promo photos, possibly a first for Mattel. Aaaand....the ones I saw are still on the shelf. For one, they didn't have the one I might have purchased - not my birthstone, I'm looking at hair colors more than stone hues - and for second, I didn't really like them. Sure, they have lovely hair and the much-loved-by-me Steffie face. I even like their dresses, although I could do without the oversize necklace and the dumb 'Tinkerbell' inspired tiara-wearing dogs. But the facial screening is too 'Bratz' for me.

 

No kidding. She's a lovely doll, and I don't want to say anything bad about them, or those who love theirs. But with the rail-thin Model Muse body and the stylized face, she looks like a Barbie Bratz...more Bratz than My Scene. The lips look like she's whistling, or teasing some poor Ken with her professional acumen in certain adult activities. And the sidelong glance doesn't help. I kept wanting to pose her by a streetlamp ! It's a shame, because it's the first Barbie I've been interested in for months. But, no sale.

 

They also had the High School Musical dolls out. I don't know jack-all about the movie (?) or whatever they're based on. We don't have cable, satellite, or even broadcast TV. But they are nice, attractive dolls. I'd buy the set - the guy and girl, don't know names - but the singing feature makes them $38.-something. Kind of high for me. Besides, you know me, I'll be looking for them next year, nude and with dead batteries, at GoodWill for $2.

 

I'm still obsessing over pattern-cataloging. I'm in the 'E' section ! And we joined Napster To Go, so I have a musical buffet to go with my tedious new hobby. Beloved Hubby got his 'free with a year's membership' MP3 player, and bought me a compatible one. Wow. I can listen to so much stuff ! It's easy to use, too. It's just funny that they'll have really obscure stuff like Joshua Kadison's "Postcards From L.A.", but don't have half of Janet Jackson's 80s output. Or several of my faves from Robert Palmer. (sigh) But what I got is ultra-cool. I feel like I have my own radio station now, no commercials and all my favorites, from childhood, my years as a DJ, and now.

 

And now you know why it's been taking me so long to write the Blog ! If I'm not looking up some nobody's-ever-heard-of-it song and getting distracted by three other songs, Beloved Hubby is ! He can spend hours almost motionless, on the musical hunt. I need to start writing this at noon...

The obsession continues...
Mood:  irritated
Now Playing: "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" - DVD rental, better than I thought it'd be.

 

Well, we've moved into the single-outfit patterns and the foreign ones. I've worked it out fairly well by now. The 'new canvas' in PaintShopPro is a little smaller than a piece of paper in 'Landscape'. I cut the image - sometimes images ! -  from each pattern, change it to greyscale. Then I remove the background with the 'line', 'shapes', and 'fill' tools, and sharpen it. After that, it gets resized to 250 pixels high. A 'cut' and 'paste as new layer' on the new canvas puts it in place, and I add the pattern name beneath. Then it's off to the next image. I can get anywhere from eight to twelve on a page. Like I said, this is gonna take a bloody long time.

 

But I'm actually enjoying m'self, and that's the good thing. And I sure don't have time to trawl eBay lookin' for more patterns ! Shoot, with all I have, there shouldn't be much more to want anyway.

 

Speaking of patterns, I've done more research. Seems Simplicity is quite fond of selling the same exact pattern under various numbers. The one I was looking at, for the Jem-sized part mostly, has been sold as 5356 (1981), 6363 (1983), and 8333 (1987). Another cute one, just for the Barbies this time, is 5637, sold first in 1982. It got reissued as 6369 in 1983. Another pretty Barbie-only was 1986's 7928, which was sold again in 1991 as 7270. Even their vintage reprint is a bit of a cheater. It shows, on the reprint envelope, that the original pattern had the same number, 5785. Nope. The original pattern was 1962's 4700, not 2002's 5785.

 

Now, I can understand when the pattern's being reissed after a few years that it may have a different number. The old number may be in use on another design, or something. But when it's got different numbers from one year to the next, you have to wonder. Are they trying to get doll sewists to buy the same pattern over and over ? More than once, I've checked my inventory by number, not image. But I remember most of what I have, so I haven't bought twice yet. That may be why I'm in such a hot rush to get it all cataloged.

 

Sometimes the envelope changes a lot, too. So ya can't even go by that always, either. (sigh) It's a rakehell business, doll sewing.

 

Washed and bleached a lovely white-star-on-white-cotton print that mice from our previous address...um, used. I think you know why I bleached it. Yuck. Luckily it came out, and the stars are still so pretty. And a couple of Dearest Son's shirts are cleaner, too !

 

Well, back to the ole cut-and-paste. Wow. So. Many. PATTERNS !!!!!1!!

Bizarre obsessions...
Mood:  not sure
Now Playing: "Digital Love" - Daft Punk

 

Still no sewing, yet I am consumed by a doll sewing related project. I have no idea why I'm so suddenly obsessed with this, it's taking all my time and no money, that is, until we need a new black inkjet cartridge and a big box of document protectors.

 

For whatever reason, I am completely involved with printing images of all the Barbie-size patterns I own and pseudo-own (from the pattern exchange group I used to be a member of, some time ago). You'd think having 3GB of patterns on the computer and backed up onto CDs - five of 'em ! - would be enough. But, no, I want paper-and-ink images for my album. So I can leaf through it when I don't know what I want to do next. And when the computer's tied up.  

 

Add this to the lunacy -> because I don't want the thin pages to tear in the old photo album DMIL gave me - it's soft and padded and lacy - they're going into those document protector thingies. I also use 'em to store patterns. Today I spent an unholy amount of time editing images of commercial patterns (Butterick, McCall's, Simplicity) , resizing them so I could get 'em two to a page, eliminate most of the backgrounds to use less ink, printing them off in grayscale so I won't use the more expensive colored ink.

 

Sad to say, all the commercial patterns are edited, printed, and stored. Now I'm starting in on the patterns from books, from overseas magazines, from eBay, from various undefined sources, most from the pattern exchange group. Dearest Son's school will probably start before I get it all done. There's thousands of them. I'm looking into printing 'em at the library, where it's cheaper. When you're dealing with about 100 pages of graphic-intensive printouts, ya start lookin' around. I don't want to drain our resources just yet.

 

On the plus side, I'm getting better with digital manipulation. I've mastered the 'layers' command, as well as the 'line', 'fill', 'airbrush' and 'shapes' keys on PaintShopPro 5, and can do a capture like a pro. Will this make my doll photos look any better ? Well, as long as toymakers use decals for doll eyes and the flash always catches the reflection off one, there'll always be room for improvement and new skills !

 

 

More uses for random stuff, new and old.
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: "The Penguin's Story" - live-action documentary on DVD from Dollar Tree last week

 

Didn't get any sewing done at all today. Instead, I went to Dollar Tree and spent a few bucks. Got the document protectors I needed for the loose pattern pieces, the new toothbrush Dearest Son needed (he wears one out a month), a small poster of a flower-bedecked window, a purple lunchbox with stars and question marks, and a cardboard triptych designed for school project displays.

 

As you can tell from the lunchbox - with coupons inside, but no Thermos - and triptych, back-to-school supplies are once more gracing store shelves. This year, I am buying at least $3. worth of glue sticks and whatever else is 5 or more for $1. Bought about $5. in glue sticks last year, but only 5 20c sets went with Dearest Son on his first day of school. The rest were bought during the year long after the sale was over, at his teacher's request. And we can always use office supplies 'round here.

 

The science-project cardboard was a real deal. It's a little smaller than the one I bought from Hobby Lobby a few months ago, but I'll be glad to pay $1. instead of $4. (although I did get mine from HL at half price). We have gallons of paint to use up, so each one will get at least three colors - two on the inside, one on the outside. They make great doll 'rooms' and they fold up and store well. Provided the paint is completely dry !

 

The soft-side lunchbox was also a great deal. It's too feminine for Dearest Son, but it makes a great storage place for the clothes I made Princess Leia. All the stars and the colors really make it stand out. It's certainly better than the Whitman's Sampler box her wardrobe was in. I always meant to decoupage that thing. We'll probably spend $8. on a lunchbox for him in a few weeks - his Cars one is so trashed, I threw it in the laundry and gave it to him to keep toys in. No way would I use it for food again. Vinyl inside started tearing when it was about six months used, I patched and taped it repeatedly so it could limp through 'til the end of school.

 

I earned a hug for the new toothbrush. Son has his own 'toiletries' drawer in the bathroom, so I stored it there without saying anything. He found it a couple hours after he came home from summer school. He's really enjoying the relaxed 'classes', and it helps him keep a routine. I wonder if he'll have that option next year. Put the document protectors to good use, and I still have a few left. And the 'window' poster will soon show up in a doll photo near here.

 

Oh, and the other day, I dug into the stepstool toolbox - for some reason, it really stinks inside - looking for a three-pin to two-pin plug adaptor for the lightbox. Every outlet in the house is two-pin, everything made since 1987 has three. Didn't find one there, but there was a single bulb on a power cord in there. Still in the packaging. It was designed to light up Christmas Village houses, but I'll use it for my next doll photo session. I always need more light. Lucky ! Not sure where it came from, probably a craft box from a yard sale, or how long it's been in there, but I've got a use for it !

 

Beloved Hubby heard me whine about the posters not sticking to the foamcore board, and got me spray adhesive. Industrial spray adhesive. You could glue wood trim to your walls with this stuff. I'm a little nervous about using it. Since the 'ironing rippled posters' project wasn't a wild success, I'm timid about doing anything more with the posters in the first place. Tomorrow, before my (hopefully final) doctor's appointment, I have to spray all the new ones with the Krylon (Matte Finish) while the humidity is low. Have to do that before I use the adhesive, because I know the Krylon ripples the foamcore board.

 

Don't ask me why I'm so obsessed with photo backdrops. It's weird !

 

Oh, and I may be putting the doll sewing on hold for a bit. Son is lately obsessed with penguins, and I found a cute pattern for one in an old craft magazine. I already have everything except a pound and a half of stuffing. And I want to make m'self a new blouse. I'll probably finish the Rio project first, though. I've never made a stuffed animal before !