Re-Store sale lots of re-fun !

 

Current Mood : Eager to read !

Spent at Habitat for Humanity sale : $10.

 

Yup, I had a huge bagload of fun this morning ! The local Habitat for Humanity Re-Store is less than a mile from Chez Insanity, so when I read their Craigslist ad for a yard sale, you know I was going ! Since they don't have to go by the ‘home' yard sale rules - $10. license fee, can only hold the sale for three consecutive days twice a calendar year, no refunds for rain - it began today. Like any volunteer-run organization, there's always delays and glitches, so I waited well past the opening hour.

 

They were still setting up when we left, but I made some great hauls ! Dearest Son found two action figures and a copy of A Dog for Life he liked, but the rest of the paper grocery sack was my stuff. Mostly books. When they're 50c for paperbacks and a buck for hardbacks, it's stock-up time if you find stuff you like ! I got a h-u-g-e Barbie coloring book - that sucker's 20 inches tall - mostly uncolored, and five various paperback Doll ValuesDon't Know Much About History for Beloved Hubby, as a bedside reader. books (they're out of date by the time they see print, but I love to look at the photos), and a paperback

 

As further proof the Universe loves me, I'd just finished A Charming Princess Collection last night - for a paperback Scholastic pre-teen volume, it had a lot of great fairy tales I'd never read before - and was bemoaning my lack of new stories, thinking I'd pick up my read-cover-to-cover copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales that I've had since college. It's a great research volume, heavy with annotations, history, and interpretations, and I'd always meant to go back and get the companion Hans Christian Andersen volume. You know where this is going. I found hardbacks of Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales, The World's Best Fairy Tales, and The Complete Illustrated Stories of Hans Christian Andersen. Not the same as my Grimm near-textbook, but I was thrilled. All the books are in fantastic shape, and I don't see me wanting for bedtime reading in the near future ! Just bookshelf space.

 

But there was yet more in my bag. I found four pretty blue table napkins to embroider, a set of four ‘decorate your own' glass ornaments (yeah, sure, now I find the darn things !), a pair of American Girl-sized doll boots, a Kelly-size dress and shirt, a Barbie dress and two blouses, a Princess Annika (Magic of Pegasus) Barbie still with her crown and two-way gown, and the big 18-inch soft body bedtime Barbie, for her crushed velvet nightgown. It fits Tiffany Taylor, so now I have one that isn't so wrecked.

 

Whew ! There was a lot in that lot ! When I got it to the register, they offered $5. for the whole shebang, but I insisted they take $10. I had nearly that in books alone ! And it's a fundraiser for a group I believe in. I would have felt like we were taking advantage of them (and cheap) for only giving them five bucks for so many wonderful things. And my second-hand mantra is, ‘It's not fun or a great haul if you feel bad about it !'

 

Princess Annika's dress had a couple odd stains and storage box dust on it, so it went through the doll clothes washing machine, conveniently still out from when Friday mouthed a pair of Prince Ken knickers. Not sure what the rusty spots were - food, possibly - but they came right out, and the dress is drying on one of the Castle turrets. Similar stains dotted the back of Bedtime Barbie's nightgown. So I did a doll clothes wash mini-marathon, and everything's drying nicely. Poor Bedtime has to go naked until her velour gown dries. Annika is kicking back in the narrow-box floral dress I also got at the sale, for now.

 

I may go back Saturday - yup, the sale is going on through then - without Dearest Son. He's a great shopping buddy, but he gets restless long before I'm done looking at everything...twice.

Triana's all healed and out of surgery - happy March !

 

Current Mood : Miffed

 

Tried some new experiments today. I have to really be in a mood to try new stuff, I have such a fear of screwing up that it takes a ridiculous amount of effort - or a sudden yen to do it already. When I had so many computer problems as the year first began, we replaced my CD drive. Although it wasn't the issue, it no longer burned CDs, so out it went. Twice before, I'd had the opportunity to get LightScribe devices, but dismissed them as a gimmick. This most recent time, the best component for the cash had LightScribe included, although I was still convinced it was just a near-useless toy. It uses special discs and drives to print designs directly on the discs, no Sharpie required.

 

This weekend, we needed DVDs, and believe this or not, LightScribe ones were our least expensive choice. So we got a pack of them and headed home. I spent a couple hours today, unable to locate either the drivers or the product number to our drive, since I needed it for specific downloads. I researched our purchases via the rewards program, but it didn't match anything on the company's website. (sigh) While I didn't need drivers, I did need a LightScribe program and an LS graphics editor, and those should have come with the drivers package. Since I couldn't locate even which one I had, I downloaded the generics from lightscribe.com. It wasn't until I was midway through burning one that I bonked m'self upside my head. Clicking on Windows' Device Manager would easily have told me the specifics on my CD drive. D'oh !

 

I'm always nervous about installing new software on my system - back in the Win95 day, a Star Wars screensaver package somehow ate half my hard drive, and it was legally purchased and licensed. I've been timid ever since. But I did it anyway...and it worked ! The editor includes customizable templates and access to dozens more online, and it was fun to use. Burned my first one in a ‘normal' setting, but it's kind of faint. Next time, I go to high resolution, baby ! It was fun, and I love having the new ‘canvas' to play with.

 

Speaking of playing, having LDP Tinkerbell on my desk, for comparison/ contrast to Rainbow Brite, encouraged me to play with her a little. I never really did before. She was the last of the ‘classic' collection that I needed for the whole set, and I had to go eBay to find her. I knew that I could have waited about a month for the new ‘Pixie Hollow' ones to reach Mal-Wart, but I'd seen Toy Fair photos, and knew the newer ones had an eye design that looked out of place with the other LDPs. As it was, the one I wanted was only about $5. more, and to me, she was worth it.

 

Anyway. Since she was played with, her hair was OK, but not in the best of shape. Oh, it'd never been cut, but it still had frizzy ends and wasn't styled well. Today, it is. I took it down from the odd garter thing it was wrapped in, and gave it a good, all-around nice brushing. A bit more research showed how her hair was from the factory, so I curled the little bun around my fingers, pulled the shimmery pink flower off the headband-garter-thing, and reattached it to her hair. Much better. I still want to find her a nice green ribbon for accuracy, though.

 

In other doll news, this morning I actually saw Friday knock a doll down - from our bedroom window ledge - and start mouthing it. Luckily, I got to the Tyco Ariel in time, but I was pretty ticked. Now I'm wondering if Triana's fall was due to me having her too close to a desk edge, or if Friday decided he needed a new toy. It's really annoying because he has chew toys all over the house, I trip over them all the time. I don't move ‘em though, because he's a growing puppy with emerging adult teeth, so he needs to chew... but there's no reason for him to go after things out of his reach when he has leather, rawhide, rubber, and food treats every five feet in here.

 

Since I can't do much about Friday - besides yell at him when I catch him, and ban him to his ‘house' for a while - I took some time to dog-proof every doll area I could think of. I even moved the dollhouse residents to a higher floor, just in case. He still can't get into the Lab, but he'll be blocked at night from now on, just in case. If I'm not around to monitor, the hall door is closed.

 

We also got to the grocery shopping, which started out a bit scary. I'd forgotten to renew my license plate, and there was a city cop on my butt for about eight blocks. Luckily, that was on the ‘to do' list, and I had a current insurance card in Molly's glovebox. Last time I remembered, I was broke. Luckily, the kind policeman didn't pull us over, and he peeled off a block or two later, but I moved the tag renewal up a few places. It's done now, so I don't have to worry about it for ten more months. Told ya'll I was late.

 

I was going to get the $11. ‘ballet' set of Barbie clothes I've been eyeing, but after my most recent Mattel purchase proved to be nearly beyond cheaped out, I decided against it. Instead, I hope to sew ! Of course, that was my hope last week... Sometimes I wish I could buy time - I'd probably value it a lot more that way !

Memories of toys that weren't even mine...

 

Current Mood : Sleepy

Spent on fabric yesterday : $1.07

Current Image Notes : Here's the cutaway thread ornament, all done and ready for nearly a year's storage ! 

 

Dearest Son was totally thrilled by his GI Joe RHINO, and happily agreed to pick up AirSoft ammo in exchange for it. It's taking a while, since his last ammo-cleaning wasn't terribly thorough, but at least it's getting done. I really hate stepping on the things. They get scattered on the carpet when Beloved Hubby's loading magazines or does any custom or repair work. Or when the semi-shredded targets come back inside so they'll last for another test session. Reusing ammo can damage the weapons, so they get trashed. Our otherwise awesome vacuum hates them, and spits ‘em back out on new trajectories.

 

Right now, two Anakin Skywalkers are manning the back machine gun emplacements, Ahsoka's in a front cockpit (there's two), and Obi Wan is in the troop transport section. The figure that came with is in the helicopter. Only thing bad about the RHINO is that figures need bending knees to use most of the spaces, something few of the Clone Wars characters have.

 

It's a weird wash of nostalgia for me. Gosh, decades ago, when I was a bike-only teenager, my neighbor was a few years younger. Had to be early 80s, since this brings Empire Strikes Back toys to the story. That Christmas, he wanted a certain GI Joe figure that'd work with both his ESB and Joe playsets - an Arctic Trooper. Unfortunately, that guy was sold out everywhere. I guess a lot of kids had the same idea, since stocks of the other 3 to 4 inch figures in the Joe line were plentiful. I ended up getting him a $2. parka-wearin' knockoff, with the promise I'd get him the real deal once it was back in stock. I had rainchecks for him in four stores. His mom was successful in getting him the right one, but he still played with the knockoff, and didn't want another.

 

Decades have passed, my neighbor is deceased (his on-again-off-again wife shot him, thinking he was a prowler, long story), but when I looked at the GI Joe aisles, I thought of him. Especially when I saw that Target also stocks knock-offs...and they're still $2. If I hadn't been staring so stupidly at them, frozen in memory, I might have looked for a parka guy. Next time, I will. I'll probably give it to Dearest, or I may keep him - let him be one of those ‘why does she have this ?' mysteries that always linger after someone's gone.

 

I also forgot to mention that we also hit Hancock Fabrics for a few minutes. Dearest wanted to make another fabric survey, since he's thinking of crafting a Ghillie suit. I've seen several fabrics I'd love to have online, but of course, they're not at Hancock's. I snagged a half-price fabric quarter, of white ballerinas silhouetted over a dark pink swirled background, and hope to make a new Rainbow-size dress - or possibly a tutu, if there's enough left - from it.

 

But first, I gotta get off my butt and get stuff done ! Luckily, here's another week starting up ! And a whole new month, even better.

 

Whoo-hoo !

 

Spent on dolls: $21.58

 

Yup. I got her. I knew several moments of despair when I couldn't find her, either with the Disney Princess dolls, the Disney TV Stars dolls, or the Barbies, or the Fancy Nancy or the Moxie /Liv / Polly Pocket sets, or in with the Hello Kitty aisles, and I really wasn't looking forward to hitting a TRU on Saturday. Beloved Hubby actually found her first - in with the Fisher-Price toys ! Seriously, she was right beside a Ni Hao Kai-Lan doll, right above several ‘old style' Dora the Explorer sets - not the new tween computer-active ones.

 

Our Target had three, so of course, I lined ‘em up. It was kind of funny. The upper blue sleeves on all three were slightly different. One had no sealant /Fray Check, and had a deep pick on the left side. The next had thick, lumpy trails of sealant, and the third had thin, even lines of it. So I went by eyes, one of which had a small scratch. Ended up with the good Fray Checked one, with the best eyes. Beloved helped me pick her out, which makes her extra-special.

 

I also got to see all three of the ten-inch-tall Fashion versions. Ours had two Rainbows, one Moonglow, and one Tickled Pink. Interesting, but they had large heads that were oddly flat-faced when viewed from the side. Beautiful hair and clothes, though. Cheap bracelet-gauntlets. I may go back for Moonglow one day, but today, I was happy to have the Rainbow Brite I wanted.

 

The box back gives the story on all three characters and their domains, then mentions that they're also available as fashion dolls. Hm. I wonder if that means they'll make LDP Moonglow and Pink dolls, if these sell well. I'd definitely buy a toddler Moonglow ! Probably a Pink, too, to get the whole set.

 

But it's not something I have to worry about right now. I got a new Rainbow at Chez Insanity ! Her hair is noticeably different from the prototype photo I posted yesterday, with curled-under bangs instead of side-part sweeps, but I still find her adorable. Her fingers and toes aren't quite as detailed as the LDPs, which is a bit odd, you'd think they'd come from the same LDP molds. Rainbow has a few other differences from them. First off, no twist-around wrists, but the last Playmates LDPs had deleted those, too. Rainbow has molded-in panties, painted white with raised stars - LDPs had either cloth panties or white hosiery. There is no tag whatsoever on Rainbow's outfit, and her bottom has only some form of ID sequence (K9313) instead of manufacturer and licensing info. All that is on the back of Rainbow's head. On the LDPs, it's reversed. No head mold info, it's all on the doll's bare butt.

 

Anyway, I'm so very happy I got the doll I wanted. I've been incredibly lucky these past few weeks when it comes to dolls. So much that I had to ditch doll boxes - but they make great AirSoft targets ! Beloved's thanked me several times for Rainbow, Tiana, and Triana's boxes, demolished as he tested repairs to his latest upgrade of weaponry. While that was going on, I traded Tinkerbell and Rainbow's clothes, and they each fit perfectly. Feet are the same, too. So that's some added fun !

 

We didn't forget Dearest Son - while trying to find his latest obsession so we could see what he was talking about, we found an awesome item instead. He's starting to get interested in GI Joe, although he finds the recent movie ‘scary loud' (violent) and doesn't want to see it. He mostly likes the guns and heroism and action, which is part of why we loved Star Wars, so we're OK with it. So there we were, with a Rainbow Brite doll clutched close to my heart, perusing the always-darker Boys Toys aisles. While I don't really believe in ‘boy toys' and ‘girl toys', it's like saying you don't believe in clothes being gender-specific either, but that's the way stuff's always arranged in stores, and I find more boys into Transformers than girls. C'est le guerre.

 

I've just never really figured out if the aisles of GI Joe and Nerf are darker due to poor lighting, targeted merchandising research, or simply a side effect of mostly black and red packaging. I mean, in many Targets, you need sunglasses to get through the doll aisles. Anyway, we found a GI Joe tank and helicopter combo, with a convoluted acronym that designates it RHINO, that was uniquely awesome. It even came with a figure, and enough guns to take out any terrorist enclave or domestic compound. The helicopter lifted out as a separate toy, but fit in so well, we had to read the box to make sure it wasn't a ‘sold separately' deal. Was $50., now $23. What a great deal !

 

We got the one with the better box, deciding to encourage Dearest to pick up AirSoft BBs to ‘pay' for it. It's not really fair to buy him something he didn't choose, then make him pay for it with hard-won coupons, but with a simple task, it still reinforces ‘earning' his toys instead of being entitled to them . We hope he likes it, even though both of us think it's awesome, there's a chance he might not.

 

Well, with all this buying stuff, I haven't made anything - again ! (sigh) I gotta get back to my cheap roots. And not say ‘I don't want anything' ever again ! I love that the Universe loves me sooo much, but enough's enough. At least for a few months.

(sighing shrug) Oh, Universe...

 

Current Mood : Eager

 

Beloved Hubby took Dearest Son's latest Delorean apart, drilled in a screw, and glued the broken selector switch back over the screw. So now it's reinforced, and works better than before - he also spritzed the moving parts with silicone spray. Dearest is thrilled, and I'm very proud of Beloved's work. I hadn't a clue what to do !

 

It was a good day for Beloved. He came home with a wonderful four-armed floor lamp ! Aunt S. had the unenviable task of directing the repositioning of all her stuff back to a now-finished room from a just-now-started one, and decided that, with 20+ lamps in there, she could part with a few. So, Beloved came home with this one. It's perfect ! It has a nice brown palette that fits with our butterscotch walls in the living room, and tucks into a corner just right. It even has a long cord, so we can move it around and has a floor switch ! Wow. I'd about given up looking for a cheep second-hand floor lamp, and here's one better than I ever thought I'd have !  Seriously, I was just waiting for a break in the grocery budget to pick up a $10. - $15. Mal-Wart halogen.

 

Well, if you have a minute, go read yesterday's entry. From today's photo, you can guess that I either know myself very well, or have divined how the universe loves to play with me. Yet, clearly, it loves me. Ahem. Yes, a day after decrying how many dolls I've recently bought - and bought new, too ! - and saying I couldn't imagine wanting another, bam !

 

This afternoon, I had no idea this doll existed, and now, I can't wait for tomorrow morning to dawn so I can go on a doll hunt. It started so innocently. I was noodling around TRU's site, seeing if any new Barbies had come online, and there she was. I saw the fashion dolls first, and was intrigued, but once I saw this pretty - and very familiar ! - girl, all I knew was, I want.

 

You may not recognize this pretty girl, since she's had a radical costume change, but she's Rainbow Brite ! I was a bit too old when she originally made the scene - shoot, I was graduating high school when she debuted ! - and nearly all her dolls were ragdoll-types. Even though the colors and shiny fabric intrigued me, ultimately, I wasn't as excited about the line as I could have been. I'd see them on toy shelves and smile - Shy Violet was rather cute, I thought - but never bought so much as a sticker from the entire line. Although, I confess to owning several Moon Dreamers dolls that were remarkably similar, once Brite's star had faded.

 

And I admit it - a great deal of this doll's appeal is that she's clearly made from the same molds as the Little Disney Princess line, by the same manufacturer, Playmates. In fact, if Wisp (RB's ‘real' name, I've learned this evening) can be found, I fully intend to photograph her next to Tinkerbell, since I think they not only have the same hairstyle, but the same color, and very similar eyes. Since there are 10 Playmates LDPs and one Mattel, I'd love to add another Princess ! I'm sure LPDorrie would love her ! And would just love to borrow her costume...

 

I really think this doll is beautiful. And I would like to see the ten-inch fashion versions, especially Moonglow, because... well, ya'll know I always favor anything with ‘moon' in its name or title.

 

So I'm all excited. Wish me luck !

Not a good day for toys at Chez Insanity...

 

Current Mood : Wiped out !

 

Today started off pretty badly - I kept waking up last night gasping, so I ended up sleeping in a bit. Dearest Son got me out of bed PDQ with the awful phrase, "Friday's chewin' up one of your dolls !". And he was. Somehow, Triana got knocked off my desk, and Friday took that to mean ‘one of my toys now !' and chewed both hands off, and was gnawing on her back when I got to him.

 

He's still canine non grata with me. While it's not what I wanted, I had the 50^th Anniversary doll to swap bodies with, so it wasn't a total tragedy, but I'm still rather ticked. Dress got torn, too. Shoes and stand were untouched, I just had to locate them.

 

Once rebodied, Triana needed an all-over bath. While Friday had clearly mouthed her head, it was undamaged - luckily for him ! Shampooed her hair and brushed it, snipping some stray ends and making sure she was OK with the new body. I also washed her dress, but I'm not sure if I can fix the tear in the back. She's now in a new outfit that's cute on her, if out of season. And I'm getting used to the one bent, one straight arm body. Her chewed one had two bent arms instead.

 

I'd barely dealt with that mess when Dearest erupted again. The lever that moves his latest Delorean's tires from 'drive' to 'hover' broke off. Not sure how we'll fix it. Gluing it back won't solve the problem, with any pressure it'll just break again. Not sure how we're gonna fix this one. 

 

Yesterday, Beloved Hubby did some work for Aunt S. You remember her, she gave me all that fabric ! Well, he came home last night with Barbie and American Girl doll catalogs - I thought he'd checked our mail. Nope. Those came from Aunt S. Not sure why she gets them, her sole grand-daughter is firmly in the ‘I hate dolls' camp, familiar to anyone who knows a high-school student or ever was one.

 

But Beloved was given a mission - Aunt S. wanted me to pick out a doll from either catalog, and she'd buy it for me ! A very generous offer, but I can't. AG dolls are $95., and we all know how expensive those dolls in the Barbie catalogs can get ! It's very sweet, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted, but I can't do it. I'll take the thought as the deed, and thank her profusely when I see her this weekend.

 

Besides, Beloved has offered me any doll I want, too, since he's bought all that AirSoft stuff. One day, I'll take him up on that, but there's nothing I want right now. I've found - and bought - so many dolls lately, I'm kind of on overload already. Heck, there's Charlotte, Triana, Kira, Becky, Becky, American Idol Tori, Prince Ken... I'm amazed I can walk around here with all these dolls ! And the few Mattel clothing purchases I've made recently have been very disappointing. So I'm not sure if I'll buy much anytime soon.

 

Of course, as soon as I post this, I'll find something amazing ! It never fails !

 

Got some work done, and Dearest cleaned out his closet, dumping ten toys. So he's paid off his Delorean. He's already got his sights set on a more mass-market toy for his next obsession, and hopes we can go look at it tomorrow. Too bad we're expecting snow again...

 

Heeeeeere's Kira !

 

Current Mood : Still kinda dizzy

 

Beloved Hubby actually came over to watch me cancel the ongoing recording of Clean House. Tired of erasing the same episode three times a week, tired of the same lazy idiots whining over trading a $50. breadmaker in exchange for $500. worth of furniture - and about $5000. worth of cleaning he/she/they refused to do. Unless it's heirloom vintage sentimental, you can buy a new one when they leave, but good luck trading it for a three-room home makeover to anybody but this crew. Besides, I got plenty to clean (and lots of stuff to get upset over) without the time this show takes. 

 

Took two hours to finish cleaning our bedroom - it really needed it. Friday's been hiding toys and shredded tissues from the trash under the bed, and there was the usual litter of socks and books everywhere. Decided to donate a few, and stored the rest, sorted my shoes, bagged up Lego and toy cars for Dearest Son to put away in his room, and got all the laundry in one place. I'll wash sheets and blankets tomorrow, since it'll be a nice day, and I can hang them out. I'm hoping to vacuum in there this week ! And I loaded the three bags of donations into Molly's trunk, which filled it. Hoping to get those dropped off tomorrow or Friday.

 

And with Dearest's help, all the trash, from the house and the garage, has been Dumpstered. What a relief ! Between the AirSoft stuff and the Delorean, there were shipping boxes everywhere, and always in the way. I swear, once the worst of the clutter is cleared away, I feel much better - and want to do more !

 

Right now, though, I'm about to pass out. Hope your day went well, with next to no clutter !

 

Filed and fried

 

Current Mood : A bit spinny-headed

 

Don't ask me why I do the weird stuff I do. I can't even explain it to m'self, much less Beloved Hubby, although he accepts my bizarre tangents. And I went on an odd, obsessive one for no real reason this morning.

 

I now check the daily feed of One Pretty Thing, since Craft's blog is still into electronic clothing, gluten/sugar/dairy free recipes, ‘cheap' IKEA storage (that's still worth more that what I'd use it to contain), and more stuff to do with your video iPod (which I don't have). Today, there was a link to ‘mini file folders' that looked cute, so I copy/paste/printed them. Hmf. Too big for Barbie, but would probably work for Elphie and Fiyero. I liked the ‘sticker tabs', it's a nice touch. Here's a link -> http://triciarennea.blogspot.com/2010/02/mini-file-folders.html

 

I figured I could scale them to the size I wanted...when it hit me. There's an entire website devoted to paper miniatures in various scales, including sixth-scale for Barbie, Jim's Printable Minis ! http://www.printmini.com/printables/pp.shtml , on the off chance you haven't found it years ago. I did another copy/paste/print...and they were huge ! I mean, these could store Barbie's X-rays. I was kinda surprised, since other things I've printed from the site were in scale. Hrmf.

 

Well, time to have my own fun with scale ! I did a quick bit of math - folders in human-scale hold standard 8.5 x 11-inch sheets of paper. Dividing that by six (since Barbie is roughly 1/6 the size of a person) gives me about a 1.4 inch wide by 1.8 long page. To hold that, a folder would need to be about three inches tall, folded in half. When I entered that, the length went to 1.9 inches, which sounds about right. I deleted the color - I can use some of the hundreds of colored papers I have already - and did a few print runs. Only problem with some of the papers is that there's writing on one side that'll show on the tab part. A swipe or two of White-Out fixed that, and gave it a professional look.

 

So, in short (too late !) I spent an hour this morning scaling and printing and cutting and saving, because I was suddenly obsessed with creating in-scale Barbie file folders. (sigh) I am so weird...but I have plenty of doll-size folders now !

 

In only slightly obsessive news, Sandy / Kira arrived today - and she's perfect ! I'd figured, back when I first got the ‘I wanna Kira doll !' bug, that any blonde Barbie would do. Until I saw the Grease dolls. Then I really really wanted a Sandy, especially since the hair and face were just perfect for Kira. Only problem is, I couldn't find one. The few we got at Big Lots were the secondary characters, and $20. even on markdown was kinda high. On eBay, with shipping, she was even more expensive. So I leapt when I found her nude on Robin's ‘for sale' listing on In The Pink. And she's here, you get her photo tomorrow. Sometime this week, I gotta study her costumes, for reference. And watch Xanadu a dozen or so times !

 

With so much going on, I was a bit hyped-up, so I cleaned my closet. Including the craft storage areas I've so often delayed working on. Went through the fabrics stored for ‘me clothes', donated six of those and added eight more fabric pieces that Aunt S. gave me. Many of the Aunt S. ‘keepers' fit in the newly emptied spaces, so now I only have half a crate to find storage for, instead of an overflowing one. I also freed up space for Dearest Son's home-schooling supplies in the hall closet, re-folded the sheets and blankets and got them stored neatly in their space - it'd gone terribly messy in there - and found a spot for Kenny.

 

If that wasn't enough, I also went through my clothes and donated about ten blouses that either didn't really fit or I just didn't like, but had been holding on to anyway. It's funny how much better it is to have a closet with everything that fits and I like than it is to have stuff I'm always pushing aside. I have no idea why I kept some of that stuff for so long.

 

Beloved Hubby came home and asked if there'd been an inspirational Hoarders marathon - nope, yesterday's was an already-recorded repeat. Plus, if I was gonna get everything I wanted to do done, there wasn't time for TV. He started doing the same to his closet, to free up space for his AirSoft equipment. I cut up most of his discards for rags or embroidery experiments, and added a string of buttons to the jar. The rest - a jacket, two shirts, and a sweater - got added to the three bags of donations waiting for me to load ‘em up, move ‘em out.

 

Didn't get to the dishes, though, because all this gave me a roaring headache, and I passed out in my computer chair for over an hour. Headache's still there, but it's been blunted. Dearest is now working on the mushy brakes on BIL's car, so we may grab a quick dinner when that's done. I still have a lot to do in our bedroom - the area around my closet's a mess of trash and emptied boxes - but right now, I need to relax a bit. Moving my melon head around still makes it swim, which is no fun for anybody.

Well, I wasn't sure if he was dead or not...kinda like that other Kenny.

Current Mood : Very happy, although there's not just one reason to be so.

Current Image Notes : Seam ripper mitten ! 

 

I knew but forgot - last Thursday was my one-year anniversary with Brody. Hard to believe, but a year and then some's gone by since I opened his box and nervously tried to stitch a few built-in letters, scared to death I'd do something wrong, break something, or just plain screw up so badly, we'd end up wasting $500. Plus shipping and handling. Little did I know that we'd soon spend a lot more than that - about what we spent on Brody and half again - on supplies, software, and designs. I'm glad most of it will last me a long time, and that there's darn little left for me to want anymore. I think so far this year, embroidery's only cost us a little less than $10., and I hope to keep it that low this year. Goss knows I got plenty to do already !

 

Since the year is up, I decided to finish the thread-cuts ornament. It's a simple plastic Christmas ball I got from the Flea Market, filled with all the threads I cut away from all the embroidery I did this first year. It's nearly full ! Jump threads, needle threadings, you name it, it's all in there. I printed out a bit of paper that told what it was, and stuffed it in there, visible, but with thread swirling around it. Would have loved to embroider it, but to be legible, it'd cover all the threads ! I may slipcover it later, but right now, I wanna limit the dust that gets in there. Since it didn't have a good plug, I'm making one, from ribbon that came in the Boy Scouts' sale sewing box I bought earlier this month. First strips are drying - I'll add two more, then a hanging loop, then wrap it around the opening, to cover all the strip ends. It may well use all the ribbon, but that's fine with me !

 

And I decided to add the Snuggie photos to the main site's Home page. There's a link to the pattern there, and an inset photo of the original one, made by Sharon. I like how hers drapes around the ‘skirt', but I still prefer my neckline. I've come to the conclusion that I like to make doll clothes once or twice a month or so, and I hope to update the Home page at least once a month with a new outfit. Heck, I still gotta get back to a finished version of that silk Pak dress I have cut out and sitting around. (sigh)

 

But, probably not today. BIL dropped off Uncle's sewing machine - well, now, I guess it's mine. Turns out, it's a Kenmore, not a Singer, and just like KJ, it's a Kenmore 385. Which means it's a Janome, down deep. But this ‘new' one is much older. I can't find much information on it, but from what I have discovered, it's about 25 years old. But it functions nearly identically to KJ. Well, now it does.

 

The light came on, but it didn't move at first. So I stripped off all the thread I could find, and gently rocked the flywheel by hand until it spun easily. Looks like it'll sew, I thought. No manual, so I guessed at how to thread it, and wound a bobbin, basically running a full one to an empty one, to figure out the specifics. But it really is just like KJ, except for some exposed tension discs and a more complicated top threading sequence.

 

More online research found a scan of the threading and bobbin-running diagrams, and an offer for the manual, e-mailed version, for $8. I bookmarked it, just in case. Still had trouble with the bobbin thread, so I took the whole thing apart this time. It was easy, because KJ's bobbin run and case are identical. Dragged out a long, raggedy grey thread. I was working with brown and white. Reassembled, the bobbin worked just fine, now all I had to do was experiment with tension and soon, even that was solved. I had a nice, straight line of even stitches, without puckers or too much of thread on the opposite side.

 

So I now have a third sewing machine. Please welcome ‘Kenny', the ‘new' senior sewing machine of Chez Insanity. He's an all-metal heavyweight, and I like how some of his plastic panels have discolored to various shades of Harvest Gold. In a world of white machines, I welcome his three shades of yellow and dark chocolate dials.

 

The check box of accessories was mostly hand-sewing needles - some of which look rather old - four tiny crochet hooks, half a card of hooks and eyes, some embroidery floss bobbins, and a button. No extra feet, but I'll check if the ones Brody and KJ share can go a bit further. I also got two unidentified needles and a dozen metal bobbins, seven of which were partially would with various thread colors.

 

About the only thing I'm not sure about is what I'm gonna do with three sewing machines, but Kenny is just too cool to abandon. At least I'll have a back-up, twice over !

 

Also... what do I do with the embroidery thread clips now ? I don't think I need two ornaments...

 

It's good weather for a Snuggie...

 

Current Mood : Pleased.

Current Image Notes : Yup, this is the same faux-Snuggie that Charlotte modeled yesterday. Maybe a quarter-inch more fabric at the bottom, and it'll fit Kens without any other alterations. Cooool ! 

 

 

Another dismal day. We had a heckuva storm last night - lightning and thunder and fierce winds woke me up several times. Now it's just grey and bleh, and our yard's a marsh again. Perfect sleeping weather. I slept in a bit, which gave Dearest Son and Beloved Hubby some guy-time, and Beloved was ready for a nap right after breakfast.

 

While he slept, I cleaned up the creative mess of yesterday. By coincidence, the armhole circles I cut from the Snuggie flannel landed next to a seam-ripper I'd been thinking of either trashing or keeping at my desk. The cap is missing, and I've scratched myself against open seam-rippers in the past. Covering the sharp parts with tape led to some discoloration, maybe it's rust or something similar. I was about to trash it when I saw it by the circles. Hmmm.

 

A few minutes later, I had a pink starred flannel seam ripper blade cover. Yup, I just sewed ‘em together, turned ‘em right side out, Fray-checked the bottom edges. It looks sort of like a mitten. If I were more ornate in my designs, I'd add lace or elastic to the bottom, but this is enough. Looks better than a cap eraser, and works well. Of course, I can't tug on it too forcefully, or the blade will poke or tear through, but for now, this works. And I used all of the buffalo again !

 

And my soon-to-be Kira Xanadu doll will be on her way to Chez Insanity Monday. Robin wrote that she already got the money order, and she'll soon sell off some more stuff. Ya'll know me, I'm hoping for books or big props ! She's been so nice, I hope I get to deal with her again.

 

Oh, and Uncle offered me his mother's sewing machine, in anticipation of his move. He's not sure of what model or how old it is, or even if it still works, but he'd like to think someone's using it, so I'm welcome to pass it along if I can't use it. He says it's a Singer, so I'd like to check it out, although I have no idea how I'd use it. DFIL was saying one day he'd like to learn to sew, so I may offer it - and what few lessons I can offer - to him, once I know it works. So, we'll see. It's kind of exciting.

 

Beloved also took another go at the patch for his AirSoft group. The new one is very nice, clean and simple, and evocative of everything from Atari to NASA to Robotech. He's getting quite good at digitizing. After running it through Ambassador, I did a test stitch-out, and it came out quite well - we just need to tweak the lettering a bit. He's very pleased, so I feel good, too.

 

Now, I just need to start one or six of the three or four thousand projects I have on a warehouse full of back burners...