Current Mood : Hyper-Lucky and knowing it ! 

While things didn't start out great, I nevertheless had a great day. I was 1 for 4 on ‘yard sale sign following' - only one of the times I took the chance and turned at the roadside sign did I ever find the blasted sale. Scored a great sewing book and some ribbon at that one, though. But otherwise, the only two sales I actually found were the ones I read about on Craigslist and I had the directions to before I left the house !

Even then, the sales were underwhelming. Both advertised toys, of course, and one advertised as being a six-family combined sale. Um, I have more junk in my donate/sale decision boxes than that ‘huge' sale contained. Found some nice clothes for Dearest Son and some blouses that I only got for the strap-adjusting sliders - I love having burgundy and another clear set to use for doll belt buckles ! But that was all.

So I headed home, past the monthly flea market. I go whenever they set up, and I often find something of interest, so I went in hopeful. Looked like more of the same at first, the Barbie Car Set seller had half the space and nothing I wanted. Another seller had a 70s sewing box identical to the Avocado Green one I bought last week, but in that Harvest Gold color, and it was also full of thread, just like the one I already had. She wanted $15. for it. Yikes. Guess buying it in green for a buck last week spoiled me !

One of my favorite sellers sometimes has dolls, sometimes not. She told me they'd be back next week for the ‘Garage Sale' (yeah, whatever), so she'd bring the box of clothes she'd scored, for me to go through. Yaay - something to look forward to !

Another familiar seller didn't seem to have much - but he had dolls, which was unusual for him. Most were sun-bleached baby dolls and small, odd dimestore toddlers...oh, there's a Superstar, and a Malibu Ken...and a...a blonde Bubblecut ? And a Twist n Turn - and a Talking New Ken ! What in the world ?

I extricated them from the pile and gave each a good study. Well, Bubble was missing a pinkie finger, but I had a spare Midge/Barbie body from the Malibu dolls I bought a few months back. Her lip and eyelash paint needed a touch up, and there was some dark around her ears, but it wasn't much, and wasn't green. She wore a Mommy-made ballgown - a tube with snaps in the back and a ribbon belt to cinch it in. Good fabric.

The TNT still had curves in her hair from where her top bow used to be. She was absolutely filthy, and her lips could also use some paint. But her eyelashes were intact, her eyes looked good, and her body was in good shape under all the dirt. She wore an outfit I couldn't identify, but it reminded me of the Texaco Cheerleader doll my teen babysitter had when I was in first grade. I'd completely forgotten to check her feet underneath her high, white boots, but I was lucky - they were great, if also dirty.

Researched my new guy - he's New Good Lookin' Talking Bend-Leg Ken. Whew ! His pullstring was intact, but didn't pull out, so that didn't work. His body was in great shape, from what I could see under Guruvy Formal. Someone had pinned a huge turquoise felt bow tie to the collar, so I didn't notice the chip out of the front of his neck. But he was as good-looking even after I found it, so I didn't care. He was barefoot, and also quite dirty, but otherwise in good shape.

Back at the Flea, I anxiously pawed through the rest of the dolls, in case another treasure lingered. There was an M & S Shillman Maxi Mod, but she just didn't appeal to me. I could feel her blow-molded cheapness even as I held her, and her clothes were pretty bad.  After thoroughly exploring the rest of his sales space, I nervously asked him what he wanted for the three jewels I held. He shrugged - a buck each ? That's the going rate for Barbie dolls at the Flea, except for the Barbie Car Set seller...and you know I couldn't get my wallet out fast enough. He found a Mal-Wart sack for my latest finds, and I merrily, and dazedly, headed for home. Wow !

Under Bubble's gown was a neat Mattel dress - but the belt was cinched so tight, when it melted, it was really stuck. Had to cut it off. The dress, #3347 of the Mod era, is torn, but you can't even tell when it's on her ! I'll fix it as best I can, because I rather like it. So it was like a bonus ! I'll probably replace the cut and melted white vinyl belt with a ribbon, once I've freed up the buckle.

So I was pretty happy for the rest of the day. While I wouldn't have gone after a Bubblecut, a TNT, or a Talking Ken on eBay or at a doll show, having them is very nice - especially at that price ! They all still need a good cleaning and redressing, but I've been enjoying just looking at them !

Beloved Hubby was happy for me, and we settled down to a cute anime series - hosted on Crunchyroll.com, ya can't beat free entertainment ! -  about a figure skater and the deceased Canadian pilot who was currently occupying space in her body, and ordered Chinese. Yum.

Beloved was tired, but I was pretty jazzed. So I finally installed the new ink in the printer and started researching Princess Dorrie patterns. Couple years ago, I checked out The Doll's Dressmaker, by Venus A. Dodge, and scanned the whole thing, which was a big undertaking. Then I got the same book in a download from the pattern group - and theirs doesn't print right. But mine does. Go figure. The book features 120 patterns for four doll sizes (based on height), so I printed two - a super-simple A-line dress in the 14"-16" size, and the 16"-18" size. Dorrie, and the rest of the Princesses, is 15 inches tall, but I wanted to make sure I was using the right size. Some measuring and folding and marking off seam allowances, and taping later, it looks like the 14 to 16 inch size is the best for her.

Now, when the book says ‘120 patterns', it means, there's x sleeves, y bodices, z skirt designs, g pants, k underwear, etc. You basically mix and match the various elements to get the look you want. It's an interesting idea, and if this A-line works, I look forward to experimenting with it.

Of course, going just by height means the patterns are really just shape guidelines, it's up to the sewist to alter and tweak to fit. But, hey, it's not like I can complain, I didn't even buy the book ! Ordinarily, I'd start trials with  Doll Shop Deluxe, but I want to completely remeasure the DPrincess dolls first. Y'see, I've recently discovered that one particular tape measure - a narrow one I liked to use for all my dolls - is off by about 1/8" before it hits the one-inch mark, so you can imagine how far it is after, say, ten or twelve inches. And yes, I did use that one for darn near all the DSD inputs. (sigh) That particular tape has been destroyed, after I verified it's screwed-upedness with six other measuring tools. Arrgh. It's entirely possible that most of my wrestling with the program is entirely due to a lousy cheap tape measure. (headdesk)

And I'm starting to crash. It's been a wonderful day ! Tomorrow, Beloved Hubby and Dearest Son are home, and there's a book sale down the street. And I'm gonna try the A-line dress for Princess Dorrie. I've got a full day ahead of me !

Hope you don't mind that I put off the big ‘reveal' of just which character that bank I bought yesterday represents ! Promise I'll post it tomorrow !

Posted by dorriebelle at 11:13 PM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:43 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Still a bit twitchy, for some reason

Today pretty much went as expected - Dearest Son and I got to play for a bit before FIL picked him up this afternoon. He's finally getting used to picking up toys in his room before he leaves or goes to bed. Here's hoping !

Thrift stores didn't have a lot this week. GoodWill was completely devoid of anything interesting, and Community Thrift wasn't much better. I did score another Star Wars spaceship for Dearest - looks like one of Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighters, the bustard must've had about nine different ones. And this is one Dearest didn't have, so he'll be happy.

I scored a 70s Simplicity sailor dress pattern, nowhere near my size, but I wanna experiment with it anyway. And the gorgeous bank pictured above. Any ideas who it may be ? You get the front photo tomorrow. I was amazed at how well-sculpted it is. If it'd been anything but a plastic bank, and maybe a bit smaller, it'd be a $$$ collectable, it's that well done. Not sure what I'm gonna do with it, but it's really nice.

Also bought a Little Golden Book (LGB, to collectors - somebody collects everything somewhere !), Barbie The Big Splash. At 20c, I couldn't refuse. It's actually rather cute. Line drawings illustrate 1990's Hawaiian Fun Barbie's modeling jaunt to a tropical island. My favorite part is her turn at hair and makeup - the drawing shows our girl Babs with about two feet of hair on either side of her head, but the text reads, "Then she (the hairdresser) brushed it out for a natural look.". Umm...yeah.

Went out with Beloved Hubby on a few errands, and came home and knocked around a bit. Tried to use some oversize trim as a doll dress, but it didn't work out well. I may try it again before I scrap it, donate the trim, and be done with it. About the best I can do with it is dress all the donated dolls in the finished dresses - I got about six yards of this stuff in two colors, but I really would like for them to have something nicer. But, hey, it got me sewing a bit !

And here's a question for ya. For our next image series, I can scan the 70s catalogs, or I can scan the LGB Barbie book I bought today. Which would you prefer ? Let me know - or I may choose the wrong one !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:42 PM CDT

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Current Mood : a tired kind of happy  

Another quiet night at Chez Insanity. Busy day, though - we finally got Dearest Son's room cleaned and the old bed moved to the garage. He enjoyed using it as a very long train table, but I couldn't move in there to put his clothes away ! Plus there was the usual ‘crap everywhere' that seems to follow each of us to wherever we dwell...

Only took three hours, and I salvaged a bag of toys and a box of outgrown books. I really need to make up my mind if I'm donating this stuff, or having a yard sale.

Oh, and I found that DPrincess pencil Dearest brought home from kindergarten for some reason, two years ago. I've always liked to use it, and wanted to find similar ones, but so far, nope. Ah, well, ya never know what'll turn up next !

Not much else is going on, but in my never-ending quest for that Mulan doll due out in the next month or two, I found something interesting at TRU's website. Namely, that bride Ariel that's in today's image. She's Barbie-scale, and quite lovely from the photos ! There's also a bride Cinderella (blue gradient) and a bride Belle (yellow). Haven't seen them yet in-person, and at $23., I doubt I'll buy one anyway, but I thought you might be curious. Here's the link to Ariel, and her page includes links to Belle and Cinderella.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3149075  

Still blocked about Princess Dorrie's new clothes. And with FIL picking Dearest Son up right after lunch, I'll probably head out for thrift stores instead of staying home sewing ! And if I so much as find one yard sale on Craigslist around here on Friday, you know I'm going - and it's Flea Market weekend, too. I really should stay home...Naaah !

Posted by dorriebelle at 10:24 PM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:42 PM CDT

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 Current Mood : Still lazy ! 

I actually began today with a plan. After lunch, Dearest Son and I would tackle his junkyard-fetid room, and then I'd get some housework done. That was the plan. Instead, I fell asleep in the computer chair for two hours (!) and by the time I got lunch made, Beloved Hubby was home for the day - at about 1pm. He was utterly exhausted, so after he grabbed a bite to eat, he went to lie down.

Now, cleaning Dearest's slagpile room is anything but quiet, so there went that plan. When I went to wake Beloved, I gazed happily at the blank space that was occupied by doll magazines Sunday, and saw another area I could empty - the space the rest of the  DPrincess dolls were taking. I'd unpacked them shortly after my birthday, and Dearest was temporarily entranced, so I set them up so he could talk and play with them, and had only picked up Belle to make Dorrie, and an Aurora for test-curls since.

So they all got relocated to the Lab. Since I'd bought the lot for ‘Pocohontas' - hey, misspelled doll names is how I find rare stuff cheaply ! - I decided to clean her up first. Her hair was still mostly in the factory set, if rumpled. I ended up cutting the two ponytails Playmates had rubber-banded under the rest of her hair for some reason, and brushed the whole thing. Much better. The seller's daughter had left two of her color-and-character-themed plastic barrettes in - a pink lock glued into a fake turquoise cabochon jewelry setting, and a bluish one with an acorn twig. These were very necessary, because without something to hold her hair back, Pocahontas' hair assumed a ‘Veronica Lake' style, always covering her right eye. Very pretty doll.

Next, I wanted to give back to the Aurora who'd so bravely test-piloted the curling iron. Her hair was far beyond ‘factory setting'. It was such a mess, there was a real twig in it ! I must've pulled out two or three ounces of hair, one strand at a time, and I truly believe Playmates puts good-quality, shiny hair on the top layer of their dolls' heads, and that cheap, cotton-candy crap underneath. After all, they only have to make it look good in the box ! Keeping it looking good is not their concern. If Aurora has dreadlocks, well, it's just not Playmates' problem, ya know ?

I knew from getting Belle ready to become Dorrie that I was in for it. Belle had been in better shape ! So I soaked Aurora's hair, applied some conditioner from a trial-size bottle I only use on dolls (my own hair's too oily to need the stuff), and ran it through. A thorough rinse and a dishtowel wrap, and we were ready. Even with the water and conditioner and dolls-only brush, it was a job. She must've been the best-loved, to be in such awful shape.

It wasn't until I tried to manage her over-long bangs (Aurora's are always very long) that it hit me. This doll was reminding me more and more of ‘Kira', Olivia Newton John's role in Xanadu. Yeah, it's a train-wreck of a film, but that's never stopped me from loving it. I'd long wanted to make a Kira from a Barbie, and Mattel obligingly makes ONJ dolls for Grease already, but...well, I didn't wanna shell $40. for a doll just to customize her. Plus, is it much of a customization if all I change are her clothes ?

Of course, it's gonna be kinda difficult to make those peasant/shepherdess dresses fit this doll's scale. But I think I can do it. Hardest part is gonna be how to find this doll some white lace-up roller skates ! And I'll finally get to use those sponge rollers I bought - but didn't need - for Dorrie. I've about brushed out Aurora's curls getting her hair free of dreads !

For now, though, Aurora/Kira is drying and resting up. She still needs a bath, and there's another Aurora and a Cinderella awaiting their turns under the brush. I'm thinking that Cindy's gonna become ‘Molly' from Sailor Moon, and Aurora...I'm just not sure. Dearest's hoping I make her into "Brittany" from Alvin and the Chipmunks, which wouldn't be difficult. Hair restyle, redress, nose paint. But you never know what a doll will ‘tell' you until you spend some time with her.

And honestly, if I was gonna do a ‘Chipette' doll, it'd be Jeanette, not Brattany...I mean, Brittany.

Posted by dorriebelle at 10:33 PM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:47 PM CDT

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Current Mood : bleh 

Remember how I thought yesterday was gonna be one of those ‘get nothing done' days ? Well, today actually was. I have no idea where the day went.

Well, I know a good chunk of it got spent at Plaid Stallions, looking at old 70s catalog pages and such. I am such a sucker for those !

Maybe I'll be in a better frame of 'go gettedness' tomorrow...geez, I don't know what's wrong with me lately...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Tuesday, 15 July 2008 8:10 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Very lazy !

 Current Image Notes : We're almost there ! Still needs some hair touch-ups and a new wardrobe, and there's some sort of purple mark over her left eyelid, but this is soooo close to what I wanted ! That huge brown tribble in her lap is the hair I cut off !  

Today was another one of ‘those days'. When you wake up knowing you're not gonna get much done, and wonder why you bothered to get out of bed in the first place. As I staggered into my ‘bleh' day, coughing a bit, my foot hit one of several stacks of doll magazines, doll books, and other reading materials piled around ‘my side' of the bed. Beloved Hubby's side is much the same, but his are paperbacks and a few Tiger Direct and Grizzly Tools catalogs. As I started to slide a bit - doll magazines tend to be slick on old carpet - the thought occurred to me that I really should do something about all these books, and maybe get a handle on all these magazines.

Y'see, about two or three months ago, I bought several lots of National Doll World and other doll-based magazines. I knew some repeated what I already had, but they were so cheap, and it'd be a pleasant diversion while my breathing got back under control. What got delivered was eight pounds of magazines. Wow. That's...quite a lot.

So I immediately pulled the ones I knew I already had, and put them aside. That lessened the load by about a third, leaving me with about five pounds of reading fun. I'd grab one from the box, leaf through it, read the articles, note new patterns and columns, and eventually fall asleep on it. It'd hit the floor, and the next time I had a bit of a lie down, nap, or bedtime, I'd grab another from the box...

That lead to the mess I had today. And by now, the ones I knew were duplicates had mixed in with the rest...so I had one huge pile by the bed, a stack in the bookshelf, and a boxload in the trunk of the car, for downtimes and later distribution to a thrift store or someplace. Yikes. To make matters worse, many of the ones on the bookshelf were torn or damaged, but the duplicates were in fine shape. (sigh)

So I spent most of today going through it all. Scooped up the bedside ones first, and arranged them by issue date, and slung ‘em back in the box they arrived in. Retrieved the ones on the bookshelf, and did much the same to them. The ones in the car had gotten wet from a small hole in a gallon bottle of water I keep back there, so many were destroyed, but some were salvageable. There's still about a dozen drying in the laundry room. Several I wanted to keep were damaged with no duplicate replacements, so I got them taped up. Those old 1979 covers are so fragile ! But heck, for a 30-year-old magazine, they're all looking darn good.

It ended up taking four hours to get it all done. But I now have the best of the lot on the bookshelf, and a boxload ready for the thrift or maybe eBay. It's about seven pounds' worth ! And there's a short pile next to the printer that need to be scanned. The books got put away, and the rest of the odd clutter marshaled. I no longer have to kick a path to my bedside, or risk an unexpected skating trip in the night.

So it wasn't a totally useless, wasted day. While it was fun, though, it's kind of hard to explain that you spent most of your day with your old doll magazines !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:41 PM CDT

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 Current Mood :  VERY happy !

Current Image Notes : While this looks like a bizarre doll hostage stand-off, it's actually just the best way to get a boil-perm pageboy. You can't see the rubber band holding her hair under the curve of the white fabric tube, but it's there !

I spun around Princess Dorrie all day. So much to do, and I was pretty nervous. I mean, the last time I took a curling iron to a doll's hair, it was Shinobu's, and I darn near melted a section, even though I'd tested a wrecked doll's hair first then, too. Aurora's curl held beautifully, so why was I dawdling ?

Eventually, I could wait no more. I darn near wrung my hands in impatience and no little worry as the iron heated. Watched her hair like a hawk watches a potential dinner, just in case. And, about a half hour later, Her Highness was done at my makeshift beauty shop (the bathroom counter, over by the magazine box). I am happy. Happy with her, happy with my skill, happy that I did it. A bit chagrined that I futzed around so much, I didn't have time to sew, but at least I did the hard part already !

Honestly, though, I haven't decided what clothes I want to make for her yet. I know I want a cute dress - not in costume satin, though ! - but unlike all the other Princesses, Dorrie doesn't have an animated costume designer to draw ideas from, just me. So I've been idling through my patterns, looking at books from costume to catalogs, and kind of staring into space. It's been easy, since I've been coughing and short of breath all day.

(sigh) I'd meant to knock Dorrie out early, do some housework, and spend the afternoon taking Barbie pictures for a nice lady on In The Pink, but it just didn't happen. I mostly studied books and took care of Dearest Son - he had a great time at his grandparents', but he was glad to be home. I was glad to have a reason to stay home, as I still had $10. in my purse. Left alone to my own devices, I'd have probably gone shopping again !

Of course, there's three Mal-Wart sacks of stuff I bought this week and last that I haven't put away yet...but Princess Dorrie looks awfully pretty on that bench I got yesterday !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:41 PM CDT

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 Current Mood : VERY happy !

Current Image Notes : Here's your first look at Princess Dorrie ! She didn't have bangs before, but she does now ! Next - the pageboy boil perm !!

With Dearest Son enjoying an extended stay at his grandparents', I had all day to do whatever I wanted ! So I hit the yard sales, Target, and Sam's really early. Did very well with my $10. at various sales - it got me three nearly-new blouses, an R2D5 action figure, eight kids' books, Swingin' Chicks of the ‘ 60s (for Beloved Hubby), an origami book for dollar bills, a working kids' typewriter, two large bags of Fiberfil, a star-shaped cake pan, a framed reproduction French 1900s cat-ad poster (also for Beloved), three different pair of shape-cutting scissors still packaged, a keychain kaleidoscope, a paua shell necklace, a large doll bench, and a bashed-box My Fair Lady Barbie ! In that cool lace ‘Ascot Dress' !

I'm still amazed at the Barbie. She was only $2., and is in pretty good shape, except that a bit of dirt got into the box, and on her nose ! I'm not sure what to do with her yet - keep her, or offer her as a prize on In The Pink ? I've won two prizes there, so I haven't been participating in any other contests, but I want to give back, ya know ?

Target satisfied my need for rice crackers, and I found a treat for Dearest at the Dollar Spot - a spiral-bound Teacher's Planning Book ! It was rather simple for a professional teacher, in my opinion, but perfect for when Dearest plays teacher. I always like to have good props when I play, from when I was a kid up to today, so I don't imagine it's any different for him.

Gosh, I must've spent hours creating props out of cardboard and tape, Kleenex and bottle caps, yarn and plastic bits - any little scrap that came my way became something else. Shoeboxes were doll beds or phone booths, or sometimes even spaceships, same went for some shoes, discarded flooring became an endless ballroom floor sprinkled with lick-and-stick stars. I vividly remember making a doll swing out of yarn and a Pringles' can lid - my paper-wigged Ballerina Barbie standing in for Princess Leia until she arrived and never left  - tying it to a chalkboard easel designed for a much younger child, but it made a great A-frame Barbie house with just a blanket flung over the top. I claimed any spray-paint and hairspray paint can lid I could grab (doll seating) and sometimes even the empty cans - with the labels removed and a paper cone covering the nozzle, they were great castle towers. About the only things I didn't remake were office supplies, as I could play with those as-is, no matter how battered and reused that manila folder was !

I'm sure that, while my parents appreciated my thrifty play, my trash-hoarding was quite annoying. Then again, I also remember a weird multi-leveled metal-and-plastic showcase in my room that used to be a sales display, so I wasn't the only one recycling. Too big a square for a bookcase, too big for much else, I loved that thing. Even the holes where the ad placards were seated were of some use. Just wished that the plastic panels were any color but that sickly near skintone pink. Today, I'd spray-paint it, and put in some Plexiglas panels for that ‘glass ceiling' effect.

Also scored some star-shaped scrapbooking brads from that Dollar Spot that'll probably show up on doll clothes - backed by some iron-on interfacing to protect the doll - soon. Maybe even on Dorrie ! Gee, I'm not obsessed or anything...

Sam's had a tasting of some absolutely fantastic egg rolls, so a box of those made it into the cart, with the stuff Dearest and Beloved Hubby asked me to pick up. I couldn't wait to get home and have a whole one !

I'd barely gotten it all tugged inside and (mostly) distributed when Beloved came home. We went on a whirlwind spending spree - printer ink (using a $20. rewards card and a 10% off certificate, it was pretty cheap!) and dinner, and a couple ‘buy two used movies, get one for a penny' goodies over at Hastings. Wheee ! We now have the perfect companion film for that copy of Stand By Me I got from Mal-Wart's $5. bin last week - The Sandlot !

While Beloved watched another movie, I got Princess Dorrie ready for her boil perm and haircut. Basically, I just rolled a white cotton rag into a tube, fastened it around her head with a rubber band, then used another rubber band to hold her hair under, and all the way around, the tube. Depending on where the tube is located, almost instant pageboy of any length - just add a safe pour of boiling water and let set for a while. I'd have liked for her to have longer hair, but she has almost no neck, so it's about chin level. Once it'd dried for a couple hours, I cut along the newly formed bend in her hair, and trimmed it accordingly. It still needs to be touched up a bit at the ends, but I'm about 90% happy with her.

Took another doll - a spare Aurora - for curling iron tests. I wanted to use a curling brush to touch up Dorrie's hair tomorrow, but we only have a rather old curling iron. And I hate to buy a $15. styling tool just for doll projects. So while the curling iron heated up, I brushed out a nice patch of Aurora's hair, and gave it several tries. The iron didn't even get hot enough to make a difference on the ‘low' setting. On ‘high', it curled my hair in 15 seconds, but it took a solid minute to curl hers. She's currently resting, and we'll see if the curl lasts the night. If so, Dorrie gets to meet a curling iron tomorrow morning ! And you'll get pictures !

And I get to sew tomorrow ! Dorrie's first new dress ! I'm really excited. FIL told me that BIL ‘really, really loved' everything I did, he was there when BIL opened the box I'd packed the robes and cloak in. It's nice to hear, but rather telling that I have yet to hear from BIL at all, not even an e-mail, and he leaves at 3am tomorrow. Oh, well. I'm just glad to be done with the whole mess.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:41 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Super Lucky (especially if this one goes through on the first three or four tries !) 

Current Image Notes : Here's our two guys, cuddling in my new sewing chair that is, arguably, not only the best place to sleep, but is the best scratching post ever !!!

Hit the one yard sale in town today - and $4. got me 56 spools of thread, a vintage 70s sewing box, two stacking thread racks, a copy of Fabric Savvy ( I already have More Fabric Savvy), a yard of yellow background floral fabric, two notebooks, a huge bag of snap and hook/eye fasteners, a rag rug braiding set, a sewing machine needle threader, some stationery, an action-figure scale medical Jeep, and a tiny blue plastic castle (the latter two for Dearest Son, of course ! Well, I may play with the castle for some photos first...).

Another yard sailer there detailed all her past and current surgeries to me, and complained that being a teacher meant she had to buy sooo much out of her own pocket. I commiserated and sympathized, until she said that at the first of August, she had to paint her classroom. What ? Now I know City of employs painters just for the schools, so I was taken aback. But heck, we have gallons of paint lying around - did she want some ?

Oh, no, no, no. By ‘paint', she meant ‘decorate'. Bulletin boards and stuff. Huh ? Maybe she needs another operation or two ... I have no idea why strangers tell me all this stuff. People I know don't tell me squat half the time so I don't worry, but I got totally random folks offering me rather intimate life details for no reason. I got to hear the surgery checklist again as she related it to the seller when she went to pay for her $18. worth of stuff.  Bizarre.

On the way to the sale, I passed by a couple guys opening shop in a vacant lot. Office chairs - and if the sign was correct, $10. each. It's hard to discern quality at 40mph, so I stopped on my way back. My legs had stuck to the kitchen chair when I was machine-sewing the last of BIL's robe yesterday, and once before, so I was ready for a better chair. Found a great one - tilt and rock and lift, with great wheels and nearly-new upholstery, and gladly shelled my $10. They even loaded it into Molly's backseat for me. I went for one without arms, because I found that works better for me at the sewing table. At the computer, I want arms to lounge on !

Hit Community Thrift, but didn't find anything. Made them an offer on the Cinderella doll they've had since March, but they really thought they'd find someone to buy the lot at $9. ‘S OK. I'm sure I'll find more as the yard sale season continues. Besides, it's not like I had time to work on her right now anyway.

Came home and finished the robes and that POS cloak. Took about an hour and a half. Since BIL lives with Gramma, I called her to ask if I could visit for a bit when I dropped them off. One thing I love about Gramma - Beloved Hubby's maternal grandmother - she's always ready for a visit. After a quick ramen lunch, I was enjoying a nice early afternoon chat. And the sensation of finally being DONE !

After that, it was grocery time. I'm glad I waited - FIL picked up Dearest Son yesterday, for an extended visit, so I could shop solo. Dearest's quite a good and patient shopper, and when I tell him this time, we're just looking, he hardly ever even asks. *I'm * the one who wants to get him another toy - I'm the one bustin' the grocery budget, not him ! And who did I meet there but BIL ! Told him I'd just dropped everything off, and I hoped he liked it. If he saw anything that needed to be fixed, he was welcome to call me and I'd laugh at him and not fix it. Yeah, I was a bit passive-aggressive by this time. But he laughed and said he completely understood and appreciated all I did. So, far as I'm concerned, that part of my life is over ! Words can't express how happy that makes me.

Came home and basically did nothing for a while but gloat over my new possessions. Beloved Hubby likes my chair, and was glad I'd found such a good price for it. The olive-green plastic sewing box didn't thrill him as much as it wowed me, but gosh, every person I knew who sewed when I was a kid had these boxes, usually in easy-to-chip yellow and green, with that wavy zig-zag texture. There must've been twenty sizes of ‘em. Some had lift-out trays, some were pattern totes, some were just for thread. 

I feel a little closer to being a ‘real' sewist now that I have one. Funny how that works sometimes.

Then I got a bit bored after dinner and decided to sort through all that new thread. There were actually nine more spools of thread, but they were yarn-like, the stuff you'd use for crewel or other crafts. There were also eight bobbins, loaded with thread. Unfortunately, those aren't the bobbin size my machine takes, but I can still use ‘em - they work just as well as a spool for the top thread ! Once I had it all placed and organized, I decided to do some cheap-serging. Needed to test out the new chair, and get it to the right height anyway.

Emptied seven spools and two bobbins. I mostly used the small spools that didn't have much thread on ‘em, and some I loaded straight into bobbins for my machine. I also discovered that thread was more precious back in the days of wooden spools. One spool had three different colors hand wound onto it...and only one thread length was more than five yards. These days, that short a strand really wouldn't be worth bothering with. Another spool had all one color, but it was several short lengths, and I couldn't tell until I tried to use it and it kept running out, and I had to keep threading the machine with the next length. It's sad that I threw a handful of it away, but it just wasn't worth hanging on to - or rewinding - three yards of navy blue. I hate hand-sewing, and avoid it whenever possible. And I ran into my first spool of thread too delicate to use. It broke while I was winding the long tail back onto the spool. And kept on breaking. Poor thing.

My box of empty thread spools is getting full. Aside from kitten toys, I'm not sure what else to do with ‘em. Any ideas - or does anyone want some ?

PS - 'Brothers' was also posted to In The Pink.

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:40 PM CDT

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Current Mood : Was happy, until I had to deal with constant Tripod screw-ups !

Tinkerbell is here ! The exchange was smooth and easy, and everyone's happy. The one I had a bid on closed today, $10. more than my high bid, plus another $10. in shipping - but I paid less and already have my Tink in my hot little hands. Yatta !

Today was Laundry Day at Chez Insanity, mostly so I could get BIL's blasted robes ready. Just think, it's almost over. I keep thinking that. It's almost over, it's almost over...I've adjusted the sleeves and gotten the button loops sewn on. About all I have left is some minor alterations to the cloak he sprung on me - it's been in our garage for over a year, hence the laundry - and hand-sewing the buttons. I'll do that tomorrow.

Saw these ads today - you've probably already seen ‘em, but we don't have TV here, so... I thought, for a heartless huge conglomco, Mattel does some sweet advertising. Vintage Barbie dolls, too !

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wpabulxYjuw - Mattel ‘Have Fun' ad

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0oXwEwZtPME&feature=related - longer version

And just for your viewing pleasure, something weird, but oddly uplifting, from Japan. May I present to you, the Green Leaves ->

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At-pfAFUldE

May be unsafe for work (men in their tightie whities), but very cheerful ! Long as you have one leaf on - and that leaf is ‘Hope' - everything is all right. Yatta !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 4:40 PM CDT

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