Dolly Restoration/Makeover

My Blythe wig from Blythaholic came today, and I am so glad that it works. I was really starting to worry that I would HATE Kirsten because the last wig looked so abysmal on her. The wig cap DOES show on this wig BUT it's OK because really, it's a pale blond wig and it's really hard to tell unless you're right up in her face.

Let's take a look at the whole process...

First, we have a few pictures from the ebay seller I purchased her from for about $62+shipping (a bit steep considering the condition she was in but I wanted the Silver Eyes)





When she got here, she felt rather greasy and her wig was in HORRIBLE shape. It wasn't just chopped; It FELT nasty, so the first thing I did was get rid of it...





At this point I decided to take a Mr. Clean magic eraser to her because she had a very small mark on the back of her arm... I discovered this:

I could not for the life of me get the color difference but do you see how one leg is shiny and the other is not? The SHINE is GRIME. And here I just thought the vinyl was, well, being sticky vinyl. Nope. It was grime. I don't know what was all over that doll but I cleaned her up. The mark on her arm, however, is still there. I don't care.

Then I made Cerys lend her some clothes for deceny's sake..


She ends up looking like a cancer patient, poor thing, but fortunately the new wig is on the way...


And... FINISHED with her new wig on!

As of yet she's still unnamed but the tentative back-story is that she's Fae-touched and has dead parents and lives with her grandmother; I imagine I'll flesh that idea out more later. After I show Jeremy the pic of the new wig. He was really worried that the pale blond was too white and would make her look old, which I think is a complete crock because honestly there's no making the AG facemold look OLD. Srsly.

Oh, and in my woes, I was going back over my BJD order last night and I realized I had put the incorrect zip code. D'oh. I emailed them about it but WHO KNOWS if they'll read it, as they are Korean and I'm not sure if they even speak english at all or just use a translating software. However I did find a place to update my delivery address so hopefully that will make it a moot point. Also WTF $80 shipping! If I wasn't so in love with the fucking doll I would have gone to Junky Spot or Denver Doll and picked something out there. However, I fell in love with Ligaya- worse for me, lol. Still, since she was 40% off she still came to over $100 than her normal retail price so *meh*

Some knitting progress

Well, I'm not doing too great on the updating of the journals front but that's just the way it goes. I've done some knitting.

First, I finally finished the orange socks for the Ravelry Sock Knitters Anonymous September Sockdown- the theme was Orange.



Sock notes:
Pattern- Yarnissima Firestarters (pdf)
Yarn- Wollmeise 100% Superwash in "Sonne" purchased from The Loopy Ewe.
Needles- Knitpicks Options Fixed Circs US 0
ravelry link

Then I used some leftovers from those to make a little hat for my new doll. I will be getting a larger doll in the next couple months so you will likely see a lot more knitting for her.

Next I decided I felt like making a gift with some cables so I started the mittens that brooklyntweed had published in VK Fall 08.





Notes:
Pattern- Druid Mittens/Green Autumn (3) from Vogue Knitting fall 2008
Yarn- KnitPicks Palette in "Salsa Heather"
Needles- KnitPicks DPNs in US2 (3mm)
ravelry link.

Tonight I'm going to also start on a Christmas Stocking for the October Sockdown, (DEADLINE WTF HELLO) but that probably will get set aside for a bit while I knit the mittens. They're for someone :D I'm feeling pretty good today, so hopefully the mood will stick.

More Yarnage

I spun some more yarn- another roving from High Bid Farm.


Flamingos and Firebirds

I'm pretty happy with it, though I wasn't crazy about the colorway as it was spinning up. I've no idea what I'm going to make but this yarn is WAAAAY more even than my first so I'm pretty happy about that. It's so funny to watch Polyglot playing with the wheel- he'll go sit on the treadles and make it spin and then just go nuts, or he'll walk through the spokes, or just in general be cute. I don't bother stopping him unless he's chewing on pieces.

I also got some Seacell/Wool Roving in the mail today:

>

Colors from left to right are: Beautiful, Deep Blue Sea, and All About me!! All came from The Loopy Ewe and are just wonderful. I can't wait to spin them- they are each an 8oz braid though so I need to get all my bobbins emptied for them methinks. I can really only get 4oz per bobbin- maybe a little more. I know that a jumbo flyer is in development for my wheel but that will not be till late next year at the earliest I'm sure, and then there's the issue of being able to actually, you know, afford it.

Oh well.

My next project is non-knitting- I'm going to be painting up this bed I got at target for my AG dolls to look like wrought iron. Right now the lavender color is just TOO girly. I don't think you should make a bed like that and make it so girly and cute- little girls don't mind things that look real, y'know?

What Happened?

I wanna know what happened. I used to be such a prolific knitter. And now I'm not. What's the deal?

I suppose it might have to do with the fact that I have less "downtime" away from my computer these days. Or the fact that I knit mostly socks on very small needles.

Whatever the reason I'm a little depressed about it since I'd really like to knit some christmas gifts and I have 2 almost-nephews that are the perfect kid age for making clothes for... but I just don't know if I could do it. I mean, I've got plenty of time, essentially... but I dunno.

I don't know if it's procrastination, lack of inspiration, or both.

The big spinning post

I've done more spinning today; I finished up the 4 oz of roving I had and then I plied it.



Navajo Plied. Don't ask me if the Navajo actually plied like that, I've no idea the history behind it. Once I get a PVC pipe niddy noddy made and get that wound into a skein (and the twist set, etc) I'll post another pic so you can see the "better" parts of it. The most visible stuff in the photo is obviously what I spun first (and thus plied last) so it's not the "best" part of the yarn. I'm still practicing.

Here's my fiber "stash" in picture form...


Same as what I spun the yarn with just different colors


What the yarn above looked like before it was spun


Plain vanilla, will use a little bit for thrummed mittensl; Cormo wool I believe


Merino/Bamboo


Merino, color not very accurate

There was also an ounce or so of blue wool I spun up but haven't done anything with (Not much there) so it's just sitting on a bobbin.

I also took photos of a couple other pretty things from my stash. Daffodils Tussah Silk that I got for my birthday from Jeremy; He got it from here. And some merino/tencel in a nice blue color that I got from Woodland Woolworks when I ordered the springs for my Ladybug.

That being said, I still haven't thought of a name. I was thinking Virgo but I don't think it really fits her. Jeremy said I should go with Eglantine (what the kitten would have been named if he were a girl) or Nessie (because both the loch Ness monster and sheep happen to exist in Scotland). He also suggested "Beck" because it has a "turntable" but I thought that was a bit of a stretch.

We're going to the Hilton Apple Festival tom- well, today, actually. I'm going to get some apples and maybe some other stuff depending on what is there. Hopefully it will rock hardcore.

Spinarooni

Yeah, I'm posting about spinning but you may recognize the Spinerooni as a wrestling move. Yes, Jeremy introduced me to the WWE and I can certainly see the entertainment value in it even though I think it's largely stupid, it can be interesting as well and there are some pretty decent athletes out there doing it.

The Spinerooni is a wrestling move that I believe is performed by Booker T. but don't quote me.



I am actually not sure why I even bought this roving, it didn't look that great as a roving (I will attempt to get a picture of what is left before I spin it) but it's actually turning into a fun little yarn. That's not the first thing I've spun on the Ladybug but it's the first thing I've thought to photograph while still on the wheel which I think is a good way to showcase it.

100% Merino Roving bought from the High Bid Farm booth at Finger Lakes Fiber Arts.

And now I'm feeling like my fiber stash is pathetically small because let's face it, spinning 4oz of roving takes waaay less time than knitting 4 oz of yarn.