Fly By Post

IMG_4855, originally uploaded by wovenflame.

Petunia having great fun riding my dragonfly patio lights.

Petunia's Arrival

Pumpkin and Peanut heard a bump against the door this morning and when they looked out the window they found this box.



It was addressed to me so they politely waited while I opened the outer wrapper. A very pretty, red, "story book" box was inside. Having travelled that way themselves earlier this year they had a pretty good idea what might be inside and the excitement mounted!



Peanut, having been my "first", now considers herself head of the welcoming committee.



"Hello", she whispered, "are you okay in there?".



Pumpkin, remembering what it was like to be struggling to get free of a face-wrap, made sure that annoying bit was removed right away!



As soon as her mouth was free the new little one shouted out, "HI! My name's PETUNIA! What's your  name?!" Not shy (or quiet), this exuberant newcomer!



Peanut's mothering instinct kicked in right away, but Pumpkin was left wondering if maybe she should grab the "head wrap" again to use it as a GAG.

Petunia was an unplanned, secondhand, purchase and she managed  to arrive before her "real" wig which is being custom made. Luckily I suspected this might happen and I had a few borrowed ones on hand for her to try. None of them are at all like the official one we're waiting for, but let's have a look, shall we?




EEeek! .... Um......this wild one got a unanimous NO from everyone. Just not the girl's style.



Although Petunia thought she might like this second one, Pumpkin and Peanut were biting their tongues trying not to collapse into an impolite fit of giggles.



Pumpkin was kind of partial to the super curly one....naturally.



In the end Peanut convinced Petunia that the slick, auburn bob suited her best for now. It was then time to pick out clothes!



I let Petunia choose any dress she wanted from the stock not yet listed in my Etsy store.



Surprisingly she looks best in the brown and burgundy one! I thought for sure she was going to be a girl who wore pinks and pastels.



Once she was settled comfortably with a wig and a new dress she decided to tell the older girls all about her trip.



I think she may go on talking and talking all night! ... *sigh*

Something Fishy

I had a heck of a time getting someone to model this fish hat for me.

Lots of people "loved it" and would put it on, but then they quickly yanked it off again when I brought out the camera.

Even little Kenzie figured Grandma was going a bit too far asking for a photo.

The Styrofoam wig stand wasn't impressed either, but couldn't run away.

Jordon, on the other hand, was a great sport about it. Thanks Jord!

DressSew Haul

Way back in January I was given $40 for my birthday to use on a trip to DressSew in Vancouver to purchase doll clothes making supplies.

I was finally able to go today and the trip was well worth the wait. I managed to get ALL of this for $39.97!!

32 DOZEN size 4/0 snaps (384 sets!)
8 DOZEN size 5/0 snaps (96 sets!)
large pin cushion with emery sharpener
X-large piece of supple, soft, suede leather
20 metres of baby rick rack
50 metres of lace
pkg of 50 decorative studs
10 small ribbon bows
pkg of 16 embroidery needles
6ft pkg of leather lacing

Oooooh Yeahhhhh! 

The piece of leather, at $8.99 plus tax, was the most expensive item. Most other things were 25 cents per package. The lace and rick rack was between 25 cents and 29 cents per meter. Score!

Alternate Elf Model

And here's what that little elf outfit looks like on my daughter's PukiPuki, "Maddy". The little knitted leggings were too small for Maddy because they are meant for a RealPuki, but the hat, and shoes will fit both a RealPuki and PukiPuki. The dress/tunic will likely be too big for a RealPuki but fits a PukiPuki perfectly.



I also made the funny little wig she is wearing. Hey! The hair is supposed to look wild and unkempt...she lives in the forest!

Who's a Poser Now?

Within a week of her arrival I noticed that my first LittleFee, Peanut, was loosening up a lot. She was a perfect poser when she arrived, standing rock solid. Over time though she loosened up to the extent that I would only leave her in sitting positions, except for quick photographs. She was loose enough that the special mechanism in her hips was not holding her legs in raised positions and her ankles were so loose she could gradually lean forward to the point that she would fall over. Sad state of affairs but I could not figure out how to tighten her up. Last night while drifting off to sleep I suddenly thought of the solution. I nearly jumped out of bed to go fix her right that minute, but was sane enough to wait until morning.

So early this morning, before I even had coffee, I was running around gathering the supplies I knew I would need. I decided I'd photograph the whole procedure and write up a tutorial for LittleFee owners. I'm hoping other non-doll-owner blog readers might find it interesting to see some of the inner workings of these amazingly posable dolls.

LittleFee Leg Tightening Tutorial

Start by removing the doll's wig and faceplate so that they are not damaged while you wrestle with the elastic. The feet will also have to be removed, and while you're at it why not take off the hands too so that they aren't lost or in the way? Have on hand a crochet hook or other strong narrow object, and a long piece of narrow ribbon. The ribbon should be at least twice the length from one ankle, up the leg, through the pelvis, and down to the other knee.

 

The leg elastic is a loop that goes from one ankle, through the pelvis to the ankle of the other leg. Find the knot. My doll's knot was in the right calf. Even though the doll was loosey goosey the elastic was still tight enough that I could not pull it out far enough to tie a new knot. So here is where I had the sudden brain flash last night.

Go to the OTHER leg, the one without the knot, and pull the elastic out far enough that you can get the crochet hook (or other strong object) in through the elastic loop and across the calf opening.

Thread the long ribbon through the elastic loop leaving both ends hanging (you can knot them loosely if you like). Remove the ankle ball and then the crochet hook. As soon as you pull out the crochet hook the elastic will contract, zooming up inside the leg. That's what the ribbon is for, to keep everything together and to keep track of the end of the elastic.

With the tension from the elastic released everything will loosen right up. Take a good look at how all these pieces fit back together. Note that the slot in the ball of the upper thigh faces inward, toward the crotch, and it in turn fits into the leg locking mechanism.

Now you can pull the knotted end of the elastic further out of the right leg. Just don't lose the ends of your ribbon as it hangs out of the left leg!

Tie a new knot a LITTLE higher than the last. I probably went a little too far. Even though Peanut was very loose and was losing her ability to stand, the difference in the position of these two knots was MORE than enough. When I was done Peanut's legs were so tight I needed a second set of strong hands to pull hard on the elastic (using the ribbon) so I could get the hook back in the other side.

Rotate the elastic so the knot is not at the very end, and then rehook the right ankle ball into place. Pull on the ribbon hanging from the left leg so that it eases the elastic back through all the leg parts. As it tightens up and the leg pieces begin nesting together be sure that you have them all facing in the right direction and that the hip locking mechanism fits nicely into the thigh ball and the grooves in the pelvis.

Now have someone pull really hard on that ribbon so that the end loop of the elastic peeks out from the left ankle. Rehook the left ankle ball, pull the ribbon out, and put the feet back on. Walla! You have your great poser back!

Cheap Stand In

By combining patterns from three separate sources I've come up with a little Pixie outfit that should fit an incoming Fairyland PukiPuki PongPong. The "real" doll isn't here yet so I've got a cheap little "Kelly"- like doll from Dollar Giant standing in as a model.



The embellished felt hat and shoes are from a pattern by "My Own Little World".



The little tunic/top/dress is from a free pattern scooped from Flickr.



And the little knitted pants/leggings/tights were knit using 2/28 cashmere and 5/0 needles and a pattern byGill shared with me.

Mixed Reviews

The Raggedy "Bonnie" and "Becky" dolls I made got mixed reviews. Kenzie, the youngest, loves hers and carries it everywhere. Kaylen, being four years old, prefers her beloved Barbies.

I wasn't sure the dolls would be received well be either of the girls so one out of two isn't too bad. I don't think Kaylen dislikes the doll, she just has others that she'd rather play with. Bonnie might make it as a bed time dolly yet. Only time will tell.

Raggedy Sisters

These are not the usual dolls I've been posting about lately. These are ones I've sewn as gifts for my two granddaughters. Meet Becky and Bonnie, the Raggedy Sisters.

The buttons on their dresses were chosen from a button jar I inherited from my mother. It's one she got from her mother. That means the buttons most likely belonged to my granddaughters' great, great, grandmother!

You can tell that that news makes Becky and Bonnie very, very proud. Just look at those big smiles!

Here's another little thing I'm passing on from my mother: I embroidered the dolls' names on their chests. When I was a child I had a terrible time remembering names (still do!!) so my mom always wrote the names of each doll on their chest so when I asked repeatedly she could always provide the same answer. I think she was as bad with names as I am.

But the most important message for my granddaughters is on the back.

That's My Girl

I'm so proud of my daughter.This is her very first try at doing a custom faceup and it turned out so well!

She started out with a ResinSoul Yu she had named Pip, a tiny doll that had a rather awful default faceup when it arrived.  The original faceup, pictured below, was pale, with dark shadows under the eyes that made Pip look sick or ghostly. She looked sad, lonely, and lost.

Kristy wiped the face (removed all colour using solvents), resealed the resin, and started in with the pastels, paints, a steady hand, and a lot of courage! I've heard that working at this tiny scale is very difficult.

Thanks to Kristy, the "new" Pip has a healthy, rosy glow, light freckles, and a much cleaner, fresher, overall appearance.

I think Pip looks wonderful and I can't wait to see the next faceup Kristy does. She'll have a little more room to work with as the next doll is a little bit bigger.

I think Kristy should resurrect her old blog, or start up a new one. She's got talent and she needs a place to showcase it.