State of the Dolls

I have always had a distressing tendency to rotate through hobbies like I have commitment issues.  I cross-stitched everything that came in to reach for a year, then did no cross-stitching for 4 years.  Then I was devoted for two and a half years and haven't touched cross-stitching in at least eight years.

There is a real possibility that I may suddenly begin cross-stitching everything again either next week or twenty years from now.  LOL

The dolls just haven't been getting the time and attention they used to.  Part of it is that we've had a lot of big projects and overtime at work that leave me with less time, and to be honest, a lot less energy.  Part of it, I think, is that after all this time, I've really made everything the dolls could need!  And part of it is just my natural hobby-rotation... I'm not as interested in sewing or knitting right now.  I've been drawing and trying to learn Spanish in my limited free time instead.

But I love my dolls!

I truly cannot part with most of them. What I really want is to be able to enjoy them  more, rather than just taking pictures four or five times a year.

But I could part with a lot of their wardrobe, and a lot of the props.  I think having less for them will allow me to enjoy them more, and will give me more incentive to make them things!

So I think I've made a few decisions:

1.  Flake is to be sold. She's charming!  But having both her and Hope feels redundant. I know that there is someone out there who would adore having Flake and her pink wardrobe come to stay with them.

2. I'm only keeping the props for the "main room" set.  That means that Emily's bedroom, and the truly awesome furniture I purchased for the Pukifee nursery, will all go.  Extra stuff from the "Craft Room" setup will be heading out.  And a lot of the "little" props that go with those rooms.  

3.  I'm going to be doing a couple giveaways, to send off a bunch of clothing in Pukifee and Littlefee size.  That clothing might as well go to someone who will use it frequently, and Emily, Kipling, Cairo, and Samara will have wardrobes that only contain my very favourite of their outfits.  I'll likely do it through Flickr, and it will be done in 1-3 Lots, to reduce the costs of shipping.

4.  I won't be purchasing any new dolls in the near future.  The only doll-related spending I may do is to find an alternate faceup artist who favours very natural faceups (preferably in Canada) to do Hope's faceup.

I hate the thought of parting with anything, but I love the thought of the extra space I will have, and how much easier it will be to find what I want for the dolls.    I suspect this is one of those cases where, once I have less, I will be able to enjoy what I do have more.

...plus, once they no longer have giant wardrobes, I am much more likely to be motivated to make them something new! ;)

My Very First Ball-Jointed Doll

My very first BJD was stolen.  Well, I said rescued.  And I received permission after the fact.

This is Danielle*:

You can see she is not in the best of shape.  We're not sure if she originally belonged to my grandmother or great-grandmother, but my mother, the youngest of her siblings, remembers playing with this doll as a child.  She wasn't broken at that point. though her paint had been getting a little shabby.

Then along came a string of cousins, and without my grandmother around to teach them to play gently with poor Danielle...well you see the problem.  She is only composition, and that's not the sturdiest of materials!

I tried hiding her around my grandfather's house, lying on pillows and wrapped in blankets, but those boys always found her!  So I smuggled her home.

I did get permission once the deed was done, but honestly, I felt poor Danielle's well-being was at risk! LOL

So she has lived with me ever since.  She's wearing a hand-made dress, which was likely made by my grandmother, but no one is sure.  The Nephews think she's creepy, but Nieceling doesn't. :)

As you can see, her injuries have not slowed her down in the slightest!

I don't believe her strings have ever been tightened, but there she is, standing on her own, steady as a rock.  And that is despite having lost about half of one of her feet!

I haven't had much to post lately.  Work has been very busy, and I hurt my back somehow.  It is getting better now though!  Perhaps I will muster the enthusiasm to sew all those snaps on Hope's clothes.  She keeps me company at my desk, but would probably enjoy being in some  pictures too. ;)

~~~

*I'm quite certain that is not her original name, but no one could tell me what she was called earlier in her life.  Since I was three, and had a friend named Danielle, she became Danielle as well!  Actually, she's very lucky, since most of my naming choices around that age were things like "Pinky" "Browny" "Reddy", and "Mouse".  LOL  Mouse might have been taken as an expression of creativity, but sadly, Mouse was in fact a small stuffed mouse.  

A little Hope

When the box from Fairyland arrived Christmas Eve, it also contained my Realfee Mari.   Most of the names I'd thought of went out the window once I had her in my hand. I thought about Holly, or something else Christmas themed, but after a bit I came to the conclusion that what we could most use around here (and anywhere else too, I'd imagine!) is a little bit of Hope.

And Hope suited her very, very well:

None of her clothing is ready.  Over the Christmas break I got her dress mostly made (it needs straps and a snap, but I'm sewing by hand, so it has taken a bit) and started on her shawl.  I got just enough done that she can appear here to make her debut!

I love her crazy ears, and her little pointy chin.  She poses very well, which is always a prime consideration for me.

I think the planned colours and style are going to work just perfectly for her. :)  It is always nice when that happens!

She tried on all the wigs here yesterday, whether they fit her or not.  I'd been thinking of trying a lighter colour for her hair, but she would have none of it!  I'd also thought of black, but again, it was right out.

These two, however, have promise:

This is too big (it was Nora's wig!) but I love both the colour and the style! The crazy windbown curls are perfect for a little free spirited sprite! But I did want to stay away from Mohair this time, because it gets just wrecked by hats.

This one wouldn't be harmed by hats at all, or by repeated changes of hairstyle:

The wig is a little less red in real-life, but is unexpectedly appealing on her.  I really wasn't thinking about bangs for her...but for now, I think this is the one she will go for.

I might get her some new eyes, but these will do very well for now.  The main focus, other than working on her wardrobe, is on her faceup.  I am hoping to get it done by Sparrow Faceups, as her style is just perfect for the innocent, natural look I want for Hope.  And she seems to be very good at freckles too, and don't you think Hope needs a little sprinkling of freckles?  Her thread on DoA says closed/Full right now, but I am keeping an eye on it.

I've never sent faceplates away for faceups, so this is both very exciting, and nerve-wracking!  LOL

The Trilliums are arriving....

It is finally here!  The Trilliums are starting to bloom:

This is the first one I saw today.  But it is a sure thing that when you see one, you will soon see a whole carpet of them!

The most amusing thing about Trilliums is that we are all convinced it is illegal to pick them, when it turns out it isn't!  Still, the first thing we teach a child encountering their first Trillium is that they must never, never pick one.  This particular flower is best enjoyed outdoors anyway. :)

Since it wasn't raining (or snowing) I had to take Emily out to explore, of course!

Her jacket is the one I was working on a while ago (I just sewed on the snaps and buttons yesterday... LOL).  It is the Queen Street Jacket pattern by Kristen Maw.  It was actually very quick to knit. :)

I have missed being able to take outdoor pictures of the dolls terribly! They are always the most fun. :)

Last Day of Vacation, First Day of 2015

I've really enjoyed my vacation.  Aside from spending time with friends and family, I've had time to work on all the things I've been hoping to have time for. :)

There's been some progress on Parker's Attic.... (plus a sneak peek of Parker herself, since her horns arrived!)

 

 

And I made some progress on her wardrobe...

   

And I had time to take doll pictures....

 

As well as a bunch of other tasks, such as doing clean-out of the doll stuff, and re-organizing it. ;)

There's even been time for people size knitting, reading, watching the first few episodes of "The Librarians" (completely fun!), heading outside into the cold for brisk walks when the grey weather gets a bit much.  I even had time to go buy new pillows for my bed, which I've been meaning to do for about five months. That might have backfired though, because I slept in this morning I was so comfortable! LOL

I'm back to work tomorrow, but I'm going to try to make more time in 2015 to work on all the things I love.

Fall Has Definitely Set In!

It's just plain cold out there today.  Which works, because I finished Version 2 of the Marigold hat yesterday, and was able to wear it today. :D

Nieceling was here this weekend, and had plenty of adventures with Saila, though we had no time to photograph any of them.  (This happens a lot around small children... LOL)   Saila watched cartoons, tap-danced, slid down the railing, helped with the laundry, pushed elevator buttons, helped Nieceling go through the Wish Book, and had several wardrobe changes.

Her hair was practically standing on end when Nieceling went home, but you know what, a quick light brush and it was hanging as smooth and shiny as before.  Now that's good quality doll hair!

Some Random Things You Might Enjoy

Have you seen these little poseable skeleton figures that are out now?  Zorropirate  was kind enough to direct me to the Amiami site, where you can pre-order them.  Can you say Perfect Christmas Present for my nephews??!  Seriously, they will get such a kick out of these.

Eve Studio Project has their dragon available in two sizes, now, and it is awesome!  I won't be getting one, but I'm hoping lots of other people will so I can admire it.  (The Internet is so great for this - I don't have to own 95% of the things I think are awesome. I can just look at other people's pictures of them!)

If you haven't seen Sharon's transformation of Kidz n Cats Grace, I suggest you go admire it. Sian is now such a perfect little character!

Craftsy has some new entries to their free Mini-Classes, if you're looking to learn a new skill! I've tried a few of the free ones and found them very interesting. :)

The Trixie Belden series is available as ebooks.  I have a budget of one ebook purchase per month, and nothing scheduled for November or December.  I just re-read the six I own from childhood (two inherited from some older relative), so I'm thinking I might need to try a couple of these that the public library didn't have when I was a kid! :)

(I loved these books so much that my eight-year-old self insisted on naming our dog Trixie.  LOL)

This says something about my attention span, I think...

I'm having one of those days.  You know, those days where you see a doll ("Wolf" MNF at Fairyland, in this case) and an idea how to include it in the story comes into your head, and then you're mentally listing out the other things you would need (wigs, eyes, clothes, shoes, accessories...re-purchasing a MNF Ruth to bring back Sebastian...), and when you stop to think about it you realize the final tally would probably be in the thousands, and you don't actually want to spend any money, let alone that much!


I find it pretty funny how fast your brain can run away with you... (or maybe that is just me!)  It was a very highly entertaining half-hour of contemplation.  Truthfully it kind of feels like I bought both dolls, and their wardrobe, mentally took the pictures of their various humorous adventures , and sent them on to a new home already.

And all for free!  ;)

BJD Meme

I was tagged in a BJD Meme over on Flickr, so I thought I'd do it here as well. I'm quite late, of course! I went back to work on Thursday, and after having been off for a week and a half...well, there was a lot to catch up on!

If you haven't been tagged, and would like to be, consider yourself tagged!  I'm a little behind this week... LOL

1. How long have you been in the BJD hobby?

I received my first (and intended to be my only) BJD in 2006, I think.  It was a Lati Yellow Lami, "Winter Tan" version.

2. How many dolls do you have at home?

I have seven, including the cat. ;)

3. What are their names and sculpts?

Claire (Fairyland Minifee Chloe)
Emily (Fairyland Littlefee Ante)
Kipling (Fairyland Pukifee Ante)
Cairo (Fairyland Pukifee Zoe)
Samara (Fairyland Pukifee Bonnie)
Flake (Fairyland Realpuki Soso)
Edith (BJD Cat from Eve The Cat/Oleum)

4. Which doll have you had the longest? How long has it been?

Actually, it's Kipling and Cairo, who were ordered together!  They arrived in 2009 it looks like.  You know, I hadn't even thought about the fact that I no longer have any of the dolls from before those two.

5. Which doll is your favorite?

Is there any doubt?  LOL  Emily!

6. Are you waiting on any dolls now? If yes, which one(s)?

None.  I'm really happy with my current group as is, and have no plans to get another one at this time. :)

7. What is your grail doll?

...Emily?  LOL I guess I don't have one at this time.

8. Did you learn something new because of this hobby?

I've learned all sorts of new sewing and knitting techniques, and the little bit of pattern creation I've picked up has all been from this hobby.  I think that I have improved a lot of skills as well.

9. Have you made any friends you might otherwise not have because of this hobby?

 I have online-met a lot of really great people through this hobby, who I enjoy talking to. :)  They are part of what makes this hobby such a pleasure.

10. What are your doll plans for this coming year?

I plan to focus on Claire's wardrobe this year, and to finish up the two littlefee  patterns I've been working on.  (Both patterns were revised before Christmas and are waiting for me to work through the updated version... LOL)

Better Travelled Than Me....

Sometimes it's just astonishing to think of how much travelling my dolls did to reach me.   Most of them came via Korea.   One came from Korea via the states, and went through Colorado before coming here to me.



 My BJD cat came from Russia, and just made it to Canada this morning.  It's in Ville St-Laurent (in Québec) this morning.



I have never been to any of those places!

I've been to about half the other provinces within Canada, but Québec is one I haven't visited yet.  I was in the States once as a child, but that was Florida.  The only time I've left the continent was a trip to Barbados when I was very, very small.   

It makes you wish the dolls could talk, and tell you a bit about where they were! LOL  But of course, that would in actuality be:
1)  A little disturbing
2)  Pointless, as they travel in boxes, and could not see a thing!

It's still a neat thing to think about though, isn't it. :)

Labour Day...

Today is Labour Day, so I have an extra day off work.  Three days in a row, hurrah!  The weather here has been rain, rain, and then some more rain just to be sure we got the message that summer is over, so I'm spending this day as I've spent the last two:  catching up on little jobs that have been put off.

I've replaced a hook on the bathroom door, fixed the screen in the dining room window, made a header for my blog (finally!), and re-organized the front hall closet.

Much more fun, I'm continuing to work on Claire's craft room, which includes painting some scrapbook embellishments that look like picture frames.  I've been meaning to get around to that one for years.



I pulled out my fabric scraps I've been saving, and wrapped them around bits of balsa wood and cardboard to fill one of the drawers of Claire's craft table with fabric.  A lot of the time my first idea for things like this does not work out...but this time it did! The fabric drawer looks exactly the way I wanted it to.



You have to imagine Claire going around to all the fabric shops and convincing them to donate fabric that didn't sell even on the discount table, so that is how she gets them still wrapped on the cardboard!  LOL

I started working on the first prototype pattern of what I've been calling "the Wabi-sabi dress" in my head.  The edges on all the ruffles are left to fray, thus the name. I envy those people who do the math, chart out the pattern, and have it turn out the way it should the first try, but I am definitely not one of them.  Also, muslin is not the best fabric for making doll sized double-fold bias tape.  It'll work, though!

P.S.  This may very well be the most awesome ball-jointed cat in the history of ball-jointed cats.  Seriously.  Check out her whole photostream!  <3

Making Some Progress On An Old Project...

So I have long wanted to put together a craft room for Claire.  Yesterday I rescued a desk organizer that was going to be thrown out at work.  After finding nothing I already owned that would make a good counter-top for it, I went out to Dollarama today, and found a less-than-standard width cutting board for $2.  Perfect fit!

So now Claire has a crafting table, but I need to figure out a layout for this room, to distinguish it from the other two rooms.  I want to re-use as much as possible, as usual, while giving the room a different "look."

...deciding is not so easy!  What do you think?

Huh...

Now that I have the money saved up for Claire's body and have ordered it, I had to sit down to decide whether to save up to re-purchase Nora or Sebastian next.   But you know the weird thing?

I don't think I miss either of them enough to replace them.  Nora was lovely, and I'm terribly fond of Sebastian's character, but I haven't really found the lack of them to be trying.  With Claire, there's have been countless moments of brief aggravation - I wanted her for a picture, or to try out a pattern, or she really needed to be in a photostory...the other two, not so much.  I'd certainly be happy to take them if I were handed them back for free;  but I don't think I enjoyed them enough to save up for eight to twelve months each.

So for the time being, I won't be replacing them.  This will probably change, but at this point in time, I'm pretty much content with what I've got.  Six BJDs is a really good number, all in all! I can't wait to get a group picture once Claire's body arrives. 

There are a few dolls I'd love to have, but I think I can be just as happy looking at pictures of them.  I'm looking at you, Enyo, Sasha, Nappy Choo, Littlefee Babies, and Iplehouse In General!

Just because I'm excited about Claire having a body again, have an old picture:

Interesting Interview with Fairyland...

As I'm sure you are aware, I'm a big fan of Fairyland's dolls.  I've had a few non-Fairyland, but nothing has compared for posing!  (And of course, I love the sculpts!)

Anyway, I came across this interview, here, which I thought I'd share!

It's interesting to hear what someone at the company is thinking... :)

Nora...

 Finished one of my projects... Nora now has a rolled hem sweater all of her very own!

Now if only I could stop making changes to the Double-Breasted Jacket pattern, I could move on to something new. ;)

Why I Love the Doll Collecting Hobby

1.  The dolls!  

I have mostly BJD, and they solve a frustration I'd had since early childhood...realistic posing!  I have no idea why the posing limitations always bothered me, but they did, and my Fairyland dolls are pretty much perfect. :D

There's such variety, and even the same sculpt, with the same faceup, usually looks very different from one owner to the next.  It is endlessly fascinating to me...

2.  I get to use a whole bunch of other hobbies in conjunction with this one.
   
I love knitting, and sewing, and crafting in general...  I can use a lot of these skills to make things for my dolls, and while I'm no expert at any craft, my skills have vastly improved since I started making things for the dolls.   I mean, I did a dress with a lace skirt the other week!  Lace!  A couple years ago, I would have probably just assumed it was too hard.

I've learned tons about how clothing is put together and how to make something without a pattern when necessary.  I still prefer using patterns, but I feel like I can at least try to come up with something when I can't find a pattern these days!

And photography....my family and friends tend to dislike pictures of themselves once they hit about 10, so they become reluctant to pose!  The dolls are always happy to pose (and so cooperative about it, too!), and there are people who are amused enough to look at them for fun. 

3.  The people!

It's lovely to have like-minded people who get excited over a new doll, outfit, photoshoot, or a wig!  And my Flickr friends, blogs I read, and DoA are a constant source of inspiration and admiration.  There are so many people doing such awesome things with their dolls, and it always makes me want to learn more!

It's also been good for me...I'm not good at New People.  I worry that I might be bothering people or intruding, but I'm much braver about commenting.  Okay, yes, I still dither over every comment I leave, no matter how inoffensive, but I do leave comments!  LOL 

While there are always a few bad apples, the people I've come across in this hobby have been a higher than average concentration of very kind and generous people.  I love that. :)

The After Christmas Ailment

It seems part of the Christmas traditions around here involves a small person bringing home the latest ailment, which then makes it's way through the whole family. This year, the Very Littlest brought home the flu. I've been pretty much offline for a week! LOL My doll goals this year are very modest.... shoes and wigs, and making lots of clothes, for the most part. I've got a couple items in progress for Lonnie, which I will need to get back to. :)

Nora

I had small visitors for the weekend, but after they left I got out my new Iplehouse KID.  :D   Daylight + time to actually see what fits = a lot of fun.

I found the 6/7 wigs I have are just a little too small for her....they tend to rise up on her head, and since her head cap is only attached by magnets, they were actually pulling it off after a bit!  LOL  So I tried on a couple of the wigs I'd got for Claire's arrival, as I think their heads are pretty nearly the same size, and that worked much better.  In fact, I've found her wig!




I had planned for black hair...that was the one constant in ordering and waiting for this doll....and it turns out dark brown suits her about a thousand times better!

On the clothes front:
1.  Ken shirts fit perfectly!  Ken pants, on the other hand, don't even remotely fit.
2.  Littlefee dresses that are a little loose fit great as tops.  If the fit is too close, however, they won't quite close at the back.
3.  Littlefee skirts fit very well, though of course they are considerably shorter
4.  Minifee skirts fit a little longer, but otherwise well, as to the tops.
5.  She does fit in Littlefee shoes and boots, but they look a bit clunky on her.  I definitely prefer the three pairs of "In Motion" doll shoes from Ruby Red Galleria.  I will probably buy her another pair next month. :)
6.  I tried on a pair of Minifee leggings, and they are too long and baggy about the waist, to boot, but looked just fine with a loose top.
7.  The pair of Ellowyne jeans I tried on her fit beautifully at the waist and on the legs, but was of course too long!




Poseability-wise, shes certainly not comparable with the Fairyland Littlefee, but she's not bad either!  With the mobility joint, she's a very stable stander (I'm not sure if she would be quite as easy without it), and she can do poses with her arms up near her face or holding things, but her elbow joints look pretty awful in those poses.  Long sleeves for those!  I do like her leg joints a lot;  they 'lock' and can't slip out of place at the hips.

Overall, this is a gorgeous doll, and I'm so pleased with her!  :D

Aren't these cute?

Did a quick browse of Etsy today (looking, as always, for more patterns) and saw this store:  Dolly Details

It has a few drinks and snacks that look perfectly Littlefee size! It can be hard to find things that look right in a Littlefee's hands. :)

I also noticed dollb has a wider variety of Littlefee shoes available again, which are very, very tempting....

(No, Emily doesn't need more shoes, but her shoe collection is not as bad as the Pukifee's, anyway!)

~~~

I received a package from Doreme last night with shorts for Claire, and jeans hopefully for the hybrid, so I'm hoping to try them on and get some pictures this evening!

Dolly Gratitude

1.  Aidolls Little Jr Darea is off to her new home!  Shipped yesterday. :)
2.  LTF Bonnie has had shipping quotes sent, so we'll see if this is her new home!
3.  Had a nibble today on the Bluefairy Tinyfairy Emilie, so crossing my fingers!
4.  Emily is still my favourite.  In fact, Artist out there somewhere who sculpted the Littlefee Ante mold?  You are awesome!



5.  I have NINE dolls. That is a whole heck of a lot of dolls! LOL
6.  Weather permitting, I will have time to go out and take some pictures on the weekend.
7.  I may even have time to sew this weekend!
8.  Once the dolls have gotten to their new home and the buyers confirmed they are happy with them?  I can order Luna for the faceplates for my hybrid.  Yay!

Knitting for Corolle Les Cheries...

The Corolle Les Cheries dolls are wonderful.  Excellent quality, the perfect size for little hands, and they look like little girls of 3-6.  They have adorable little faces.  I got one for a Certain Small Person for Christmas, and much to my delight she's become a favourite!

...so I had to pick one up as a model so I can make things for her doll.  Woe is me. ;)

When I tried downsizing the Tiered Jacket pattern, it was much too big for Emily (Littlefee), but turned out to be just right for this size!  That's pretty much what I've been working on all this week.  I only have one sleeve left!  I've been trying to keep track of the changes I made as I went along.

The only frustrating thing about these dolls is that there is tons of really wonderful patterns out there...but almost all are in French.  I can follow along with basic ideas in French, but knitting terms I have a lot of problems with.  As for the sewing patterns, they seem to be very hard to actually get hold of here.    I may, in the end, have to make my own sewing patterns up for the basics.