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You are here: Home / Archives for Blythe dolls

Rain!

September 5, 2022 at 8:06 am by Claudia

It rained  for about an hour yesterday. And, drum roll, it rained during the night for several hours. When we woke up this morning, we could hear the rain on the roof.

You know how wonderful that is after the dreadful drought we’ve been having? Oh my goodness! It’s stopped now, but more rain is due late this afternoon and, supposedly, all day tomorrow.

It’s too late for some of the already brown maples. They’re not brown because of autumn color – it’s too early for that. It’s a result of the drought. We have a lot of leaves on the ground in the back forty and it’s only September 5th.

I sat here sipping coffee in the still-dark morning, listening to the rain. Heaven.

Just one more thing on this holiday morning. Yesterday, I crocheted a hat for the girls. I was sitting with the heating pad on with nowhere to go, so I made good on my promise to try a pattern I’d seen. You remember several years ago I was crocheting throws and lots and lots of scarves, which I sold on Etsy. I eventually stopped because I had been crocheting so intensely that my wrist was impacted. So, it’s been 7 or 8 years since I’ve done any crocheting. I had to brush up on my skills. Thankfully, I have a little book that I didn’t  give away, so I referred to it as I worked on this pattern.

Here it is. It’s a slouchy kind of beret. Sophie has a flair for wearing hats, so she got to model the finished creation. Plus, it coordinated with the outfit she already had on.

I ordered a bit more yarn in a different weight and I’ll play around with it this week. Wednesday and Thursday will be coaching days for the A Man of No Importance. Friday, I travel to Rochester, returning home on Saturday.

My back is sore, but it could have been much worse. I’ll feel much better in a day or two.

Don is making a sugar-free apple pie today.

I hope you have a peaceful labor day. My dad and brother were union members. My husband belongs to three unions.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, crochet, rain 18 Comments

Change in Schedule

September 4, 2022 at 9:43 am by Claudia

I’m not sure if any of you will see this, but my trip is delayed until next Friday. I slipped this morning and tweaked my lower back and I decided that driving for 5 hours is not the best idea. Turns out it worked out perfectly, as the tech rehearsals are running behind and they wouldn’t have been able to run through the play tonight.

Since I’m coaching on the other show on Wednesday and Thursday, I can’t go until Friday, which will allow me to see the last preview before Jane Eyre opens. Better in the long run.

So – there you go.

Thought I’d write a post just in case someone sees it.

Just want to share with you what I did the other day. Blythe dolls have what are called eye chips and there are plenty of people who make them and sell them. Some are wonderful quality, others, not so great. I’ve never been thrilled with Madeleine’s eye chips, so I ordered a few sets. The other day, I followed the procedure to remove them, which involves a glue stick (like you use in glue guns) being held near a candle flame to soften the end – the glue is then placed on the eye where it remains for about 15 minutes. Then you wiggle the glue stick, twist it a bit, and hopefully, the eye chip comes out. This worked beautifully on one eye. The other eye took four tries and when it finally came off, the eyelashes came out along with it. So I had to learn yet another skill. How to glue in eyelashes. Thank goodness for YouTube.

But it worked and I’m happy with the result.

More eye changes soon.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls 23 Comments

Harper

September 1, 2022 at 9:25 am by Claudia

First of all, reader Deb from Phoenix is having a heart procedure today, so please say a prayer for her. We love you, Deb!

Secondly, Don managed to clear out the storage space yesterday. It’s empty! He took 2 loads to the recycling center in a neighboring town. Some of it came back home to live in the shed or the house. And some of it needs to be sorted here before we make the final decision on whether to toss or keep. All of this occurred while I was on a call with the director of the next show I’m coaching and then coaching Jim. Thank you, thank you, dear husband.

It’s now an even dozen. I’ve wanted a Ferro Doll (a customizer in Russia) since I first started collecting Blythes. When a new Ferro Doll is listed, it’s adopted within minutes. Sometimes, seconds.

They have a fierce, intense gaze that I love. I always wanted one with dark hair and dark eyebrows but then, this other girl appeared who was being put up for adoption by the owner who had only adopted her in June. I went back and forth on this one for over a month; maybe, maybe not. At one point, Kat, the young owner, decided she was bonding with her, so I encouraged her to keep her. But one day, about a week ago, Kat messaged me and asked me if I still wanted her. The price was reasonable. I pondered, and then I said yes.

To be honest, I was put off by her hair color, so I decided I could always change her scalp to a darker color. But now, after receiving her, I love it. Here she is, right out of the box:

If you look closely, you can see tiny veins in her cheeks. The level of detail is amazing.

Also, check out the detail in the coloration of the area around the eyebrows. And the eyelids, of course!

She has synthetic hair but it’s clearly been given a treatment by the customizer because it feels like silk – and it’s minty-colored. Much to my surprise, I’m love the hair and I’m going to keep it.

She was named Claire by her previous owner. She is now Harper Claire, after – you guessed it – Harper Lee. I walked around with her during most of the day yesterday (except when I was coaching, of course. That would have looked weird.)

I’ll try to get a good close-up of her face soon, so you can see the tiny little details that make her so beautiful and collectible.

This morning:

I love her. She’s a serious girl. I have a feeling she doesn’t suffer fools gladly.

I finally own a Ferro doll. If I could, I’d collect even more.

Don is quite taken with her. Never – not once – as he been anything other than encouraging about this little turn my life has taken. He’s charmed by the girls, loves it when I change their clothes and parade them in front of him. He raves about my photos of them.

How did I get this lucky?

Okay. No coaching today. No coaching until Sunday night when I watch the run-through of Jane Eyre  on stage. I’m going to rest a bit – it’s been an intense week.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, collecting, Don 34 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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