When it rains...

So with all my little jaunts into sewing I felt I should get back into knitting for dolls for a bit. It's always so enjoyable completing a project that much sooner (and with small projects for dolls you get that quite quickly). I thought I might try knitting (and possibly sewing too) for an 18" girl. My mother-in-law Joan has been sewing for them for years and though I may not have skills at her level I was feeling that I might give it a go, and I felt I could most certainly come up with some knitted patterns for them that would work. I decided on a Madame Alexander play doll. I liked the look of them when I was last visiting Joan, helping her with their hair and making them look presentable. It was great fun. The American Girl dolls are quite cute, but there was just something about the classic beauty of the MA girls that captured my attention and wouldn't let go, not too mention that they cost far less than an AG girl.

So with a bit of searching... careful searching as I'm on a budget, I looked for a girl I could clean up and get ready for dressing in hand sewn/hand knit clothes. I checked second hand shops first but had no luck, so I turned to Ebay and this is the girl I eventually chose...

I payed about $23 including shipping (like i said, budget). I think I got her so inexpensively because her left leg is shifted a bit forward, thankfully this did not interfere with her ability to pose in the least. Her hair was a bit of a rats nest (as I'd been informed it would be -- apparently MA girls have lovely soft hair, but without a bit of help it can become quite a mess. Quality-wise according to what I'd read they were as good - or better- than AGs but the hair... well, as I said I'd been warned).

So I got her home and after a clean up and a bit of futzing with her locks (including redoing her two little braids) I knit up a dress for her and here's the result.

I gave my husband the honor of naming her ( I always name all the Blythes) and he dubbed her Camilla, I've been calling her Cami for short. I had a friend called Cami once and I do think the name suits her.

Then something odd happened, a few days after Cami arrived I was at Thrift Town and I found this...

And yep, sure enough, she's also a Madame Alexander... I was delighted at the $5.99 price tag and snapped her up. Aaron named this girl Chloë. I cleaned her up with a Magic Eraser, got rid of all the nasty marks on her, and then went to work on her hair, and --OMG!!!-- her hair!!! If I thought Cami had it bad.... anyway, I knew I'd need to repaint her lips so I went down to Michaels to get lip paint and found this girl on clearance for only $6.99...

She's a Springfield girl... a knockoff of AGs. I almost left her there because as I said, I'm not as keen on the look of the AGs (though I've seen some really cute ones), but I figured at that price I couldn't pass up the opportunity to knit and/or sew for a slightly different body type. Aaron named this girl Tiffany. Right now she's just in Cami's dress but I'm going to come up with something just for her later. I think she was so inexpensive because her box was a bit bashed up and she had a black rub on her nose, Magic Eraser to the rescue! It doesn't show well but I added some faint freckles to her as well. I wasn't sure about her at first but she's terribly photogenic and I'm very pleased I got her.

Oh, here's Chloë all fixed up...

And here she is in a cute little outfit I made for her. I wanted something bright and springy, and as we're coming up on Easter I thought this fit the bill nicely. The lace gives it a nice touch I think, I may go ahead and put the patterns out there for others after I give it a more thorough going over.

So yes, I suppose when it rains, it really can pour. :)

A Merry Little Christmas...

Some new Christmas dresses for some of the girls using the the party dress pattern. Definately liking this for both Makies and Blythes :D

New Duds

I sold two of the dresses, I'm so very pleased, but it wouldn't do to let two of my girls go naked for the holiday so I've whipped up two more :)

I'm pretty pleased with how they look (particularly the skeleton one) and who knows, I might put them up for sale next year when I make new ones :)

My First Makie

I finally broke down and bought my first Makie doll. I wasn't really keen on them at first, (I'd seen quite a few Makies that looked a bit ferretish) but I've always loved the idea of having something 3D printed that I designed and I'd recently seen some really cute Makies and thought why not give it a try. After a bit of tinkering on the Makies website, I came up with this...

and after I'd created her, of course I had to see her in person. So here is Beatrix...

wearing the original outfit she came with. But naturally I had to see if any of my other girls clothing fit her.

Here she is looking a bit 9th Doctor in a Bratz Boyz jacket. I also discovered she could wear the Blythe girls dresses made from the A line and Party Dress patterns, so I went and whipped her up a little Day of the Dead dress.

Well since this is the only dress to her name I thought I may as well try to make her the Party Dress too. At this point however, I could sense that my other girls were getting jealous (you could tell by their judgmental stares) so I just went ahead and made outfits for the whole group.

I think they're pretty pleased and I've managed to stem a rebellion. I've decided to go ahead and list the dresses on Etsy as it's still early in the month and if they don't sell, hey, pretty dresses for my girls, and if they do, I have plenty more of the fabric and can make them some more in time for the holiday - no problem. Note -- The Empire Dress pattern doesn't really do too well on a Makie bust, tho it looks like adding a half inch or so to the bottom of the bodice might just make it fit. I might try that later :)

So here are all the girls in their new duds. Naturally the Blythe babes weren't going to miss out on a photoshoot...

So I've had a lot of fun with this. And I've got to say Makies are pretty darn cool. I love the articulation of my new girl, and the variety of poses she can hold, plus the fact that she can stand on her own. It all makes for a very cool new addition to our little dolly family :)

Gang gang, the gang's all here

All my remaining girls, now safely in Texas with me. From left to right: Brynn, Sophie, Moonyeen, and Wren. :)

Cheri Finds a New Home

I found a new home for the lovely Lady Leopy (I thought it was time for a change and to down size my collection a bit) and then I sold one of my own customs. My dear little Cheri has found a new home in Albuquerque, New Mexico :)

I'm somewhat sad to see her go but not as much as I thought I'd be. I'm so pleased to have sold my first Blythe custom, and blissed to know that her new mum is so pleased with her.... I'll paraphrase:

(they need an enthusiastic THANK YOU option in here!)

Hey :)

I LOVE this girl :) trying right now to find her something special to wear...as if the 50K Blythe outfits and other ones that fit around here were not enough (EG) :) she deserves something awesome...exactly what I had been looking for for ages and not finding anywhere :) she's PERFECT :) I forgot to ask you before...does she have a name? :) I have been calling her Cece :) but always better to keep original names whenever possible, I think...

Your trivia fact for the day: We are also big Dr. Who fans :) so extra nice to e-meet you :)

Do hope we can do this again sometime, it's been splendid :)

Cheers and thanks again infinitely :) XOXOX D, et al 

 

The note I'd sent along with Cheri was on Doctor Who themed paper :)

I told her how pleased I was that the name she used was fairly close in sound to the name I'd given her and that she should feel to call her whatever name she felt suited her.

So I'm happy and satisfied. I'm so chuffed that the girl I made is in a new home with people who love her :)

 

Made it to Texas!

Finally after a long jaunt having to recover from a knee surgery this summer, to packing up for a whole new life in the lower 48, we have made it to Texas! And guess what the name of the street we live on is called....

Pretty cool huh?

Moonyeen's enjoying the sunshine. She's the only one of my girls that actually made it here. The rest of them are back home in storage. But when we have a more permanent residence I will be bringing them up post haste :)