Little Luxuries

Sometimes I just need the relaxation of knitting something simple. In this case it's a blanket made out of recycled cashmere in a mallard duck blue. Simple pattern, nothing to memorize, and the cashmere feels wonderful against my fingers as I knit.

I would never be able to afford a full size cashmere blanket for myself, but my dolls are very willing to take advantage of their relatively inexpensive desires in my stead. It's a great way to get the opportunity to knit with 100% cashmere, and being recycled it's friendly to the environment.

Make sure to check out Penelope's Fine Yarns on Etsy. She has a ton of variety, including merino, cashmere, silk cashmere blends and more. And her prices are very reasonable, especially for the quality yarn you get. She includes several samples when you make a purchase from her, which helps you decide "yay or nay" on that other color you were eying. She is awesome to work with!

Now back to work for me so I can continue to afford even these little luxuries!

Little Black Bunny

I have been wanting to try my hand at needle felting for quite some time. This weekend finally felt like the perfect combination of willingness to try, spare time, and the correct.tools/supplies.

The little black bunny is the result. She has little touches of gray for interest, and tiny black beads for eyes. For a first try I'm very happy with how she turned out.

My little dolls are also pleased with her, which is a very good thing!

Don't Underestimate The Ambitions Of The Adorable

Miniature Fascination

I have recently been bitten by the miniatures bug. Symptoms include snapping up dollhouses on eBay whenever possible and looking at everything with an eye for "Can that be a tabletop/chair/bookcase/whatever for my dolls if I turn it upside down/sideways?". When you don't throw away bottlecaps, lids, or that weird tray meant to heat up a microwave pizza, you know you have the fever.

I really got bit when I discovered that dollhouses are not all old fashioned and hokey or Gothic and friviously Victorian. Imagine my shock when I found out I could have had a Tomy Smaller Homes dollhouse as a tot, or even a Caroline's House in the 1980's, both with a fantastic modern look and feel!

The real tipping point in my descent into miniature madness was stumbling across the blog Call Of The Small. I went to the original entry when the author started with her first modern dollhouse, and over several days read her progress from a fun hobby to borderline psychosis. She seems to have it all under control now, but there are some fun posts where she details her and her spouse's concern that maybe things were getting a 'little' out of hand! Get it? 'Litttle'? (sound of crickets) Ok, I'll stop...

Now I have a Tomy Smaller Home and a Caroline's House. I have started gathering all sorts of nifty furnishings for both. I just need to find room to properly work on them (the Tomy house needs a lot of restoration, but I'm foolhardily excited by the challenge), and I need display room to play with them. Yes, I fully admit I want to play with my dollhouses. Why not? At least I can afford to make renovations in 1:12 scale.

My little dolls are anxiously awaiting "move in" day, as well, so I had best get motivated. After all, a fashionable doll needs a fashionable place to live. Fellow doll collectors should be able to empathize with the burden of impatient dolls. As well as with the looks caring family and friends give when you talk about the dolls in such anthromorphic terms...