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! ;)

Kipling is all set for the day

Taking advantage of a spare hour this morning, here's Kipling trying on some clothes:

She's wearing a hat I knit her some time ago from Wovenflame's Pukifee patterns.

The top is a "Lori" top.

It appears her wardrobe is sadly lacking in skirts, so since I was not feeling ambitious enough to sew her one, I altered a Pukifee skirt to fit.  The difference in waist-size is significant enough that an unaltered elastic waist won't fit.  I tried on a littlefee skirt too, but it was just too much fabric!

The stockings are a pair of Blythe stockings left over from when I had my Blythe doll years ago.  I had to cut off the feet, but otherwise they fit okay!

The shoes are also from that long ago Blythe doll, and they just barely fit Kipling (without the laces)

I think she has her own very unique sense of style... LOL

Two Things, from a Christmas Eve package....

But only one of them has pictures yet, as I was, like everyone else, very busy with Christmas today. :)

Yup, that is Kipling! Her head, which always looked a bit over-sized compared to the other two, looks great on this taller body!

So here's what she looks like next to Emily:

And here she is with Samara:

I am really pleased with the Realfee body in general*.  Losing those exasperating neck pieces the pukifee had (always wound up showing in pictures, like a bizarre double-chin LOL) is a blessing, and she poses really well!  The outfits I'd prepared seem to fit quite well too.


But the really big hit of the package that arrived last night?

Mari!

I will have to take some pictures of her tomorrow, but she is completely and utterly charming.  She poses wonderfully, and that little face!  I'm smitten!

Oh, I can't wait for Sparrow Faceups to re-open.  I have never done the whole faceup thing before, so I am terribly nervous, but I love how natural her faceups look, and that is definitely what I want for Mari.  :D

~~~

* Honest corollary: 
1) The seam lines are a lot more prominent on the RLF bodies I received than on the other Fairyland dolls I have.  I think I can smooth them down a little, but there is a noticeable difference.
2) I struggled getting the Pukifee connector onto the Realfee body;  it was very difficult.
3)  I'd been warned, so I wasn't surprised, but my Pukifee faceplates (first generation pukifee) do not fit the connector without help from magnets or eye putty.   Newer faceplates are supposed to fit just perfectly though!

These things don't hinder my enjoyment of the dolls, but they might someone else's, so I thought I'd better make it known.

Nursery In Progress

Kipling and Cairo, just so you know, really object to their room being called "the nursery" anymore.  LOL  Claire has cleared out their room, and they have all moved into Emily's room while she works on theirs.

Sebastian was able to get a friend of his to make some bunk beds, and Claire is painting up an old crib for Samara.  But the part they were most excited about was the news that they were getting a wardrobe!

The second it arrived and they got the okay to check it out, all three ran into the room:



But Kipling had some bad news to break to the others:



There is no doorway to Narnia in there.



Cairo had to double-check, just in case Kipling missed it.

No Narnia.

Just a closet.

Claire is going to have some serious explaining to do!  (And suddenly their previous excitement about the new closet will make SO much more sense to her.... LOL)

Plans About Plans!

I've been carefully selecting a few new things for Kipling and Cairo, now that they are going to be on taller bodies:

So we have here:
1)  Two Lori outfits, which are reputed to fit and were on sale (other than the shoes)
2) A shirt, leggings, and pair of boots from Megdesignsonetsy
3) A pair of dress shoes each.  These are the Marley Wentworth (child) doll shoes, which are supposed to fit Realfee well.  They seem a good match size-wise for the boots, so I'm optimistic!  They are from Dollchris on eBay.

I've started sewing a dress from a Blythe pattern, and I've got a second cut out from the "Little Dress" pattern from MyOwnLittleWorld.   I took yesterday off from Work, though I will have to spend most of today trying to catch up on the things I can't get through in the work week.  I hope to take a couple breaks though! ...I've been eyeing those Lori boots, and wondering if they wouldn't fit little Samara....

I've also got plans about re-doing the Pukifee nursery.  I hardly ever set it up for pictures in the past, but now they are going to get new beds, and I've got some fabric scraps to make some new bedding...  I think it will be very cute and fun to photograph when it is done!

Coming up for air....

Anybody still out there?  It's been about four months since my last post.  I had hoped the project at work would ease up, but it actually got quite a bit worse for a while there.  The good news is they are now paying us for 20 hours of the overtime we work per month, so at least we are getting extra money out of it!  Money that goes mostly into my RSP, hopefully moving my retirement date forward!

So I've declared today a Holiday in the name of mental health.  Since it is a Saturday, and I technically only work Monday to Friday, I feel that is pretty fair.  ;)  I'm very grateful to have a job, but I must confess I'm getting pretty burned out.

I had the money saved up to replace Sebastian in September, but was dismayed to find that the Ruth sculpt was still unavailable from Fairyland.  Today, seeing that he is still not available, I used the money to get a blank Realfee Mari instead! She is just so incredibly CUTE.  She was a bit of an impulse purchase, which I ordinarily avoid, but looking forward to her arrival is already brightening my days considerably.  She is a whole new size, so I am looking forward to making her a whole new wardrobe next Spring!

The face-ups Fairyland has been doing recently are not really my personal taste, but I have my eye on trying to commission a real live face-up artist through Den of Angels with some of this overtime money!  The blank sculpt has such a sweet look to it, that honestly I could probably live with her blank too... LOL

(Have you seen Wovenflame's pictures of a blank RealFee Mari?  If not, you should really go look!)

I also managed to get two Realfee bodies, which are hopefully for Kipling and Cairo.  I've always wanted them to be taller than Samara, you see, and looking at owner pictures last week, I think they should work spectacularly.  I hope so, anyway!  I'd love if the RealFee bodies arrived in December, so that they could "grow" before the annual Christmas story(ies) but it is much more likely to be January I think.

I have been enjoying catching up on blog posts, Flickr, and Den of Angels.  It feels like a long time since I've had enough time to do so, and it is lovely to feel enthusiastic about the dolls again.

I don't expect to have time to do anything with the dolls this month, but I have high hopes that at least in December I may have my weekends back.  I quite miss them, and I'd be disappointed not to get at least one Christmas story put together!  It wouldn't feel quite like Christmas anymore without it... :)

Christmas 2012
Christmas 2013
Christmas 2014

Is that...?  Yes, I rather think it is the belated rousing of my normal Christmas Cheer....

Hurry up, Spring!

We have another month of winter to go, but today we have a rare day of sunshine....and it is utterly lovely!  <3

I sewed on a snap for another of the "These are finished...except for snaps" pile.  This one was for Cairo.  I used Wovenflame's Pukifee Dress pattern, but lengthened the sleeves by a few rows and added some knit-in pockets.

Oh, and I changed the transition a bit, as I wanted a bit of a band there rather than the eyelets or single row.

This is the first time I've done the knitted-in pockets.  My mattress stitch isn't as neat as it could be, but I love the look of the pockets so much that I can see more practice at it in my future. LOL

I think if Spring doesn't get here soon, there may be nothing left of Claire's main room....

If they can't go outside, they'll make their own 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.   :)

Building a wardrobe...

Around the regular tasks, I took some time to work on fun doll things this weekend.  Mostly, of course, stuff for Parker.

I started gluing down bricks for the back wall of Parker's attic.  I swear I thought I was being really consistent with the size I cut them till I started gluing them down!  I'm consoling myself that it's an old, abandoned clock tower...how great could the brick work be anyway?!

I did the finishing on Parker's sweaters - sleeves knit, blocking, ends woven in, buttons and snaps sewn on.  Then I gathered her little pile of clothing together to admire what she has, and got an idea:

Nothing new needed to be purchased for this, much to my glee. The foamcore is left over from when I cut down the walls of her attic.  The dowel, t-pins, and wire were in the craft bin, obviously purchased for some abandoned project in the past.  LOL

I need to make a little basket or something to hold her socks down there at the bottom. I saw a great one someone had made from Aida, and I believe I have some of that in the craft bin as well.

I've got two sewn dresses in progress for her, but ran out of time to finish them.  I've also got one knitted dress in progress.  After that though, I think I really need to focus on more socks, a couple skirts...then maybe a coat.

I think half the fun of this project is finding ways to use up the odd stash of craft supplies I've accumulated over the years.  ;)

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.

It's All About Edith!

Edith had the main room to herself, and was entertaining herself with one of her toys....

 

But then some better entertainment came into the room!

 

Honestly, we're not sure if Samara is now pulling the duck on purpose to play with Edith or not...she always seems surprised!  And Edith has surely realized by now that Samara's duck is not alive!  LOL

Samara moves on to another toy.   There are advantages to being the early bird, as Kipling and Cairo are not up and running about!



And Edith finds a comfy spot to nap. :)

 

It's nice to be back to these smaller dolls! They've certainly been very patient in waiting for their turn, while I knit for the play dolls all summer.

All Your Chairs Are Belong To Us

Not dead.  One of my beloved nephews passed on some sort of virus, and it's been circulating through the family.  Oy vey.  We really have to reconsider teaching kids to share, you know?  LOL  Three weeks later and a course of antibiotics, and I'm still coughing!

I got my order from Brennil (Her Delicate Strength) last night, and I'm so thrilled with the items.  It took me a long time to pare down my wish list for Claire to match my budget, but now she has a blouse, dress pants, a Spring/Fall Coat, and a winter coat!

You can see her modeling her new Business Casual look here (very useful for meeting with Donors, you know!):



But what's going on in the background there?

Not Even Easter Is Boring

Emily showed the Pukifee how to "hop like bunnies" yesterday, and they have been largely hopping since!

Samara seems to have decided to teach Bunny how to Hop as well:

I don't think Bunny "gets" it.



But Edith obviously thinks the endeavor is quite interesting!

But then apparently a Bear broke into the place, and snuck up to say "RAWR" very loudly...



Fortunately Edith is not indimidated by bears in any way. ;)



Happy Easter, everyone! :)

To the river!

I had the day off yesterday.  Since it was sunny, and even warm (spring coat, yay!), I headed out with Claire and Samara to the doll river.

It's a drainage ditch, technically, and quite full with the run-off of all the melted snow, but I really like it for doll pictures.

See the bits of green showing here and there? It's pretty great. :)

There was a bit of a breeze, but not enough that I needed to worry the dolls would fall over.

The tangle of branches by the shore makes for a good place to pose the dolls, I think.

I was tempted to bring Emily as well, but I figured two dolls and my camera were enough when I was climbing on rocks in the middle of the "river."

Some people (me!) just don't know when to quit...

So I had that incredibly adorable yarn that reminded me of Elsa's dress in the movie Frozen, and I used it to make a dress for Kipling.  (And then a matching hat, because why not?)



Then she really needed a coat to go with it, you know? And none of her existing ones worked!



And then I thought, you know, that hat pattern I have would look adorable with that coat!



And it did indeed look adorable! But she had no scarf, and that just seemed like a mistake!



And then I thought she really needed an earflap hat with curlicues on the back.

I think she's got winter covered.

Really.

I am stopping now and not making matching boot-toppers or arm warmers.

The Trials Of Being An Only Cat

Edith has more than made herself at home here, and is universally adored.

However, some of the residents here are quite young, which can lead to situations like this:



Fortunately, Claire was quick to explain that it is not comfortable for Edith to be picked up like that, and Cairo must support her hind feet as well:



Really, though, Cairo is just too small to be carrying Edith at all right now.



Edith requires a lot of petting to recover from the indignity. ;)

P.S.  Typing this post with my real-life cat not only on my lap, but lying on one arm.  Cats are so high maintenance! LOL

P.P.S.  For those of you who enjoy the BJD cats, have you seen this awesome cat tower and toys someone made for theirs?

Catching Up!

It's been pretty busy at work lately, so anything "not work" is pretty slow going right now.

I did finish this little cardigan for Claire, though:




I worked on this sort of "off the top of my head", so there's no pattern, and I didn't take any notes. I just started off and then tried it on her as I went.  Generally, that doesn't turn out too well for me, which is why I didn't bother to take any notes;  now I wish I had!

I used laceweight yearn on larger needles (2mm), which resulted in a very nice thin fabric.  The idea was to have an open-front cardigan with shaping so that it would lie nicely over the at-least-a-cm-the waist of these jeans add to her waist measurement.  I didn't really get a good picture of the sweater, and it is very simple, but it is exactly what I wanted! :)  It's nice when things work out.

Currently I'm working on a dress for Kipling.  I got this lovely laceweight yarn from Knit Picks in "Wonderland Heather", but it is pretty much exactly the colour of Elsa's dress in Frozen, and that's all I've been able to think of since!   I'm using Wovenflame's lovely Lace Pukifee Dress pattern.  I'm thinking Kipling needs a little matching hat and maybe a little white coat to wear with it.  (Winter's here to stay, so might as well take the snow as a theme?)

I don't think I can manage mittens...but wow, that would be cute, wouldn't it! ;)

I leave you with Samara and Edith having a little nap....