A Litte Exploring...

Sometimes a doll just needs to go outside and have some adventures, which Saila did on the weekend.  She put on the Clam Digger digger outfit, as she needed the boots to go exploring around the stream.

This outfit for some reason doesn't come with a shirt under the sweater, so she's borrowed the one from her High Country Hiking outfit - it works really well.

The area I live in is very different from what Saila would be used to - for one thing, we have trees, trees, and more trees!

Nunavut Now!

I love the Nunavut Now outfit for Saila.  It fits well, and everything seems to be finished very thoroughly.  I like that the separate pieces will mix well with the rest of her wardrobe, too! Both the long-sleeved grey shirt and matching leggings will be used a lot, I think.

The only thing I noticed was that the buttons were very out of scale on her cardigan, but that is obviously to make it easier for kids to manage the cardigan.  Right now, they are too stiff for Nieceling to manage, but with use they should get easier.  Also, she's under the target age group for the dolls, so fair enough!

I love teal on Saila.  I'm not that big a fan of purple, to be honest, but the teal...lovely..

Saila is clearly a doll person. ;)

This little Mooshka doll, plus one of my old childhood dolls, plus a second-hand American Girl Mini Doll now make up her doll collection, along with a miniature My Little Pony that was always a little too big to be to-scale for the BJDs and a couple knitted animals.  I figure that is probably enough for her, as it didn't sound like Saila's home was very big, and the expense of shipping would be a serious consideration.

Because I always like to make up a backstory for everything to do with the dolls, Nieceling and I are saying that the Nellie doll is a gift from Saila's older sister Ceporah.  Ceporah, according to Saila's book, is in Ottawa attending Nunavut Sivuniksavut.   We've decided one of her classmates was parting with some old dolls, and remembered Ceporah  saying she had younger sisters.

Ceporah sent Nellie and Ruthie, and Saila picked Nellie and Ruthie went to her younger sister Meeka*.  (Malaya, the youngest, is too young, Nieceling says, with great sympathy!  LOL)  Saila read both books, and decided she loved Nellie the best.

~~~
* The Ruthie doll actually went to Nieceling, who was enchanted with the idea of a doll for her doll.  ;)  Thank goodness for Kijiji!

Pirouettes and Pliés

This was Nieceling's pick for Saila:

It's the Pirouettes and Pliés set from Maplelea.   While I was dubious about this choice, I have to admit it is just gorgeous in person.  The pieces are well made, and the fit is great.  While I wasn't sure about the colours for Saila, she actually looks quite pretty in the pale pink!

The bun maker worked quite well, though we did have to watch the video to figure out how to use it. Nieceling was a big fan of this, as her hair is often done up in a bun.  (But her hair is very curly, so basically, a "messy ponytail" comes out looking like a neat bun... LOL)

I like that the sweater, skirt, and leotards/tights could easily be used separately with other outfits as well. The little sweater even has the proper two buttons for closure, one on each side. The skirt has a tie, but actually closes very securely with velcro. I like the double-layers to it, making it just a bit fancier than a plain wrap skirt. :)

I was indifferent to the towel and bag that came with the set, but Nieceling really enjoyed them, and had fun packing the shoes and towel inside the bag for Saila to carry.  As always, because of the way her hands are designed, Saila can carry the bag herself.  I just forgot to take a picture of that!

High Country Hiking Set

The High Country Hiking set is a big hit!   I love how versatile it is - the pants roll up to be capris, the hat changes from a sunhat to a rainhat....

I really like the t-shirt too, but my favourite parts of this set are the backpack and shoes!

The backpack can hold a lot!  But its major charm for me is all the teeny-tiny buckles and straps.  LOL  Seriously, it seems like it has all the fasteners of a full-size backpack!

The shoes are similarly realistic:

If it doesn't rain, Nieceling and I have plans to take Saila out for a short hike Wednesday and Thursday evening.  She says Saila can carry our snacks for us in her backpack!  ;)

Maplelea Superstar Sneakers + Current Project

One of the things I knew Saila would need is a good pair of running shoes that would go with anything.  After searching the Maplelea site, I decided on the Superstar Sneakers.

I really like them!



They feel very sturdy and well made, and she stands in them with no problems at all.  I love the colours, which should ensure that the running shoes go with just about any outfit.  My favourite thing, I think is that the laces are elastic.  No fussing with trying to tie tiny laces!  LOL

This a double bonus as Nieceling is still working on reliably tying her own, regular scale, laces.  She can take these on and off herself.

You can see, if you look closely in this picture, that there is a slight jog, where the white sides join, but to be honest, my own shoes have a similar jog, so I don't think it's a defect.  It's not something noticeable unless you are taking a close up view of the shoes like this one. :)

~~~

I'm currently working on the Mock Smocked Dress pattern for Nieceling's birthday.  It's different construction than I'm used to, so it's interesting!  I think it will be cute when it is done.  This one's in a vivid purple.  I need to sew a couple decorative buttons on the hat I made on the weekend, as well.  I used the yarn leftover from a pink dress from last year.

Saila's Settling In...

So Saila has arrived, been opened, and has tried on all her gear.  I have to say, I'm utterly thrilled with her!

I found her the most appealing of the dolls in the company photos, but in person she is so much prettier.  Look at those eyes!  Her outfit is very well made too.  The jeans are lined, the zipper on the vest works smoothly, there are working pockets... even the non-doll-person in the apartment was pleased with the quality.

Her hair is very nice - smooth, sleek, and with good coverage.  I  played around with her hair a bit and didn't run into any place where the wig cap showed through.  Coming from the land of BJD wigs, this is practically miraculous!  LOL

See?  Her hair braided easily, and I think it looks very realistic. You can also see that I quickly tried a few outfits on her.  The shirt is from an outfit from QTπ Doll Clothing on Etsy, which I quite like.  As I'd read ahead of time, it takes a bit of patience to get American Girl doll pants over the backside of the Maplelea dolls, but it's worth the extra minute!

For the first order, I only got one of Saila's official outfits, though I'd love to have more eventually.

The Katajjaq Giggles outfit is charming.   I really like the dress, which is simple, with just enough detail to be interesting.  Once she was out of her kamiik and into a different pair of shoes, she stands quite well, I found.  I had to try out the ability to "lock" her two hands together which makes for a cute pose.   I really like the shoes that came with this outfit;  I think they should go with just about any dress, and they are an excellent fit.  The silver detail looks like it's embroidered on, which is much nicer than the metal I thought they would be.

These dolls have a reputation for being hard to photograph, but I actually find the opposite with Saila, at least, so far.  Obviously, I have some practice to do, as they are very different from the Fairyland BJDs who are my usual subject, but I really think she is quite photogenic!

Who could resist that little face?  I was really impressed by the coat.  It's fully lined, and honestly it seems like a pretty perfect miniaturization of a real child's coat.