No photo today...
Mood:  celebratory
Now Playing: computer hummmmmmmmmm..

 

...and probably not gonna be one for the rest of the month. We're moving ! Beloved Hubby found a wonderful house complete with a shop and an office - and there's a third bedroom that's my sewing studio/doll room ! I'm still stunned. Just last week, I was jealous of a board member who posted photos from her doll room, and now I'm gonna have one of my own ! 

 

Of course, with Hubby workin' his hinder off, most of the move mechanics are up to me. Luckily I have great in-laws who've already arranged their day tomorrow to help, and Hubby's brother and uncle may be able to lend a hand Saturday. Also in our favor is the fact that most utilities are open 24-7 these days, so I was able to arrange those services to port this evening. Still have a few calls to make tomorrow, though. 

 

I'm dreading the call to our current realtors. We're hoping to stay overnight at the new place Saturday, and complete the move by the 28th. Which doesn't give us much of a notice. But it's not like we're on a lease, and unlike the previous two tenants, we're not moving in the middle of the night owing two or three months. We still get that one guy's mail, and we've lived here nearly three years.

 

I have the van loaded up with doll and fabric stuff for an early-morning drop while I'm waiting for the gas co. and DM&FIL. Hubby's already taken over a load of tools. Man, this is gonna be a ton of work, but the house is incredible - I'm just glad we were able to pounce on it. Hubby's shop is huge, and we even have a garage and a wonderful completely fenced yard. Dearest Son has selected his room - he got first pick of the two bedrooms that aren't the Master bedroom - and he's so excited.

 

Since most of what's in the van is my stuff, it'll go right into the studio. I'm still stunned about the whole thing. I mean, this morning, I was merrily enjoying a few bucks to have fun with, never imagining what Hubby was up to ! 

 

Well, early to bed means more stuff moved, so I'm heading for my bedding. Hope your day had some fun excitement in it ! 

Red-hot Lisa Hayes, you know where to find her...
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: "Cars" DVD, still Dearest Son's favorite.

 

Another busy day at the sewing machine. Decided to go for another minor challenge today - princess seams. I've done 'em numerous times. Can sew 'em without issue for Gracie and Casey, the My Size Barbies, can sew 'em for Beautiful Crissy, sewed 'em for Timey Tell. Just could never sew 'em in Barbie scale.

 

But I did today ! I think I messed up a bit, the dress doesn't 'hang' and drape at the same points on both sides. Still, it looked pretty good, and it's not like you can tell with the bolero jacket over it ! Again, it's supposed to have a belt, but I didn't make it. 

 

The jacket was a bit of a challenge, too. Remember when I said that, even when pattern directions called for it, I didn't like running a line of stitching right where the hem folds ? I always thought it was a waste of time and thread. Recently, I found out that sewing that line saves a ton of time, especially when you have to snip and clip the curves. Well, I learned that with cottons. Today, I tried it on knits. Works just the same. 

 

I also learned that I can use the straight-stitch foot on chiffon/lining fabrics, but not knits ! I didn't zig-zag or anything, but for some reason, when I used the straight-stitch foot, the thread kept breaking. Soon as I switched to the all-purpose/zig-zag foot, all was well. I have no idea why, but using the straight foot gave me uneven stitches, and the already-mentioned thread breakage. I re-threaded the machine a dozen times, checked the needle, adjusted tension, changed thread. Who'd have thought it was the foot that made such a difference ?

 

Modeling today is Lisa Hayes-Hunter, a 1986 Robotech : Macross doll from Matchbox. Yup, same Matchbox that makes toy cars. Only other dolls I know from them is the 'Real Models' series, made to look like Cheryl Tiegs, Christie Brinkley, and Beverly Johnson. The only real interest I have in them is to wonder if their shoes would fit Lisa. Their clothes are entirely too pink and fluffy to interest Admiral Hayes-Hunter ! 

 

While I had her on the podium, I made her an elastic girdle of sorts. I broke her leg at the hip joint trying to get her on a Hovercycle designed for another doll in the Robotech line. It's rather funny that I did that - I'd had Lisa for five years before I found out her legs had standard Barbie joints at the knees. I never tried to bend them until I saw a posed Lisa in a fanzine.  Was too afraid I'd break her. Anyway, because I've had her for so long - since my Army days, she lived in my locker with Princess Leia - I couldn't imagine just buying another. Since I've had dolls broken like this before, as a kid, I figured the elastic would work better than the duct tape fix I was familiar with. And it works just fine. If you look close enough at the Home page photo, you'll be able to see an outline of it. 

 

One of the frustrating things about the Lisa doll is her hair. It never, ever looked anything like the anime Lisa's. I may try a boil perm one day, but for now, it looks OK. I'm lucky that she fits the 'gymnast' Barbie shoes, I bought tons of those shoe packs, back in the day. Lots of my non-Barbies could wear them. There are times, though, that I'm tempted to buy other dolls in the line to steal their shoes. But I just can't bring myself to buy a Minmei doll, even if it is just to snag her clothes and dump her naked somewhere.

 

Of course, I have her love interest, Rick Hunter - I'll probably make him new clothes, he doesn't fit the Ken stuff very well.  Not exactly looking forward to measuring a new figure into Doll Shop Deluxe, but the guy needs pants that don't split when he sits !  

Guess where there's a new photo ? :)
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: MST3K VHS - "Operation Double 007"

 

Didn't have much time to sew, so I made a simple one-piece knit dress. It fits my Maxie 'Ashley' doll beautifully. Found out I could use the straps crossed or straight, which adds to the versatility. I printed out two other pattern pieces with the one I wanted (McCalls 5738, View E), so I went ahead and printed the rest. Tomorrow I'll probably make View D, a strapless princess-seamed dress with a bolero. After that, well, I have half the mermaid costume (View F) printed...

 

Here's a little secret. You already know I scan my patterns. I've even traded a few on a pattern group. Before I print anything, I pull it up in PaintShopPro and erase all the multilingual stuff. Yeah, it's nice to know that 'sleeve' is 'manche' and 'manga' in other languages - and it's fun to think that somewhere in France or Spain, someone's sewing the same Barbie clothes you are ! But when I look at the pattern piece, which is already small enough, and see a jumble of words, it's kind of easy to be put off and more easily confused. So I erase it. Oh, I keep the stuff in English, even if I don't think I'll need it, but it's easier to see and understand when there isn't a confusion of words on the pattern pieces. 

 

Beloved Hubby thinks I do that to use less printer ink. Well, that's part of it. I know it seems really freaky, and kind of petty, but those darn things are $30.+ when we need a new one. And when I'm burning a new pattern every day, well, it just makes sense to use as ittle ink as possible. But I really do like it when the pattern doesn't look so cluttered.

 

Today's dress only took a half hour to sew. Add cutting time, Fray-Check application and drying, and sewing the snap, and it was still less than an hour. I'd be amazed I had shoes to fit a non-Barbie to match, but I have two big divider boxes fulla fashion doll shoes. That doesn't count Elphie's shoes, or the other dolls'. So it'd probably be more stunning if I didn't have the ones that look so good - and coordinate so well - with Ashley's new dress. Still, I'm glad it worked out so well ! :)

 

In other arenas, life continues. Things get better, especially when you've had some sleep, and hopefully, ya learn from what ya did wrong and don't do it again. I learned that Fray-Check works great on knits, too, and I understand Dearest Son a little better, so all's well that doesn't kill ya, huh ?  

The importance of Fray-Check in the latest Home Page photo...
Mood:  lucky
Now Playing: "Sky High" - DVD rental Dearest Son wanted to see.

 

While I'm still an emotional mess and I'm working through stuff, I keep on sewing. Today's Home Page photo was a new exercise in things I normally avoid - thin, chiffon/tulle like fabrics and pleats. I confess, I was looking for easier things when I saw this view - it's C on McCalls 4400 - and realized I had a basketload of fabric that I like, but avoid, because it's often difficult to work with. Sometimes the beautiful stuff is the biggest pain...

 

Since the pink I used for the blouse is a remnant from the junk shop grab-bag, I have no idea what it is. It's sort of like lining material. Slippery, shiny, a little stiff, and skritchy-textured. Some of the other 'avoid' fabrics are like scarves. Softer, but also slippery and shiny. I love the way these materials look, but they're harder to sew, so I tend to reach for good ole cottons and knits instead.

 

But I used to avoid knits, too. Few rounds of sock sweaters for Elphie cured me of that, so I decided to do the same here. 'Joy' got simple white cotton pants - a bit short, even though I measured everything carefully, I hate that ! -  so I'd have time for the more complicated cowl-neck blouse. It has a set of three pleats at the neckline on each side, and I can tell you, trying to pin those tiny things down was a challenge ! 

 

I don't often use Fray-Check, even though I have an open bottle and four more new ones. What can I say, it was a great sale. But doing the Kelly-size Michio shirt was frustrating because the cotton frayed from so much handling. F-C would have helped, if I'd have used it. I don't because I don't like the smell, hate to wait for it to dry, and it stains some fabrics. I doubt anybody likes cutting out a pattern twice because of staining, and I forget to test on scraps.

 

But like ironing, F-C is an important step that's easy to skip, but it eventually shows, either in the finished item or in the frustration level during sewing. I'd much rather cheap-serge (zigzag) the raw edges. Doing that on this thin, scritchy material would have thrown the whole pattern off, so F-C it was. I guess I'm getting used to it - I was able to keep it going and it didn't smell as bad. While they dried, I got other things done, so that time wasn't a loss.

 

And the finished item came out nice. It was simple to sew once I traded the all-purpose sewing machine foot for the straight-stitch only one, and I did OK on the pleats, but I think one slipped. Hard to see on the photo.

 

I'm glad I gave me a challenge. Only way to learn, after all. I may just try Barbie-size princess seams again...someday. 

 

Another day, another home page photo...
Mood:  blue
Now Playing: that dadratted stupid barking dog next door that nobody cares about, I wouldn't care either, but the mutt won't shut it.

 

Sorry. Ordinarily, I'd be really happy about the dress and overskirt I sewed today. Took about three hours, but it turned out very nice - it's 'Miss Checkered Flag' on the Home page - and I'm proud of it, but other things compete for attention in my mind.

 

I'm really enjoying sewing every day. It's been a real blast going through all the patterns I've not touched since I scanned 'em, and picking out something new to make. Going through the fabric stash until something bellows out at me, "Hey, it's my turn ! Make me into something new !" hasn't been near as psychotic as it sounds. Knowing I have most of the skills I need to create darn near whatever I want - and I already have a pattern, fabric, and notions for it, ready to go - is an incredible buzzzzzz.

 

But Beloved Hubby's working waaaay too hard, and Dearest Son is having some growing-up problems. Issues I thought were nearly solved are back, worse than before, and I'm fresh out of ideas. Hubby thinks it's Son's usual 'one step back before a quantum leap forward' pattern, but I'm losing hope. Sometimes I think I'm sewing while home burns, but I don't know what else to do. I'd be even more of a nutcase if I didn't create every day.  So it's new images and new creations, and I don't really think one bit of it matters, even to me, but I have to keep going.

 

I just have to believe I'm going forward...and that's been harder than usual lately.

 

Hope your weekend was nicer. :) 

There's (not yet) a new photo on the home page...
Mood:  celebratory
Now Playing: MST3K Season 0 - 'SST: Death Flight'

 

...Beloved Hubby has the camera, and the photo I took with our old one really looks bad. So I'll get the newest up later tonight ! Yup, I made a new outfit, for Michio. More later.

 

The flea market was a total washout. No interesting books, no good junk. Found two Hot Wheels toy VW Beetle cars for Dearest Son, and that was about it. One booth had collector Barbies, but they were rather expensive. Another had ratty-haired blonde 90s dolls in dirty, torn clothes - and she wanted $4. each. If I bought five, she'd let me have 'em for $15. Umm...no.

 

I did, however, score at Dollar General ! Remember the Hello Kitty high-top keychain sneakers I bought for Beautiful Crissy ?  DGen had knockoffs, just plain red, pink, and black high-tops, for a buck each. Also found a pair of those glitter-dot sneakers in blue for the same price. They all fit Crissy, the Disney Princesses, and Mia - and the high-tops fit Interactive Belle, but they're very tight. I get all happy when I find four pair of shoes to fit five of my dolls for only $8. !

 

I've already removed the keychains - it's easy - and took the tissue out of the toes. I'm really happy about 'em. My dolls now have plenty of sneakers !

 

'Michio' is Inaba and Shinobu's son. As you probably remember, they're from a favorite anime series of mine, Urusei Yatsura. They met in an alley, because Destiny Production Management Bureau member Inaba passed out while working. Yup, he creates destinies. When Shinobu tried to return his key, she inadvertenly saw her destiny. Married to her childhood sweetheart, their child was named Kokeru - literally 'mistake' in Japanese. 

 

That destiny was destroyed, and I gave them another. They married and had their own son, Michio, which means 'man on the correct path'. Long way to go for a feeble joke, but I've gone further before ! He's formerly a Mattel Tommy doll, and now I know why I rarely sew that size. My eyes still hurt ! Like most boys, Michio loves to dress like his Daddy, so I made him a long-sleeved white shirt and pull-on tweedy knit slacks. I'm looking forward to having a home-page photo up later tonight.

 

I'm getting lots of practice with knits. I still have bobbles and issues sometimes, but I've come a long way from avoiding them like I used to ! But those Kelly and Tommy size patterns are a real challenge. It'll be a bit before I sew those again ! Tiny darn hems... 

New photo on the...wait a minute...
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: MST3K VHS - "First Spaceship On Venus"

 

Forgive me for being soooo late on this one - Beloved Hubby's working locally, so I get to spend more time with him. Tonight, I helped out a bit, and we went out for a fantastic buffet dinner and a bit of shopping. I didn't buy anything, but there's a flea market at the fairgrounds tomorrow...

 

Anyway, on the home page is the latest bit of sewing. Inaba got an outfit ! It's ironic that it took me this long to sew for the guys, because when I first started sewing, it was mostly for the guys ! Mattel doesn't make much for Ken, and half of it I don't like when they do make it. I probably have 30 pairs of nylon shorts in varying shades of blue. And twenty tuxedos. That's fine if your guys are beach bum millionaires, but it doesn't leave much else for them.

 

And with the Fashion Fever stuff not fitting the standard dolls, I'm nervous about buying the Ken FF stuff. It's not just a buck or two, either. So I really need to hop to it and make what I've been meaning to since 2000.

 

Combed through my pattern stash - I need to reinstall  Real Clothes! (mental note) - and decided on a homemade pattern I got in a lot of loose papers. Literally, I won 'a box of patterns' and got about half a ream of various patterns, some photocopied from doll magazines, some copies of commercial ones, some that are clearly a 'kitchen table' enterprise, but I like those. They often get more thoroughly tested and worked on than some of the professional ones. 

 

And it's a darn shame I can't tell who made this set. It's really nice, and it worked up quickly and easily. Finally got to use the scrap I bought that particular 'bag of rags' for - I knew it'd make great male doll pants.  There's plenty of it, too. Maybe I'll try a jacket sometime soon. The white scrap used to be a t-shirt, so now it's a turtleneck !

 

Well, it's already a late entry, so I gotta wrap it up. I'm thinking of sewing for Michio next ! That'll be a real challenge ! 

New photo on the Home page ! (that sounds familiar...)
Mood:  on fire
Now Playing: central heat, an incredibly happy sound in 16 degree weather

 

 

Forgot to mention this yesterday, and I thought you’d get a kick out of it. Before I started sewing on the 14^th, I couldn’t find the fabric I wanted. Or at least a scrap of something to experiment with. The new material from the junk-shop grab-bag and the 50c ‘bag of rags’ were piled on top of fabric crates that hosted the small pieces. So I literally had to clean and store the new fabric before I could sew. That took longer – two hours – than Janice’s dress did.

 

Luckily, I had a zippered bedding bag – it held the quilted bedspread and pillow shams Aunt Sue gave us last month – and I loaded all the scraps in it. Used a newly-empty plastic basket to hold some loose chiffon pieces, and got all the felt together. Some fun folding and cramming got the  new pieces wedged in the storage cubes, and now I could find everything new and old. Gosh, I have got to stop buying all these great fabric ‘finds’. I can’t afford any more storage !

 

Now then. Back to today. Of course, Shinobu got a new outfit – a short skirt in the material I used for Janice’s dress and a red t-shirt from some knit rag fabric. The floral print was quilted when I got it, but I picked it apart and did something with the backing, can’t remember what, though. Yet another ‘scrap bag’ find from a long-ago yard sale. The skirt fastens in the front, and I used a row of scrapbooking brads as faux closures. It really has two hidden snaps.

 

The t-shirt looks more like a short-sleeved sweater, because the knit was rather thick. A few months ago, I found several dozen ‘bags of rags’ at the neighboring town’s Mart, marked down to 50c. One had been ripped open, so I got to look. Most of the pieces looked to be ‘cutaway’ from professional sewing. Brand-new fabric. So I snagged one. I must have 20 pieces of the red I used, and about the same in eight other colors and patterns. It’s all in the ‘scrap’ bag, so I’ll probably use it more often.

 

Both patterns came from the ‘Barbie Dress Style’ book. I’m really enjoying that one. True, it would be nice to know if this pattern needs a knit or a woven or a chiffon, but I can usually tell from the photo that goes with it. I just wish it had more Ken clothes than a chauffer costume, a ski outfit, and a tuxedo. I’d kind of like to make Inaba something next…

 

Anyway, Shinobu’s photo is on the Home page if  you’d like to see what I’m prattling about. Sewing every day has kept me off the computer, but it’s also taken a bite out of my housekeeping ! I need to work on smaller projects. But Shinobu’s outfit went together so well – it’s messing around with brads and such that took so much time !

 

Beloved Hubby wired my new lightbox tonight. I can't wait to use it tomorrow ! The shirt pattern I used for Shinobu got lengthened by a quarter inch. I wanna add another quarter, since I don't like belly shirts. Now I can use the box ! Wheeee ! Thanks, Honey ! 

 

New photo on the Home page !
Mood:  happy

 

I hope you had a sweet Valentine's Day, full of love and kind wishes. Dearest Son got so many cards and candies at school  that he's passed out on the sofa, two hours before bedtime, from a sugar crash. Since he awoke to a Valentine 'Dale Earnhart Jr. #8' box of chocolate cars,from us, I shouldn't be surprised. I ate his packet of Bottle Caps, though - I can never find those, and I remember 'em from my childhood. 

 

Beloved Hubby and I celebrated yesterday, and I'm still enjoying everything. Used the new inkjet to print another pattern from the Japanese 'Barbie Dress Style' book, and sewed it up. "Horse Riding Barbie", now known as Janice, is 'looking for love' in a backless halter dress that gathers into a tight collar, in a bright floral on black print. She was found at a flea market wearing Anastasia's Paris evening gown, and is modelling on the home page.

 

She's holding a leftover Valentine card sticker from Son's Cars set. Amazingly, he didn't bring home anyone else's from Cars, and only half the kids did their own cards. It took us three evenings - about 2.5 hours total - but he did his own. Picked who got which card, and did all the writing. He had a great party, but I didn't go to this one. He needs some memories without me in 'em. 

 

I can't wait to get the lightbox working.  It is so amazingly cool. It's 14" x 18", huge ! Hubby says he'll work on it this weekend, and it won't take ten minutes. I'm trying soooo hard not to nag - but I was trained by the best ! 

 

Want some irony in your diet today ? After all the kvetching I did about current Mattel clothes not fitting the '1966 TNT' body, guess what ? I only have four dolls with that body. Shinobu, Maria, Midge, and Christie. All the rest either have the belly button body, or the Teen Skipper one - or aren't Barbie dolls at all. Good thing I like loose-fitting clothes, huh ? Knowing that, I may just go get that one Fashion Fever dress, after all.

 

Not a lot else going on, so I'm gonna pick out something to sew tomorrow.  After all, Shinobu needs something new, too !

 

Hope your tomorrow is sweet and happily surprising !  

What an INCREDIBLE day !
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: "Cars" DVD, still Dearest Son's favorite.

 

I've had an amazing one ! Aside from some dim bulb butting in line when I went for Beloved Hubby's lunch, it's been a great day ! Fluffbunny knew I was next, too, which makes it even worse. I hope her lunch was soooo tasty, she has to go back there tomorrow, and someone decides they're more important  and cuts her out.

 

Anyway. I got a new ink cartridge today -yaaaay !- so I should start sewing soon. While shopping, I found a Fashion Fever dress I liked, on one of those mannequin figures. It'd been returned, and was on markdown for $3. So I got it.

 

Just wish the skirt was a little bit longer. Shoes came with it, too, and I really like them. The shirt is quite tight, and the skirt's rather loose. Christie has a standard 1966 body, so I can only imagine what the Fashion Fever doll bodies are like. They had some new ones out, but nothing that really calls to me. The mannequin within works OK with regular-size Barbie clothes. Wheeee !

 

I also found a great fabric remnant. Black with multicolor sewing tools and notions. On markdown, too. It's kind of large for Elphie, but I may make her a dress from it anyway.

 

Beloved Hubby's working at a former medical office suite, and we got to have lunch together. I even played with one of those light boxes that was mounted to the wall. You've seen 'em on TV and in movies - a doctor or dentist used 'em to display x-rays. This was just like it, with a metal clip to hang the film, and a dial switch on the top. It even worked. Few hours later, Hubby called - the new owners didn't want the lightbox. Should he salvage it for me ?

 

OH, YEAH ! He brought it home, and all that has to be done is add an exterior plug - it originally plugged right into the wall. Hubby will do that for me in the next day or three. Then I'll have my own lightbox ! They're great for tracing and altering patterns. I usually hope for a sunny day and use the window. Soon, I'll have one I can use anywhere. Last time I looked at one, it was $30. for one the size of a piece of paper. This one is at least twice as big, and all we need is an extention cord to make it work - darn near free !  

 

He also came home with dinner - chicken from my favorite restaurant. So you can imagine how great a day it's been ! I got everything I wanted - even one of those books on Best Buy fashions. Ordered it today, and got Pam's dress in the mail.

 

So it's been a busy, happy day. And no one has to rush out for any overpriced Valentines stuff. Extra happy ! Even got to see the Playline Mattel offerings - including new Cars stuff - and that was fun, even though I was happier about Cars than Barbie ! Here's the link, you can see it all from here, so go and enjoy -

 http://www.asmzine.com/toyfair07/