Hamsa gets her Moshi Moshi

We love this narrow bridge, a photo by Zanalee on Flickr.

Did I mention we finally got our Moshi Moshi Annie Hall shirt in the mail last week! EEEP! I knew immediately it had to go to Hamsa. It's totally her look. After all, as a Punkaholic People Blythe, she literally arrived in a shirt and tie. As well as plaid bondage pants. LOL!

I really love this look on her. But I've always adored Hilary Wagstaff's Blythe style. I appreciate it's departure from mere "dolliness" although I love that aesthetic as well. Hillary's clothes are like clothes I would wear. Her Annie Hall inspired shirts actually made check out some photos on Diane Keaton from the film and it reminded me of how much I just love this look! I love that movie and I love that Diane Keaton was just being herself, wearing what made her feel comfortable and look stylish at the same time.

I actually went through an "Annie Hall" period in High School myself during junior high. Me and a few other girl friends would wear mens shirts, ties and overcoats. One of the greatest times of my life.

New Button Arcade Commssion on it's Way!

Since Button Arcade is no longer posting shop dresses on Flickr as they are made I had to hop on her commission list a few months ago just so I could get one more dress. My name came up just before New Years and she contacted me so that I could let her know what fabric I wanted and what kind of pockets. I adore her monster dresses  and at first said I wanted another but then decided to go with the pull ring pockets instead on this beautiful "Peace" design fabric. She just emailed me the photo today. I LOVE IT!!! I also bought one of Hilary Wagstaffs "Spirit of '72" pieces, a very cool orange butterfly collar blouse with polka dots. It's been a while since I got some Moshi Moshi and I couldn't resist this ode to the 70s. I'm a 70s baby! 75 not 72. LOL!!
Weeee!!! I love anticipating Dolly Mail!

The Yarn Company

I visited the Yarn Company yesterday after work because I was desperate for some new yarn at a place that wasn't too far from midtown. The Yarn Company is located in 82nd and Broadway. I've passed it tons of times but this is the first time I've ever been inside. It is lovely, very warm with wood floors and tables and I believe a larger space in the back where they hold classes. The two women who were working there yesterday evening were very nice and really helpful. The yarn is on the pricey side but it's great quality and just lovely to look at.

I picked out two skeins of a brushed suri one in a powder blue and the other in plum. All you wanna do is just squeeze this stuff and hold it your face. It is insanely soft! I just love it. The yarn is spun very thin and I thought I would trouble crocheting with it but worked really well and I was just very careful to unravel it bit by bit as I worked. It looks just like cotton candy and I think that the combed mohair kept it from slipping off my hook too often. I made another puff stitch hat with the some of the blue skein last night. I haven't timed myself but I can whip one up in less than an hour for sure. It's just so much fun to see how each hat turns out using these different textures. Working with the suri last night I can see how almost anything that can be turned into string or rope or yarn can be be knit of crocheted, because the brushed suri seems so much like some kind of hair and I guess that's what a lot of yarn is, just hair, cotton, fiber of some kind spun into string, thread or yarn. That's just fascinating to me!

So anyway, I'll be making a few more of these hats for Blythe Warmers and maybe thinking about embellishing them a little bit as well. I'm kind of addicted right now an not really thinking about how much this is costing me. LOL! At some point I will need to slow down. I do want a couple more skeins of this brushes suri though to makes hats for a couple of people, maybe even myself!

Blythe Warmers Update!

Ummm, I made like two more puff stitch hats yesterday! I freaking love them! They are so fun an easy to make and I love the texture of them. Plus they fit so perfectly on Blythe's big old head. LOL!

I've made eight in all but have kept four for myself. The two I made yesterday are solid colored, marigold and a dusty rose color. I put them up on Blythe Warmers a few minutes ago. 'Tis the season! Happy Holidays everyone!

Puff Stitch for all!

Early one morning this week I was at the reception desk where I work, the only person there as usual and I was on a mad search for a simple crochet hat pattern on youtube. I found one for the puff stitch and I have lost my mind making little Blythe hats this week! I love this stitch! It is so easy because it gives you such a large base to put your needle into. I never have to wonder if my needle is going into the right loop or not. And I just love the pattern an texture it creates! Most people have seen and or worn a puff stitch hat before. It's a pretty common pattern. Making it is so much fun!

I found this really cool pink mohair mixed with thread yarn at a place on 34th called "Gotta Knit" and whipped up two really fun hats the last couple of days. I've made five hats in total but I will only be putting the two pink ones on Blythe Warmers tonight. They are so fun and soft and sweet! It's like crocheting hand spun cotton candy and not as difficult as you might think.

Blythe Warmers Has Finally launched!!

ON SALE NOW!!!

I finally just up and did it. I had to create a whole new account which I anticipate being a pain in the ass but it really wasn't that bad and making the listings seemed so much simpler this time. Thank goodness. Plus there are some good tutorials on how to create a shop banner which I really suck at. The one I have up is pretty bare but it will do for now. I hope you'll stop by and check it out soon!
'Tis the season!

I finished knitting my fifth or sixth poncho in the park this weekend. I really like how this one came out. I bought the yarn at Michaels in Sunday. I love this yarn. It's very fuzzy and has a pretty gradient of warm colors. I definitely want to make a matching set of leg warmers.

I may be making more of these things which means I may have to open another etsy shop. I'm not really sure how many more I can churn out but I think I might as well put them on the market and share them with the world while I am. "Blythe Warmers". That will be the name of my new etsy shop. So it shall be!

LOL!

New Monster High Doll Wear!

 I wish to God that my Nikon camera was not in the shop (sniff sniff) so that I could more accurately capture how beautiful these clothes are! They are durable, elegant, sweet and sexy and made with the perfect material for the Monster High Doll mold which is ideally something stretchy that can be slipped on to their thin limbs easily but which when on, appears to look much more complex or refined than you might find in a Target or Toys R Us.  One might gather from the thin and simple shape of MH bodies that they are easy to design and sew for, and maybe they are once you get the hang of it but I have a hunch it's probably more difficult than one might imagine. There is still one dress, not shown here that I love but have not had the time to put on the dolls yet and another pair of amazing leggings as well. Yeah, I went to bit crazy in Francine's shop the minute her mother's designs hit the etsy market. I got three dresses and two pairs of leggings. They threw in a free matching tube top for one pair of the leggings and a pair of sheath gloves/sleeves for the white dress. I was over the moon opening them last night! I hope other MH fans catch on to this shop because they really transform the whole look of MH dolls in a wonderful way and I love that kind of creativity that takes the manufactured stock fantasy of a doll (which I often like as well) and gives it a whole new life.

Blythe Post Made a Sale!

 (Do ya see those sleeves?)

Ok first of all, that's not even the first best thing to happen in the last half hour. It started when I succeeded in nagging Plastic Fashion out of retirement to put her amazing Blythe dresses up for sale again instead of torturing us by posting all the goodies she's been making for her girls alone. Her dresses are usually characterized by beautiful, vibrantly colored prints, sweet sort of retro 30s 40s silhouettes and impeccable pleats, sleeves and seam work. When I first started seeing her stuff, she was still selling on Artfire and Etsy. She made one amazing shirt dress that I missed out on and so settled for another baby doll which I liked but not as much as that shirt dress.  Shortly after that she announced that she was not going to be selling anymore but would still make stuff for her own dolls. I was so saddened! Lately, she's been super prolific, making like one or two dresses a week, and like several of my fave Blythe Dress designers, it's often the highlight of my day to see her work pop up each week in my "contacts" stream. Today she posted the dress above and said I pulled her leg so she posted it in her etsy. YESSS!!! I rushed to her artfire shop: nothing, so then to etsy and there it was. As I was signing into my paypal to purchase it, I noticed a credit in my account. What?  I had no idea I had anything in there. I though about checking first before I made the purchase but then I decided to buy first and check my paypal status later. Thank God I did! I was lucky enough to be the first person to even comment on that dress in flickr. Seconds later, people were clamoring for it! But I got it! It's on it's way to moi! And I could not be happier. Or could I?

Sold!

I checked the email account linked to my paypal and there I saw that someone from England had purchased not one, not two, but three postcards from Blythe Post! Oh my gosh!! I haven't made a sale in ages! I dis receive an email a while ago though that one of my postcards, "Vida in Autumn" was placed in someones etsy treasury. Not sure exactly what that means but I imagine it's a good thing and I sent a kind thank you note back. Anyway, I was thrilled to the marrow! It's a great feeling selling your own work. I so hope they enjoy them! It's also inspiring me to get off my butt and make some new cards.  So today there was a complete cycle of handmade goods exchange in my world. I wish every weekend was like this.
: )

Why Blythe Clothes are cooler than Barbie Clothes

Because they're made by people not companies and they're being made all the time 24/7 by people all over the world, all kinds of people and all kinds of clothes; cute clothes, sweet clothes, quirky, clever, sharp, classic, seasonal, sexy, funny, trendy, scary, functional, cozy, funky, clothes by people not companies.
No one makes clothes for Barbie the way they do for Blythe. Why is that I wonder? I mean Barbie dolls are certainly more commercial, more affordable and more accessible than Blythe dolls.

My only guess as to why Blythe's wardrobe is so much more eclectic, more tailored and more diverse is because her image is so malleable by her collectors and they freely customize their dolls to suit personality, project, photographic purposes and more. Hardly any Blythe doll arriving in her stock clothes ever remains so. It's really as if the doll is acquired with the knowledge that she will have a whole new wardrobe, new eyes colors, hair, matted skin, eyelashes, perhaps even a new body! So in essence, Blythe dolls and their image are seen to be more within the control of the owner than a Barbie doll usually is. This has so much to do with Gina Garan and all the amazing things she did with Blythe in her book "This is Blythe." She did something revolutionary with a doll that was never embraced by it's target market. She proposed that a doll is much more than what it says on it's box, that it can cross the boundaries of it's intended purpose to be whatever you want it to be, if you're into that kind of thing. Obviously, there are cultural traps everywhere, in anything that is marketed but to start to reinvent these things, to comment on them the way Gina did was really what made me look twice at that crazy big headed eye color changing doll and wonder, what's going on here?

Barbie has always been for the most part, completely accepted by her target market, little girls and therefore they also accept the images created for her through her wardrobe by the corporation that produces her.

Blythe, or at least from what I've seen, is collected predominantly by young and older women with more sophisticated ideas about what innocence, sweetness, quirkiness and childhood mean. There is humor, irony, skill, and sensuality imbued in the designs of many Blythe clothes that I have never seen in Barbie clothes. And it's not to say that people who design Blythe clothes are not influenced by commercialism and trend. They totally are, but they are also not controlled by a driving force that is concerned mainly with that and what will sell to a presumably mindless mass. They make one of kind creations they love for those who love them too and regard their audience as intelligent, diverse and artistic minded people who appreciate beauty in a variety of forms.

That being said, this ties in so perfectly to an interview recently done with one one of my favorite Blythe dress designers of all time, Julie (AKA Valentine) Westphal of "House of Pinku" with Mademoiselle Blythe.

I hadn't realized, although I might have guessed, until after I read this that Julie does this for a living! Like this is all she does! How freaking fabulous is that? When I first discovered her on flickr and asked if she could make a dress for me, I could see she was prolific as hell. She had already made hundreds, maybe thousands of incredible dresses. I'm sure I could fill a folder of my favorite Blythe Dresses with her designs alone. However, at this point, when Julie makes a new dress, it's gone from her etsy or artfire shop in seconds!! I am lucky to have gotten the three I have! Not only is she a great designer but I have had nothing but the nicest communications with her online. It's been a joy to be her friend if only virtually, to see her work and all her clever dress titles and to read all the millions of admiring comments on flickr of every design she does.


House of Pinku


I love george


Ladybird House


CannonBelle


Feltland


Miss Modular


A mix of faves, including Vintage Skipper!

Mail, Projects, Ideas, The latest

HAPPY NEW YEAR BLYTHERS AND BLYTHE LOVERS!


BLYTHE 365Number 1 of 365

So on flickr, there is a group called Blythe 365. The point of this picture pool is to choose one of your Blythes and commit to taking a picture of her a day, everyday for a year, no matter what and submit each one, each day to that pool. It helps of course to make a set in your own account, eg 365 Days of "BlytheDoll" so you can look at your own progress as you go. I've observed with great admiration and awe as many of my own flickr friends and contacts do this (Hello Jenny is one of my favorite 365ers) and have been considering it for the past few months or so, especially near the end of this summer. I even did a 365 audition where I took pics of the five trying to figure out pros and cons of their photogenic abilities and which one would I be able to make this commitment to for a year! I mean I take pictures of them a lot but only when I feel like it. This would mean having to be inventive even when I'm wiped out and pissy, bored or overwhelmingly busy but I love what I've seen come out of this project.

You get this really funny, creative and often inspiring narrative, not only of a doll but also of the photographer. I love it. So I kinda bit the bullet last week and named Reya the winner not only because I adore her but because she is notoriously problematic to photograph. Her dark color makes we work extra hard to find the right lighting for ideal exposures of her and it's a genuine challenge. When I get it right, I feel really accomplished. So there's that. I am presently on day 4. I guess I should start posting the pics here so you can watch the fun. We'll see. : )

In other news, there are some other projects at hand and some mail that should be arriving soon but I swear, I've been bargain shopping! On the way are:

-Green converse (used on Plastic Paradise)
-Rollerskate shoes (used on Plastic Paradise)
-A cheerleading outfit I found on Ebay Singapore (Don't ask. I stumbled on it)
-Three plastic headbands by cupcakecozy (Hello Jenny) on etsy
-Two mini Lucky Blythe Magazines by confettilexi
Okay, that does sound like a lot but trust me, they are all very affordable.


Emily has been wearing a blue bob wig since I removed her scalp this summer and I love it but it's time to do a permanent re-reoot on her old scalp so I ordered some Saran hair for her from My Little Customs last month. They have the largest online selection of dolls hair I've seen thus far and they're displayed so well, it's like looking at candy. The hair I ordered is this amazing color changing orange. It's heat sensitive and when touched changes from a dark orange to a bright yellow!! Weeeee!!! But before I can get all excited about the color changing abilities of hair I have to perfect my lock and loop re-root technique which I failed miserably to do with Reya. But that was because I used human hair. I hear that Saran synthetic hair is much easier.


And last but not least I am increasingly more curious about these Blythe Doll knock offs called Blybes. Some collectors have begun to embrace her as a doll that's more affordable and ideal for customization. Collectors with similar interests have been experimenting the two types of knock off, CCEs and Blybes to see which is more compatible with a better quality Takara or Lica Blythe body. I will wait until I see a really good looking one before I attempt a Blybe re-make myself but I've been itching to design another doll of color and the Blybe may be a great way to start.

That's Enough!

Doll Story
I have to be honest. I'm starting to get a little sick of the fact that my Blythes are dressed better than I am. I would love this dress in my size! I mean I would love it! And I'm not sure I can justify spending money on stuff like this too often any longer. God, I didn't buy one pair of shoes all summer! It's true, I hate shopping for myself lately, can't stand the crowds and I really haven't found anything to wear that I love in a long time but this is ridiculous.

TO DIY or to Buy (or a little bit of both)

This last shipment of Blythe Doll items I've purchased has made me realize something really important. I really need to start making the things I can make myself, rather than pay to get them shipped over seas. I mean some of the stuff I get like that roll neck sweater is definitely far from being in my skill level to make at the moment. But I think I could probably pull off a simple crotchet hat if I tried. Not that I don't LOOOOVE Moshi Moshi. I really have never liked sewing very much so I will probably continue to buy from other more incredibly talented seamstresses than I. But I can knit and I am definitely going yo learn to crotchet and that means I should start to be able to make a lot of clothes on my own for the Fab Five.

I was just looking at this cute pearl necklace for Blythe on ebay and I realized, what the hell am I doing even considering buying this? I work like minutes away from the garment district. I can get a string of tiny pearls and make this myself? And who knows what else? I guess I'm also getting really sick of waiting on things in the mail. Since I usually order from Japan and the UK it's really annoying have to wait for things to arrive. I don't want to get too much ahead of myself here but my own etsy shop may not be too far down the road.

: )

More Trouble

So recently, I've been cooling down my Blythe doll obsession a bit, mostly because, after purchasing Sabine, I've had to re-focus and manage my finances around that investment. I've been broke. So while I'm still browsing etsy, Miss Blythe, picking up a cheap vintage Barbie outfit hither and thither on ebay, I'm really being more frugal, saying no to Moshi Moshi and staying away from Ann Blythe on flickr.
However, my curious mind always leads me down paths of mischief and I've noticed recently that on flickr there are literally scads of Blythe owners posting pics for clean out sales. You're not supposed to do this on flickr but if you're careful you can post pics of clothes and just indicate that people should contact you. I've done this on more than one occasion but always thought I was just lucky to find one or two people who happened to be doing this. It's great when the clothes are second hand but in good condition because they're much more affordable.

I just did a general search on flickr for the words Blythe clean-out sale.
....Ummm, I'll be riiiight back.

BTW: I have not forgotten about my Black Blythe Customization. I have gathered all the materials. The hour is close at hand.
: )