My knitting project just can't seem to take off!

I've been wanting to knit an AG sweater forever. Sometime last year I bought this adorable cardigan pattern. It suited my purposes for a cardigan that my 30's/40's dolls could wear. Time moved on, and this project got pushed so far down on my priority list that I actually forgot about it. This year, as soon as October hit, I got bit by the knitting bug again. (I get in a knitting mood when the weather gets cooler every year, whether I actually do any knitting or not!) This hit during my laptopless stretch of time, and the only way I could access anything online was via my phone. I don't have the Etsy app, therefor, I could not pull up any purchases I made on there before this year. :/ So, I couldn't access this pattern. (I could have down loaded the app, but my phone does not have a lot of storage, and I am constantly micro managing cached data and unneeded photos to keep it working properly. Its not fancy, but its a great phone for me.)

Still being eaten alive by the knitting bug, I looked for another sweater pattern to get. I had this vision of making a pale pink sweater with a floofy skirt of some sort. Maybe a yarn with a tinsel affect. I found the perfect sweater pattern and got it.

 https://www.etsy.com/listing/618154903/pdf-knitting-pattern-ss2016-k16-sea?ref=related-4
 (Link is to the WW size, not the AG one that I bought.)

Strangely enough, I had a hard time finding  pale pink yarn. I guess it isn't in vogue this year? That actually happens to pale pink? I finally found a color I liked in the appropriate weight at Hobby Lobby. It's a fuzzy yarn (but no tinsel), so I think it will make an adorable sweater. :D

When  I got my lap top fixed, I was all set to pull up both my cardigan since I can find it on a computer unlike my Etsy app-less phone and the latest sweater pattern, burn them to a disk and print them up. But, strangely enough the patterns tried to open on Windows Word, my subscription  of which has expired, so I wasn't able to get to them. It's really weird as in the past any down loaded patterns from Etsy have never opened with Word. They wouldn't as I only got the program with my new laptop last year. Maybe I am missing something. Not unlikely since I am just so darn computer smart and tech savvy. So, back to having to pull up my latest purchase on my phone to be able to use it! I'll email it to myself and print it up at the library if I can.

Since I had an afternoon today to just relax, I figured, no time like the present! I pulled up the pattern and carefully wrote it down on paper. (The first 12 rows, that is.) I don't have the right size needles in circular, so I just went with my double pointed needles, figuring that they would work almost as well. I know multiple needles can be a pain, but they've always been my preference. Well with this project, I think I need the circular kind! I was so busy trying to hold onto all my needles, I am not sure what I was doing, but the double ribbing the pattern was telling me to create was not what was forming on my needles! I took it out after the third row, admitted momentary defeat, and will just pick it back up when I get the circular needles.

I know this sweater will be fun to make. The instructions, as far as I read at least, are easy to follow. That is not always the case! I hope when I get into the project that mine comes out looking as good as it looks on the cover of the pattern. :P

WIP American Girl Victorian Dress

After having been laptop-less for quite awhile, its nice to be able to blog again! This post's subject is the WIP Victorian I started some weeks ago. Between my ribbon conundrum and life happening, its just been sitting there for weeks.

This is my inspiration pic.

The salmon color is quite hideous. I didn't want to make an exact copy, so I went through my fabric hoard to pick out what I thought would be a good fit both for the pattern and also for the intended doll, which happened to be my beautiful Nicki I got as a gift on Halloween. I went with a floral pattern on white. Since white lace would just be lost on the white fabric, I decided to go with a pink ribbon and do some sort of fancy ribbon work for the trim. Ribbon work isn't something I really do, so I had to decide exactly how I wanted the trim to look, and then find a good tutorial that explained how to accomplish it.

First I went with a darker pink - not dark dark, but more I guess of a medium rose pink - ribbon an inch wide. I really had a hard time trying to find any decent tutorials searching on my phone. Now on a laptop, I can find quite a few of them! What I originally tried to do did not work. Not only was I not pleased with the affect of my sad attempt at a fancy trim, I wasn't really liking the pink color of the ribbon. So, back to the store I went and got this time a paler 1/2 pink. The simplest thing to do, I decided next, was to simply pleat the ribbon. I love the affect combined with the fabric of the dress. :D

So far I have the ribbon on one cuff and the bodice. I started adding it last night to one of the top curved collar  pieces that surround the pin tucked yoke. Its a bit of a challenge to neatly curve it while keeping the pleats steady. I have a feeling that I am doing this the hard way. There's probably a technique to this that I am not using. I'll have to do more research to see what I can learn on the proper way of doing ribbon work. Here's all the pieces I have left to trim:

I went ahead and sewed the pin tucked yoke to the bodice piece before I actually needed to, but I wanted to see how it looked. I will take it back off, and add the other pieces to it, then sew it all back together.

In a true confession, I think I rushed the drafting/testing process with this dress. I'm seeing a couple of issues where I didn't think it through as carefully as I should have, where I should have been more cognizant of bulk, etc. Hopefully though, everything will go together neatly, and I'll be happy with the finished process. If it all comes together right, my Nicki is going to look absolutely gorgeous in it!



 

Going through my BJDs

I decided to take my Sunday and spend some time going through my BJD collection. Quite a few of them had been put in the "Rehome" box, and they have been there for quite awhile. Some of my dolls when I got them, due to being busy with other things and a lack of clear direction, have pretty much been stored safely away waiting for that creative click. (I'm afraid some dolls have been waiting a long time to have me come up with an idea for them!) I've added several more anthros lately. It'll be fun to see just where my doll family is right now. (I'll be dodging a sleeping Mansfield in my lap, so I might not move too quickly!)

Fast forward a few hours later, and all dolls have been sorted. I am keeping everything I had put up for sale. The ones I did part with earlier in the year, I am very glad that I did. I'm also very glad that I did not sell any more. It's nice when things work out that way!

With the lack of creative click, I concluded that for whatever reason, I was trying to achieve too much variety in the styles I dress my dolls in. Not sure why, but there you have it. I favor gothic, whimsy, circus, lolita and Victorian. I should just stick to what I like and not worry about some of my dolls being dressed too similarly! And with that conclusion, I suddenly went on a design kick and have plotted out 3 outfits, and got the first rough pattern draft for Grinsen's clown inspired outfit. (More like the latest IT clown inspired outfit.) Then I got a nice Jester outfit drawn out for Punch, and a Victorian inspired suit for Grim.

I don't think I am going to keep the cyber goth bondage pants I had made for the LTF Juri (at present named Hazard.) I don't really like that style on the little guys. I'll have to think about what to do with him as he has a sort of hot pink and green streaked wig and watermelon colored eyes. (I love those eyes.) And I like the wig a lot. I just have no idea at present what style of clothing would work with the colors.

I don't have names for everyone yet. The above mentioned Hazard might have a name change. My Volks doll is now Grinsen, which is German for grin. (Thought that was appropriate given my fun plans for him.) My Pipos Pang is Grim. My Delf Elf Yder is now settled in as Tenebris. I still don't have a name for my Soom red Trachy. He's a tough one, but I am getting some ideas for his clothing, wig and eyes.

Speaking of wigs, I am short a few. Thankfully I learned from my last wig buying experience not to buy another wig until everything was definitely set. (Those 2 wigs luckily ended up having a use for my soon to be customized MH Frightfully tall Gooliope.) Trachy has no wig. Hazard's wig is up in the air. Lucian (5star Jesse) had a lavender fur wig I was not completely happy with that unfortunately ended up going to the laundry mat. :/ It's a little worse for wear now, and I am not sure if he can even still fit in it. Tenebris stole Coal's (Elf Chiwoo) black and silver wig, and Grinsen has nothing but the ill fated hope that I will make him a yarn wig. So, I got on DoA to see if I could find anything perfect. I know I want Coal's wig to be long, but not too long, and plain black. I found a seller who has one that fits the bill. She has another I think would be perfect for Grinsen. I am eagerly awaiting her response, as I made on offer for the 2. (It's as exciting as getting a new doll! :D)

I'm not sure if I will try to do any sewing today. I might just see how far I can go with designing and  just plan on getting some stuff sewn for mine next weekend.

Today was a good day. Its not like every day is some sort of horror fest, but its nice to be able to just say a day was a good one. I'm not totally over the flu-like misery of the last couple of days, but I felt well enough to get back to some of my normal routine, although a lot later than I prefer. I feel even better tonight, so I think tomorrow will be another good day!

I spent some time working on commission stuff, but mostly spent my sewing time on something for one of my dolls. Normally sewing for myself is saved for the weekend, or later on at night. But, since I am mostly caught up on everything I had been backed up for so long, I figured it wouldn't hurt to spend most of my time today working on a new pattern for my Delfs. I found this amazing hoodie/dress/top on facebook, and I just had to make it for one of my dolls. I initially couldn't decide who to make it for first, but since I needed my Delfs out for a present commission I just started officially this week, I figured it would be really fun to make it for them first. I got my Juri06 head some time ago, and while he is sharing (more like *taken over*) Coal's body, he needs something special just for him to wear. He gets the first one! I will post more on this later, on a blog entry just for this project.

Now, onto the rest of what made my day so awesome! I am almost caught back up on my German after slacking horribly for last 2 weeks plus. Not abandoning it completely, but really slacking. Latin got missed a few times, but German kept getting skipped. I'm almost done going back over the last few chapters to where I can start studying new material again.

And now Latin. I am so excited. I have gotten a really solid hold on the first and second noun declension families. And now I realize how simple the third is! I had been so intimidated at first with the third declension especially as there are several cases that have no set pattern to what they are. Of course it has helped my confidence to get a solid hold on the first 2. It's given me a much deeper understanding of how the language works, which makes new stuff much easier to digest at this point in my Latin self studies. I will need to work with them some more to get even more familiar, but so far, I'm excited to study them! It's not scary any more. I'm also getting a really good hold on adjectives. The 1st and 2nd declension adjectives are easy, and third likewise is not so scary. I'm not quite to where I can say I have memorized them, but I am not worried that I won't. I'm pleased at how much I am holding onto the imperfect case. I really need to study the future case more, as its the one I still get a little tripped up on. I've also gotten an really good hold on the present and imperfect forms of "sum" and "possum." Again, I need to get a better handle on the future, but it's coming along nicely!

I know I have a whole lot more to learn before I can think about reading actual texts in either language. I am very much a beginner, but I am really excited about my progress. I'm having fun with it, and I feel pretty confident. It's nice to see that just because it seems ungraspable and really hard, and that there is no way you will actually hold onto any of it, its not true unless you believe it and quit. It's not quite been a year yet that my obsession with learning Latin started, and even less with German. (Funny, I started German to boost my confidence with Latin as I thought it'd be easier. *snort* There's just a whole lot more material out there to learn from. Less complicated than Latin, yeah, but easier, no. I'm glad I started learning it though, as I have found learning 2 languages at once makes it somehow more enjoyable and is actually increasing my ability to learn.  And I LOVE German.) It's amazing to me just how much I am getting a hold - a small one maybe - but a real hold on Latin. German is coming along slower in some ways, but I also started it a few months later. Its exciting to think of how I'll be a year from now with my learning as long I keep working at it as hard as I have been thus far. (Got to stop the occasional slacking that I mentioned earlier! It's not out of losing interest, more like just running out of quality learning time.)

At one point I will go over which books I found the most useful, and why. But this is not the post for that!

Okay, this has gone on long enough! I'll end this post here, and hopefully be backed to blogging more good stuff soon!

Progress with the Pumpkin Costumes!

Here's how it is coming along. I think I put in my last post about this project that I had finished the costume for my white mouse, so I won't go over that again. So, this post will be short and sweet! Here's the 2 mice together.

The plum colored pumpkin still needs to be stuffed, and I am seriously debating about re-making the bottom. It just hangs funny, and kind of bugs me. I really want to work on the green one I started 2 weekends ago. So maybe tonight I can do that. Good thing I started this in August, ha ha.

On another happy note, I think I have settled on a name for my white mouse! Rudolph, but he goes by Rudy. Rudy goes with Harold quite well. So, fingers crossing it sticks!

Its been decided! The anthro crew's theme will be....

Pumpkins! I spent some more time making lists of possible foods to use for their zombie food theme, and then got to wondering just how easy it would actually be to create the right look for the zombie part to be convincing. Then I briefly wondered if I should do it more like Killer Foods, which would remove the necessity for zombifying the costumes. I was kind of excited about the Killer Tomato costume. I mean, that would have been hilarious. But then someone suggested just doing a cupcake theme. A good idea, but I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy making that many cupcakes. While I was making lunch, it came together in my mind perfectly. PUMPKINS!!!

This is perfect. Pumpkins in different colors, pumpkins with different faces. :D Another positive that unless I am getting fancy with the faces, making a pumpkin costume is actually really quick. And not having to create new patterns for nearly 20 different dolls is going to save me a LOT of time. I no longer have the pattern from Harold's costume, but I just measured it and re-drew one out. I have a suspicion something is slightly off with it, but it could also just be the stiffer felt is giving a slightly different hang. I'll know for sure when I get another one made. I'll have to adjust the pattern making it about an inch longer for the regular Jr. PI bodies. That will wait though until I have all the Cheese Mouse costumes done. I can't wait to make Jelly Bean's out of that sea foam color! Perfect for a little easter town bunny. :)

I went to the store and got a few more colors of felt to add to the possibilities. I was pleased to find a more rustic orange rather than the bright orange that is always available. Here's what I got:

The colors didn't come through real well. There's the bright orange, the darker orange, a dark green, hunter green, a sea foam and then more of a light reddish plum. The fabric at the bottom is an olive green knit. I am planning on making them little body suits to wear under their pumpkins, but we'll see if I get to that or not, or if I think they need it once I get all the pumpkins sewn. It'd be a cute touch, but we'll see!

I already made one out of the plum color. It ended up going to my white cheese mouse, who still cannot be named!! That little guy is hard to pin down. I started on an acid green pumpkin for Grape Jelly. (Purple cheese mouse.) I got a little ambitious with what I am going to put on the pumpkin, and I am not really sure how well it will work. If it turns out I will feel quite pleased. If not, then its not that much time wasted. :P And you never know until you try, so its worth the effort. I'll take some pics of the costumes as I get more finished.

Halloween costumes for the anthro crew ideas!

I am in such a Halloween mood. I mean, I am always in a Halloween mood, but I am in a serious get-ready-for-Halloween right this minute mood! The Halloween stuff has appeared at Joann's, and the feeling in the air is so very Autumnal, even if its been a warmer day in the upper 80's in the first week of August. The air just had that feel.

After going into Joann's to find some fabric I needed (some is for an outfit project planned for my Pipos Baha Honeysuckle this weekend. :D) I got overcome with the excitement of planning out costumes for my anthro crew. I was sitting in the car (spared grocery shopping which I normally don't mind because of a migraine, yay!), listening to some creepy carnival music (cue high praise for Derek and Brandon Feichter on youtube. I love their carnival and halloween music.) with ideas running through my brain.

I thought of some cute ideas, but then it hit me. Why not have a zombie food theme? I'll have to think of foods that will be easy enough to construct out of felt. I don't really want to go to the effort to create super highly detailed costumes, even though I could if I wanted to. No, these are going to be silly, fun and hopefully quick to get together. Sometimes its nice to take a break from super detailed projects and just have a blast with simple stuff.

With my anthros, Honeysuckle is the party planner. Being a bit of a control freak, she would of course plan out costume themes for everyone. So her plan (ha ha, mine) would be to have the little guys be zombie foods, and the big guys be the chefs turned zombies that infected the food! I have thus far, 9 little guys (well, 2 are technically en route, or supposed to be - my tracking is still on pre-shipment) if I only count the Pipos, and 5 big guys if I again only count the Pipos. I'm not sure if my 3 Dearmine Beans will participate or not, and I know Vlady, my Zuzu Wolffy wouldn't be caught dressing up. So that's 13 costumes at this point. Yep, I better get started now if I have any hopes to finish them by Halloween!

Ideas thus far:

1. Harold (basic beige cheese mouse) - Zombified pumpkin (I still have Harold's original pumpkin costume I made him years ago. Somehow I've hung onto it through the chaos of these last few years! He always wants to be a pumpkin, so I will simply sew on a removable set of eyes and mouth so he will have his pumpkin again for next year. That saves me making a new one!

2. Zombie pizza slice and maybe a bread stick? I'm not sold on the bread stick as I am not sure how easily I can make felt look like an actual bread stick. They don't have to be fancy, but I don't want anyone to have to guess to figure out what they are supposed to be!

I think I can pull off the pizza, just not quite sure how just yet. The easiest idea would be to make a full figured slice of pizza, cut a face hole, and then give it straps to go over the critters shoulders. Or better yet, have a head hole in the middle, and just have the front and back pieces. That depends on who is wearing it - getting over a large cheese mouse head with the big ears would be interesting!

3. Slice of cake. I've got a pretty good idea how to go about this one. It'll be pretty cute. If I can get it to work, my peach mouse Confetti Cake will be a zombie confetti cake!

4. Avocado. I'm googling food costumes, and saw this one. Perfect. I can totally do that.

5. Strawberry. That would be really cute. I can see that on my white cheese mouse who has yet to settle on a perfect name.

So that's 5 ideas that may or may not work. I'll have to put some more thought into this.

For the 5 big guys, I'm not sure if I could get Halloween (white Heero) to go along with the zombie food chef idea. He'd want to go something much darker and more sophisticated. I was thinking Praline and Punch (caramel and cherry blossom Bahas) would look adorable in chefs clothing, and Honeysuckle could be a waitress. Percy (Bao, the postman) could also be a waiter. How to really clearly state 'zombie' with their costumes might be a hard sell without their faces looking zombified. As that isn't an option, I'll just have to hope it comes across somewhat like I am hoping it will.

Out of everything on my list, I am most settled on the avocado and the pizza slice. I probably won't get to sewing on them this weekend just yet. I'll let my plan ripen to perfection before expending any wasted energy. This weekend will be for Honeysuckle's Apple Picking dress! (If all goes to plan...)

My Henna Hair Dye Experience

First post since January! Yeah, it's been quite a year.

The last time I dyed my hair with chemical dyes, I believe it was maybe late last October? While I can't remember precisely, that seems to be what happens every year. I want to be sure to get my hair dyed in time for Halloween. Early on this Spring, I started having major breakage problems yet again, so I went into my coconut oil saturation routine. After a couple of months of that, my hair has returned to normal. I did cut it off though to my chin to lighten up the weight to curb some of the falling hair, and it did help. I even shaved half way up underneath, and 2 inches above one ear. While I didn't want to have to cut my hair off that much (I probably cut 2/3 of it off :( ) I did like the way it looked after I cut it. Except one problem - the remaining black dye was fading and looking terrible, and the undyed stuff revealed quite a bit of silvery grey. (It was shocking to see how much I have.)

This week I finally ordered some henna dye. Having heard about my dear friend in Norway's experience with it, I really had to try it. Something had to be done. I mean, my hair looked sad.

The dye arrived yesterday, and I was actually planning on waiting until Sunday, but today was the day! I researched everything that needed to be before using henna. Apparently you wash your hair right before you dye it, using no conditioner. I would have screwed up as I always use conditioner, and would have otherwise washed it the night before. Then you either dry your hair or towel dry it. I towel dried mine. Being that I am incapable of dyeing my hair myself, a helpful and thorough volunteer stepped in to smear the clay like mush (with the consistency of pudding) into my hair. I really don't think I could have done it myself. An hour or so later, and a rather sore scalp in spots from hair pulling (I'm tender headed. I really wasn't being handled that roughly!) it was done.

The smell that a lot of people complain about was noticeable, but I didn't mind the smell too much for the first maybe 3 hours, as it just reminded me of a sweet smelling hay field. I had the whole thing timed out that I would leave it in for 4 hours, and then wash it out around 5:30. But suddenly our town trip got bumped up to before dinner rather than after dinner. So instead of washing it out an hour early, I just left it in an hour longer, and washed it out after we got back. I looked pretty comical in my clear plastic hair cap, but there was nothing else doing.

Washing it out was actually quicker than any experience I have had with chemical hair dye. Yes, the henna mixture had dried into clumps, but with the suggested use of conditioner to soften it, it wasn't too bad. (I might have a few stray clumps still in there.) I am not sure if it washes out as quickly in a shower, but when one is forced to spray their hair down with a high powered hose on the back deck, it goes pretty quick. :P (Thank you ancient sluggish plumbing!)

The smell that at first didn't bother me turned pretty cloying nearing 4 hours. It's a little gaggy right now, but thankfully, it  has also softened from the conditioner's scent mingling in, so it's a sweet smell. My hair doesn't feel dried out one bit, which is one thing they say can happen with henna. Its soft and feels really healthy.

I have no idea how the color will settle after the 48 it takes for it to completely ripen (for lack of better words!) I am totally happy with it as it is right now. Its a bright reddish copper color, much deeper than the pumpkin I was expecting. My roots could use some touching up, truthfully, but I really do like it! The henna did not dye over the faded black, which I of course, was not expecting. It did however refresh the color, improving the faded tones.

I will eventually get some indigo and go black to totally black. It's kind of fun having reddish orange and black hair for now! 

A catalaoging of my present projects....

I did complete the Taeyang outfit that was the subject of my last post. By the time I was finished with the kilt (which took me several hours) it was getting late in the evening, so I opted not for the more detailed shirt I had originally planned on, that would have echoed the strap and chain theme of the kilt, and instead went with something simple. Like a painted tee shirt. I will go into more detail on that when I get some good pics taken of the outfit. In a nutshell, I absolutely love what I made!

I feel it would be good for me to actually sit down and write out a list of all the projects I have going on right now. They are, of course, in various states of progress.

1. The lingerie for my friend's doll line. I really need to get this done, as they have ordered the fabric, which will then be passed on to me! This will have some funky sort of bolero number going on, which will be interesting to make. I'm kind of excited for that particular challenge!

2. I am super excited about this one: The Bitty Bitsu project! This has been stretched out a little while, between both of us being sick (brutal freaking flu season) and the holidays, but it has finally now officially begun! I was on fire the other night, and ended up drafting 7 patterns out of 11. Yeah, it was awesome, and I'd sure love to have another burst of whatever creative juice that was. I haven't had a chance to run all of them yet in the test fabrics, but mostly there. After that,  I'll need to make the right adjustment, and can get to the actual sewing! This is a project I am just so happy to have - I love the challenge of making tiny things as detailed and real looking as possible, so thank you sweet customer for choosing me!

3. MH stuff...I started a dress for an Abbey that is pretty complicated, and haven't gotten much past the bodice. I've just set that on the back burner for now. I need to finish the second Abbey themed dress, but am lacking the glittery silver snowflake buttons that I envision, which I can hopefully find!

Then there's the Slo Mo project. I have the Ghoul Spirit 5 pack Slo Mo, and whoever came up with that horrendous outfit should be found and captured by the dolly fashion police. I came up with a concept of bondage pants for him in a charcoal, with straps going from his pants, both in the front and the back, and attaching to his straitjacket inspired shirt, which will be in grey. The pants are done, sans snaps. Once I get the shirt done, I will do a post on just that.

4. My AG 20's project. I am putting my curly topped blonde (#56) Aggie Mae, in 20's era clothing. I so love this era, and finally have THE doll for it! I started this outfit maybe, by now, a couple of weeks ago, and have to finish the dress, and sew the sash. I somehow managed to cut out a waistband an inch too short, even though I had just measured my doll's waist. :/ I have no idea how I did that. So, I need to take that out, which will be pretty quick and simple. I just need to actually do it.

5. An AG Addy dress from one of the books. I am super duper excited about this one, and so lucky she went with me, as someone else had contacted her first. She really knows her stuff, and like my friend who I met when I took a commission for MG book/ paper doll reproductions, she wants to work off of historical photos to adjust the design. This one hasn't gone too far yet. We will be starting the actual design process hopefully soon. So while I am not actually working on this one yet, it is still something I have in the works to think about.

6. The Akhmel Alien Project. Also for the same friend as project #1. I am working off of a tape form, and this doll is very, very tiny. I haven't really done much on this one, as the doll is presently being painted by an artist. I need some measurements taken, and I sure hope the doll artist knows how to properly measure her. I want to get started on it, but am wondering if it would be smarter to wait until my friend has the doll actually back in their hands, and I know I can trust them to measure correctly.

Today in Hobby Lobby, they had their cotton prints 30% off, and I found 2 pieces I just had to get for my '50's AGs. My Maryellen still has no dress. I have made 1 50's pattern, which, while I really like it,. I've made more than one dress off of it already. So I would love to make another style of dress for ME. While sitting in the car today at the laundromat, I found a design which just goes so well with the yellow floral print I got today. I will wait a little while to start on another pattern. Unless I go on a late night binger after getting a good amount of work on commissions done. Though tonight I need to finish organizing the AG disaster that I started on last night. We'll see how it goes!

Sewing for TaeYang...

Today is TaeYang day. AGs have gotten the most consistent attention from me lately, if anything could be said to be getting consistent attention. In the last few weeks I completed an AG Lolita dress, which still needs the bow trimming. I really need to find navy blue ribbon, which is proving to be an issue. The dress is light blue/navy blue geometric print on a white background. Very pretty. The dress really needs the darker blue ribbon as the light blue, which is readily available, just won't pop. Once I locate that, and finish the dress, it will have its own blog post. I also spent a few days picking at the same style of dress for my Pipos Baha, Honeysuckle. Her dress isn't entirely finished yet either. That one too will have its own blog post when I am happy with it.

So, back to TaeYang....I haven't sewn a stitch for this type of dolls in ages. I have 2 TaeYangs - Butler, who I have named Salem, and Albaric who has had that dreadful stock wig replaced with a fantastic dark purple fur wig, who I have named Crow. He has been clothesless since the wig swap, as too many other things needed my attention to really get a chance to work on him. Today though, is the day!

I spent some time this morning searching out what I wanted to make him. My previous plan, and one I still hope to execute, was more of a post-apocolyptic style. I even started tentatively working on the patterns. Today though, I was thinking I wanted to start out with just more of a basic goth look, while I figure out how to create a cowl shirt that looks right with that large head, ha ha!

Here are my inspiration pics:

http://www.rebelsmarket.com/products/men-s-black-long-skirt-punk-rock-maxi-gothic-kilt-for-men-136228

I love these a-line goth skirt/kilts. The chain detailing on the front is epic! I have some chain, I just need to see if it is small enough for 1/6 scale (I think it is.) If not, I have a thin chain in my coffin jewelry box that I pretty much never use that is pretty delicate. I can cannibalize that if need be.

Now, the shirt. I found many awesome examples, but nothing that truly speaks to me for the right feel I am wanting. It's winter, so it seems more kind to make Crow a long sleeved shirt, but I can't get past the impulse to make him a sleeveless shirt. I can always make him a mesh shirt to wear under it. Small holed mesh is actually warmer than one might at first think. No, it won't keep you cozy in 10 degree weather, but for a doll who rarely goes outside, I think he'll be just fine. :P The more I think about a mesh shirt underneath, the more I am loving it! I need to actually get my concept drawn out on paper instead of being only partly fleshed out in my head. I just know that I want to continue the chain detail, and the o rings that we see on the skirt, on the shirt somehow.

First thing though, is that skirt. Once I get that knocked out - which I can hopefully finish today, though that's pretty ambitious, considering I want to replicate as many as the details as scale will allow - and then I can give all my attention to the shirt.

Off to sew!

Anthro crew just grew!

Sometimes I think I am the luckiest person in the world. I like feeling that way. Sure beats the doldrums that can be too tempting to sink into.

After doing some sweet trading of BJDs and such that I wasn't really bonding with/enjoying, I totally lucked out and got some seriously awesome deals on some trades. :D For my unwanted loot, I got these Pipos dolls:

An old WS Heero
A new cherry pink Baha
A new caramel Baha
A caramel Ringo
And, my old WS cheese mouse back

I am beyond words. 5 more anthros!!! I just....am so happy. I love the anthros so much. Pipos especially. Though those Zuzus and DM Beans can so easily steal my heart.

So far, the pink guy's name is Punch. The caramel Baha might be Caramel Crunch. The Ringo or the white Baha I have no idea yet. My old white cheese mouse is going to be Ice Cream Cone. I like giving the mice cute food names. Though my first beige cheese mouse has the name Harold. I would love to change it, but he's been Harold for quite a few years now, so changing it isn't an option.

This puts my anthro collection up to 16 dolls! This makes me so happy. I had my collection up to 14 anthro dolls back before I had to sell most of them to help fund a move back a few years ago. I have even more now! :D Here's my total count:

5 Pipos PI - the above mentioned Heero, 3 Bahas (including my ancient WS Baha, Honeysuckle,) and Percival (Bao the Posteman)

3 Jr PI - Caramel Ringo, GS Ruth named Webster, GS Rooney named Jellybean

5 cheese mice - beige named Harold, Indigo named Blueberry, violet named Grape Jelly, peach named Confetti Cake, and white named Ice Cream Cone

1 Delf Romantic Wolffy named Vlady

2 DM Beans - pink Chopin named Roseus, and WS Davinci named Harvest Moon

I had decided a few weeks back that I wasn't going to keep any of my human (or human-ish) tinies. I have a Soom red skinned Trachy, who I traded for sometime last year, a WS 5star Jesse I named Lucian, and a 5 star Aiden who's body I used for the Luts Halloween Event Pumpkin head (which was not put up for sale.) Getting them out last night, I think I am going to go ahead and keep them. We'll see how that goes, but I am happy with the thought right now.

I will have some fun figuring out my new dolls' personalities, their stories, their clothing. :D

I really have been neglecting this blog. It's hard to find anything that seems worth blogging about. Maybe its been the shades of sickness that has been aggressively hanging over my household since the 1st week of December. Between everyone there has been throwing up, and respiratory woes to boot. What a ride that month was. And January dawned while still dealing with the lingering symptoms.

Beyond all the above drama, things have been going on as they had been. We haven't been flea marketing much lately. The last time we went - maybe a month ago? - I was delighted to find a set of pots, pans, and a couple of mixing bowls the perfect size for Nora, my AG Ruthie. Not sure how old they are, but they have definitely seen some years. I'm excited at the thought of putting Nora's kitchen together for her as soon as I have the appropriate space. My plan is to get ME's fridge, hunt down for a great price the retired Kit stove, and see what else can be added to making it as functional of a dolly kitchen as I can manage. I haven't cleaned the dishes up yet, but when I do I will snap a pic and post it.

I have really been focusing on blogging on my AG blog. And then a couple of days ago, I decided to start a blog for my BJD stories. It has felt soooo good getting these out of my head and onto a blog. While my stories don't have the pics I would love to add, I am still enjoying myself a whole lot. Probably another reason this blog has been neglected. I have been spending my blogging time elsewhere. My dolls' worlds are so much more interesting than mine!

In other news, that really isn't news, is my Target does not yet have the 35th anniversary ponies out yet. :( We checked yesterday, and nada. There wasn't even a spot for them yet, so I didn't bother tracking an employee down to see if they were in the back. That will happen on Monday. :) I cannot wait to see them in person. From just from looking at pics online, Cotton Candy is my favorite of the set. This might change when I see them. Not that it matters - I will be getting all of them eventually!

35th anniversary MLP?

I've been avoiding facebook for the most part over the last week and a half. Somehow feverish dreams when I was sick made my stomach turn at the thought of looking at it. I did venture over there this morning and saw this post:

https://www.mlpmerch.com/2018/01/35th-anniversary-g1-ponies-appear-at-target.html

We're getting 35th anniversary MLP! I am super excited about this. I think when I get these, they will stay in their packaging. I am not someone who prefers their things in boxes, but what truly makes these special IS the packaging. I hope my Target gets them in soon.

I am trying to find pics of any of the original 6 in their '80's packaging to see how similar the anniversary packaging is to the original, but I cannot find a single picture! Surely, some collector somewhere has a pony still in the packaging. I might have to ask on a fb group or on the MLPArena.

I know there were complaints that we already got these ponies as anniversary releases back in the G3 line, but who cares? The packaging for the 25th anniversary were for 3 sets, and while cool, these are singles!!! I'm definitely not complaining here. I can't wait to see them in person!

Ha, seeing these makes me regret not having my retro SSC still in their boxes. I still have Angel Cake in her packaging, and I will probably keep her that way. I can always see about buying singles of every doll who was opened and keeping them in their packaging.