Finally Some Real Knitting!

The weather here is finally turning to a somewhat fall-like feel and my knitting mojo is making a real appearance at last! K. was here for the holiday weekend and I took the opportunity to measure him in the hopes of turning this old project into a reasonably well-fitting sweater:

Its a basic top-down raglan in Rowanspun dk that I've had sitting around forever. I think I started this project several months ago and it has been hiding in my drawer ever since. I'm sort of winging it so hopefully all will be well in the end, lol. I am almost finished the body portion and then its on to the sleeves. So far it is very lightweight and tweedy..just the sort of thing that K. likes.

Another big change that happened since K. left to start his new job is that we  dumped cable. After much hemming and debating I realized that we don't actually watch much regular tv, barring a few favorite shows. By far the most watching we do is mindless crap/reality shows that we only turn on because we are bored. So I learned how to download shows and movies and also how to view my computer on the big tv. A quick trip to the cable office and voila...$80 a month saved! We have to work a little harder in the evenings to entertain ourselves but the benefits are already being felt. No more commercials! No more Hoarders and Honey Boo Boo! More knitting! More games/fun with the girls! I actually wish we had done this sooner but change is hard when you get into a comfortable rut, ha ha.

Halloween Shop Update

I've added some new Halloween dresses to my shop today:

More goodies coming soon!

Middies R Us

For a while now I have been curious about the new Blythe in town: Middies. Middies are sort of like Blythe's little sister. Takara has been producing them for just over a year and so far 6 different styles have come out. They have yet to really gain popularity due, in part I believe, to the relatively high price tag...almost as much as a full sized Blythe without the neat eye-changing feature. When I first saw one I didn't like her at all. I was sure I would never spend good Blythe money on (to my mind) an inferior doll that was severely lacking in charm. 

And then it happened. I kept seeing them on the various forums and people's websites and my curiousity kept growing. And growing. Until finally I couldn't stand it any more. I carefully looked at the different ones produced and decided which was my favorite..Milk and Honey. Then I checked all over for prices. And promptly died a little bit inside. Of course the one I liked the best was hard to find and priced accordingly. No matter how great my curiousity, I couldn't justify paying over $200 for a doll that I wasn't even sure I would like. So, back to the drawing board, I checked out my 2nd and 3rd choices..unfortunately also priced beyond my comfort zone. I almost gave up at this point of ever owning a middie.

Then I had a brilliant idea. I posted on various forums asking if anyone would consider rehoming an unloved girl for some $$ and a partial trade of goods from my Etsy store. And...success! Not only did I get one for a good price (fantastic, actually) but the owner is local to me so I picked her up yesterday! Presenting the newest dolly in the house, Katie:

Yes...not only is she my #1 pick, she also came complete with all her stock and her box! She had only been taking out for display and that's it. To give you an idea of scale, here she is posed next to Pepper:

Awe..isn't she the cutest?!? I can't wait to start making clothes for her! Here's a closeup of her face:

I have to say that I am most definitely converted now, lol. I will be keeping my eye out for more middies. The girls, of course, are completely nuts for her and are plotting saving up their Xmas and birthday money for middies of their own, ha ha.

Blythecon Australia!

A while back I was contacted through my Etsy account by an organizer for Blythecon Australia. She was looking for sponsors and wanted to know if I was interested. OMG! Was I ever! I have never been to a Blythecon but I have been following the various different ones on line ever since I first became interested in Blythe dolls. I couldn't and still can't believe that someone likes my stuff enough to want some for an actual event! I swear the little thrill I get whenever someone shows interest something that I've made never gets old, lol.

So I have spent the last couple of months debating and testing out ideas until I came up with a shorter version of the party cardi sweater that I really liked. I set to work making them up out of forest colours to go with Blythecon's theme: Woodland Faerytale. Here's Aimee modelling the finished version:

I made up 16 of these all together. No two are alike due to the colour-shifting nature of the yarn I used.

I'm not sure exactly what they are going to do with them..either give them away or raffle them and I don't really care. I'm just so happy to be able to contribute to such an awesome event and to the Blythe community in general. Its so great that they are giving a relatively new to the Blythe scene aficionado like me the chance to get involved and get my name out there.

I just wish I could send more. Maybe I'll get a chance at another Blythecon....

Big News and A Small FO

Its been a little crazy around here lately, to say the least. The biggest thing going on is that we are moving to Nelson, BC! K. finally got a job in the small BC town of our dreams. We have been trying to move out of the city forever it seems and now it is finally happening. There is only one real problem we are having..the local real estate market has slowed down so we can't sell our townhouse here unless we take a significant loss. After much debate (and wishes for a lottery win) we came up with an interim plan that hopefully won't kill us, lol. We moved K. to Nelson and set him up with his own, swingin' bachelor pad (a rental) so that he could start his new job right away. Basically we pillaged the house for spare furniture and bedding and then went to Target and Walmart to fill in the gaps.  He now gets all the fun of learning how to fend for himself..cooking, cleaning, the works! The girls and I are going to sit tight here until the market improves hopefully by next spring...Nelson is in the mountains so moving in winter is completely out of the question. Fortunately K's new job pays more than he was making in the city so we are able to afford supporting two households for the next while. A major bummer in this whole thing is that I am now effectively a single parent with no car trapped in suburbia. Fortunately I have some support once a week for running bigger errands and shopping. Fingers crossed that when we do list the place we get at least our initial buy-in price but hopefully also some of our improvement costs.

In the meantime, K. has been gone for just over a week now and I'm trying to channel all my nervous energy into productive pastimes. I finally finished up a pair of socks that has been on my needles for quite a while:

These are made from Zauberball in shades of bright pink and purple. They actually came out very similar looking which is rare for zauberball socks! I really like them so hopefully the weather will become more fall-like soon so that I can actually wear them...

My knitting mojo seems to be returning, finally. I actually feel like making something more substantial than socks and dolly outfits. I don't think I've ever gone this long without making a large project before. But now I'm trying to keep busy and save money so no time like the present to dig deep into my stash!

Dollies Go Goth!

The kids are back in school and Halloween is just around the corner so I decided to start making up some wickedly festive Blythe gear for my etsy shop. Here's the first installment:

Goth girls for life! I loved knitting up these dresses so I'll be making a few more for my girls to keep all to themselves. Coming soon..some creepy party dresses, Halloween skate punk hats and maybe a few surprises....

Golden Afternoon

Just a quick post on friday afternoon to show off a project I just finished!

It is a Lintilla scarf knit out of Crystal Palace Sausalito. Details on Ravelry here. I whipped this up as a bithday gift for a friend of my girls who is turning 14 at the end of this month. She is pale blond with blue eyes and her favorite colour is yellow. When I saw this yarn I knew it would fit the bill perfectly! I love making up this pattern..I did a couple of them last year. Self-striping sock yarn gives a really nice effect, I think.

Another golden thing to show you:

I only managed to get a couple of pictures of this guy before he flew off...thankfully they turned out!