I received my gorgeous, one of a kind, Pidgin (www.pidgindoll.com) doll last week, and have been busy knitting her a hat, a scarf, and a sweater. I still need to do a full review of her, but for now, here are some sweet pics of her with my Steven Monster. :)
Coming Soon!-Fake Book Covers For Your Dolls
It's great to have miniature copies of classic novels, and favorite books for your dolls to be reading in photo stories, or in dioramas. One of my favorite miniature book makers for twelve inch fashion doll size is Poppy's Petites on Etsy. She can make a miniature version of pretty much any book you can find, for reasonable rates, too.
But I haven't really found a source for 1/3 sized doll miniature books. Plus, there are times when I just want parody, and then see how long it takes someone to notice.
So I have created my very first fake book cover, with plans for more as sleep deprivation inspires. I have a couple of other ideas in my head right now, and hope to make them up within the next week. At that point, I will launch a new section in my Etsy store, Fake Book Covers.
Here is a preview of the first "classic": Disinterest In The Days Of Dysentery by Notta Realwriter.
Re-Rooting My Poppy Parker Doll-Stage 1, Color Choice
I have had the Poppy Parker from the Barefoot In The Park, The Bratter Lover's set for a while now. I love the Poppy Parker sculpts just by default, but I do have a preference for the ones with very dark brunette hair, and definitely the ones with bright red hair.
I know I will never be able to get my "grail" Poppy Parker red head, which is the Sweet In Switzerland, but I think I can get pretty close to it myself.
I just have to be brave enough, and patient enough, to do a full re-root on my Bratter Lover's doll.
First step was getting the color I wanted. I went to tried and true RestoreDoll.com, and went straight for the Katsilk Saran section. I have done partial re-roots on dolls years ago, and this was the hair I used. The price is right, shipping is reasonable and very quick, and the customer service is exceptional. What I really love about them is their willingness to make a custom blended hair color. The color I went with is a blend of More Titan, Mahogany, and Grant A Wish. The fact they are willing to make a custom blend with a color that's already a custom blend is what puts them over the top for me.
The Bratter Lover's doll has a strawberry blonde color, with bangs. I've never been a fan of bangs on my dolls, most likely because of some deep rooted childhood issues involving my mother. I know this is a doll meant to look like a character, and as far as bangs go they look alright on her. But I just haven't been as happy with her as I know I should be with a Poppy Parker doll.
So, she will become a red head, without bangs, and hopefully will not end up permanently damaged by my efforts! All my re-roots before didn't require me to remove the doll's head. This one will. I will be watching a lot of tutorials first before I take that step!
Cats And Dolls
Steven Monster is a pretty laid back cat, at least when he's sleepy. As a result, I can't resist the urge to prop up my dolls against him when I am in the mood to fiddle with our cameras.
I wanted to get a good shot of the cute sloth print t-shirt I purchased from Dollheimr on Etsy. Steven Monster happened to be laying in one of his many "usual" spots, so he got drafted to participate. :)
The shirt is a perfect fit on my Bambicrony Lottie doll, Sofia. I did have to remove her head to get the shirt on, but fortunately that is an easy thing to do with this BJD.
The seller is in France, so the journey across the ocean takes about two weeks, but as you can see it is well worth the wait!
Choose Your Waste Yarn Wisely
I am still working on the twelve inch fashion doll sized Woodland Hoodlet. I had a bit of frustration after I got done with the front.
I really chose the wrong yarn for my provisional cast on. For this size, especially holding laceweight yarn double, I should have immediately transferred the stitches to another needle, ready and waiting for the Kitchener stitch seam.
I used a light colored yarn, which was not very firm. It was smooth, but it still stuck to my stitches. Plus, there was not enough color contrast between the waste yarn and the working yarn.
Fortunately I was able to get the stitches off the waste yarn, and after the seam was completed it still looks good. There was a bit of colorful language as I fought to see each of the 44 stitches against the white waste yarn, but my cat was the only witness.
So lesson learned. High contrast in color, and stick to cotton for my waste yarn. And I will also seriously try different provisional cast ons. Just one method clearly doesn't cut it.
Now I just need to find my set of size 0 US DPNs and I can get the hood started!
Laceweight yarn held double on size 0 US needles. The front and back is done, and seam done.
A shot of the back.
Here is what it looks like turned inside out.