All Gold Bear Hat

, a photo by Mine is clouds... on Flickr.

Now up for sale in Little Brown Blythe on etsy.

I made the mesh looser on this version by using a bigger hook. And although it may not be obvious the ears have been moved forward on the crown. I think for my next one I might try to move them even more forward. The yarn itself is very malleable when crocheted so the ears can flop forward or stand up as desired.

Some New LBB Blythe hats

Little known fact: I don't usually knit or crochet in the Summer.

Just looking at yarn in the summer makes me hot. I generally reserve knitting and crochet for the colder months and I'm normally very seasonal about what my Blythes wear in photographs. I wouldn't put them in ponchos in July, that sort of thing. But it occurs to me that Blythes don't care about wearing knits in the summer. They can wear whatever they want! LOL!

So I started making a few hats here and there a few weeks ago and it felt really good to get into that rhythm I usually don't experience until it's cold and I want to snuggle inside under a blanket with something warm to drink and a book and a crochet or knitting project. It really does feel good. The yarn I ordered last week was in the office Monday morning. I think I may have made two hats just sitting at my desk yesterday. It was oddly mellow for a Monday. This gold one, seen above on Hendrix was a suggestion made by my friend Paula. She even found the yarn for me on etsy which I was totally juiced about because I had been looking for yarn like this for ages!

It's very interesting to work with, very light and almost like a light chain mail when it's crocheted together.I've completed two in the gold so far. The one above is the first and it was basically just soI could see what it would look like. For the second (not seen here) I did a looser mesh stitch and moved the ears forward. I'm still not sure how I feel about it yet. The soft fluffy bear hat is now in the LBB shop. I have tons of fun using that yarn. It's so soft and fluffy and touchable. I'm sure I'll crank out a few more before the week is out so stay tuned for updates.

The Ikea Shelf Unit and My Blythe Brooklyn Weekend

Well the 4th of July Weekend is well passed us and though it's been some time, I still would like to share the fact that I made one major purchase at Ikea in Paramus that weekend. Many of us afflicted with a middling to large collection of Blythes and/or dolls know how hard it is to keep them in line when they're kind of just hanging out all over the place. It's a condition I've become used to but ever since the first time I saw this unit in person, I knew it would change things in my dolly life forever and that perhaps it was possible to see my bed again. After weeks of failed planning and unforeseen obstacles the moment was finally seized. I did want the white one but they were out of it so I settled for the light birch color. I was desperate. I just needed some order!

Ikea Expedit: Game changer

The first thing I felt once we has assembled the shelf and slid into the tiny bedroom was how strange it was to be able to see all my dolls in one place. I have a collection of several lines of dolls and nothing makes that more obvious than being able to look at them all at once. I felt a little crazy, I'll be honest. I felt like I was in the walk in closet of a teenager/artist. However, since that's not a new feeling for me, I've finally moved passed it. LOL!
I have plans to wallpaper a couple of the cubbies and perhaps, maybe furnish them but not too heavily. I am using a few for my own clothes. I'm pretty happy with is so far. I've been wanting it for so long it's almost hard to believe it's here. I'm still pretty excited about it.

Welcome to the Dollhouse

In other news I was in Brooklyn most of the weekend hanging out with good friends I really don't get to see often enough. One of them whom I've known since high school lives in a wonderful part of Brooklyn just a few feet away from where I grew up as a girl. I may have said this a million times before but this part of Brooklyn is very sentimental to me. I just had the best time growing up there and whenever I'm there I just feel so light, safe, calm, peaceful and inspired.

My friend and I were walking back to his apartment after vegging out at this amazing local ice cream store and we cut through a kids bday party along the way. I stopped to take a shot of my custom Black Blythe Neige by an open fire hydrant. As this was happening I could see we had attracted a small audience of one in the form of a young girl who was just prancing in the hydrant water. I'm usually really protective and super shy about taking photos of Blythe in public but for some reason I was totally receptive to this girl. Maybe because I could sense that she was respectful, keeping a reasonable distance but totally craning her head over to see what the heck was going on with this doll. Without hesitation I waved her over to get a closer look, let her hold Neige and then showed her how the eye colors changed with the pull string. The little girl totally dug it, lit up and smiled every time the eyes changed, took mental notes and trotted away saying goodbye. It was a great Brooklyn weekend.

Girl meets Blythe

Blythe Gift Exchange!

Hamsa portrait by Katie

We arrived in the city late in the evening last night and I won't even go into how miserable and unbearable the heat was and is in our tiny apartment. Suffice it to say that receiving a sweet gift in the mail from Katie AKA Blythechan helped to cheer me up considerably. She made this sweet little drawing above of Hamsa a few weeks ago as a part of a pay it forward project we announced we were doing this year.

How it works is that you just let people know that the first to respond to your offer will receive something handmade from you at some unknown time during the year. So far I have sent out one hat.This week I will send out a second. I also hope to do something like this here at Born to Blythe, perhaps a raffle of sorts. Stay tuned.

I crocheted my first bear hat!

I made the bear hat seen above for Katie this morning as she is one of the five who responded to my post. I whipped it up right at my desk. I've made tons of hats like this before but never with ears. Those ears really do make a difference and this yarn which we picked up at AC Moore this weekend is so soft and touchable. I hope she likes it! I will try and make one more for Little Brown Blythe this week.
Latas!

Middie on the bay again (EBAY That is...)

Middie FA

So I've decided to put my custom AA Middie, Mimi on the ebay once more. They thing is, although I adore her, I can't really afford to hold on to her. Having a Middie, at least for me, means having a whole mid sized wardrobe and there's really not much of a range of clothing for Middie, at least not in my opinion, at the moment. I like my girls to have a lot of options and Middie clothes that I do like just doen't fit into my budget at the moment so alas she is up for adoption.

If you're interested, check out her ebay listing over here.
Happy shopping!

Chervron Happy

For blog, a photo by Zanalee on Flickr.

So I took a leap a week ago and ordered some yummy rainbow chevron fabric from etsy which arrived a few days ago, all fresh and sweetly wrapped like a piece of candy from Riley Blake.

The only way I can approach projects that I am largely intimidated of is by not taking myself too seriously and not worrying about being perfect I started with the very simple pattern for an A-line Blythe dress from Pucchi Collective. I've been studying that thing on and off for months, maybe even a year. Now I was ready to dive in.

I just really needed to understand the pattern before I could start. It's a simple pattern yes, but so much of it for me is a leap of faith in actual execution. But it's making sense to me finally.

The first one I made yesterday and put it on Hamsa to model. I had to hand sew it because my cute but crappy little yellow sewing machine from Urban Outfitters has been mysteriously malfunctioning.

The second one I made last night, is modeled by Hendrix. I like the silhouette much better on that one. It flares out just a bit and is not so straight up and down. This is what I wanted. Fortunately I had gotten the machine to work a little by then.

I think one of the greatest challenges for me has been figuring out how to get the sleeves just right. Those little tabs you have to turn in don't really stay down very well. Also there's not really a good explanation on what to do to close up the back either but I think I can manage to improvise there. I'm just going to pace myself and learn slowly. Making stuff is just therapeutic to me and when I become obsessed with something I end up learning a lot, particularly where Blythe is concerned. She gives and gives.
: )

Lake Sebago Blythe

Hendrix basking in the peace of Lake Sebago pier

Wow, it's been awhile huh? I had the most relaxing, desperately needed little weekend retreat this past weekend at Lake Sebago Cabins in Harriman State park. It was me, my fiancee and six other friends. In all, three couples. It was just so soothing and restorative, I wish it could have lasted longer. Being back at work sucks to say the least and a couple of my co-workers who were there camping with us can vouch for that.

As for the Blythe world, I haven't that much to report except that I guess I've resigned myself to flickr's new format. I have an account on Ipernity I barely check. I am getting more and more curious about learning how to make dresses for Blythe. Even the simplest patterns kind of mystify me, but I've been chipping away at them on and off for a while now and I'm determined to try and figure it out. So perhaps there will be more on that front soon.

Management of my photography portfolio is what's really taken over the past few weeks before this camping trip. But I'm still plugging away at my ADAD though I've stopped numbering them because it depresses me sometimes to see the days flying by like that.

I hope all your summers have gotten off to a pleasant start and that you've been able to stop the whirlwind of time and routine to slow down and appreciate the things and people you love.
Until later....