Sorry everyone - the ice storm knocked out our power and water. So I won't be updating any time soon. Wish us luck ! One in three families in our state is without power, so I doubt we're high on any lists.

We'll be fine, but white-light thoughts and prayers for other families are always appreciated !  

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Tuesday, 11 December 2007 6:31 PM CST

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Current Mood : Celebrating ! Wheeeee !

Oh, the weather outside was frightful, and it still is. Icicles on the overgrown rosebush under the office window grew from an inch to three inches long as the day progressed. And the worst is predicted still to come. Perfect day for staying warm and snug inside, with yesterday's cookies and a challenge.

A few weeks ago, I found several adorable flannel prints at Mal-Wart, and I could literally *see* a pair of pajamas for Elphie in the variegated pink with white stars and moons. Only two problems with my little vision - Elphie hates pink, and the pjs I saw in my mind had your typical notched-lapel collar. I have yet to have a true success with notched collars or lapels, even with Simplicity-type patterns and directions. I just didn't ‘get' how to sew them. Some block in my mind simply doesn't decode it the way I needed so I could understand it correctly, or something. But I bought a half-yard of three flannel prints anyway, including the pink with stars, knowing that flannel's not terribly stable, and doesn't put up with a lot of handling. My vision of Elphie's pjs was just too clear and sharp.

Before I had the flannel washed, I had a photo essay brewing in my mind, and it included an explanation of how Elphie got caught wearing pink. I hope to get that started on the main page tomorrow. Kind of a ‘Winter is...' kind of thing. The Kohl's sweaters, some Happy Meal toys, and an action figure feature prominently, as well as whatever else I can come up with as the season continues. I figure that once Winter '07 is over, I can store it in a photo album and link it to the main site.

Well, I have the Kohl's sweaters, and some of the toys I want...what about Elphie's pajamas ? The fabric's been sitting around since October or so, waiting for me to take a breath and take the chance. With a miserable day outside, it was a great day for hanging out with a warm sewing machine located right over a heating vent and do it !

I've tried the ‘simple, basic' notched collar a few dozen times. Mostly on Fiyero wear, and it never came out right. Didn't matter if I used a kitchen-table type pattern or a commercial one, I just never ‘got' it. Or got it right. So today, I went for broke. Pulled up Doll Shop Deluxe and printed out an ‘unfitted shell' blouse, with the dreaded notched collar and full button front. Got it all Fray-Checked and ready to go.

Now, bear in mind that DSD does *not* have directions for anything. And if Simplicity says ‘sew this, then this, then attach this to that', it's a virtual guarantee that if you try that same order and procedure with DSD, you'll end up with a waste of time and material. Ask me how I know. (sigh) But the only way through it is to do it, and futzing around with it until it made sense to me was probably gonna be the only way I could ever master it.

So....I ended up redoing the shoulder seams three times, the facings twice, the waistband three times, and the collar four times. Until it made sense. And, poof, suddenly it did ! Ta-daaaah ! Elphie's new winter pajamas !

I had to redo the waistband because I didn't refigure the casing correctly for the elastic I wanted to use, otherwise the pants were fine. And what I never really understood about that collar was that the collar is sandwiched between the facings and the shirt, the layers have to be ‘just-so' and in the right order and position, and it requires some skill to get right. In fact, I didn't really get it right - the collar's not even on both sides, and it should be wider than it is, but I'm darn happy with it. I understand. Finally.

And, as promised, you always get the first look at it. I'm still darn near dizzy. I can do this again, anytime. Tomorrow morning, I'll sew the hidden snaps - I've already done the buttons since the photo was taken - and maybe make some fuzzy slippers. In white, I think this is about all the pink Elphie's gonna put up with. Or I'll let her go barefoot, since I normally am around the house !

Also in the photo is the silver candle-stand I bought at a thrift store 28 November. I'll probably use a freebie CD-R as a table base, maybe cover it with fabric or a linoleum square cut to shape. It's just about right for Elphie and Fiyero for breakfast !

The black/silver/shiny oval thing is, of course, a decorator Kleenex box. A white piece of paper - salvaged from today's pattern print-out - covers the logo and dispenser. After seeing one used as a Barbie bar in a loft party diorama, I wanted one, too ! Found this cool design with some other holiday prints, but I thought this one had the most post-holiday potential. There's a ‘Kleenex" logo under the gold stripe on both sides, but that's easily covered with paint, ribbon, fabric, or a well-posed doll. It could easily be used with the gold stripe at the top or bottom, with something as simple as construction paper covering the dispenser or bottom label. This one also came from Mal-Wart, bought a week or three ago. I don't think I ever recorded the purchase as ‘doll spending' but it was a buck or two. I'll probably frequent the paper goods aisles more thoroughly now...

You can even design your own oval Kleenex boxes, at http://www.mykleenextissue.com/ for $5. each plus about $6. to ship 1 to 6 of ‘em. Hurry if your dolls need a buffet before Christmas ! I liked looking through the background images - they'd all make great doll furniture. Heck, Elphie could probably use one as a mod sofa, with a cushion running along the curved back. And you get tissues !

For it being a miserable day outside, I had a great day inside. What I saw a month or so ago I made happen ! and I finally understand collars. Wow. Now, if I can just get a move-on with Han's shirt and those shoe pincushions, I'll be almost a Galactic Empress of crafting !

Posted by dorriebelle at 9:25 PM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:09 AM CDT

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Current Mood : Happy and full of cookies !

I don't care what the calendar says, I say we're in winter now ! Drizzy, miserably cold day ‘round here, with more wintry-type weather expected tomorrow. It was a good day to stay in, clean the kitchen, do another two loads of laundry, and make cookies and popcorn !

That was basically my day. I even got a sofa snooze in, for two hours. I rarely dream, but I did during my nap - of a yard sale in somebody's house ! The seller had so many wonderful doll things for sale sooo cheap. Stuff I've never seen before, she had custom-made and it was all perfect and most of it was inexpensive...I spent most of the dream trying to get as much possible for the $18.79 that's in Checking right now. One doll case was overflowing with 1600-series outfits, but for some reason, it was $1200. The rest of the stuff - 70s era cases, wonderful furniture, beautiful like-new outfits...I was almost disappointed to come out of that dream ! Very few dolls in the dream, though.

In between cookie batches, I boiled a small pot of water and partially undressed the new Han doll. Still haven't decided on his name, but your ‘Henry' suggestion is in the running, Manda ! Beloved Hubby thought ‘Harris' sounded better than Harrison, and it does have a certain charm. I just can't make up my mind.

So I boiled his hands. Turns out they are soft vinyl after all, but they took a lot of effort to reshape. Here's a before & after shot :

Reshaping doll limbs is fairly easy. Boil a pot of water deep enough to submerge the part you want changed - hand, elbow, etc. Have a cold washcloth ready to go. Undress and carefully plunge the hand, arm, whatever in the boiling water for 15 to 30 seconds. Avoid resting any part of the doll or you on the hot pot ! Pull from the water, and immediately place in the cold cloth, then gently ease the hot just-boiled part into the shape you prefer. Be careful to not burn your doll or you ! Hold the cold cloth onto the reshaped piece until there's no more heat in it. If it didn't bend enough, re-submerge. If you don't like how it looks when the bending is done, re-submerge. Each additional dip in the hot water will return the piece to its original shape, but holding it in longer will soften it up more, so the next reshape will hopefully be more of what you want. It may take several tries, but patience and holding tight is the key. Oh, and if you've got the right one where you want it, make sure it's as far from the pot as possible when you go to shape the left !

Of course, practice with a junker doll first. You don't wanna wreck an expensive or special doll until you've got some experience under your belt, and heck, you've really got no reason to trust me anyway ! (smile)  You can see how it worked with ole H up there, and that took about five boils for each hand. It's very thick vinyl, which is why it seemed more like plastic to me. Those Power Team dudes I practiced on so long ago only took about five minutes per hand. H over there took about a half hour.

I've checked in on him a few times since the photos were taken. While his hands do tend to curl back up a bit, they're still in the same shape as the ‘after' one. I had to shape them flatter than I wanted, due to that stubborn re-curling. I'll pronounce it a done deal tomorrow morning. I always like to see how things ‘cure' during the night.

His outfit really is amazing. All the tiny details - the never-explained loops on the vest's back, and the tiny pockets, the sharp pleats, the shirt collar - are there. Sewing's a bit hit-or-miss, with one sleeve matching perfectly, the other off about a quarter-inch. But it fits him great ! I still can't believe how lucky I was to find him in such fantastic shape !

Now, if I can just get him a name...

Posted by dorriebelle at 11:19 PM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:08 AM CDT

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Current Mood : Happily surprised and a little day-dreamy. 

Not a lot going on today, either - Dearest Son's got a stripped throat and some coughing, so we kept him home from school. Poor sweetie !

Did four loads of laundry, and got the most recent fabric washed and dried. The laundry basket I emptied for all the new stuff is nearly overflowing. I'm hoping to get a little sewing in this weekend, before I have to start the shoe pincushions. Those have to be done and ready-to-go by noon on 20 Dec. So if I do two a day, I should finish in plenty of time. Made one today, carefully noting directions and measurements. While I've made about a dozen of these at one time or another, I've never written down anything. Today's went OK, but not stellar. Need to tweak the pattern a bit.

I've been toying with the idea of doing some doll videos. Not sure why, but heck, when ya got as many dolls and props - and that magnificent dollhouse Beloved Hubby's making me for Christmas - as I do, ya kinda wanna do something neat with ‘em. Beloved's been wanting to do a few things with his hobbies on tape, too. Camcorders are pretty cheap new or used...the pawnshop we buy DVDs from had about 50, with prices ranging from $60. to $300. We saw new no-name ones at Kohl's (when we were getting Elphie and Fiyero's sweaters) for $129. So we've both been thinking about it.

We had one, bought waaay back in '00, but never used it. And it's long gone. So while the interest is there, at least temporarily, we don't have the cash or the guarantee of continuing interest to buy one. I mean, I already have enough hobby stuff to take me into 2050 without a camcorder ! And you know me, it may be a passing fancy I intend to try, but end up chickening out when rubber = road. I'd hate to shell $200. for another one, just to have it sit around and make me feel guilty.

That's when Beloved remembered that our big-ticket family gift for ourselves last year was that super-nice Fuji digital camera I use for all the photos here. I'd broken our '02 Olympus digital a few months prior. Olympus still mostly works, so Dearest uses it to take his own photos, mostly of toys and himself. Anyway, we studied long and hard before investing $200. into a replacement camera, and the Fuji had all we wanted. And it has a camcorder function !

Cool ! With the memory chip we have, it can record up to 20 minutes of top-grade 640x480, twice that in 320x240. We can playback in either camera (battery sapper !) or the computer, to save the batteries. So we tested it out, and it's really very nice ! I've used camcorders that were far less steady than this camera. It's kind of fun to have your own digital ‘confession booth' that you can watch and laugh over - then delete !

So, as it turns out, we already have a camcorder ! And if I don't ever do a doll movie, that's fine, ‘cause I certainly use the camera enough already ! (smile) According to legend (and imdb.com), Mystery Science Theater 3000 classic "Manos : The Hands of Fate" was filmed with a hand-held camera that only held 32 seconds of film at a time. With no sound. Whole thing was edited and spliced and dubbed. I now have more filmmaking capability in my chubby little grasp than many theatrical films out the year I was born. Or even just 20 years ago.

Now, what to do besides rant about Book Fair volunteers with all this power...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:08 AM CDT

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Current Mood : Relief and a twinge of sad

As promised, my last day of Book Fair was interesting. Grandmother, Queen of Pain almost threw the copy of May Bird I loaned her at me as soon as I walked in. Oh, how I would hate this book, it was so full of ungodly things, she couldn't read most of it ! I should probably get rid of it right now, it was too bad I'd written my name in it already. EvilDorrie had about had it with QofP, so we lit our eyes up and smiled hopefully at the cover. "Oh, really ?! (giggle)"  and over-exaggeratedly placed it oh-so-carefully in the purse, as if it were a holy relic of some sort. She may not have noticed - another teacher had wandered into the sympathy chat trap - but I felt good at even this minor stand.

I played your game, Manda ! Within the first hour, won two Barbie outfits and was working on a doll. I noticed a couple teachers - who'd probably fallen into the trap earlier - scooted around us, using the computer section or the office hallway to take the long way around. Sad.

Our librarian caught a shoplifter - luckily in the act. And while straightening the Scholastic-supplied shelves, I found that a horseshoe necklace had been removed from a pony-themed volume. (sigh) I always feel sad when a kid steals. Is it for kicks, or because his parents are broke and he/she's tired of seeing what everybody else got ? Or is it that hated hydra of entitlement rearing its loathsome head ? It just depresses me, and the ‘whys' don't really matter. I end up wishing all kids had everything they needed and some of what they wanted...and I have to let it go. Otherwise, it'd color my family time, and not for the better.

I found myself angry at Grandmother. While I know her granddaughter was hurting, being reminded of her fleeting mother constantly for the last three years couldn't possibly be helping her deal. I wondered how much of her pain is really anger at QofP for not giving it a rest already. It hurt to realize that so-holy Grandmother was using the little girl's situation for sympathy and attention - for herself, not for ideas and help for the child. So I looked a bit more critically the next time she told the tale. Yes, her eyes filled and her chin trembled at the exact same point in the narrative as they always have. But when the visibly twitchy teacher escaped two sentences later, QofP's eyes were dry and I could swear I could almost see her reloading the story like rewinding a videotape. The tissue I brought her lay on the desk, untouched. She didn't need it.

Anyway, suffice to say that I owe me a doll, and I stayed as far away from Grandmother for the rest of the shift as possible. Luckily another volunteer came in, and selfishly, I got out of harm's way. No time to warn her before she was in the piranha's lake. She soon joined me on the far side of the Scholastic shelves, trying like heck to busy herself. So we chatted. Nice lady. All's well that ends well, I always say. And meeting a nice person and ‘earning' a doll are a nice ending. It was more than I could have hoped for Wednesday afternoon, that's fer sure !

Got the new Han Solo deboxed - very easy. Six twist ties and two threads, and I didn't need a single tool other than my fingers. His elbows and knees bend (it was hard to tell from the box if his arms were permanently bent or not), and he's quite handsome. The box literally broke into dust as I opened it, or there was a lot of silt from the basement it had been in, one of the two. At least "Harrison" was undamaged, and, until I opened the box, wasn't even dirty. That dust/dirt got everywhere ! He may get another name later, as Harrison's kind of obvious, but I already have a Han and an Indy. And it rather suits him, so...

His hands are in that unfortunate ‘hard C' curve, and I don't know if I can successfully boil them into a less severe angle or not. That's easy to do with, say, Power Team guys, but Harrison's hands aren't the soft vinyl I'm used to. They sort of seem in between the hard plastic of a torso and the soft vinyl of appendages. I almost hate to try, because I don't want to wreck them, but I hate that ‘caveman' look. Since we're expecting crappy weather this weekend, that may be a short Saturday project. I swear sometimes I'm happy when we're broke - I get to enjoy and play with the stuff we already have !

Not much else going on. Next week, I get to make those shoe pincushions, so I'd best enjoy my doll time now !

Ps to Manda - thanks again for the game ! Not sure why Tripod ate your comments - it gets glitchy for no apparent reason, and you can't tell when, how, or why. Heck, it ate my entries fairly frequently, too, so it's not something you're doing wrong. I now type in Word and cut/paste into Tripod, so I don't lose the occasional good thought. I appreciate your time and determination ! :)

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:08 AM CDT

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 Current Mood : glad of my own solitary chair and my own 'island' right now...

Not much going on today - still recovering from yesterday's Book Fair shift with two misery mavens for co-workers. Luckily, one vanished about 20 minutes out of ever 30, and the other would get so weepy telling her tale that I could duck out to find her tissues and still keep my sanity. The Incredible Vanishing Guy was going through a bad divorce, and he said his ex made sordid abuse accusations against him every time Social Services or Law Enforcement started to investigate their son's claims that she abused him. Grandmother, Queen of Pain had a daughter-in-law who, three years ago, packed her bags and left to join an internet lover, leaving behind a confused little girl in a world of emotional trauma who still had to visit her mother's parents and hear how her mother's not such a bad person...

Grandmother also had to tell anyone who entered the library how evil it was that we had to sell Golden Compass books, and if she had her way, she'd destroy the lot of ‘em. She then followed with a list of how godly she was by rattling off everything she avoided. I kept my mouth shut for the most part, knowing that 1) an open debate with her about censorship would be useless, 2) religious discussion wasn't why we were there,  and 3) I'd have to work with her again Thursday. Of course, in between telling six folks about her ‘piece of trash' daughter in law and weepily recounting the pain her granddaughter suffers daily, and telling at least three times that many folks to stay away from Compass, she barely had time to lecture me. She barely had time to do what she was there to do.

What was worse was listening to so many of the teachers agree with her. (sigh) I just hope this sort of intolerance isn't tangible in the classroom, but with the vituperation I could literally touch in the library, it's a darn slim hope. I don't mean to downplay any of the grief and anguish either of my fellow volunteers was feeling. It's just that after listening to it again for the third or fourth time, I kinda got tired of it. I knew exactly which word in Grandmother's monologue would cue her tears - it never varied - and about when Vanishing Guy would move in with his tale of woe, often talking over Grandmother, to get his share of the flowing sympathy. When the teachers scurried off, he'd disappear again, leaving me with...shoot, I still don't know what all that was. I felt like I was on a Candid Camera episode of Jerry Springer, furnished by a set decorator with a fetish for kids' books.

At least Dearest Son found two books he liked, and I found one, May Bird. Grandmother wanted to read it, although I could tell from the back cover blurb that it was full of the ‘ungodly' stuff she avoided. I urged her to read the back, but she was still interested, so I bought a copy and loaned it to her. Thursday should be interesting.

By the time I got home, I felt worlds on my shoulders. So I shook ‘em off. Visited the DollDivas page - I don't normally visit much, since they mostly adore Fashion Royalty. It's sort of like a Barbie-scale Prego over there, with some emphasis on creativity, but there's still quite a bit of ‘how much did you buy/what did you get/which $$$ and/or rare ones do you have ?' type comments. Plus I simply don't care for FR. Their diorama discussions are stellar, though. Check out the links here - http://www.dolldivas.net/dolldivas-dioramas.html  and here - http://members.boardhost.com/DollDivas/msg/1173894758.top . On the second one, there's even a bunch of free Barbie-size patterns from member DebbieFS - pajamas, slippers, a sexy dress, and underwear. Look under ‘tutorials' for those goodies !

Anyway, I'm sorry for making you listen to the stuff I had to listen to today. Hope the patterns make up for it. I'm gonna spend some time in my lab and try to forget that I have two more hours with Grandma tomorrow...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:07 AM CDT

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Current Mood : Thoughtful

Another day, another 40% off coupon to Hobby Lobby for another 12-pack of wedding favor shoes. At least I won't need to repeat that again ! The coupons do say ‘one per person per day', so at least I'm following their rules.

Spent most of the day futzing around with Poison Ivy. Back in '04, Mattel made several ‘Barbie as...' dolls of various DC Comics' female characters. While most were yer good girls (Wonder Woman, Supergirl), surprisingly, they also let the ‘dream girl' have a bit of a wild child streak. Costumed aggression ended up on the glamorous side of Gotham when Babs vamped as Batman bad-girls Poison Ivy and, a year later, Harley Quinn. My cool brother-in-law got me Harley that year for Christmas - she has her own page on the main site - and a couple weeks ago, I found a bootless Ivy at a flea market for a mere $1. bill. Two weeks later, I shelled out another buck for her boots. Same seller. (sigh) I fully expect to find (and pay another buck for) her keychain lunchbox next time they're in town.

Still, it was hard to be disappointed with Ivy (or Pamela Isley, to friends). Her costume was spot-on, the boots were all sort of sexy in green, the fishnets really added to the overall presentation, and her eyes were magnificent. Her eyebrows lent a bit of "intense crazy" to her gaze, but it still suited her. What ranked was her body. Oh, it was curvy enough, but it was the dreaded ‘bendy' body.

There's a reason Mattel doesn't use it anymore. Nobody likes it. In fact, it may be the one body fans hate *worse* than the ‘squat squad' one now being phased out in Playline. The appellation ‘ever-flex' was first used for ‘Jewel Girl' in late '00, and was only on her waist/torso section. Ivy's body, however, bears a 2000 Mattel trademark - she was born in Indonesia, btw.  In '02, the ‘Dance & Flex' playlines highlighted the all-bendy-body, and it was now referred to as an ‘ever-flex' body. From there, Mattel seems to have gone nuts with the name. ‘Jam and Glam' girls had the ever-flex waist, so did ‘Chair Flair' characters, and ‘American Idol' dolls had ever-flex arms, but all of ‘em had ‘Ever-Flex ^TM' splashed all over their boxes. An '03 cheerleader had the ‘E-F^TM' body, but aside from eBay research results, I'd never seen that doll before. ‘Trendy and Bendy' pretty much said it all in the name...but wait ! Only her hair bends. Not her body. And nearly all the ‘04 superheroine/supervillianess dolls had the Ever-Flex ^TM body...but for Harley and Elektra, out in ‘05. I imagine the soft rubbery bendy body just didn't take Harl's red/black elements very well. And the lack of sales of Ever-Flex was making itself known.

Whew. It's almost impossible to keep up - or even slog through it all. In any case, I spent a good chunk of today with Ivy's head in my purse. Ever wanna freak out a cashier, dump out a loose Barbie head while yer lookin' for your MasterCard. Anyway, I was gonna find a good standard Barbie body for her, and she's so pale, I couldn't rely on sheer memory to get the right one. I loved her eyes and even those odd-angled eyebrows, but that body simply freaked me right the heck out.

I spent about ten minutes in a toy section holding the head up to various pale bodies. Found a $5. ballerina Barbie that might have worked...but not quite. The toy section is normally vacant at 9am on a Tuesday, but it was busy today. Goss knows how many folks I weirded out. When I got home, Ivy's head went back on the bendy body it came with, and I decided to give her costume to another redhead and donate Ivy. Redressed, of course.

And I had a re-think. I'd never undressed her - she's only ever worn her Ivy costume with the split-seam green fishnets. Repaired those and got ‘em ready for the wash. For the first time, I got a really good look at the body I thought I hated. It's really not that bad.

Sure, her arms and legs bend at weird angles, but if the doll's in long sleeves or pants, it's barely noticeable. She doesn't sit up so much as she sort of balance-leans, but it gives her a more relaxed posture than all my other dolls. Her fingers don't bend, but her wrists do, and her hands are actually rather nice. You could even separate them with a blade if you wanted to. Her chin really does tuck to her chest, and her bendable neck gives her a unique gaze. And the ‘Barbie' signature trademark is engraved on the underside of her right foot. I love how her feet cross so naturally at the ankles.

I've saved a special paragraph for her other...umm, physical attributes. Her bust and butt are soft and actually bouncy ! No kidding, if you poke at ‘em, it's like a marshmallow. A bit harder than the real thing on a person, but springier than any Barbie's bits have ever been before !

Beloved Hubby said that she resembled Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson. And she is one gorgeous redhead ! So I think Ivy'll be staying around for a while. With her original body and her mysterious eyebrows. I find myself liking her more than I though...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:07 AM CDT

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Current Mood - Overwhelmed and oddly happy

Spent on dolls today - $9.81

Today was so busy, I had to put off grocery shopping. Anytime Beloved Hubby's ready and willing to go to that junk shop, I'll gladly do groceries later ! I kind of over-spent, but I found so many great deals, I went nuts. This *would* happen right after I did the Great Doll Shelf Stare and Sort yesterday !

Behind the counter was an array of various ‘Power of the Force' Star Wars toys. The always-nice owner let me pick through stuff - and I found a 1999 Hasbro Han Solo doll ! The box was water-damaged, but it didn't affect the doll inside, and at just $4.50, he was a steal ! Even if all I wanted was his belt and boots for my Kenner Han, he was a bargain, but I found I liked the doll, too. He looks different enough from my vintage one to be original and fun. What a score ! Can't wait to debox him. They actually had two, but the other one was in a better box - and they wanted $7.50 for that one ! This girl don't pay $3. for a box at any price or store ! Even if they'd have been the same price, I'd have bought this one, and left the better box for someone who's into that. It's just not me.

The toy section held a few delights too. I found a neat non-Mattel Barbie car. It's a pretty pink convertible, but it's not your everyday Corvette or generic sedan. It's kind of hard to describe, so here's a photo of what I'm yammering about.

I may look around for something to serve as a hood ornament later - that seems to be the only thing wrong with it besides surface dirt and paint rubs. The trunk pops open, and bears an embossing from the manufacturer, © Classic Convertible / Custom-Made. The only other mark is ‘© ZIMA / Made in Hong Kong' on the white underside, so I did some research. There is a Zima Toys company out of Hong Kong, but very little is known about them. Evidently not many of their efforts reach the North American shores.

I found one photo of my car - with the hood ornament intact ! - being ‘driven' by a Max Steel doll. Somehow, he still looks quite macho, even in a pink convertible. Photo's located in a French display of Rolls Royce Miniatures, labeled ‘Corniche Cabriolet 1971'. Hmm. So I looked that up, and found an auction for another one - on a German eBay page ! Says it's an eighth-scale Corniche (I guess now we know what it is !) in pristine shape for 40 Euros (about US$60.), and they'll gladly ship worldwide from Rostock, Germany. I then found another on a French sales page for miniature cars, mostly Hot Wheels size.

Still not a lot of info. I wish I knew what year it was made. And how this European-interest toy ended up in a junk shop here for $2. But it's nice to know my dolls now have a Rolls !  Even if it is orange where the silver's worn away. That's easy to fix !

The doll pictured's in a cute dress - it's probably from My Scene, it's kind of scanty. She's "Star Skater Barbie", from 2002. It's hilarious how she spins - her legs are completely stationary, but her torso whirls dervishly, and even her arms move. Pulling the Olympic snowflake design cord pull out, she spins forward, letting the string go makes her blue skirt-waist twirl around. And her arms move. I bought her for the bargain price of $1., in hopes of using her pale body to replace either Poison Ivy's bendy or needs-rerooting Casey's incorrect vintage Barbie/Midge one. Nope. Won't work on either. But she's been fun to play with...I may end up keeping her, once I can play with clothes on her. That blue skirt-thingie presents some dressing problems. I normally don't like gimmick dolls, but I kind of like ‘Star' here.

I also scored a small wire rack that could either be a baker's rack for a Barbie or a snug loveseat for Elphie and Fiyero - I'd need to add a top shelf for Barbie and a cushion for Elphie. I love having that kind of versatility, especially for a dollar !

Also got to Hobby Lobby for the plastic wedding favor shoes, for the pincushions I mentioned. They don't sell those loose anymore, just 12-packs. Cool ! I have 40% off one item printable coupons from their website, and according to their own rules, it's one coupon per person per day. I can pick up a second package tomorrow, when I get groceries, and I'll have plenty for presents !

Also found some miniature resin ‘sand castles'. They're also wedding favors, with a hidden slit for placecards or table cards. Marked down for 63c, I snagged one for Elphie. With a bit of Krylon Fusion paint in that textured beige, it'll look great in her tiny apartment !

With all this spending, a girl feels a bit guilty. So I finished that ‘empty the laundry basket for all this fabric' project by completing all the mending - two Beloved buttons, a hem on his shorts, and a torn turtleneck of Dearest Son's repaired. And I did the first of my three days in Dearest's school Book Fair. I ran off at the mouth and over-shared waaaay too much information to my fellow volunteer because her shirt and pin were so confrontational to me. I'd never dream of wearing ‘in your face' religious apparel while working at a school, but guessing from her words, that may simply be what she always wears. Stupidly, I didn't realize what I was doing until later, but I doubt I shook her faith or disturbed her, since she'd successfully deflected and reshaped all my nervous prattle into proselytization opportunities. At least I didn't get into religion itself - she seemed to assume we believed the same, I just needed coaching. (sigh)  I really need to buy a mouth-lock.

Hopefully I can find one before I work alongside her again ! I won't need one until Thursday, as I already know she won't be there tomorrow. We probably both sighed with relief about that !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:06 AM CDT

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Current Mood: Tired, but happy and pleased with the day.

Current Image Notes : This is one of the two fabrics I picked up yesterday - trust me to find tropical material in December. It's "Cabana Cool Barbie", I'm guessing. There's another piece that says that (it's tomorrow's image), but there's no manufacturer markings. Have no idea how old it is. Really cute, though.  Can't beat the 50c price, either !

Quiet Sunday, but I learned something important. For the last couple of weeks, I've been a bit upset at how my cheap-serging looked. It's just a zig-zag stitch, and it usually looked good on the front...but the back was horrible. The top threads always showed on the reverse - I figured it'd be about equal on both sides. I adjusted the upper thread tension, adjusted the bobbin tension, cleaned and oiled the whole machine, with only minor improvement. I started to worry - did I wreck the tension sewing over a pin ? Or break some vital, important plastic cog deep within that I don't know about ? The machine was only $89. brand-new, so it's probably not gonna last forever, but I wanted it to hang around for at least a few more years (it's four years old now). So I looked up ‘zig zag stitches' in my machine manual, and...well, you know where this is going, right ?

You got it. The upper stitches are supposed to show through a bit on the reverse side. And all my adjusting and fussing was making it worse. So I eased the bobbin tension back, and redid the thread tension...a few cheap-serged fat quarters and 25c remnants later, not only was everything ready for laundry, but my tension was just right, according to the manual.

I felt like an idiot. But I broke my first Singer when I sewed over a pin - it snapped off some bit of plastic which liberated a metal coil, which then broke...well, suffice to say that the only salvageable bits was the power cord and the bobbins. I've been trying to avoid that with my current Kenmore/Janome. Yeah, I feel better about the tension, but what a maroon I am sometimes !

After that, I puttered around the Lab, and unearthed the pillow project I had sitting around. I prefer large pillows, so when some of our older ones go flat, I de-case ‘em, fluff up the filling, and sew a new ticking for the re-fluffed stuff. New pillow for just the cost of some fabric. We had three flat ones, and this dark life-size floral fabric I got in a yard sale lot...About a half hour later, there was a new big pillow. Beloved Hubby liked it, so it's his now. Plus, it freed up some much-needed Lab floor space. The old pillow ticking fabrics will become rags, but I need to wash ‘em first. And cut away the old stitching.

Then it was time for my annual doll shelf exam. I usually do this every December. Throughout the year, I amass new and new-to-me dolls. I enjoy all of them, but around year's end, I take a good look at the shelves. Sometimes, for no real reason, I just don't ‘connect' with a doll, even though I took time and care to choose him or her. So I give myself a day to decide to keep or donate a doll, with no guilt. Otherwise, I'd have over 300 by now, just because I hate to waste money...so I'd keep something I don't really like, because that way, it's not a waste !

Stupid, so I have to give myself an out. Only five dolls won't be moving on to 2008 in Chez Insanity, which isn't bad. That one year I had 230 Barbies, I ditched well over a hundred ! Those five join the four My Scene dolls that are up for donation, and they'll get cleaned, redressed, brushed, and donated. The MS dolls are so new, they'll probably go to the Center, with some props and extra clothes. But three of the other five show wear, so they'll probably go to GoodWill. I hope they all find happy homes with good kids.

I then cleaned up and finish my puttering - got some stuff sorted, and later this week, I'll get the dolls ready for donation. Cut up some old ‘us' clothes for rags and fabric, emptied a laundry basket for all this new material. I could, theoretically, sew tomorrow. If I didn't have grocery shopping, housework, and the first day of Book Fair ! Poor Han's still standing around, though...

I've been thinking a lot about connections. It's weird to feel connected to dolls, but I am. Not sure about you, but I often stumble when someone asks what my hobbies are. I'm not a doll collector - to me, that's endless dolls in boxes, and catalogs of what I have and want. I don't feel I'm a doll artist - I don't make dolls. Not a customizer either, since nothing I do is for sale. ‘Doller' is a term I've read in old National Doll World  magazines, it somehow makes me feel like some sort of gang-banger. ‘Doll Sewist' is only one aspect of all this, and using a cut/paste .html editor doesn't really make me a webmaster, either. Simply stating "I play with dolls" seems ripe for misunderstanding. Almost confrontational.

I finally settled on ‘Doll Hobbyist'. That seems to indicate everything ! The yard sales, the sewing, the photography, the crafts and challenges, rerooting and body swapping, the website and blog, the search for online Toy Fair photos every year. And if new aspects come along - like short doll movies or drafting my own patterns - they can fit in there, too. I can expand on all I do if someone's interested, or let ‘em wonder if they don't seem to be.

Amazing, how much I got from a $5. case at a flea market, huh ? Not a bad day, either - got the pillow sewn, the Lab cleaned, some loose ends tied up, and some thinking done. Makes me wonder what I could be doing with my days, ya know ? :)

Posted by dorriebelle at 8:36 PM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:06 AM CDT

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Current Mood : Connected

Spent on dolls and sewing today : $7.00

Surprisingly, there was a flea market yesterday and today - it's not on the website calendar for the county fairgrounds, but it was definitely there, outside banners and all. It's the same folks who come by every month or so, but I guess I'm getting familiar. The lady I often buy out-of-box dolls from didn't have much new, but there was something interesting...

Yup. The case pictured. I already have one identical, in blue, so it made no sense why I wanted this one, and bad. The blue one was a gift when my eBay seller got the Midge one I bought mailed off a couple weeks late - it's in better shape and was much less used. But...the black one, with its scratches and fades and broken handle and sagging out of shape form was so cheap ($5.)...it needed me !

It's funny how I often feel connected to one thing, but not to another identical one. The blue case is nice, but I've never really felt anything for it, or even against it. It was super-nice of the seller to include it, and I'm grateful, but that's about it. The black one...I could barely keep my eyes and hands off it. I barely even looked around much after buying it, I just wanted to get it home and cleaned !

Still, I bought a few other things. Two small bundles of fabric - see the tropical Barbie print under the case ? I'm gonna scan the pictures on it for the blog, so you'll soon see a lot more of it ! - and a chunky set of headphones for Han. I always thought that was funny in the original Star Wars - most things are somewhat futuristic looking, but Han and Luke wear headsets that look as though they were ripped from a stereo system in the living room. Well, now Han has one, complete with attached microphone. It was probably originally a GI Joe accessory.

Back to the case. Inside is OK, a bit dirty, missing the cardboard drawer, separating a bit, but intact. I love the textured dot plastic ! All the cases I knew from childhood were smooth, slick, white. There's a tiny pair of Barbie-sized shears that actually do cut, a cardboard block of ‘books' from a Barbie Dream House (possibly the first one !), and the one thing you almost always find in a doll case, a single shoe. In this case, a nice, rubbery white spool-heeled pump.

I settled in to clean it between bites of breakfast. Goof Off removed some tape residue, but also removes paint, so be careful with that stuff ! Mostly used a wet rag, and most of the surface dirt came right off. Is it just me, or does the figure wearing "Friday Night Date" look a lot like Joan Crawford ? The ‘Enchanted Evening' Barbie seems to be enjoying a bit of smug, but I still love this case.

A few yards of what looked like mummy-ancient once-white surgical tape attempted to at least restore the broken handle to usability. Beloved Hubby couldn't quite figure me out. If I was assuming it was broken - no way to tell under all that tape ! - why didn't I just leave it on ? I finally figured it out, that I'd rather have it original and broken than taped up intact.

It was kind of odd removing all that crackly dry tape. I couldn't tell if a kid or adult had attempted the repair. An adult would have used less tape, but it was applied pretty well.  There were several long strips, as if more had been added as needed. I found myself wondering who'd done what I was undoing. Memories of frantically trying to repair my toys so my parents wouldn't find out swirled around. Taping a case handle with whatever adhesive I could find was something I'd have done, but I would have colored it black with a magic marker to match, so there'd be less chance they'd notice. All to avoid the lectures, the sudden ambush-like reminders if I stupidly said I wanted something new, not to mention the guilt. It surprises people when I say I got rid of most of my toys at twelve, but honestly, I'd already figured the less they could use against me, the better off I was.

Dearest Son can wreck, customize, take apart, write on, lose, or otherwise destroy any toy he owns. They're his. But if he does demolish it, he can't expect it to be replaced unless he works hard at school to earn tickets to do so. It's easier on both of us. Maybe their way is better, I don't know. But it took me a while, even as an adult, to risk ‘ruining' a doll by customizing it.

After the tape and as much dirt as water could remove was off, I found myself staring at it. What dolls and clothes had it once carried ? For whom ? It was dated 1962, but that case was sold for years afterward. And no child's name was evident inside or out. Where did it go, and how long did the original owner play with it ?

Y'know, I rarely wonder about the provenance of older doll stuff that comes my way. I may be able to say that the cardboard books come from a Dream House, but I rarely wonder who had the Barbie Friend Ship before I won it, or what doll drove that green New Beetle around before I found it in a yard sale. But I found that I was wondering about the case.

I like to think it belonged to a happy little girl who had Modern Art ,#1625, and a pretty brunette Bubblecut inside. While I confess no real interest in vintage bubblecuts, I simply liked the hair color, #1625 is sort of a holy grail for me. I will probably never own this one. It's fragile, so even trashed ones are expensive. I didn't realize it had a tulle overlay until a year after I liked it, I simply thought it was a green cotton dress with white flowers, sort of like Swingin' Easy. Which is so cheap, even I have it. I was able to copy that one without a pattern. The APF for Modern Art I've yet to get to work, darn it.

I can only hope the original owner is as happy as I imagine she was. The case makes me feel...connected to all doll fans in a way I don't think I ever have before. I'm gonna think about it for a while.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:06 AM CDT

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