Monday with Jenny...

 

Current Mood : Enjoying completing stuff

 

Jenny's hair came out quite nicely. Not much of a curl to it, not even with the curling iron, but it still looks good. The bangs are lying down and forward better, and she looks darn cute with her shorter hair. It's about shoulder length now - plenty of length to style for fun. Guess she's an OOAK now !

 

Finished the Barbie v. 2.0 shirtwaist dress, finally. I had the snaps on Friday, but the sleeves still didn't hang right, and needed the seam allowances tacked down. Pushing a doll's arm through the sleeve pushed the cuff out of shape, but that's taken care of now. Also sewed the snap in the neck of the Heart Family dark pink dress.

 

That cleaned off the sewing table, and now that Jenny was dry, I could dress her in something new while her issue clothes went through laundry and repairs. I sorted through the doll clothes, wishing I could get the jumper started - when my eyes snagged the denim underpants I'd taken off an infant skirt to get it to fit the My Size Barbie girls. Last week, I'd taken the seams apart and gotten it down to component pieces. Today, I re-hemmed the leg seams in pink thread, made a ribbon casing from the piece that attached to the crotch, hemmed the raw edge, and added Velcro to the back. Jenny now has a denim halter top ! From the butt-half of the denim panties ! Took maybe ten minutes, and the pink thread looks so cute ! Fished out the skirt from one of the two decade-old Mal-Wart outfits, and she looked adorable.

 

Here's hoping I can fix the snags on her equestrienne pants and the buttons on her blue jacket. I'm seriously considering purchasing a knit-picker when I go to Hancock Fabrics sometime this coming-up weekend - 99c pattern sales, guys ! If I understand ‘em correctly, about all a knit-pick does is help pull snags to the opposite side. It's like a tiny latch-hook. They're cheap enough, usually less than $2. or so, but like a bodkin, I never see fit to buy one unless it's on markdown or I really really need one !

 

It's kind of funny. I always figured I'd end up with an Our Generation one, but the Fibre-Craft ‘Springfield Collection' dolls were also possibilities. Those are even cheaper than the Target dolls, and almost giveaway priced with one of Hobby Lobby's frequent 40% off coupons. But heck, Jenny was opportunity knocking. Actually buying a new doll that size wasn't really ever on the agenda, no matter how cheap she was.

 

While helping Beloved Hubby load up the Diesel for work this morning, I'd found a strip of thin wood, possibly cedar, cutaway from a project. Mine ! It's now the wood flooring under Shinobu's sewing room. Looks so much better than the grey cutting surface with the yellow grid ! I'm hoping to take photos tomorrow. Including a couple ‘Best Buy Friday's !

 

I'm just playin'....

 

Current Mood : Happy.

 

Ya'll are gonna giggle at me, but I spent a good chunk of today playin' with Jenny. Her hair dried beautifully, and while it looks to be mostly Saran and partially the cheap stuff, it all came out quite pretty. She's currently resting after her boil perm - I shaped it into the often-seen pageboy I tend to use for my dolls, but really, it's about all I can do for her. A shorter style will hide the straggly parts, and bring out her eyes more.

 

Some research showed a Target doll just like her, in the same outfit - but she had braids where Jenny's hair has been snipped. No bangs. I think my doll's braids got snipped, and what I think are bangs are actually the snipped ends of the braids. It takes a bit of combing to hide the small bald patches, but the rubber bands holding the cut bits down should fix it.

 

Printed out an American Girl-size pattern for a simple, sleeveless jumper. May get to sew it tomorrow. Right now, Jenny's soaked, so I can't do fittings and trials. So far, the only complaints I have about her are the ones I knew about before buying her - the mixed-media body (vinyl limbs and head, stuffed torso), and the near-split her legs have to be rotated into for her to ‘sit'. I have no idea why so many chairs are made for these dolls, they can't sit down, really. Well, the AG dolls aren't as bad, but poor Jenny...

 

Pulled out a few slightly altered and not-at-all-altered AG clone clothes I had around. Purchased cheaply from yard sales and such. Some fit Timey Tell and Hi, Dottie, including two outfits I got from Mal-wart for $4.88, about ten years ago. Once Jenny's dry, I'll get her dressed. Her original equestrienne outfit needs washing and slight repairs.

 

Dearest Son fell in love with Yuki-san, the Fur Real Friends kitty-bot I got yesterday. In some ways, Yuki can help him interact with DC and Jack better, since the toy cat reacts positively to him, and can't hurt him. He dug out his old shopping cart, put Yuki in it, and tooled him around the house, introducing him to other toy cats and real ones, the Wii, his school backpack, and his Stuart Little stuffed animal. Yuki meowed and purred at intervals. It's safe to say Dearest is entranced. He already knows that Yuki is an indoor-only kitty.

 

Still setting up the ‘Shinobu's Sewing Room' diorama. Printed out tiny patterns, dug out a chair and some props. The boom box that came in yesterday's box of doll furniture fit perfectly with the theme, and about all I still need to do is paper the Island Princess room screen, and the box the window's sitting on. I've printed up a ‘clock', a calendar, a bulletin board with her name and some flowers on it, and a great pair of scissors. Miniatures are such fun ! I started out looking through Jim's Printable Minis, but ended up hunting down stuff I could get to the correct scale m'self. Hope to get some photos later this week - it's on my cutting table, so I kinda need the space back !

 

After relaxing all day and enjoying my new dolls and goodies, I decided against calling the thrift store manager over Friday's unfortunate incident. She won't care, probably backs her workers, and won't even miss me or my donations, I'm just one customer. But I know this - I chatted with someone else at GWill who also got caught up in it, and she was mightily pizzed off, too. Not the best way to keep customers, dear...

 

What a glorious Saturday !

 

Spent on dolls and accessories : $11.80

Spent on toys in general : $3.

Spent on fabric : $1.

 

I had the most wonderful day ! There was a big flea market at the Fairgrounds I'd been looking forward to for weeks, and we got to go to the junk shop ! You won't believe what I scored...

 

The big flea market is actually a nonprofit groups' fundraiser. About twice a year, City of gives them use of the Fairgrounds, and any group who wants to show up with stuff to dump and an agenda to advance does so. I've missed it the last couple go ‘rounds, because whoever does the website doesn't update it often. But I got to go this year !

 

Not surprisingly, it wasn't as good as my memories of the previous sales. Fewer groups showed, with less stuff, but the buyers were out in force. Kids were running around and slamming into folks (Yup, same kid hurtled at me three times, and twice I was able to side-step him - have no idea where his parental unit(s) hid), and the press of buyers made it difficult to see anything. Still, I did well ! Scored a mid-size box of random Barbie furniture for $2., a bag of Barbie clothes for 50c, a bag of doll shoes for $1.50, some Halloween bandannas for fabric for $1., and a Lego video for Dearest Son for 50c.

 

And then, it happened. I knew it was inevitable - I already had their patterns and shoes, and even a car. I guess I always knew that one day, I'd end up with an American Girl clone doll. And it happened today. This one was a challenge, and such an inexpensive one, I couldn't refuse.

 

Ya'll know how I am - if something intrigues me, I'll research it. And I love to research toys, delve into what they say about us as a society, what creative forces they channel and release, and try to figure out why this toy appeals yet this one repels, even though each uses the same basic idea. American Girl dolls attracted me. While I wasn't much for the toothy faces, the idea behind them was intriguing. Although, I admit the accessories sold the doll more than the other way around, at least for me. I knew I'd end up with a clone, because the original AGs are actually worth more used, if they're old enough !

 

And during my research into the 18-inch doll/AG phenomena, I learned much about the originals and the clones. Battat, the company who makes the ‘Our Generation' dolls for Target, came up frequently as an acceptable AG substitute - with one caveat. ‘Once their hair goes snarly, ‘ one mother warned, ‘it never goes back. You may as well toss the whole doll and buy another, they're cheap enough'.

 

Well. No sentimentality there, huh ? I understand, though, from a purely pragmatic viewpoint - Mom probably doesn't have much time to detangle doll hair, and when the dressed doll was only about $20. to start with, why not just get a new one, with new accessories and clothes, to boot ? But I am sentimental, and I played with my childhood dolls, bald, broken, and damaged, because I loved them, and because there would be no replacements unless it was birthday or Christmas time. Plus, my mother didn't much like dolls, so buying them was low on the priority list, even at gift-giving time. Besides, the same things are said for Barbie, and that's biting Mattel in the butt right now. Barbie is still viewed as a ‘cheap doll to pacify a kid', not a rare, precious commodity amongst adult doll hobbyists. Neither Barbie nor clones get any sort of respect, unless they're rare vintage models - it's hard to escape the ‘cheap' toy label ghetto.

 

Anyway. Here was a pretty Battat ‘Our Generation' doll, with numerous strikes against her. Snarled hair in dreads. Blonde with blue eyes. In a rather ugly, worn outfit that just barely fit her - and that's the outfit she was sold in ! I should have snorted and walked away. But I didn't. The little tag on her lapel read ‘$1.' with some initials. Well, I couldn't walk away. She needed my help, and I sort of wanted a challenge. And I have patterns and shoes for her size already. So now, after it all, I'm the owner of an AG clone. I guess it was inevitable. I think that head mold is called ‘Jenny', so that's her name. I also have a beautiful blonde, blue eyed cousin named Jenny, so it fits !

 

The other score wasn't doll-related, but was still pretty amazing. While shifting the box of Barbie furniture, and the ‘Jenny' doll on my hip, something meowed. I saw paw-shaped white fur, and pulled. This toy cat stared at me, blinked, and meowed again. It then began to purr, and closed its eyes as I stroked his back, completely without thinking. I had found a Hasbro FurEverFriends Kitty Cat.

 

http://host.exemplum.com/hasbro/frf-kitty-cat-video/frf-kitty-cat-video.html

 

That's the commercial, and yes, mine does all of that. His fur was a bit dingy, and he has some wild whiskers, but otherwise, he's near-perfect. I remember him from 2007, or maybe '06, I thought it was a really neat toy at the time, but for nearly $50., too much. Yet here he was, purring as I tried to balance doll, furniture, shoes, and him, and get it all to the checkout without crashing into the crowd or dropping anything. For $3., he was all mine.

 

Beloved Hubby was snickering at me - and I don't know which amused him more, the fact that I was absently stroking the cat's back without even being aware of it, or my avowal that I just wanted to fix up Jenny, it's not like I wanted a real AG, ya know. In any case, he remembered that the junk shop I liked to visit had something he wanted last time, so why not go now ? Oh, yeah ! We stashed my stuff and headed out.

 

And got there an hour before the store opened. Oh, well. Neither of us had breakfast, so we ended up with very tasty sandwiches from a truck stop Subway, munched in the parking lot. I discovered that Kitty Cat had an on/off/try me switch, and it was still on ‘try me'. That would explain the frequent meowing, which was starting to get on my nerves a bit. I also found out that he shares another true-life function with real cats - the front of my blouse had synthetic cat hair all over it. Darned toy sheds !

 

The junk shop was fulla goodies. Beloved got what he was after, and a few other finds besides, and I could pretty much have whatever I wanted. Last time I was there, I'd reluctantly put back a large Baby Sitter's Club doll - a pretty brown-eyed brunette. Normally, I snag those quickly, as their clothes and shoes fit Crissy perfectly. If only this one - Kristy - had her shoes, I'd have bought her last time. But she was still here, so I put her in the basket. I still liked her outfit, shoes or no.

 

Digging deeper in the boxes revealed nude Donny and Marie Osmond dolls. While I was never a fan of the Osmonds or their TV show, the dolls had a certain 70s appeal - and for a buck each, I decided to bring them home, too. Beloved showed me a neat miniature folding beach chair, and said he could duplicate it, so it got selected, too. We were checking out when I found a small baggie of tiny sushi glued to magnets. With the magnets removed, some dolls could enjoy the exotic, so those went into the bag, too. We'd also found a nice PT Cruiser car for Dearest Son. What a haul, huh ?

 

Once home, I dug through it all. The box of Barbie furniture turned out to be several doll-sized shelves, and about 90% of The Princess and the Pauper Wedding & Vanity Playset. About all that's missing is a gold butterfly, a bell, the cake server, one set of wedding rings, and the tiara for one of the toy cats. Luckily, the leaflet was included, too, so I could figure out how the mirror/cake table worked. It's pretty clever - the mirror can be pushed down, and the platter and cake have slots to accommodate the part of the mirror that pushes through the table. Not bad for $2. !

 

I then got to work on Jenny. Hairbrushes weren't even gonna work on her tangled hair. And it looked cut, too. So I washed her hair, and applied a pea-sized dot of conditioner. That stuff came with the hair dye from Casey's customization, and it'll last forever if I only use it on dolls ! A thorough rinsing, and the tangles began to work out. She got to sit in the sun to let her hair dry. About an hour later, her pretty blonde hair was free and flowing. Looks like it was rooted for two braids or ponytails, and her bangs were pushed up into her hairline. There are so many lengths, I'll probably cut it short. But as for ‘once the hair's tangled, toss the doll' - no. Five minutes with a conditioner and a bathroom sink will soon have the hair straightened out. An hour or so in the sun, and she's ready for more play. Hmpft.

 

While I'm sure American Girl dolls have better quality hair - and at $95., it should be ! - the Battat/Our Generation dolls aren't disposable trash, either. Shoot, now I want to keep Jenny, so no one will make fun of her ! Good think Doll Shop Deluxe has patterns for her already...

Thrift store travails...

 

Current Mood : Happy, but slightly miffed. 

Spent on dolls and accessories : $3.78

 

Well, at least now I don't have to worry that I'm missing some good find at Community Thrift - I won't be going back there again. My donations will be going elsewhere, too. I still can't believe how rude they were...

 

As you can imagine, it's quite difficult to get Beloved Hubby shopping, much less shopping at a thrift store. Too many bad previous experiences. And today was the cherry on the crap sundae for him. He wanted to go today, to hunt for a specific item, so once Dearest Son was home, we headed out. And, guess what, they've changed the hours again, so we only had 20 minutes before the store closed. Well, that's plenty of time for Beloved to find out if the store had what he wanted, and the same for Dearest. Beloved soon had what he wanted over his arm - we're talking three minutes, tops ! - and Dearest was deciding, when >poof<. No lights. Power outage ?

 

No. With twelve minutes still on their own store clock, the two teenagers running the place had decided to douse every light in the store, and turn off the register. WTH ? Dearest was already amping up - remember, he's autistic, and some things trigger him, sudden total darkness in a back room at 4:50pm is one of ‘em - and Beloved is furious. Did they announce the imminent closing ? No. Did they flicker lights or some other clue that it's time to go ? No. With over ten minutes before store closing, they decide it's out the door, so sorry, goodbye now.

 

Beloved threw his stuff on the counter, asked what was going on. Store's closed, bye. Come again ! Um, I don't think so. Dearest is now beginning a meltdown, he's confused and upset, because he can't have the car we just said we'd get for him. They're not being held up or anything, it's just that they've decided they're done for the day.

 

We were not the only ones upset by this. But, too bad. It's Friday, we wanna leave, so, sorry. We left. Since I'd spent half of December hearing from the owner how bad sales were, how no one was contributing and no one was shopping, I was really confused. I know Beloved left $30. worth of stuff on the counter, and again, we weren't the only ones hustled out the door. Unbelievable. I don't expect ‘the customer is king' crap, but I do expect to be treated like a customer - with the register open until closing time !

 

By now, Dearest is in full meltdown - he'd also had a rough day at school, and this was also a cherry on the sundae of his day - and we're on our way to GoodWill. So much for Community. As it turned out, GWill had a similar vehicle that was even bigger than Community's, so Dearest soon cheered up. And Beloved even found what he wanted, and it was cheaper there ! We were very lucky.

 

I was lucky, too. Target must've just dropped off a buncha stuff, because there were bins full of it. I snagged a set of Disney's Camp Rock dolls for $3. - a guy and girl set. I figured, for that little, just stripping their clothes would be worth it. But I kinda like the girl doll, even if she's using a Hannah Montana mold. So she's probably staying. He looks really goofy.

 

They're made by PlayAlong, and in some ways, they are chintzier than Mattel. The box trumpets ‘Includes 22 Pieces' ! I counted. Only if you tally the shoes and her earrings separately can you possibly arrive at that number. They list three bracelets - one of which is a length of string looped around her wrist twice, then knotted and cut. My, with such production values, I'm amazed they can keep them on shelves. The set had an original price tag of $25., surprisingly.

 

 I also scored a wicker Barbie chair - I always buy those, can't resist ‘em - for 50c and a children's book called ‘Princess School : If The Shoe Fits', for the same price. I'd intended to donate it to Dearest's classroom (they've called for books) and this one was brand-new, but I read it first. Clever retellings of classic fairy tales. I rather enjoyed it. It'll still go to school, but I want to read the rest of the series. Luckily, the library has ‘em all.

 

I'm seriously considering calling Community Sunday - they're closed Saturday - and letting them know they've lost customers and a contributor, but they probably don't care. And if that's the case, well, I shouldn't either.

Ninja image-switching !

 

Current Mood : Miffed - it's just been one of *those* nights...

 

Sorry about the pink/red stripes that occasionally appear on my images. They're not on the original scanned items, and the scanner doesn't do that to everything. I think the stripes are a form of copy protection, since it only seems to show up when I'm trying to use licensed paper products as images. Like a watermark.

 

You may also have noticed some of the February images have changed. That's ‘cause I scanned the other two DP V-day sets I had - 90% off markdowns last year ! - and one set says ‘Valentine' or ‘Valentine's Day' on every card. Since I have enough images for all of February (minus Best Buy Fridays, of course), I figured I'd best use the holiday specific ones first. Of course, those are the ones with ‘Flashy Foil' on ‘em, so I have to add color to the parts that scanned black. Wheee !

 

Well, after fussing and futzing with both shirtwaist dresses, I've figured out what's wrong. They both bag a bit in the bust, it's just not as obvious in the stiffer muslin one. The original one is closer fitting, and I couldn't figure out why mine looked so saggy. I mean, I followed every dart precisely, was very careful with the seams, ironed it and tried to adapt... and still it bags.

 

Quick study of the source material - both the original 1965 dress and 2007's reproduction - shows a side dart, not a waist one. If you're unfamiliar with the terms, a side dart comes in at the side seam, a waist one, well, you know. A side dart would easily eliminate any bagginess, and a waist dart can easily be eliminated in the pattern with a simple redraw. So, yes, the fact that Aileen's Patterns has once again completely ignored the original to do it ‘her way' - but doesn't show that, just the Mattel original - bothers me.

 

The original doesn't open in the front, either, but with the poor directions, it was the only conclusion I could possibly reach, so we're looking at major design changes that are not reflected in the directions or on a completed item image at all. That's frustrating. If I wanted a unique design, that's fine and fantastic - but don't sell your pattern as a copy if it barely has a nodding acquaintance with the original !

 

You'd think that, if I could tell where the darts were from eBay auction pages, the pattern creator could tell from the actual garment she has photographed as part of the pattern package. And, yeah, I know these are only supposed to be representations of the originals, but you'd think she'd at least attempt to be fairly close to those originals !

 

But here's where I'm conflicted. I had two gorgeous shirtwaist dresses back in my just-out-of-University days. They saw more interviews than a just-out-of-rehab pop star. I loved them, they flowed and rippled when I walked and in the slightest breeze, so I felt so feminine and pretty in them. And neither had darts of any kind in the bodice, and they did unbutton completely in front. So, while the APF pattern is pretty far from the Lunchtime / Barbie Learns to Cook goal, it's pretty darn close to the dresses I loved, and was sort of recreating. Talk about your double-edges ! I hate the pattern because it's not like what it says it is - but I love it because it's very close to what I had. Aaarrrgh.

 

Anyway... I got two new doll dresses I made, and they both look decent, so I'm happy. And the doll case I won - yup, the one that drove me nutz about the free shipping - arrived today, and I'm happy about that, too. Can't wait to use it in photos !

One thing, though - the photo did not show how wrecked the mirror was. It's a good thing I didn't really want it, huh ? The adhesive from the mirror was all over that wall of the case, and on the ‘vanity' surface. A real mess. I popped off the mirror, and used baby oil to remove the adhesive residue. Couldn't use Goo Gone - that stuff'll take the paint right off the vinyl ! It's nice and clean now. I'm going to make a bulletin board to go in the spot where the mirror was, for Shinobu's patterns, notes, and sketches. It's not a vanity any more, it's a sewing table !

 

The worst of the mirror damage was where the folding ‘vanity' touched it, so I'm starting to think it was a reaction. Some dolls, like Miss Barbie, have heads that react to the vinyl of the wig caps. Other dolls react to vintage brittle furniture, like the Suzy Goose stuff, leaving melt marks in the furniture and melts and stains to their bodies. I seriously think that's what happened, which would indicate it's been folded up for some time. I don't think it happened in the week it took between taking the eBay photo and shipping it to me.

 

Otherwise, it's in good shape, just some fading and scratches on the outside, nothing major. I'm quite happy with it, but that mirror bugged me at first. I wonder if I should put out a warning. ‘Don't let Barbie anything touch anything else Barbie'. That should about cover it.

 

Silly Discovery #628 - the dress form /mannequin that comes on the Fashion Fever jewelry box also comes right off. I have no idea why I never tried to detach it before ! It's just pegged in there. Since that's the best-looking of my Barbie dress forms, it's going in Shinobu's sewing room. I have no idea what to do with the jewelry box...

 

And, while waiting for Dearest Son's bus, I finished up the fasteners on the 2.0 shirtwaist and fixed a damaged Mrs. Heart dress. It's the "New Arrival Set" one, dark pink with the white lace overlay. Originally, it came with a larger tunic to wear over the dress, to simulate ‘Mom' being pregnant. While I think I already have this dress, I've never had the tunic ! This one came in a thrift store lot, in great shape but for some picks on the nylon bodice. Luckily, there's a ribbon bow decoration at the neck, so I angled the tails of it over the picks and sewed it down with tiny stitches along the ribbon's slightly rippled edges. You can hardly see the thread. Sometimes I get the biggest kick fixing something most doll folks would throw away - or save for a donated doll !

Shoot - I forgot to give this one a title !

 

Current Mood : Judgemental, maybe. 

 

Seriously slacked off today. Housework-wise, about all I did was take out trash and change the catbox, and get the can out to the curb. I have no idea why I was so lazy today !

 

But I pretty much finished the pink APF dress. Put in little white scrapbooking brads for buttons - luckily, the prongs are covered twice over by facings. Got the closures in, too. It still bags a bit, but it's not too bad. Tried to take a photo, but it didn't work well - the light color just throws the flash back, so I'll have to play with the camera and backgrounds a bit.

 

My poor Molly-car's battery was about drained somehow, so I opened up the garage to put her on a battery charger. Then had to find said battery charger. On doing that, I also found my copy of Crissy Doll and Her Friends, a great volume on those cool 70s growing-hair dolls. The poor book was caught up in a bathroom flooding incident, and Beloved Hubby tossed it into the laundry room closet to dry - and that was about three months ago. I forgot to get it out of there ! But, all's well that ends well. I cleaned and dried the covers and pages with an antibacterial wipe, just in case, then stuffed it under the printer, to weight it down for a while. It's nearly flat again, and the pages didn't stick together, so I'm happy. I'd just buy another, but it's out of print, and you know me, there's always something else I'd rather spend my cash on !

 

Today was interesting on In The Pink. The Barbie Fan Club members got early ‘sneak peeks' at the upcoming 2009 line, while the rest of us plebes tried to ignore the "OMG !" , "WTF?", and "BBQ !!" messages that stemmed from it. Later in the day, us straights got to see the goodies. My response was more ‘Whaaaa...? Well, more money for other things !' Here's the link, so you can form your own opinions -

 

http://www.barbiecollector.com/news/news/FALL2009line.aspx

 

IMhO, the ‘Generations of Dreams' dolls have a fun dress, but it really looks better on the AA doll - I don't like the Caucasian one at all - and the Christmas ones are just too ‘big pink dress' for me, even though the fabrics look nice. The Wicked Witch of the East was intriguing until I saw her. Anybody else have ‘Mommie Dearest' flashbacks ?  But I love her dress. If I was Brazilian, I'd be insulted by the DOTW Brazil Barbie - why does Mattel think they don't have much fabric there, and they really love to copy Native American elements ? I don't know what they were thinking on that one. Maybe I need to study Brazil to get it. My mind keeps showing me endless bureaucracy and guys with metallic wings, though (Brazil).

 

I similarly have no idea why all Mattel ‘Lucy' dolls have a ‘slapped with a wet trout' bug-eyed expression. With nearly every doll, Lucy's face is distorted in some way - bulging, staring eyes, tight, forced smile, pursed lips, or blacked-out teeth. I'm not even a big fan of Ms. Ball, but I kinda feel bad that all her dolls have a sort of freaked out appearance.

 

Aphrodite was getting much positive buzz, but that is one pale doll ! Does she double as a vampire extra in Twilight or something ? Apologies to all who love and adore her, but I got sudden flashes of ‘I've been in pageants all my life - and I made this dress from the ruffly dresses Momma bought when I was six !'. Well, you know me, I have all sorts of respect for dresses that ‘v' exactly equidistant from collar bone and bellybutton, under the bustline. Over-the-top makeup, too - no human could wear that shade of blue eye shadow. (further snark about waitress uniforms deleted - I don't want to hurt any nice waitress' feelings)

 

One ITP poster was infuriated that there were more repros. How many times did Mattel think we were gonna buy ‘Solo in the Spotlight' or ‘Wedding Day' anyway ? Well, I can understand the annoyance, but heck, I came to terms with the idea that Mattel doesn't make products for me years ago. If a new version of ‘Solo' or ‘Striped swimsuit on a blonde Ponytail' will sell now, why not ? After all, Mattel doesn't make jack off the folks selling their 1993 repros on eBay. They do make bank on the new dolls hitting TRU and Mal-Wart this month. They're just re-re-making what stirs memories, what's perpetually popular - or possibly even requested - during a landmark year for Barbie. Can't fault ‘em for trying to snag a new audience ! And shoot, if I don't buy it, someone else will, so the more the merrier, right ? More doll fans inevitably mean more dolls, and the chance that somewhere in ‘more' is ‘something I adore' ! So I'm not as upset as other fans are. But I can understand that, with the six million outfits Barbie's owned in her doll career, Mattel seems to want to only repro a double dozen or so, and it's frustrating. But that's why I sew ! Well, one of the reasons...

Busy all over Chez Insanity today !

 

Current Mood : Relaxed

 

OK. So today I got off my round rear and did dishes, took out trash, picked up the living room. And sewed ! Guess the new meds are working ! Just kidding, they're the same stuff I've been on for two years now. But compared to my absolute indolence yesterday, I was bursting with energy today.

 

The new dress was a little easier the second time around, and ironing the seams helped a bit. Even though I wrote down directions on how to do the collar after the first frustrating effort, I forgot precisely how I did it, and my own directions weren't much help. So I played with it for a few minutes, and remembered. Then wrote the directions again, completely this time, not just a scribbled note over the crossed out original instructions.

 

The thinner material worked better, but I still had some fitting issues. And compounding it was the idea that I wanted to start sewing for folks besides m'self. I swear, every time I try to make something for anyone but me, I have the worst time of it. I don't know if it's because I tense up or just amp up the perfection quest, but I can never relax and enjoy the process when I think the finished item might actually leave the house. About halfway through the bodice, I remarked that there's no way this screwed up mess would ever get past the threshold, and then it was easier. Hmpft.

 

Before I knew it, it was time to wait for the bus. Almost too late - I had to run for it ! Luckily my shoes and jacket were in the Lab, or I'd have had to hustle out there in my slippers and slightly torn t-shirt.

 

Dress still needs fastenings and the faux front buttons, but it looks OK - even with its rough start ! It's still not leaving Chez Insanity, though. And I learned/remembered a few things. One, solid colors are much less forgiving when it's time to rip out stitches or redo parts, especially light solid colors. It's much easier to hide stuff like that in prints ! Second, don't rush to judge an outfit-in-progress as bad until it's almost complete. I always like to try on a bodice before I add anything more to it. This one hangs terribly without the skirt ! I was so upset, thinking I'd really screwed it up. Where did these fabric ripples and sags come from ? Why did this look sooo bad ? Surprisingly, adding the skirt took up most of the slack and fit issues. I'm just glad I'm stubborn and don't give up easily, or today's effort would be in the Lab trash instead of on a doll.

 

Hopefully I'll finish it up tomorrow, and get a photo on the site. I know the terms of my little challenge is to use patterns I haven't already tried, but having two of something isn't such an awful thing ! And really, using this thin fabric makes a big difference. Not sure if I'll sew it again, though. I'm already ready to try something else.

When medicine drives you to drink...

 

Current Mood : Hoppin' mad at medicine

Spent on drinking vessels :  $6.35

 

Woke up at 3:30 this morning, and could not get back to sleep. That kind of set the tone for the day. Napped for two hours after Dearest Son boarded the school bus, and just could not motivate m'self for anything other than eating and basic hygiene. Urgh.

 

Went on an errand run with Beloved Hubby - I needed refills on all my blasted prescriptions, plus a new inhaler. That was a big chunk out of the budget ! Inhalers have gone ‘CFC Free', which is BS - it was proven eons ago that the propellant in them didn't harm the ozone. But it is a way for pharmaceutical companies to reclaim their medicine under copyright again - so my $15. inhaler is $42. now. You know, I'm all for profit, but charging three times as much for a cheaper means of delivery is just ridiculous. I'm seriously considering applying for Advair's free medicine program...

 

I was so bummed about it that Beloved made sure I had time over at the Mal-Wart Pink Aisle. Which is, of course, nearly cleaned out. I think they had two of the repro sets left, both of the 1959 doll. Nice to see it's selling well - I'm about over my Want of ‘em at this point. Working with Brenda (my flea market Bubblecut)  on the Aileen's Petite Fashions shirtdress and Beau (pronounced ‘boo', my second flea market Malibu Barbie) for Best Buy Friday reminded me of what dolls I'd have even less time with if I bought more new. So that's over with - thank Everything !

 

And I don't really even want to look at Barbie clothes. I haven't even opened the ones Joanne - of In The Pink fame - sent me. I tend to hold off opening things when I already feel... well, saturated. I'll hold off ‘til I need a pick-me-up, or I'm in a mood. And I'm sewing again, so why spend on more of that, either ? Playsets ? Don't make me giggle. There's nothing new or current that I want. I got one coming in the mail, and I'm bidding on another. Pass.

 

Found something, though. The last 50^th Anniversary travel mug. Beloved's been wanting me to have one of my own, for our errand runs and travels together. So we got it. So far, I've spent less than $10. in the big Barbie celebration - for a tote bag and an aluminum tumbler. But somebody's buying it all !

 

I scanned the official 50^th logo - it was part of the cup's packaging - before I tossed it. I prefer the one I did, but what the heck. It just seems an odd disconnect when Mattel produces all this nostalgic stuff, but wraps it with the new logo inside a big ‘50'. I'm not much on the new silhouette logo. It looks...like the skull of a Neanderthal with a very stiff ponytail sticking out the back. Ick.

 

The mug is pink, with aluminum accents and interior and a black plastic pop-off top, illustrated with drawings from the early catalogs. One side has the classic sidelong glance ponytail Barbie, the other has a blonde Bubblecut in Solo in the Spotlight, with the legend, "Fashion icons come and go / well, some go". It's actually quite cute. I've enjoyed having a glass that's mine ! 

 

Once home, I tried to get going on the APF Barbie Learns to Cook shirtdress 2.0, but again, just wasn't into it. I really should have done dishes, or at least laundry, but didn't do either. Hope I sleep tonight - I got too much work to do tomorrow !

Welcome to the cruelest month - now with Valentines !

 

Current Mood : Slightly whiny, for some reason. 

 

Well, we made it through the first month of '09 already. That was fast.

 

Yup, aside from ‘Best Buy Friday' doll images, you get DPrincess Valentines from now through next Saturday. Today's is from the set Beloved Hubby got me yesterday. I was surprised to learn it was produced exclusively for Mal-Wart by Industries for the Blind, Inc. The pencils have seven characters, but you lose at least one princess with each sharpen. New, you get (top to bottom) Cinderella, Ariel, Snow White, Belle, Mulan, Jasmine, and Aurora, each wearing an opulent tiara that's in character. The package contains 16 cards, four each of four designs, which always seems kinda cheap to me. I like to have at least six ! But seeing as how these were $2.50 with pencils - and many just-card sets are pushing $2. these days, I guess I can't whine much.

 

I tried several times today to start the pink APF Barbie Learns to Cook shirtdress, but it just wasn't there, ya know ? I didn't want to force it. So instead I mostly goofed the day away. Erased the ‘slit for the pencils' lines from two of the scanned Valentines, read online, toured a few sites, cheap-serged the Kerry Beary ‘TV' fabric for the laundry pile.

 

Kind of a slow, quiet, boring Sunday. I've enjoyed it heartily !

I got a box o' Valentines !

 

Current Mood : Lazy again !

Spent on my stuff : $2.57, for Valentines !

Current Image Notes : Goss, I love this. Too bad it's ‘Tarina Tarantino', so it's $35. for a no-gemstone keychain and $130. for the necklace !

 

Quiet day. Cleaned up the Lab from the mess that the shirtdress made, and prepped a pink version. It was oddly relaxing to iron out the wrinkled remnant. It really was a wad before - I didn't even feel good about cutting out the pattern until it was nice and flat. The pieces are drying from the customary Fray-Check application, and I hope to work on it tomorrow. It should go much easier this time !

 

While I was tidying up, I cleaned the not-Dancerella-but-Dancerina shoes I got from this month's flea market. Since they'd been taking up space on the sewing table, I went ahead and wiped down my much-abused sewing machine, too. I've actually worn a bit of a groove around the top thread spindle. Got all the tiny buttons picked up. Recycled the longer ‘strands' of yarn hair from a wrecked doll I'd picked apart for materials over a year ago - it'll tie up fabric bundles. I just hope I don't buy that much fabric !

 

Played with stands for a bit - I still want the Mad doll stands, but they're still closed. In the meanwhile, I have plenty to choose from ! Also played with my new ‘mountain'. It'll work fine with the dolls, especially if I can find a good backdrop for it. I think I have some ‘blue sky' scrapbook paper.

 

Did the weekly grocery shopping - and Beloved Hubby picked up the Disney Princess Valentines I wanted, while I was getting the cat food. He even got the right ones, the set that came with pencils, for $2.50. I'd talked about getting them, just for the sixteen pencils. Goss, I am such a sucker for stuff like that. In any case, with the sets I bought on 90% off markdown last year, you can guess what you'll be seeing in February - when it's not Best Buy Friday.

 

And then I messed around online for a while. Found two fun videos for you !

 

I'm not gonna ruin this one by describing it too much. But it's 30 seconds of fun you'll probably share with whoever's nearby !

 

http://www.stupidvideos.com/video/stunts/Barbie_Car_Snow_Donuts/#170083

 

This one I can describe. Last year, before my first cell phone met an unfortunate demise in the washing machine - something I'm still paranoid about with my latest phone - Beloved Hubby programmed its ring tone to Aqua's somewhat annoying "Barbie Girl". He then set my password, something I in my ultimate laziness, had failed to do... so I couldn't change it. When the phone met its watery death, he jokingly said I'd done it on purpose, since I had no other way of ditching that dadratted ring tone.

 

All that has very little to do with this video. But even I have to admit, with my history against the little ditty, that it sounds much better when done by a cello quartet.

 

http://www.stupidvideos.com/video/song_dance/Classical_Barbie_Girl/

 

Hope your day was great - and that you had time to just whiz some of it away.