The Path to Madness

Oh no. Here it comes again. That aching desire to create a doll. It always leads me to mental dis ease. Is it a coincidence that I accidentally went off some of my meds this week? I wonder.

We've been book purging, which has made me think about my favorite books, which reminded me of a particular book on dollmaking, which ignited this old feeling. I went searching for all my favorite dollmaking books and put them all together in one place. I've never even looked at this Robert McKinley book. I've probably had it twenty years. I think I'll read it now.

I've been gradually changing the way I think about the things I make. I've decided to keep them. This is so freeing. I no longer have to worry about whether someone else will like what I like. I'm the only one whose opinion matters. It has taken a long time to get to this place. I've always given away what I make and I am left with nothing of lasting value.

This goes somewhere. Maybe if I try dollmaking again, for me and not to sell, maybe I can chill out enough to actually finish something.

So I'm going to read this Robert McKinley book on dollmaking and see if it has something that plugs the holes in this silly fantasy world of mine.

Some Götz Dolls

Last Kish Outfit

And the last one for a while. I'm just not in a Kish mood right now.

I'm back

So I stopped blogging because I switched over to iPad and Apple hates anything Google. But now I have a Google Nexus 7 and I love it. Now blogger works just fine. I think I will have to get Picasa web albums, whatever the hell that is. But it looks like I can upload from my phone, so I can post some in progress pics until I finish an outfit. Which won't be soon.

I just finished a masterpiece sweater. I'm so happy with it. I am making a smocked dress to go under it and I'm sewing it by hand. I'm rolling the hem for one of the sash ties right now. No, the sash won't show. I cannot make a smocked dress without a sash. It is just physically and morally wrong.

I can think of only one instance where I would not make a sash, but that's for another time.

The dress will have a lot of embroidery at the hem, but not too busy. Just outline stitch and French knots. In just two colors. I wonder how long that will take. I wonder how long it will take to see the dress. There are so many steps, so many pieces in my little puzzle. And there will be hand sewn underwear, too.

I've been unsettled all night, but then I remembered to put jazz on. I'm all better now.
Jazz24.org

I usually go to a knit night on Thursdays, but I just didn't feel like going tonight. I don't know if I feel like going again. My life is starting to feel claustrophobic. I need more space, fewer planned outings. I also go out Tuesday and Friday nights, but I won't give those up. But I also want to see Lovee more.

So, pretty recently, I have purchased five Götz dolls, and I have one on layaway, to be free next week. They are 19.5". Much bigger than my Kishes. I like the scale so much more. I don't feel like making anything for my Kishes now, but they are so beautiful, I could never give them up.

Anyway, I need to stop buying dolls and get some supplies. I want two, TWO, bolts of fabric and some more yarn. I want fancy thread, too. I might want some bobbin lace supplies, too, but I'm not sure I'm going to keep that hobby. That's about five months of spending allowance, without the lace supplies. I'm also interested in getting some French lace, machine made, for some heirloom sewing. I can probably get that after I buy more dolls. Because I want more dolls. Oh yes. More dolls.

I told Charles I eventually want a doll cabinet. He said he thought that was a great idea. How did I find this man?

New Doll

There is a new doll in my life, and my Kishes have been packed away. She is a Little Darling by Diana Effner. I have named her Emma Jane, because you pick a name with these dolls. Technically, she is a Claire, with freckles, painted by Geri Uribe. All of these dolls are hand painted. She's very sweet. Not quite as realistic in proportion as the Kishes, and a little younger than I usually like, but I'm drawn to her, so she is the one right now! I have three more on order, but there is a terribly long waiting list for these dolls. I expect two around October and the third around Christmas.

Anyway, here she is with some different wigs on.

Right now I have stepped away from the knitting obsession to do some embroidery. It feels really good to come back to it. I've been knitting non-stop for a few or three months.

Rats!

Just remembered I can't wash my fabric today! A minor set back, but still an irritation. See, we had to buy a new washer, and my partner insisted on an expensive energy efficient model. This means I have to use special low foam detergent, and I just ordered it last week. And I chose the cheapest. Slowest delivery method. Oh woe is me!

Gettin' Going

Barbara, I think I fixed the setting that lets anyone comment.

Well, accomplishments! I finished the mock up of my very first doll sweater design! Yay! Unfortunately, you cannot see it. I tweaked the design the whole time I worked on it, and, well, it just doesn't look that great. You can see the next one.

Which comes to the pattern! I bought knitting charting software! It's called Intwined. I really like it. I am charting my sweater so I can work from a nice pattern on the next one, instead of the pencil and graph paper I started out with. And all the eraser and pencil marks all over it.

And then the yarn! I used my tuition refund (because I dropped all my classes) to finally buy some wool dyes! My next sweater will be with yarn I've dyed!

So far I've only written instructions for the undergarment. It's a very complicated garment, but still, it's just one pattern and it's the underwear. I'm going to use a variation for the dress for the sweater pattern. The sweater will come with a dress with variations. I want to show three color ways and variations. Hopefully with a lot of embroidery. It will also include shoes and a headband.

I can't continue exactly right now with the dress pattern because I need some more dyed fabric. Which means I need to cut up my bolt of fabric and get it ready for dyeing. Next week I'll dye my yarn. Maybe by July 1st I can open my shop. I will have only one pattern available, at least six colors of dyed fabric, and maybe five colors of dyed yarn. I will need to buy more yarn before then, but I will wait to see if I can by successful dyeing yarn before I get more. I will be preparing "mini skeins" of 200 yards/40 grams. The sweater uses 175 yards/30 grams. There is quite a bit left over in comparison to what I'm making, so I think 200 is a good size.

This is all very exciting! So I will get busy cutting fabric and then work on my sweater chart!