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! ;)

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. :)

Catching Up!

The Internet hasn't been cooperating lately, but it seems to be doing better the last couple days.  Is it a co-incidence that that also marks the end of the couple week long streak of temperatures hovering at -30?  Hmm...

I finished off a couple sweaters today.  They were sadly sitting in the "add snaps and buttons" pile, and both were for Emily.  So I thought it was about time to get them done!

Here's the Rainbow cardigan, which I just adore:

The whole time I was working on this sweater I had songs from the 80s playing in my head.  LOL  It is such a cute sweater and I love the way the hood is constructed.  :)  This is from Kristin Maw's "House Sweater for Littlefee" pattern, which can be found on Ravelry or Etsy.  It was a really quick knit!   I may make a single colour version for Emily with the pocket sometime too.

The second sweater was a pink sweater made from my own pattern.  I think I really do have that exactly the way I want it now!

Yesterday I had Nieceling pick out the winner of the Pukifee dress and blanket set giveaway, which she really enjoyed.  She loves sending mail, and nothing makes a six year old happier than a little power over the world, so picking the winner was definitely her idea of a good time.

This is the set here, modeled by Kipling:

You can see that Kipling had some (unwanted) help from Edith!  The blanket is from a free pattern on Pixie Faire.  I knit the Bitty Baby size (minus two repeats) with laceweight, on 1.25mm needles.  The yarn is actually Aunt Lydia's Crochet Thread (100% viscose from Bamboo), and it is lovely for this sort of thing.  It has a much better drape than some of the other crochet threads I've tried.

I've been playing around lately with hand-lettering and calligraphy.  I'm terrible at it, but it is fun!  I really like this site:  The Postman's Knock

Definitely worth checking out if you are into that sort of thing.  It gave me some inspiration for this summer's project:  Nieceling and I are going to embark on an epistolary adventure this summer.  By which I mean that I've been collecting addresses from various relatives willing to send mail back to her and will mail any letter she wants to send.  Good practice for her both in printing and in spelling/putting together written sentences, and she will be uttlerly thrilled to get letters or postcards back.   :)

Little Drummer Boy...err...Girls!

Sometimes you just have to make your own fun!  Gathering up anything that can be used as a drum (or a shaker, for Flake), and marching around singing and drumming to "The Little Drummer Boy" seemed like a good idea to Emily and the rest!



With enthusiastic clanging!!



And Shaking!



And Banging!



And some waving around of a star!



 Claire wants to know what exactly they are up to.



Kipling thinks that is a bit of a silly question....  ;)

I'll be home for Christmas...if only in my dreams....

 For the first time in her life, Claire's brother Sebastian will be away at Christmas time. He had tickets to come home, but there is a missing baby dragon, and he was needed for the search. Claire understands, and even agrees with the decision. She's really glad for Skype, though!

The little ones find the whole Skype thing a little intimidating at first, but they quickly get used to it once they see Sebastian on the screen. The Pukifee have made him a picture for Christmas.

Emily made him something out of Lego. It has a diving board and a desk and chair in the same room, which she seems to feel he'd appreciate. :)

Sebastian can even continue the tradition of reading a chapter of "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus" to everyone each night. They love it, though Samara never makes it through the whole chapter, and they get a little worried when the Awgwas come into the picture!

Even though he'll call again tomorrow, it is still a little sad to say goodbye....

~~~~

...I now feel guilty for selling Sebastian (MNF Ruth)...LOL  Poor Claire!!  And everyone!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas....

Yesterday was my last day of work till January 2nd.  That is a truly awesome thing.  I try to take at least a week off at Christmas every year, because I think the best Christmas present you can get is time to do the things you love!  Whether that is baking with my sister's kids, or setting up some doll pictures. :)  You can see that Flake wasn't being much help though, she was just trying to get into the presents I think!  Pixies!  Can't keep them out of anything!

The residents of Forest Hills are once again getting ready for Christmas, as you can see!  Emily has organized Samara and Kipling to help her make a new garland for the tree.

Edith is very helpful, as always! I hope Kipling has a good grip on that string!

Where's Cairo in all this?

Decorating the tree Properly, of course!  She knows just the right spot for the big yellow star ornament.

Playing School...

While I was out today, I found this perfectly adorable little chalkboard/whiteboard combination at Michaels (Craft store), that was just perfect for Emily!

In other news, I have typed up the "final" version of my Laceweight Top Down sweater for Littlefee pattern, so the next task is getting all the pictures taken to illustrate the steps.  I hope to get that done by the end of the month.  I'm really not a fast knitter, and there's lots going on this time of year.  LOL

Aft Gang Agley

It's a beautiful day out there, so I thought I'd take my chance to get a picture I've wanted to take for ages.  I dressed Claire up , picked up the empty picture frame I've been saving for just this occasion, and headed outside.

This is the picture:



It came out okay, I think, but not that exciting, in the end.  It didn't help that the grass was too deep to get the bottom of the picture frame.  I might try again another day, in a different location. :)

The picture I like best from today? The one that I thought of just before I headed out the door:

 

LOL  Isn't that just the way!  But come on, who doesn't want to discover a random garden gnome with a suitcase at the park? I don't remember where the gnome came from, but he normally sits on one of the bookcases in my living room.

Emily went along too:



She seems pretty enthusiastic about the sun, after the long winter we had! :D

Signs that winter may be coming to an end...

I can see patches of ground in between the stretches of ice and snow!



It's still pretty cold out there, but the sun is out today for the first time in days, and that is a lovely thing.  I risked life and limb inching along the ice covered path to get down to this area of the yard.   I had grand ambitions of getting some good pictures of Claire and Emily "sliding" on the ice.  It's much too rough for skates, so the kids take a few running steps, then slide across, balancing on their boots.  (In theory.  In practice it's more sliding sitting down.  Thank goodness for snow pants!)



It turned out is was actually pretty hard to keep the dolls and myself balanced, with a camera in one hand! LOL So I only got a few pictures that turned out, and none of them together.



Oops! And down goes Emily!

That's her new sweater that I just finished yesterday.  I have to make yet another adjustment to the pattern!  LOL  Someday I will get it just the way I want it;  I've already started knitting the adjusted version. In pink, this time, because why not?

Checking off the mini-steps....

I'm back to working on what I'm supposed to be now: the top-down laceweight sweater pattern for Littlefee.  I'm working it in white this time, as 1)  Emily could use a white pullover  and 2)  Stitches are so much easier to see in a light colour!

I think when I'm done that I will take a quick break and sew up a little dress or skirt in a pretty spring print to go with the white sweater.  It's definitely poor Emily's turn to get some pictures...it looks like more snow this week, but perhaps we'll get some Spring weather next week, and I can head outside for pictures!

 
I'm working on basics for Claire right now, as that is most of what is missing from her wardrobe.  So it's white, black, and grey 3/4 sleeve t-shirts and tank tops to start.  Then I have a pretty blue shirt all cut out as well, as a reward for getting through the neutrals.  ;)

I always mean to use the sewing machine for t-shirts, and always start to do so....and then get frustrated and switch to hand-sewing.  I know it is faster, and should in theory be neater, on the machine, but it never works out that way for me.  I'd much rather spend an afternoon hand-sewing a single shirt than  machine-sewing four or five that I'm not happy with.  So hand-sewing it is, even if it means I will be done the shirts for May rather than March. LOL


My nine9style order is in Canada today, so by the end of the week Claire will have a jean jacket, which I am very pleased about.  I think Spring really does have to arrive any day now! 

Passing the time on December 23rd...

They have come up with a plan, and are looking for a specific record, with one particular song:



Emily carefully starts the record:



The cheerful tune of "Rocking Around The Christmas Tree" is heard. Just what they were waiting for!









LOL Few things are more amusing than Little Kid Dancing!

 I wanted to add two more pictures onto the end of this, but sadly Claire's body is still not here. It might arrive tonight though! :D

Waiting for Christmas...

It's been pretty busy here this weekend, with cookies and visiting, but I had some time today to take some pictures.

 Emily is trying to entertain herself in her room, when Edith comes in to visit. Edith is slowly being allowed in new rooms, as Claire read that this keeps cats from getting overwhelmed. (It also makes it easier to find Edith... LOL)



Edith has to check out all the important places...under chairs, on top of chairs... so many things to look at!







Maybe a nap will make Christmas come faster...

I did say I was going to take a lot of pictures, right?

They're not the best pictures, as I was rather rushed to catch the last of the daylight. But I was good all day, and had to get to trying things out!

Meet Edith:



She is a 5cm Oriental sculpt from this company.

She's not "offically" here in the Dollverse just yet, as I'm waiting on Claire's body so I can take those pictures.  However, I had to get some pictures with the various sizes of dolls I do have here right now, because that was something I found hard to find when I was deciding to get Edith.

Itty Bitty Bit Of Progress

Finished off a couple things this weekend.  Well, if by finished you mean "didn't sew the snaps/velcro on but otherwise done!"  ;)  My favourite part is that these are done entirely from my own patterns, even though those patterns are still far from final.




The sweater is a top down pattern I am working on.  It still needs adjustment, but I'm pleased with this sweater for Emily as is.   I wanted to make a simple skirt to go with it, mostly because I love that fabric a ridiculous amount.  The tiny houses!  LOL  It is just a rectangle of fabric, sewn to a stretched elastic for the waist, so it is not the prettiest, but it does the job.



I couldn't stand to use muslin again and went ahead and made the yoke-dress/tunic in the good fabric.  I used the sewing machine for everything, which was a mistake.  You can see I made a mistake with the lining around the neck, and didn't gather the sleeves properly at the top.  I accidentally eased them instead.  Oops!  

However, that said, I still like it and will still use it. 

Now all I have to do is add some vecro to the one and snaps to the other, and they can be added to Emily's permanent wardrobe.  I need a better way to organize her clothing, as it is in a plastic container right now.  Some way to hang them up would be nice, but I'm short on space, so I'm not sure how I'd manage that.   Something to think about...

Remembrance Day

Today is Remembrance Day, in these parts.    I'll be heading out to the local ceremony in a couple minutes, but wanted to post this before I went.



Emily, like one of my small relatives, is attending her first Remembrance Day ceremony today, and is taking that responsibility very seriously.

Marriage or Cookies?

The Pukifee were playing "Wedding" when Emily brought in some peanutbutter cookies to share.



The "Reverend" has already bailed on the wedding with her cookie, and the bride has clearly lost all direction. At least the little train handler is still on the job!

Of course, that could be because she's not convinced these are real cookies.

A Few Interesting Things I've Seen Lately

This is for 1/6 scale, but a lot of the stuff easily translates to other sizes:  One Sixth Scale Diorama 101 Tutorials.

My Froggy Stuff has a lot of fun doll craft ideas and printables.   They tend to be more American Girl Doll and Monster High scale projects, but again, a lot of it could be transferred to whatever scale you are interested in! 

Over at w.i.s.h.e.s, Sofia asked "What if I could keep only one?"  (It should come as a surprise to no one that I would keep Emily!  LOL)

I tried out this pattern:  Wee Woodland Wuzzies.  I used 2.25mm needles and fingering weight yarn to try the squirrel, hoping that it would scale down to a better size for the dolls, and I'm pretty happy with it.  It had a different construction than I was expecting (I was thinking it would be knit in the round), but is quite cute!  I'm hoping I'll be home before dark tonight to get a picture. :)

ETA:  Here's some pictures of the Squirrel.  It looks pretty funny without a fuzzy yarn for the tail, but I like it anyway!





I really want to make the fox next time.  I just have to find the right colour yarn. :)

LTF Double-Breasted Coat

Here at last is the completed LTF Double-Breasted Coat pattern.  If it is readable, it is all thanks to the very kind people who volunteered to test knit this!  Any problems remaining are the fault of the author.  :)



Skills Needed For This Pattern:
You should be able to cast on, cast off, knit, purl, increase, and knit in the round (for the sleeves).

Yarn:
Fingering weight yarn. I use Palette fingering weight yarn from Knitpicks.

Needles:
2.25mm needles, or size needed to obtain gauge.

Gauge
8 stitches per inch/ 3 stitches per cm

Abbreviations Used:
PM = place marker
sl m = slip marker
kfb = knit front and back

Seed Stitch Pattern:
Cast on an even number of stitches.
Row 1: *K1, P1; repeat from * to end of row.
Row 2: *P1, K1; repeat from * to end of row.
Repeat rows 1 and 2 for pattern.

The collar, front bands, sleeve and body hems, and optional pockets are all worked in this stitch pattern.

Note:
This pattern is intended for personal use only.

It's available below the cut here, or in PDF format from Ravelry:
download now

Daydreaming...

I have always thought it would be wonderful if Fairyland would offer more "expresson" faceplates for their dolls, rather like the adorable Mui Chan, instead of just awake and sleeping (and the occasional winking faceplate).  But maybe there wouldn't be enough demand?



This is an old picture of Emily that was edited to give a faint smile.  I'd love to see happy and angry faceplates for her!  LOL