Mood:  a-ok

Hard to believe we're almost at Labor Day. Official end of summer and all that. I see it as ‘gas hiked up a bit each day as the holiday gets closer' more than anything else, but you get that way living across the street from a convenience store.

Not much going on today - by the time I'd finished running errands, the day was nearly gone. Stopped by Dollar Tree, and scored this funky bathroom.

Yeah, it's cheap ceramic cheaply painted, but I'd been wanting a sixth-scale potty, and ya can't beat a buck for each piece. It even ‘fits' when a doll is seated, something ya can't say for even the Mattel-licensed stuff. For some reason, most Barbie potties are too low. This one hits just about right. Sink is a tad low, but I can put a white-painted base beneath it. There was also a matching bathtub piece, but it was too short and too narrow for any doll save a Kelly, and it may be too narrow for them, too. If you're interested, this also came in pink with black accents, and a dark blue with black. I was tempted by the pink/black for a minute, but I always  prefer green, and I get tired of Barbie = pink.

Shared this photo with a doll group, and they thought it was 'dollhouse' scale, 1" = 1 foot. Umm, no. This is more 'play scale', which is 1" = 6 inches, and where folks get the 'Barbie is 5 feet, 9 inches tall in people size' ratio (11.5'" x 6" = 69", i.e., 5 feet, 9 inches). You can see the 'bowl' is just below her knee joint, which is about where ours is at home in real-scale, on me. I don't know why it bugged me that someone said I had the scale wrong, but it did. (sigh) I could have posted a photo of the doll sitting on the commode, but I thought it'd be in poor taste. Now I kinda wish I had.

Anyway. The carpet square is also DTree. They come in a set of two identical, so I had to buy two packages to get this one and another that's just the color of beach sand. Dearest Son has already claimed one of the spares for his cars. The other is blocking a rusted shut air vent that freezes the seats in the bathroom. The odd mesh screen is from GoodWill, for a quarter. I'm still not sure what it's supposed to be. A hinged picture frame ? There's no place for a photo, honestly. An earring holder ? Miniature screen ? Well, who knows. For now, it's a screen in a temp bathroom, so that's what it is.

My recent acquisitions may be forcing ‘Cindy' here to find a new home. I just don't play with her much. She's a lovely doll, but she's been sitting around ever since the last time I took her photo. And, since Son doesn't go to the same school anymore, I've already forgotten the name of the little girl I named the doll after. (sigh) Is change the only constant ?

Finished cheap-serging the rest of the fabric. Took an hour. I didn't even serge some stuff, like the tulle and felt. I had no idea I'd bagged so much fabric, that it'd take nearly three hours to edge it all. And I never got to the letters ! Growlmutterwhine...

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 10:04 AM CDT

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Mood:  happy

Today was Son's EEG. Went well, as far as anyone can tell - it'll be a few days before it's analyzed, so I'm not counting on hearing anything ‘til after Labor Day. Hardest part was keeping him still for 22 minutes in a row. If he moved too much, we had to start all over. Luckily, Son was patient and fairly relaxed today. Well, as relaxed and patient as a kid his age could be ! Dropped him off at school, and more teachers wanted to hear the tale. Again, it was like a very kind and thoughtful tea party. And I thought I'd like the school because of the bus !

Beloved Hubby was working out of the Shop today, so I didn't get much doll time. I'd rather spend available hours with him ! But he had to work, so I cheap-serged new fabric - the Mal-Wart sackload I got from this weekend's yard sale. Worked on it for an hour and a half, and used up the last of my second-to-last wooden-spool thread. Shortly after I started sewing, I found a great flea market, and scored a huge basket of sewing notions. Including at least a dozen wooden spools of thread. I think it was 20 or so, now that I try to remember.

Conventional wisdom says to toss it out. It's too old to be dependable, possibly half rotted, and modern thread is more durable and reliable. I had one visitor remark how charming my wood spool display was...it was on my ‘working thread' storage rack, above the sewing machine. I found it to be quite beautiful, with a deep shine and lovely colors. It was certainly good enough to practice sewing with ! And since I mostly make doll clothes, it was no big deal if the thread gave way. I'd have a nude doll, not a nude me !

And when I got tired of untangling masses of threads from washed fabrics - which was after I tumbled on to the idea that washing brand-new material before sewing it was a good idea - it was ideal for my ‘cheap serging' idea. Which is basically zig-zagging the raw edges, so it doesn't fray in the washer and dryer. Since '02, I've used nearly all of this ‘unusable' thread, both for practice and for cheap serging, and I've yet to have any of it fall apart or show the first signs of rot. Even saved the spools and gave them to the Center that Son got some therapy from - his therapist said they made great gross-motor tools and came in handy for ‘what's different/what's the same' games, since there were about five identical ones in the lot, and more that weren't.

So now I'm down to the last one. A deep pinkish red. It shows up great on serges ! I'm hoping to have some time tomorrow to finish the rest of the fabrics. And write some letters, starting with Erika's, she's waaaaay overdue one ! :) Thanks, everyone, for your kind words and sweet thoughts. We're gonna be OK. Thanks to ya'll, I know that now.

After that, I wanna get back to sewing !

Posted by dorriebelle at 9:03 PM CDT

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Mood:  celebratory

Dearest Son passed an uneventful night last night and a full day at school. He got a little wild at bedtime, but that's familiar - it's as if he doesn't wanna sleep no matter how tired he is, so he acts like a lemur on Red Bull and subsequently crashes harder. He's already asleep. His teacher and the folks at the office (I went a bit after the morning rush) treated me like an honored guest at tea, so pleased I'd come by to talk. It's enough to make me wonder how the other parents are involved, if I'm so warmly and graciously welcomed.

Spent the evening repairing Son clothes. A ripped pocket on one pair of sweats and a holed-out knee on another, plus a replacement button for a favorite shirt. White the sweats with the new ‘flame' patch are already a bit too short on him, it at least gave me some experience with patching. Both Son and Beloved Hubby thought the repair looked great. Even if Son only gets to wear it once, it was worth it.

Not much doll time today - I replaced Joy's belly-button body for the ‘new' Ballerina one. It was like she'd come home. Her head had a tendency to nod and drift on the belly-button neck. Only reason I hesitated doing the body swap was because the b-b one had greater flexibility at the hip than the 1976 original body, and the one she had until today was a really great match. She is a ballet teacher, after all, but there was something so ‘right' about matching her with an original - albeit replacement - part that I can't undo it now. Unfortunately, the ‘Casey' head doesn't work on the b-b body, the neck is too long and the pivot-prong joint is too tall. It looks even more unbalanced than the #6/Swirl body I have her on now does.  So I now have a beheaded but still dressed b-b body and a loose Malibu head. I'm sure something'll happen with one or both soon !

Also got everyone new to Chez Insanity dressed. Hard to believe, but until today, the dolls I bought Saturday sat around nude. I'm slippin' in my old age. I mostly grabbed the first five dresses that came to my hand, only to find that Fashion Fever just does not fit anything with a ‘1966' or earlier mark on it. At least I have lots of tiny-size anime dolls that do fit that stuff !

Well, since I was up ‘til 1:30am this morning with insomnia that didn't matter, I'm darn tired now. I even missed most of the lunar eclipse, only getting to see the tail end this morning. Wow. I'm hoping that it signals better times for us here at Chez Insanity !  And lots of good times for you !

Posted by dorriebelle at 9:24 PM CDT

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Mood:  not sure

OK. Before I get into the disaster that was today, let me assure you that everything's fine, everyone's home, and the only one not sleeping is me, and hopefully, all will continue to be fine. But this morning...

I woke up a bit early, and rather than toss ‘til the alarm went off, I got up and puttered around. Thought I'd get an early start on blog catch-up, since I was too lazy to do it yesterday. I was doing my usual ‘morning computer meandering' when I heard an odd sound. I figured Dearest Son, who'd fallen asleep on the sofa last night, had tumbled and was upset.

He was on the floor. But he wasn't upset. He was having a seizure. His body was rigid, his mouth was slack but grinding, and he shook all over. I hope I never see anything as scary as the complete vacancy in his eyes ever again. I tried to wake him - let's face it, I was not thinking here ! - and flipped him to his side, in case he was choking. I screamed and Beloved Hubby came running. He swept Son's mouth while I called 911. Nothing there. Then, almost as suddenly, it was all over. I don't think the whole thing was two minutes long. Leaving us with a limp, exhausted, dazed Son and a few billion questions. Plus a fire truck and an ambulance in the yard.

About three hours later, we were home. CAT scans and bloodwork revealed we had a normal-by-all-tests 47-pound pre-pubescent son. But not much else. No reason for the seizure was found. He had a doctor's visit this afternoon, and an EEG scheduled for later this week, but there's not much we can do until the EEG is analyzed. It's entirely possible that this was a one-time unexplainable event. It's equally possible he'll be on medicine to control seizures for the rest of his days. Either way, he'll be fine. We've done the research, and all that can be done has been, or soon will be. Aside from a lengthy nap, he's completely normal. Speech, play, eating, conversing - like any other day.

It still astounds me. When it happened, I could just as easily have been in the shower or in bed, and it's doubtful either of us would have heard him. This place, while wonderful, is a sound sponge. In the shower, there's no way I would have heard him - it's an echo chamber, you can't even understand someone talking two feet from you. I would have awakened him an hour later, wondering why he was so exhausted.

So now I'm worried. Has he had these before ? He didn't remember anything before the ambulance and the hospital about today. I'm combing my memories, trying to find any instances of him being wiped out with no explanation. He's a very healthy kid ! We've been very, very lucky.

(deep breath) As you can imagine, it's very difficult for me to sleep tonight. I put Beloved to bed early - he hadn't slept well before all this happened, and the stress wearied him further - and Son gently tucked in at normal time. The slightest little noise sets me running. Intellectually, I know darn well that if he has another, I either will or won't hear it, and being awake at 3am won't change a (*&% thing. I also know that life goes on whether you're laughing or crying, so ya might as well take the best tact and attitude you can, because that's all ya can change.

It hurt knowing that, yesterday, I told him to settle down and be quiet. Today, as far as we knew at 5:15 am, we might never hear his voice again. It's scary as hell, and there's not anything I can do save for ferry him to an appointment later this week. I know I am completely out of this equation. It's between Son and medicine now.

But I still can't sleep.

Posted by dorriebelle at 10:34 PM CDT

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Mood:  chillin'

Kind of a ‘not much' day. Got fabric ready to fix five pair of Dearest Son's pants - he's very hard on clothing knees - tomorrow. I'm not kidding m'self, I'll be lucky to get one fixed ! Also cleaned the new dolls. What I did yesterday was just sort of dusting ‘em off. Today, I really got into it. Ironically, even the wrecked-head Casey's hair looks better now.

Still not sure what I'm gonna do with which. I can swap out the Ballerina Barbie body for the belly-button one now on Joy, and put the Casey head on the belly-button one. Sorry, but she really looks weird on the #6/Swirl body. Looks like I'll have a spare head (the smaller Malibu) and a spare body (#6) that don't even come close to matching. I could have just swapped ‘em at the flea market, there was no seller there, and no one would have even known what I was doing. Plus, it'd have been easy. Back in the day, vintage dolls didn't have the safety features of more modern ones. Namely the bane of many doll customizers, the pronged neck post. Up through the 70s, Barbies were actually *made* and packaged for head-swaps. One of my favorite vintage/mods was the ‘Hair Fair', mostly a Barbie head with hairpieces and wigs. No body, just a head. I'd love to find one.

But all that fussin' and shufflin' would have saved me a big, whoppin' $1. Not worth it. I'd feel as though I were cheating, and if I'd be ashamed to do it in front of the seller, I shouldn't do it behind his/her back. I'm sure I'll eventually find a use for the Malibu head and the #6 body. There's never any telling what crosses my meandering path next !

For most of the day, we all sat around, munchin' on pizza and corn chips, just enjoying a lazy, loose day. BTW, A Night At The Museum  is actually quite good ! Worth at least a one-night rental at a RedBox near you !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

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Mood:  celebratory

Warning : Doll Nudity Ahead ! !

Ok, now that we have that out of the way....I had the most incredible day at the flea market ! I hit several yard sales yesterday, and all I found was a straw mat for a quarter - not a bad doll floor after a minor repair, and certainly priced right, but not that amazing of a find. Of the six or eight sales I stopped for, it was kind of depressing. Sheesh, am I the only one playin' with dolls in this county ?

Well, if I am, that means all the good stuff's mine ! I found all these beauties for a buck each !

From the right, our first doll is a Malibu Barbie head on a 1976 Ballerina Barbie body. You may remember that ‘Joy' is a Ballerina Barbie head on a belly-button body. This body's in decent shape, but I haven't decided if I'm going to swap or not. I just knew that, for a dollar, I'd much rather have the decision to make later. Is it just me, or does her head look a little smaller than the one next to her ?

Speaking of which, on her left is a pretty decent Malibu Barbie. I've been looking for one so I can reroot her as a brunette. My very first Barbie was a Malibu, and I used to wish she had brown hair. Now I can make it happen. It just kinda ranks that her hair is actually fairly good. I'd much rather reroot the first doll, but this one has a better face. Oh, well !

Seated in the middle is a wrecked-hair Casey head on a #6 Barbie/Midge body. It's a pretty decent vintage body, I just don't have a vint head to go with it ! Casey's hair is beyond repair, and her left ear has some discoloration. It's not green, but it is paler than the rest of her head. Her eyelashes are in fantastic shape ! I've never had a rooted-eyelash doll before. Cooooool !

Beside her is another member of the Malibu family, a PJ. You know she wasn't getting left behind, not with that gorgeous Steffie face ! Her hair's in good shape, I can even see her ‘ponytails' part, but her legs are sort of ashy-lookin'. Betcha once she's dressed in a skirt, you could hardly tell.

And last, but certainly not least, is an Ideal ‘Tammy' doll. She's in pretty bad shape. Her right thumb and left toes are missing, her hair's a mess, and her heels are dented. Her face didn't clean up very well, either. In this photo, all the girls are fresh from the sale, pretty dirty still. Tammy doesn't look much different. But, hey, I'm almost out of stale baking soda ! Her body is hollow, but it's not lightweight like the ones from Dollar Tree or General. She has beautiful hands, that's pretty much why I bought her. That, and I don't have a sixth-scale Ideal doll. Much as I love my Crissy and Mia, it was kind of a done deal that, if I found a Tammy for a buck, she'd come home with me.

It's actually kind of funny. There were numerous Malibu dolls in the pile. Even a blonde #2 Ken, but he was missing an arm. By the time I'd registered ‘A Malibu ! And... A PJ ?! And a Casey ? What in the world', it also occurred to me that these were all dolls I sort of wanted, but couldn't really afford. Now, here they were, in fairly good shape, with a price I could easily afford. It was as if they were waiting for me.

Only one minor problem. Seller wasn't there yet. I looked around, and decided I'd wait until he/she got there, I wasn't leaving without these dolls. I've been looking for a Malibu to reroot for months. And the others...there was no way I was letting go of them now ! A man wearing burgundy told me he could take it, and he'd get it to him. Without thinking twice, I handed over the cash, happily.

The nice lady in the booth next door said the seller would be back any time. As I started to prowl through her stuff - knock-off GI Joes and broken Transformers, among tons of costume jewelry and various goodies - she said I could hide my booty underneath the table, the seller'd be back soon. I looked up...and the man in burgundy was gone. Oh, ^%&$... did I just get ripped off because I was stupid ?

As it turned out, no. Burgundy man came in with the booth owner about 30 seconds later, and he had the cash I'd given him in his hand, passing it over and pointing at me. Blushingly, I admitted I'd given him the money for the dolls, thanking my luckiest stars I hadn't really booted it. Booth owner thanked me, and hoped I could fix the dolls up and enjoy them. Whew !

Decided to hit a yard sale on the way home. Turned out, there were several in that subdivision. One looked as though it might have toys, so I stopped. Not much in toys, but a whole big box of small cuts of fabric beckoned welcomingly to me. This time, I waited for the person making change to ask questions. About 20 minutes later, I'd pulled all I wanted from the box, filling a standard Mal-Wart sack full. I'd also found a tin box with a cat motif - I'd had an identical one 20+ years ago. Offered her my remaining bills, and she happily accepted. She invited me to stop by her daughter's concessions stand, she'd made the cookies herself at 4am, to raise cash for her soccer team.

Well, I was nearly broke by then, but I scooped up the change from my purse and wallet, and handed it to her. Extra effort should be rewarded, and since I was on my way, I didn't need a soda or snack. Wished her luck with the team, and headed off with my bag ‘o fabric booty and silly nostalgia to the car. I could hear the young lady telling her mother what I'd done. What a nice day. I didn't get swindled due to my own overexcitement, burned through a ten-spot in no time, got some fantastic things, and did a small good deed. I was darn near singing as I headed home to a cold soda and a box of stale baking soda. With a copy of Terminator 3, and a ceramic cat and moon bank snuggled in with the rest of the dollar table and fabric bag goodies, life was just wonderful, and it was still quite early in the day.

Got all the dolls cleaned, and the bank wiped down. Haven't watched T3 yet, but I will soon ! Folded the new fabric, and the stack is almost knee-high. One bundle was marked ‘decorator fat quarters', and the price was still attached. $6.99. I had two of ‘em, one was opened. Wow.

Today, I was supposed to repair some of Dearest Son's sweatpants - he's put holes through almost every pair he owns, and some were only a month old. Guess what I'm doing tomorrow ? Besides playing with new dolls, I mean !

Hope your Saturday was stratospheric !

Posted by dorriebelle at 10:08 PM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 10:04 AM CDT

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Mood:  happy

Sorry - Beloved Hubby brought home the L&O season set, and I'm pretty much gone watching that. We haven't really seen it since we gave up TV three or four years ago, and it's such a blast !

Didn't do much doll stuff today, anyway. Flea market tomorrow, though. Well, there's another episode starting...see ya'll tomorrow !

Posted by dorriebelle at 12:01 AM CDT

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Mood:  bright

Beloved Hubby listened to Dearest Son's excited descriptions of the next toy he so desperately wants - a Lightning McQueen figure that has ‘costume' changes. Kids can add different eyes, that flappin' tongue of his, new hood, etc. to the ‘Corvette' style body. Kind of a car-themed Mr. Potato Head, but all the pieces come from some part of the Cars movie. Hubby asked me this morning to please pick one up early, just in case. Y'see, Son has to earn larger (read : more than $10.) toys with tickets. And he only needs three more to get this desired object. Picked it up today, and looked around a bit more while Son was in school.

Nothing new since yesterday over in the Barbie aisle. I did see a brown/gold version of the hooded sparkly gold dress Velma's wearing in a photo a few days ago. Identical but for the fabric, and it can be yours for just $1.99. On the brown one, I could read the iron-on image - ‘Barbie Girl' curves above the large "8". Saw the brown ‘fur' shrug that also came with Gabrielle in the 99c single-item Fashion Fever packages. Ironically, Target had the Raquelle I wanted, outfit and all, but I prefer the one I have. It's just funny I spent so long looking for it, and it's probably been on that store's shelf for months.

Made a slight error in saying that the Enchanted princess dolls of Cinderella, Belle, and Co. were already on shelves. The Official Disney Princesses dolls are from Enchanted Tales, a new animated direct-to-video series. Has nothin' to do with the Enchanted movie, as far as I can tell, but those bright pink/purple boxes are about the same for both lines. Gee, does Disney and Mattel wanna confuse anyone ?

Also, the dollhouse I mentioned isn't licensed for/by the Only Hearts Club manufacturer (OHC LLC - yup, it's not ConGlomHugeCo, or if it is, they're hiding it well). It's a generic dollhouse in the ‘not Barbie or Bratz dolls' section, for any dolls 8 to 12 inches high. So it's good for Barbie and company. Can't help thinking, though, that some of the furniture marketed to go with the house is either too clunky or too small for fashion dolls of more...abundant figures than the pre-teen OHCers.

And I got a better look at that cool Bratz car. I knew I'd never remember the name after I tried to quick-memorize it twice. So I took a photo of it with the cell phone. Too bad it won't send the *&^% images to my ^%%$# ‘Album' website that the phone company itself set up. Growlmutterwhine. If I focus on it, it looks like it's the ‘Bratz the Movie RC Cruiser'. Just for giggles, if it does post the photos sometime, I'm gonna put it here. Hard to believe my phone has the same resolution as our first digital camera, the one that took about 90% of the photos on the main site. It probably does - if I can read all that on a 1 ¼ x 1 ½ -inch screen, the resolution has to be pretty darn good.

Snagged some chips and two packs of notebooks - ten notebooks each, one wide ruled, one college, for just a buck each. Yup - I got 20 70-sheet notebooks for $2. We can always use another notebook around here, and these were dirt cheap !

Once home and fed, I hid Lightning and started back on Rio's wardrobe. Now that I know which patterns to use for Agatha, I can work on over-delayed projects and come back to Aggie's stuff later. It's like the obsession has passed, so I can get back to where I was before. Cut out a pair of jeans for him using the pattern I adapted to fit his thicker-than-Ken's legs.

Let us pause for a moment to mark the passing of my first bottle of Fray-Check. It was purchased in 2002 on the recommendation of Carol - she of Perestroika.ca fame - but didn't reach its full potential and use until only recently. And then, it was all gone. The bottle is beyond empty, and a new one begins its career. That first bottle taught me much, and already Bottle #2 is easier to use, and faster. It went out on Rio's jeans, so I think it's happy about it, since I bought Rio and the bottle the same week. Live up to your predecessor, Bottle #2 ! And I will laud you with a short paragraph in a forgettable blog as well ! Excelsior !!

And now, back to the jeans. They fit OK, still a bit snug and a bit short, so I'll adapt and try again. But I'm keeping these. One of the front pleats is goin' the wrong way - it kept screwing up during sewing, and I ended up tacking it incorrectly - which leads to that odd shape in the front. But the fit is good, and I'm getting the hang of sewing ‘fly' front-closing patterns. Another effort or two, and I'll about have it. Not bad for a design completely in German !

There's also a shirt and vest in the pattern. Once those are sewn well, I'll post his and Jem's photo anew. Here he gets a bit of ‘belly wear' from an old Ken shirt - I have three of these. I didn't set out to have one, they just appear spontaneously in Ken & Barbie clothes lots. Once I get it correct, let me know if you need it. I can't very well sell the pattern. 1) I wouldn't want to, and 2) It's not completely original - it's adapted from someone else's design. But Rio had maybe four outfits including his issue clothes total, thank you very much Hasbro, and today, they'd all look ‘80s Bizarre'. Poor guy needs some clothes ! If you have a Rio and want the pattern, let me know. It just needs a bit more tweakin'. So give me a few more days and trials.

Busy day - but a fun one !

Posted by dorriebelle at 7:16 PM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 10:03 AM CDT

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Mood:  caffeinated

Almost went over to ‘the dark side' today. Nahh, I'm just kiddin'. But during a thrift store run, I chanced to run into an American Girl doll clone. In decent, if dirty, shape, inexpensive and well-designed, especially for a clone. In retrospect, I'd have never picked her up if she was a blue-eyed blonde. Some of the most beautiful dolls in the world - just like people ! - have the same coloration. It's simply not what I go for, ya know ?

Carried her around for about twenty minutes, considering. I already have AG-type doll patterns, and most of Timey and Dottie's shoes are AG clone footwear. There's tons of free resources for crafts and ideas for them - I know, because I've adapted some for my other-size dolls. Heck, I even have an AG-size car that I bought for Elphie. So it's not like I'd be spending much beyond the $4. to get the doll home. I must've looked so weird, studying the doll so closely...before putting her back down. Just nicely displayed, not all sprawled out like I found her.

In retrospect, I've had to beat myself back from buying numerous dolls, and about the only things they've had in common was the hair/eye thing. If a doll has medium to dark brown hair, there's a good chance she's come home with me. If she has green eyes to go with, well, she's about 90% probable to have a home in Chez Insanity. But I resisted, mostly because I don't have a place to put her !

And I kind of resent the near-total domination that size has in patterns. Really, go look ! For the last five or so years, almost every doll pattern by the Big Three (Simplicity, McCall's, Vogue) is for them. Look up ‘doll clothes pattern' on eBay or online, and there's a few thousand more. Barbie doesn't have this many. Of the current offerings from Simplicity, AG and clones have 19 patterns out of 34. Barbie has 5. The rest are baby and Raggedy Ann & Andy dolls and clothes patterns. Now I know how other doll sewists must've felt when there were patterns for only Barbie available.

Of course, the closer I looked, the more ‘faults' the doll had, so it became easier to put her down. I then ventured to Tuesday Morning, where they had other clone dolls, brand new, for $10. If the fever still possesses me in a month, maybe. I was kind of impressed by Tuesday Morning, btw. They had the Suite Retreat Silkstone for $25., which is on the low end of what she's closing for on eBay. Her hair was messed up, but it wasn't a ‘Swimsuit' Barbie in Silkstone clothing. Doll ‘swaps' (i.e., theft) happen sometimes, especially if it's apparent store staff doesn't know the difference or even care.

They also had numerous dolls that are still on Mal-Wart shelves, like the Easy For Me dolls for $7. instead of $10. at M-W. Also 'Tooth Fairy' - the really elegant one - and several angels. About half the '12 Dancing Princesses' line. It's a good thing I didn't know about that place when I was just getting ‘into' Barbie ! None of the dolls they had were what I wanted - heck, I don't think I really want any dolls right now - but the low prices would have swayed a newbie me.

I promised Dearest Son we'd get him new shoes today, so he was off the bus and into Lightning Molly. I even had a drink waiting in his booster seat. He excitedly picked out light-up Transformer shoes and we winnowed the size down to ‘which one is more comfy ?'. He's clam-happy, and found three new toys to want. I got to look at dolls in a store I rarely go to, the cross-town SuperTarget, but didn't find anything interesting. Oh, the Only Hearts dolls have a gorgeous dollhouse that'd probably work for Barbies - nice and mostly pastel blue toned, not garish like similar structures I've seen - but $99. and ‘some assembly required' translates as ‘wait for the house Beloved Hubby said he'd build you for Christmas'. Some of the $15. furniture sets were really nice. Most were out of scale, but that one with the full-length mirror was tempting.

But I'd told Son that we weren't getting toys for anyone, and I stuck to it. They had more of the Enchanted line from Mattel & Disney - it's a movie due out next month or so. Animated princess Giselle gets pushed into the ‘real' world by an evil witch or something. Only reason I even know the name of this puerile production is because I want the Robert Phillips doll. Good-lookin' new head-mold male doll with real hair and great clothes for $25. suggested retail ? I'm in ! Saw photos from Toy Fair, so I've been waiting since February. ‘Robert' wasn't there either,  but I have seen the ‘Giselle' doll at M-W. Guess the familiar Disney Princess dolls were easier to produce, ‘cause they're everywhere.

Also looked at their AG clones - Our Generation - and didn't see anything overwhelming to want, but Son really loved their Vespa-type scooters. He also saw a really nice pearly white remote control Bratz car - $40., but he loves classic vehicle styling. It strongly resembles a mid-50s Mercedes-Benz 190SL. Don't be impressed, I just looked it up. While researching, I found that MGA sold the same car in red or white as the ‘Forever Diamondz' line last year. Completely different packaging from what I saw today. It's listed variably as ‘Bratz Movie Starz', ‘Bratz Movie Car' and ‘Bratz The Movie Remote Control Corvette' this year, but only in white. How parents keep up with this stuff - when they don't care about it like us ! - I'll never comprehend. Next time I go shopping, I'll actually *look* at the darn car and get its official title. All the photos I could find show it out of package. Which probably accounts for the name discrepancy. One review of the 2006 "FD" car showed a Barbie sitting in it. Hmmmm..... naah. Like I've said before, the studio floor already looks like a miniature used car lot.

I ended up getting a new-to-me blouse, a book, and a VHS copy of Dave at the thrift store (Beloved Hubby knows about my minor crush on Kevin Kline), but no dolls or fabric. Didn't have time to sew with all the runnin' around, either. But there's always tomorrow...

Posted by dorriebelle at 11:31 PM CDT

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Mood:  happy

Hey there, Honeys !

Kind of a joke - a weak one. Continuing with the ‘Agatha's Underwear' theme, I think we finally have a winning pattern. It's a bit loose on ‘Honey' here, but on a Barbie, that top is as ‘boobalicious' as Agatha's. I kind of messed up on the pants.  See that little pleat on the left side ? Makes the pants too tight for a Barbie, and there's not much of a way to fix it, so smaller-hipped Cutey Honey got this outfit. Simplicity 9334, view 8 for the top. Emby Quinn patterns ( see Links on the main site) for the knee-length pants.  

I got Honey almost by accident. When I was just ‘getting into' Barbie as an adult, I droooooled over the Ma-Ba Barbie dolls. They almost always have straight blonde hair and big blue anime eyes with friendly, closed-mouth smiles. Her almost uncountable friends had a variety of faces and eye/hair color and styles, and as is usual for me, I liked the ‘flotilla' better than the ‘flagship' ! Made by a partnership of Mattel and Bandai - basically Japan's Mattel - the Barbies and her friends were all so lovely. Want settled in, big time. My second-favorite activity in those days was cruisin' eBay for that undiscovered gem, that rare rough emerald everyone else thought was glass.

One day, I found this blonde doll, listed as MABA Barbie. I swooped in, and she was a cutie. Had no idea who she is, or what the heck she was wearing. It looked sort of like a blue and white mix of a bellhop uniform and a carhop waitress costume. Well, with less than an hour to go, with about $5. total for doll and shipping, I took the bait and chomped down with a bid. No one challenged. Mine !

Some after-win research showed me who she was. A 1997 Bandai Cutey Honey ! I'd heard of her series, and had seen episodes of both the vintage 1973 Cutey Honey and the then-new 1995 Cutey Honey Flash series. But Cutey was a short-haired redhead. I had no idea how this blonde was supposed to be her. Turns out that, as a robot, Cutey can appear any way she wants. She simply never appeared as a nurse in the shows I watched ! And that's precisely who she is, a Cutey Honey nurse. If you'd like to see her still in her box, check out eBay auction #290152225613.

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed. I have no idea why the seller had her listed as ‘MABA', her markings clearly read ‘Bandai', with no mention of Mattel. But once I had her, I could have cared less who she was supposed to be, or who made her. She was just so darn cute ! I'd never seen a doll with palms to the front ! Her slight figure means that most Barbie dresses sort of hang on her, but she wears the new Fashion Fever clothes beautifully !

That's what I love about having so many non-Mattel dolls. If it don't fit Barbie, it's gonna fit somebody around Chez Insanity !

Posted by dorriebelle at 3:02 PM CDT

Updated: Monday, 2 May 2011 10:03 AM CDT

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