Current Mood : tired from domestic bliss

Spent on dolls today : $1.21

I think I know why I had my over-blown tantrum over the PILs moving in with us a few days ago. Had to get mine over with and out of the way so I could be there for Beloved Hubby and MIL. They brought over a load of stuff today, and MIL cried. I was so busy being upset about my life changing due to their issues that I really didn't much consider that their lives are changed, too - and it's probably harder to deal with when it is your decisions and issues that brought you to this. Sure, I was angry at them for the whole upheaval ( still am a bit, if you want the truth), but it's gotta hurt to lose your house. So I ended up comforting her, and later, Beloved.

I don't think things were quite ‘real' for him until today. I was ranting about how hard this was going to be, and he sort of comforted me by saying ‘it'll all work out'. Now he sees some of what we're gonna have to adjust and get used to, and it's hit him that this isn't gonna be all tea, peaches and cooperation. My IL's are nice folks, and I'll be the first to say it, but there's lots of issues here, and we have to learn to deal with ‘em all. It's everyone's faint belief they'll be out of here in a month, but I have to prepare for more and hope for less.

So. Anyway. At least I was over the bulk of my own frustration and anger so that I could be there for them - but it was still so weird, ya know ?

We needed the space, so I took down the holiday décor - not that we had much up to begin with - and got it stored for another year. Made a quick run up to Dollar Tree and Ace Hardware, mostly to get out on my own for a bit. Dearest Son goes back to school tomorrow, and it really could have waited, but I was glad I got a bit of time away from everything. Found boxes of new posters, but only one, a scenic outdoor one, would work  as a doll backdrop. If only I could find a ‘night city' one there ! They also had more ‘lamps' - they're air fresheners, but work great for doll lamps. The new ones have a fluted shade that's just too cool !

While walking past the half-price candy canes and newly unpacked Valentine's items, I figured out six ways to cover a cardboard display box some small jars of Knott's Berry Farm jellies came in. It's a neat box, covering it could easily transform it into a doll closet, display unit, or storefront. Thought of covering the whole thing in Con-tact paper, but that's kinda pricey, and DTree doesn't carry any - unless I wanna cover it in oversize Disney Princess heads or Cars characters, they did have small rolls of shelf paper with those themes. Looked at wrapping paper (nothin' interesting there), tissue paper (several nice patterns, but it'd take numerous sheets to obscure the Knott's logo), scrapbook paper and card stock (I'd need about four packages, and it'd involve a lot of cutting and fitting). Spray paint would probably bubble the thin paper over the cardboard. Decided to make a sort of pattern from recycled school/printer paper, and use that to create a cover in either brown paper-bag stock or fabric from the stash. The ‘shelves' remove, and would help hold whatever I chose in, so I wouldn't have to glue anything or make it permanent. So there's Project #237, the first one of '08 to be put on a back burner !

However, when one project goes to a back burner, another one has to come off. That's where Ace Hardware came in. I've been carrying a hex nut around for about three months, needing a screw to fit it. About two months before that, I bought a small softball trophy with a star-burst backdrop for 25c, intending to use the marble base and stars as either a chair seat and back, or as a ‘modern art' sculpture in the background of a photo. Took it apart to find out that the baseball figure held the thing together ! Not all was lost, I just needed a ¼" screw, yet even adding the nut to my purse and knowing that DTree is immediately adjacent to Ace got me into the store to get the thing !

Got it today. 14c. It fits great, and about all it needs as a chair is a base (nearly anything will do) and a cushion. I could even add a long drape to the cushion to hide the base, if I'm using, say, a soup can. As a sculpture, the same ‘anything goes' will work as a base, too. Art is great that way ! The nice folks at Ace even gave me a free calendar - nothing to write home (or a blog !) about, but it's nice, with plenty of room to note those ‘no school' and family events in. Now I can save the ‘English Gardens' calendar I bought earlier for doll backdrops.

Came home and got buttons and snaps sewn on yesterday's pajamas. It may not seem like much, but I hate doing that - my hand-sewing is amazingly ugly ! - and there's some outfits I've made that are on a doll, but still don't have closures on ‘em yet ! That may be the next thing I do before I get to start another project, finish the ones that are in need of fasteners. It'll keep the wait for the bus in the afternoon from getting too boring. Noticed a small stain on the sleeve of that white sweater I bought Monday, got it and the outfit Malibu was wearing washed. Sweater came out well, as did the tank top, but the green pants are a wash unless I hem ‘em as shorts. Odd brown stains mark the knees, and it simply isn't coming out. Since I'm donating the blonde doll I bought for the sweater, they'll probably get altered to shorts and donated on her. For some reason, I don't like to donate nude dolls.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:16 AM CDT

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Current Mood : quietly happy 

I hope you enjoyed the morning of the first day of a whole new year. Beloved Hubby and I made a new anime music video from the Macross section of Robotech and Dolly Parton's  Hard Candy Christmas. It came out well, especially if you're a Lisa Hayes/Hayase Misa fan. I got to enjoy vanilla peppermint coffee while relaxing and looking for certain bits of the series. It's the best way I know to use up leftover candy canes - crush ‘em up and dissolve ‘em in coffee or  hot chocolate. I have to remember not to buy the Dollar Tree candy canes, though - not much flavor, but a lot of sugar.

Believe it or not, editing DVD cartoon footage to fit a song takes several hours. We then did some general puttering, some cleaning, and some ‘in with the new year' stuff we'd been meaning to do for months in '07. I was determined to spend at least part of the first day of a whole new year sewing, but it was evening before I began the pajamas. They're from DebbieFS's Doll Divas pattern - http://members.boardhost.com/DollDivas/msg/archive/1195868542.html - and at the time, I didn't have the pants part. So I used a different pattern already printed out, completely forgetting that it needed a stretch knit, not a woven cotton ! Had to redo all the seams so they'd fit ! They're still pretty tight.

Anyway, as you can see, I still need help with collars, but that'll come with practice. At first, I was a bit curious about my finished article, because the pattern's accompanying photo showed the sleeves at wrist-length, with dropped shoulder seams. Holding the sleeve pattern up to a doll, there's simply no way for it to be that long, even if I used a 1/16" seam, which is difficult for some, darn near impossible for me. The collar on the original photo was much larger, too. But I liked what I had better. The collar looks more in scale, and closer to a set of pajamas I own, and who among us doesn't like it when our doll has something we treasure ?

With the sleeves so short, and the day growing shorter, I decided to sew shorts instead of pants, which worked out well. When I revisited the Doll Divas site, there were new photos and the pants part of the pattern. And the new photos showed the fit and collar I had, so I was relieved. Much as I liked what I made, I was wondering where I'd bunked up to get such a radically different version. And, of course, I left off pockets. I rarely ever sew pockets.

Still have to add buttons - got plenty right here waiting ! - and snaps. I've added ‘sew closures before starting a new project' to the other new resolutions. Doing well on the other one so far. I'm down to two sodas a day. It's embarrassing how much I drank before !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:16 AM CDT

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Current Mood : Happy, and much more lighthearted 

Spent on dolls today : $15.32

It never fails - I go for a bit without spending much, or anything at all, and wham ! I spend money like a wild woman ! I'm sending '07 out with a bang !

Dearest Son did better at the flea market than me. He got a snack baggie full of 18 Lego people figures, plus a Lego monkey, still-packaged kids' meal Millennium Falcon and landspeeder toys, a Phantom Menace melmac plate, and another R2D2 action figure that, at first, I thought was identical to the one we got him for Christmas, without the little accessories. Turns out, it's an older model, about ten years older. He's just different enough from the other two R2s squeakin' around here to be extra fun for Son. Score !

I found a four-piece set of that always-available Barbie size wicker furniture - I just can't resist it. I remember having enough allowance for the single chair for Princess Leia as a kid, and saving for the table and loveseat, but it was sold out. A month later, TG&Y was in bankruptcy, and our local store was closed. I bet I've bought pretty much the same chair a dozen times, yet I only have four of ‘em. And now, I have the loveseat and table ! Funny how things work out sometimes.

I also found another Malibu PJ. Her face has a bad ink stain, but her body was in good shape. Few months ago, I bought a set of Malibus, and one Barbie had a wrecked body. Bought PJ and ‘re-headed' Barbie, so now I have two Malibu Barbies, one Malibu PJ, and a spare MPJ head. I still intend to reroot one of the Barbies as a brunette, but now I can still have the blonde of my youth, too !  I found a Malibu Ken at another booth, and considered him, but someone had given him an ear-piercing, and the green was already spreading. It was (shudder) fuzzy around the earring. He also had very loose joints and paint (possibly white-out) splashes. And that high-white grin that's somewhere between ‘sleazebag' and ‘village idiot' that I've never really liked.

The Malibu seller is my old ally/nemesis with the car sets. Aggravatingly, she had a brunette New Ken, who'd be a nice brother to the blonde beach New Ken I got for Christmas, but he was in a blah plastic car for $14. Even the usually car-obsessed Son wasn't interested in it. And I can buy the dude new for $15. So I might later. Found a plastic ‘oil drum' in a dime box -  probably from an action figure set - that might get used if I ever do the ‘used car lot' photos I imagine ! Or in a ‘struggling artist' loft as a table base.

Ran some errands, including the donations - a box of kid videotapes and a few outgrown but in good shape clothes. Outgrowns in bad shape end up in the Lab ! The thrift store connected to the donation drop is where I hit it big ! Found a doll pale enough to work as a body donor to the Casey head I've had for a couple months, and another wearing a super-cool sweater. That sweater came from ‘So Excellent Earrings Summer', from the Cali Girl line, and it's just gorgeous !

Housewares had a cute sort of window waiting for me, and in Toys, a My Scene Vespa. It's missing the matching helmet, seat belt, rear-view mirrors, and kickstand, but for $2., I can't complain much ! From research, I learned that the seat also opens for storage. Cool ! Older dolls don't quite sit right on it, but the flex-hips newer ones look great driving it.

Books held an American Girl paper doll set (Molly, 1944) that I snagged because it had two nice backdrops in it, and it was super-cheap. And sometimes, paper dolls can be fun. This set had all sorts of historical details and a small storybook. A 50c grab bin had the pink ‘mannequin in a box' glitter shaker thingie I've seen before. What the heck. It'd be a fun display, I could use it in photos or a store diorama, and I sort of have a mannequin collection going. What's the old saying, ‘More than two's a collection' ?

I sometimes think that the other reason I love to thrift stuff is because I really get a kick out of the research. I couldn't get the mannequin box open, the dial wouldn't turn, and there was no visible hinge. So off to Google we go ! Soon found out through trial and error using variations of ‘Barbie', ‘beads', ‘2001', ‘glitter', and ‘shaker' that I had the main selling point of "Bead ‘n Beauty Barbie" in my curious hands. The set came with a doll and clothes that kids could customize with the also-included double-sided stickers. Once applied, they'd go on the mannequin to get beaded/glittered in one of three colors. Sort of a fashion ‘Shake ‘n Bake'. 

Of course, all my glitter beads were mixed together, but Mattel, bless ‘em, still had a PDF of the directions on their website. (http://service.mattel.com/instruction_sheets/52745.pdf)  A quick reseating of the chamber, and it aligned so I could dial it to the ‘unlocked' position and access the mannequin. Could be useful - especially if I ever wanna glitter something up without making the Lab look like Christmas. I still have quite a bit of glitter left from those snowflakes !  And it'd easily work as a store display window. It also had a purse and bag stand so owners could glitter those up, but it wasn't included with mine. I'll have to see if the mannequin post will fit into a doll stand, ‘cause it'd be nice to have the versatility.

It's kind of embarrassing that I needed a PDF to figure it out, but I'm just glad it was there. Came home, head-swapped the dolls - they're in the photo above - and played a bit. I like the blue blouse Malibu's wearing, it's nearly the same color as her issue swimsuit. Found a couple of spots on the sweater that'll need cleaning. Beloved Hubby made the front doors and designed the hinges for my dollhouse, and says he'll get those on, and probably start the windows tomorrow. Wheee !

While cleaning the office area yesterday, I found the old bottle of Bondini gel. It's so light, I figured it was empty, but just in case...I fetched down the black Barbie case I got last month and squeeeeeezed heck out of the bottle. There were just a few drops left, but it was enough to repair the broken handle. All right ! Much better than the yards of surgical tape that was there, and it looks so much happier now that the handle's back in one piece. I've used it three times now, to fix doll plastic stuff - this, a split railing on a doll playset, and a playset table, and it's worked all three times. Beloved used most of the bottle on a General Lee model for Dearest. Car was flimsy and came apart, but not where the glue was !

He's trying so hard to make sure I'm OK and comfortable with the new situation. He also bought a locking doorknob for the Lab, which I'm grateful for, but it reminds me of how terrible I am, so I feel rather bad about it. Yes, I did want the lock. I'm petty, selfish, and mean, but he already knows all that, and still loves me. Still makes me feel like a jerk, but he's willing to do what he can to make this easier for everyone. I'm housecleaning and getting rid of stuff, hoping that helps. So far, it's all been good for me, except for the whining and wailing.  I'm glad I had a few days to get over myself.

Tomorrow, Dearest and I tackle his bedroom. It's a jungle and a zoo in there ! But I feel better about stuff, and it's never a good idea to clean a room angry.

Thanks again for the encouragement and for listening. I do get wound up and frustrated easily - I wish I was Bugs Bunny, but I'm really Daffy ! - so I may start volunteering at first, and then go for the payin' gigs. Beloved says it's fine if I don't go back to work, but I can't sit around at home !

In a few days, though, I can lock myself in the Lab...(evil grin)

Posted by dorriebelle at 9:48 PM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:16 AM CDT

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Current Mood : Resigned with a twinge of bitter

I've had some time to let yesterday's turn of events sink in. Still not terribly happy about the whole thing, and if you call me a spoiled brat for that, well, I wouldn't blame you, and I'd agree that I'm a big one. I was kind of enjoying the life I had, but that's pretty much gone for the foreseeable future.

Still, even the worst possible events can provide a good challenge, and lead to good things. A job would help my self-esteem and we can sure use the cash. Just don't remember who my supervisor was the last time I worked - it was in 2000, I think - and I'm kind of hard-pressed these days to provide a reference I'm not related to. My hermit ways always bite me in my big butt.

I just feel like I'm letting their situation dictate my life, and I resent the #ell out of that. And I feel like I have to leave my own home because I can't stand being in the same room with folks who mope around, complain endlessly, and spend 90% of their waking hours watching television. Boy, is life gonna rank for them here. No cable. At the same time, I have to make sure I'm the one who gets Dearest Son ready for school, and I have to be here when he gets home. This is gonna make that job thing kind of hard to find. Wish I could find some volunteering that pays !  

We moved furniture today - Beloved Hubby's closet now houses the computer desk, and our clothes are crammed in mine. We also put a locking mechanism on our door. We have reasons, but it would be unkind to go into them. I'm sure I haven't given you a very good impression of them, which is bad of me, but right now, I just can't get past myself to tell you how wonderful they can be. I know it's not fair, but right now, if I start getting into what's fair, I'll be here all night, and it won't have anything to do with dolls.

I appreciate your tolerance. I'll get back to dolls Monday, I promise. For one thing, there's a flea market tomorrow and Tuesday, for some reason. I also have recycling to turn in, a donation drop (Dearest's outgrown so much this year !), and a few errands to run.  Since Dearest's home from school until Thursday, I have company !  After that, I have an unholy amount of cleaning to do before next weekend. At least I'll finally get some stuff done.

Tuesday, we go pick up some applications. Wish me luck !

 Ps - sorry I don't have those new images up. We're trying to figure out the best way to connect the printer/fax when the computer's on one end of the room and the phone line's on the other. No printer = no scanner. I knew I should have done those last week !

Posted by dorriebelle at 10:22 PM CST

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Current Mood : Undefinable. Read on for details. 

(sigh) Well, I feel better...physically, at least. I just...oh, #ell, I'm just gonna say it. I'm tired of having to stop and consider what even the cat will think when I do what I have to, and darn it, I'm tired of playing pussyfoot to spare everyone else and pushing how I feel aside. This is my blasted blog, I'm gonna say what I think, and be darned with whoever reads it what don't like it ! These folks have made their business my business, pretty much against my will, and if I wanna blog about it, they can go...deal with it.

The big ‘family disaster' a few weeks ago was my M&FIL's deal. They've lost their house. Well, haven't lost it, it'll just have someone else living there in a few weeks. Longer if the new owners fix the electrical systems before they move in. Anyway, where they're going and what they're doing is what's been so unsolved. They haven't decided yet. One wants an apartment in town, the other wants a travel trailer out in the woods. Big problem is, if they can't pay a mortgage, how the ^%$# are they gonna pay for either ?

I think you know where this is headed. Yup. They decided today that they were gonna come live with us ! Oh, joy ! This may end up better than the fearsome thoughts running through my head - five people in one house, with one paycheck and a small disability payment - but right now, I'm scared, upset, angry, and weary. Basically, they've worn out their welcome in the one other place they could have gone, so they're coming here. I don't know if I want to cry, scream, destroy something, or b$tch-slap somebody. Most of the drama on Christmas eve was related to this. So, goodbye nice weekend, hello dealing with a ton of crap that isn't even mine.

And I started looking for a job today. Beloved Hubby's worried - my various med conditions will make it difficult to either find a job or keep one, and he's concerned it'll shorten my lifespan. But I can't stay here all day with them, we were rather financially squeezed before all this, and I know d@mn well neither of them's getting a job. They're hoping Social Security comes through for them. I'm freakin' prayin' for it ! They're scared to death that if they find a quarter on the sidewalk, it'll jeopardize SocSec. So they're not doing squat but sit and worry over it. Somehow, this also translated into them not payin' the mortgage for five months, and I'd love to know what they did with their disability checks, but I'm afraid of the answer.

This is probably where my insomnia's been coming from, and why I can't focus on crap. Generally, I only sew when I'm happy, and I've been fearing this since a week or two before Christmas. We spent most of today moving our stuff, to give them the office space, which has a small bathroom. I'll have to go through ‘their' new space to do laundry, but it's the best we can do.

Anyway, I have a lot to do before they get here. They're moving their bedroom next weekend. Including my bedframe, a much-loved wedding present. I asked for it back a few months ago, but MIL pouted. We also get to have a family meeting, which I'm really sooooooo looking forward to. I hate setting down rules like they're teenagers, but they've already demonstrated shocking irresponsibility, and I'm just trying to protect MY family. Not them. Not anymore. I'll be as respectful as I can while they're here, but I will not be talked down to by someone who pays cable before mortgage. I don't care how old they are, if we're having to shove our lives aside to make sure their butts aren't out in the snow, the least they can do is go by the house rules. And I already know they're not gonna like three of ‘em...

Sorry. I'm transferring and projecting my anger and frustration. I need to put it somewhere else. Can ya'll be patient with me for a few (hopefully) weeks ? It's gonna be a rough adjustment ! I don't know how other cultures do it - I figure I'll be found walking naked down the middle of the road humming to myself within two months...

That, or I'll be spending a lot more time with my dolls !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

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Current Mood : not good. 

Ugh. I feel like crap. I think I'm just gonna go lie down. I haven't done squat today, anyway. Puttered around in the Lab for a bit, cut more scrap paper. Found piles of it when I cleaned. If folks didn't mind the printing on the other side, we wouldn't have to buy paper - we get plenty of it delivered weekly from Dearest Son's school.

Hope your day went better than mine...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

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Current Mood : Ticked Off 

I may have solved one of my own personal ‘great mysteries that frustrate me' by sheer chance. This is gonna sound stupid, but you're probably used to it from me by now.

Moving along. When I first ‘got into' dolls, I had to accept that I was an adult who not only wanted to play with dolls but actually did, and that would get me labeled as ‘weird' in others' eyes. Decided I didn't care. While weeding my psyche of stuff that pulled up easily, I also pushed myself through my fear of sewing. While I'd had minor successes with people-sized projects before, there were many more total failures, and everyone I spoke with recoiled in horror when I mentioned sewing Barbie-scale clothes. People I respected for their skills and flair in sewing looked at me with expressions ranging from repulsion to naked curiosity, like an anthropologist who'd stumbled on a new clutch of mammals to study, possibly dissect. 

Why would I want to do that ? Didn't I know Barbie clothes were impossible to sew ? Tiny, frustrating, aggravating. Why bother when even Dollar Tree had doll clothes to buy instead ! So many times I heard, "I tried that. Once. Now I know why Barbie clothes are expensive - but they're cheap to me now, since buying ‘em means I never have to sew those PITAs ever again !". It was both discouraging and encouraging at the same time. Few patterns existed, and the few I found looked like directions to craft my own scale model of the Space Shuttle, functional engines and all. Out of fabric, bailing wire, and something called elastic thread. Scary.  

I soon discovered the ‘why' - I couldn't find what I wanted to buy, so it was up to me to craft my own style - and also the ‘how'. Easier patterns existed, for pretty much any doll,  it's just that most interested new sewists had given up, and left it to the really fiddly-bit folks. Fiddly-bit patterns were around, but if I wanted to start simple, I'd have to hunt for stuff to grow on. Nothing against detail-oriented folks, I wish I was one. But I needed to start with something less challenging than a two-foot wide ballgown made with fishing wire and silk and 63 pattern pieces !

Unfortunately, I didn't learn that until *after* I'd bought a few dozen doll pattern books off eBay, Half.com, Amazon, and various local used book enterprises. And it wasn't long before easier patterns came back into craft stores - everything's on its own cycle, I think. Most of the books were designed to create fiddly-bit type stuff, but a few simpler books came my way. They rarely had anything in the scale I had or wanted, but information is rarely wasted.

One of the first books I bought was Sewing for 20^th Century Dolls, Vol. II, by Johanna Gast Anderton. I thought this book would be perfect. Found a place selling it at half the $25. cover price, and it listed designs in dozens of sizes - Crissy, in fact, was featured on the cover.  Since I already knew I'd have more than just Barbie dolls (yeah, at one point, I was gonna be Barbie Only), I was sure there'd be plenty in there for me to use. Reviews were favorable, so I bought it.

And ended up so frustrated and upset, I darn near tossed the sewing machine into the Dumpster ! The pattern for the pretty madras-plaid sundress that Crissy wore on the cover simply Did. Not. Fit. Crissy. No matter how many times I sewed it, traced, it, reworked it. Nothing I did worked. The directions were minimal at best - I really needed more sewing experience under my belt, but the book said it was for all skill levels - yet following them to the letter or freestyling it made no difference. Studied the cover photo for hours, probably. Even researched it like the nerd I am, constantly searching for any image of that dress in any Crissy reference. Johanna said it was tagged, but I never found it anywhere but on the cover of her book. Since Crissy was crammed into ‘little sister' Velvet shoes, I scoured Velvet clothes resources, too. Nope. Not made by Ideal or any known clone doll or doll clothes manufacturer. At any size. I even looked up other dolls about the same size, to see if it was by Ideal, but made for another doll. Nada.

Darn thing gave me headaches, and once, a blasted nightmare. Really. I think the last time I tried it, I increased it to 130%, and it sort of worked, but not really. I gave up on it. Pretty much the whole book, too - if that pattern didn't work, why waste more time futzing with more ? If she can't get this one right, what are the chances that she screwed up with others ? Anderton didn't even get Crissy's shoes right. I let it go, because I was tired of being upset about it. She may be a legendary doll artist (it says so in her book), but to me, she was either lousy at pattern drafting, or pretty much a fraud.

Well, I couldn't sleep or focus on much tonight - I've had insomnia issues since I was eight  - so I idly trawled eBay to look at dolls. And there it was. A mostly yellow madras-plaid sundress. In a pile of Barbie dolls and clothes. Grabbed my book. Yup. That's the same dress. Even the buttons matched. I snagged the image, and ran some quick comparisons in PaintShopPro. The dress would fit a Barbie, from shoulder to waist. But the waist was simply too big for that scale. While the dress is high-waisted on Crissy, there is no way a Crissy dress should come close to fitting a Barbie. Crissy's eighteen inches tall ! Her clothes don't even fit Elphie !

Ms. Anderton notes that she came by that dress on a Crissy, and it was tagged. I have no idea how, it sure wasn't For Crissy by Ideal. If that was the case, it'd be on Beth's superlative site ( http://crissyandbeth.com/ ) or in her reference book. Now, supposedly, she used the dress that came on the doll to draft the pattern. But why is the doll on the cover wearing the exact same dress - right down to the buttons ! - as what I found tonight, instead of a new creation by the author ? If I was selling a book of my patterns, or just one pattern, there'd be a photo of at least one of my sewing test drafts on it ! Not a photo of the original dress I copied, but images of what I actually sewed, using my pattern. I now wonder if all the ‘copies' shown on the cover are the original outfits the dolls came in, not finished reproductions the author herself sewed to test her own blinkin' patterns ! If that's the case, how does anyone know if any of ‘em fit ? And how does that dress fit Crissy on the cover, but the pattern not fit at all ? I thought it was my lack of skill, but now I'm starting to wonder if it wasn't my skills that were lacking here.

The mystery isn't completely solved yet - I wrote the seller and asked if the dress had a tag or anything - but when I think of how close I came to giving up a much-enjoyed hobby - or, more accurately, never really even starting it -  because of *her* drafting failures...arrrgh ! It's been a minor burr at the back of my mind for years, and by sheer chance, I find out it's probably not only not a Crissy dress, but not even something the author herself even sewed to test her own pattern !

Unbe-freakin'-lievable.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:15 AM CDT

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Current Mood : Tired, but I can't sleep.  

Intersting day, but I didn't get to sew the pajamas. Instead, I (dramatic drumroll) made a Tribble ! This was the ‘ten minute craft' I mentioned a few weeks back. It took about that long. I wanna refine it, draft an actual pattern and write down directions, but it's pretty simple, and looks great, especially if you got decent fur to work with.

This luscious, soft and deep calico fun (read : fake) fur was purchased from Hancock's, around Thanksgiving, I think. It was $16. a yard, on sale for 60% off.  A quarter yard would probably yield a few thousand doll-size quadrotriticale-nibbling fuzzball Tribbles, and was only $1.60. I used a square about three and a half inches long by two inches wide, folded once and shaped with scissors into an oval. The many different colors in the piece would pretty much assure I'd never make the same one twice - at least, not without serious effort ! Must be about eight different colors, but the photo only shows three or four.

Good fake fur - or reclaimed real fur - isn't too hard to work with. This stuff frays badly, so it got the usual Fray-Check treatment right after it was cut. I loaded a good needle with brown thread, and hand-sewed two of the three raw edges in about three minutes. One of the oval edges was where the fabric folded, and the other edge had to be left open, to turn it right side out. As I sewed, I brushed the fur inward with my fingers. That way, the fur was more bushy, and the seam wasn't so obvious.

Turning it right-side-out meant I could shape it a bit. By pushing the seam all the way, I had a big Trib. Or I could be more gentle, and give it a more of a curved pillbox-hat shape. Heck, I could give it lumps and bumps if I wanted to ! I could stuff it with cotton balls or fabric scraps, too. But this one was a prototype, so I basically turned it right-side-out, and folded the last raw edges under, and sewed ‘em together. The fur was so nice, you really can't see the seam at all.

I hope to make varying sizes - the prototype Elphie has seems a bit big for her (Hot and Cool for ‘08 ! New, Improved Tribble - bigger, sweeter, and no baby Tribble troubles !) , and I'd need a smaller one still for Barbie scale. I was pleased, though, at how well this one turned out. Whaddya'll think ? Should I post it on the site when I have it worked out ?

I'd have happily made more, but I wanted to keep Beloved Hubby company at the Shop. I got a little bored, though, and found a can of paint he had sitting around (with a few hundred other cans of paint). Would he mind if I ‘touched up' the pretty-much-abandoned Castle with it ?

I soon had the can of paint in one hand and a brush in the other and was happily covering all the green floor overspray. I'm sure it'll look like heck in the morning, but I'm sort of pleased with m'self for not giving up just yet. It'll need several coats, and it'll probably be scratched off easily, but I painted ‘til my hands were numb, and felt pretty good. Wish I could paint some more, but it's very cold at the Shop, and Dearest Son doesn't like to be down there long - some of the sounds and smells bother him. And I don't want to leave him in the house by himself. Hopefully, warmer weather and back to school will mean I'll return to it soon. It was kind of fun, and I relaxed with it this time. After all, it's not like I had much to lose at this point !

Now, if I could just figure out why I'm having so many sleep problems lately...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:15 AM CDT

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Current Mood : Fat & Lazy

Hope you had a good Christmas and Boxing Day - if you celebrate. If ya don't, I hope your day was good !

Ours was pretty nice - Dearest Son loved all his gifts, and played all day. We're still contemplating whether or not to keep the second Lego Y-wing. He and Beloved Hubby played and lounged, and so did I. Didn't get anything sewn or really do much of anything. Beloved Hubby didn't have the time to finish my dollhouse, but assures me it'll be done before New Year's so here's hoping. And you see what I had under the tree today !

I noticed a post by DebbieFS in Australia on Doll Divas. She's the pattern designer for those outfits I made the Ariel sisters. So I posted that photo, finally, and she said it made her happy to see someone play with the pattern. Wheee ! I keep meaning to work up that pajama pattern...

So it was a nice holiday. Don't know what was with the drama last night - we called to find out what the heck was going on when it happened, and we still don't know. Seems someone got ticked that we were having a party, when it was only D&MIL over to see Son open their gift. We were actually watching a movie when the Drama call came. As we explained that it wasn't a party, and if we were having one, we'd have surely invited them, it came out that the reason they were ticked is because no one was coming to their party. You know, the one we weren't invited to. (sigh)

Anyway. Spent some time at the Havillands- that's Manda's site - and I'm awed all over again. In addition to some lovely cats, she has fantastic drawing skills ! Enjoyed the comics, but how could anyone resist Abba-obsessed horses, a Greek chorus of bunnies, and such expressive characters ? When you need a time-out, I recommend a visit. Run off to the Havillands - http://homepage.mac.com/louvanuk/index.html . Tell Bayard I said, "hi !" and admire reconstruction work that makes my feeble doll efforts look as weak as they are !

PS to Manda and Michelle - how cool is it that ya'll were already connected ? I'm constantly amazed by our little world, and the way we all reach each other.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:14 AM CDT

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Current Mood : Slightly irritated 

Whoo ! Busted butt and cleaned house for a few hours. Wow - it's nice and clean in here. Still have the eternal Two to do (dishes and laundry, there's always something dirty somewhere), but floors are swept, toilets are clean, and toys are at least in the general vicinity of their homes. Both Dearest Son and I have given up on his room for now, at least until Wednesday. No one should have Momma standin' over ‘em for a room cleaning this close to Christmas.

Printed out the Doll Divas Barbie pajama pattern. Three times. This one has the all-important ‘this is one inch' mark, and the first printout might fit a Skipper. Second one, increased to fit the page at 149%, was still just a smidge too small. Upped the increase to 152% manually, and now the measurement marker's about 1/16 of an inch too big, but I can deal. I'm gonna sew tomorrow !

No time to sew today, though. We had M&FIL over tonight, so they could see Dearest open the gift they got him. The big holiday get-together/party's more or less been cancelled, due to the family issue I obliquely mentioned earlier, and also some illness and injury for others. If not for Dearest, we'd have not had anyone over at all, but we were glad to see M&F. Dearest loved their gift, and we spent about two hours putting together the 454 pieces that make up a Lego Star Wars Y-wing spaceship. It was rather fun, actually. He crashed cradling it.

Less fun was the Luke Skywalker/Snowspeeder Transformer ^TM. If you don't  have reason to transform toys, consider yourself blessed. I know that Hasbro shouldn't have to print separate ‘to change x to y, do this' and ‘to change y to x, do that' directions, but it'd be nice. Yeah, ya should be able to just read the directions backwards, but when you didn't know Luke's ankles rotate and store behind his ears in Snowspeeder form, it's hard to figure out what the one-way directions are trying to tell you. Some of it is intuitive, but not everything. I'd love to see Luke do Jedi Mediation with his feet facing the wrong way behind his head !

(sigh) I don't know if I should tell the next part. It bothers me, and it ultimately isn't important, but...it's not fair that ya'll should think my life is all rainbow icicles and stray cats and happy Son at Christmas. I get people who should be old enough to know better drumming up drama out of nothing, because they're bored. And why should anyone enjoy one lousy evening with their grandson if they're feeling bored and neglected by their own kids ? (sigh)

And no one's side of the tale is the same. It's like finding half a sculpture in a dozen pieces and trying to paste the missing parts together with cardboard, chewing gum, and molasses. It'd be so much easier just to find the main part you can't figure out, but it's nowhere in sight. And many of the pieces you do have don't make sense without it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this. If you're out of middle school, ‘he said that you felt that what she said was upsetting, so I said...' crap is beneath you. And should be waaaay behind ya. I don't really treasure playing hurt feelings referee for people two and three times my age. If you don't want to invite this person or that person to a party, that's fine. It's your bloody party. But don't whine that nobody's coming - especially in front of the people you didn't invite ! Yeah, we were the ones not invited, but frankly, I could have cared less even before it came out. I had so many bids for sympathy in this whole stupid affair, I'm seriously considering selling some on eBay.

Save the drama of the holiday for your religious beliefs, ‘kay, ladies ? I'm sure there's plenty of it, no matter what sect or branch or faith you have. No need to wind up family who've already had a somewhat crappy year and just wanna relax for one *&^%ed day.

Anyway. There's your first look at ‘Domino', our sweet kitty. When he does that sort of sit/stand cats do, the heart on his haunch is nearly perfect. But his heart inside is perfect. Very sweet cat, if a bit underfoot when he wants something. Hungry kitty, too. We'll soon have that hollow under his tummy round again. He wishes everyone a Merry Christmas, and the best Eve they can have !

Told you he was a sweet kitty...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CST

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 11:14 AM CDT

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