Old Pantyhose Dolls. Ew!

We went to my aunt’s for thanksgiving, and she produced the creepy pantyhose dolls!  They are even worse than I remember.

Behold:

Not the best background choice. I get that.

I'm pretty sure that's a patch of fur fabric used as hair.

It also looks like I used a rubber band to create the nose.  It likely never occurred to me that it would eventually break.  And yes, I just used some blue marker for the eyes.  And stuffed it with cotton balls.

I'm pro with this one.

We’ve moved up to button eyes and yarn hair!  But we’ve lost hands.  Not sure if that’s a wash.

I actually remember this one quite well.  It was a pattern that I cut out, and then cut fabric to match the pattern.  Of course I hadn’t the slightest idea how to sew.  No one I knew did things like that at the time.  In fact, if a coat lost a button….we probably just got new coats.

So anyway, there are the aforementioned dolls.  BTW, I would like to confirm that is indeed a word.

Bird Dish Towel for Dot

Dot is my mom.  Yes, we often call her Dot instead of “mom.”  (Yes, I used the correct punctuation.  I am deliberate, people.)

This is a pattern from the Sublime Stitching Craft Pad.  I’ve modified it a touch because parts of it were irritating to me.

What's with the big squiggle?

Namely, the giant squiggle and the asymmetry of the side designs.  Here are some photos of the towel through its progression.  It took me about…4 nights?  (maybe like 6 hours?)  I dunno.  Hell, I don’t time myself.

I used one of the Country Living dish towels that I got from K-town.  It wasn’t too bad to embroider on…but I am concened about it’s longevity.

Now it needs to be washed and ironed….then I will put a big, fat D for Dot in the middle where the squiggle was.

All done!  Embroidery is finished, and it’s been washed and ironed and folded and wrapped.   I’m a little sorry that I placed it so near the bottom of the towel… my oval frames could not house the design.  I guess she could find a rectangle frame if she REALLY wanted to.  After all….it IS a dish towel….even if I don’t want to know how dirty it is going to get.  =)

Owl Softie

I like owls.  I like little dolls.  I like creepy things.  Apparently, I used to make little dolls for my aunt out of pantyhose.  It probably wasn’t even clean pantyhose.  But I digress.

I saw a design for an owl and Raccoon softie in an Aimee Ray book, and I took the basic outline and then went my own way with it.  Rules hurt my heart.  I didn’t plan what I was going to do…I kind of made it up as I went along.  I was initially thinking of putting a big bug on the belly, but I ultimately decided that would be too much and that I would save the bugs for another project.  I’ve got lots of ideas for bugs.  Don’t worry.

Blue stitching? Why not?

Ready for stuffing!

I get a big kick out of this photo.

He's a leaner.

In retrospect, I could have added a little panel on the bottom so that he could stand on his own.  As it is, he has to lean against something.  Oh well….live and learn.  Or fall flat on your face for the rest of your life…like this poor little owl.

Etsy Shop?

I’m in the process of setting up an Etsy shop.  Do I have anything to sell?  Nope, not yet!  But I have ideas.  I’m kind of stuck on a name.  I have a couple in mind, but I keep going back and forth.

I need to start bringing in an income since I don’t want to have to put my baby in daycare and go back to work full-time.  Even part-time work is shitty.  You make what…$8 and hour?  I’d probably net about $300 a week with the hours I could spare.

I’m hoping I can make at least that much selling things on eBay or making things and selling them on Etsy.  I guess we’ll see.  I’ll post a link if I get the shop set up.

Lameness

Do you know what’s lame?  Finally seeing something you wouldn’t mind buying and/or wearing only to have it snatched rudely away from you.  I got this random catalog called “Signals” and it pictured this lovely Breast Cancer Awareness pin for only $24.95.  I’m shallow, and I like things to be pretty.  Most BCA pins are horrifically ugly.  I’m sorry.  Just sayin’.

Lovely.

Well, I go to the website, and it’s sold out.  I email them, and they say it’s been discontinued and you can’t have it, sucker!

I was gonna buy a bunch for xmas gifts.  Fuckers.

Cabbage Patch Kid Rescue (Part 3 of 3)

Alllll done!  Don’t they look nice?  I bought the Spanish CPK outfit from eBay… and the purple one from Etsy.  Somehow, they only look right in their original outfits, though.  I also bought a lot of shoes from eBay…so I’ll get them on as soon as they arrive.

Trimming the fuzzies off the hair was a huge pain in the ass, but it REALLY made a difference.  I highly recommend it.  Here’s close-ups of the gals with hair:

Sweet!  So now where am I supposed to put them?

 

Getting organized

Do I usually do titles in “title case”?  I can’t remember.  Also, I KNOW you’re supposed to include the ending punctuation within the quotes if it ends the sentence, but that annoys me.  I wasn’t trying to say “title case?”…I just wanted to say “title case”.  See what I did there?  I defied it again.

Anyways, I finally organized all my embroidery shit.  I am exceedingly proud of myself.  Here is how I was working before:

Notice the “floss organizer” underneath the pile of floss.  I bought that as a possibly organizing technique…but when I realized that would require me to hand-wind every floss color around a stupid “bobbin” in order to fit in the case, I eschewed that plan.  I hate the word bobbin, too.

Enter this awesome (even if grossly colored) new carrying case!!!!  Plus, it was an extra bonus for being on clearance for $10.  I am all about it.  Again…so proud of myself.  (But this rarely happens, so let me milk it a little bit.)

Look at that hot pin cushion!

All my shit fits!

Yeah, I know we need to cut the tags off those pillows.

Of course, I ran out of the floss-stretcher-thingies, but I’ll go get more today after my mom comes over.  I don’t mind shopping with Big G, but it’s sooooo easier to make a ton of little stops without having to strap her in and out and in and out and in and out of the car seat, cart, stroller.  I’ll bet you got tired just reading that.

WTF Dish Towels for Embroidering Review (ZOMG UPDATED)

It never ever dawned on me that I would ever be in the market of dish towel comparison.  Basically, I’m looking for plain, cheap dish towels for embroidery projects.  I really like the one from Sublime Stitching…but I don’t want to pay their $7 each price.  That’s gross.  I ordered 7 from another site…and turns out they are HUGE and square.  They are called “Flour Sack Towels” and don’t look like a dish towel at all.   Look at this crap:

WTF

(Yes, she was on her way to ruin the display.)

I went to K-town (KMart) yesterday, and picked up these seemingly perfect “Country Living” dish towels for $3.99 (set of 2).

But after washing and drying them, they already look kinda worn.  Too late, though, because I am already using one for my next project…which I can’t post yet because it is a gift and my family is extremely nosy.

I ordered a couple different kinds from a website called “EmbroiderThis” ….and here’s the verdict.

Pictured from right to left is “Natural 100% Linen Towel,” “Flat Check Dish Towel,” and “McLeod Tea Towel” in cream and then in red check.

Left to right: McLeod Tea Towel, Flat Check Dish Towel, Linen Towel

McLeod in red

I’ll spare you the close-ups of the fabric, but I don’t like the linen one at all.  While it feels fancy, and has an almost rubbery quality, it pilled up after one washing.  I am liking the other 2 a lot.  The Flat Check is obviously a more textured surface, but it looks like a nice towel.  The McLeod is my favorite, though.  It’s a good size, nice and flat, and only cost $2.75 each.  The solids (white also available) are nice for anything, and the checks (red, blue, navy also available) look good for retro designs.   I’m for ’em.   Here’s the linkie-link:  http://www.embroiderthis.com/mckito.html

I know you’re glad I wrote this post.  No need to thank me.

Cabbage Patch Kid Rescue (Part 2)

The fan-drying method worked just fine!  The cat was pissed, though.  My only complaint is that the fabric and yarn does not feel as soft as I think it should…almost too dry.  On their faces, I used a combination of Magic Eraser (but I avoided the paint) and Bon Ami with a toothbrush on the painted areas.  I have such an irrational fear of Magic Erasers, because WHAT MAKES THEM SO MAGICAL?  Seriously, those things can remove any stain from ANYTHING.  HOW????  I always wash my hands after I touch them.

Anyway, here are the CPKs all clean and dry.  The preemie is already hanging out upstairs in her preemie outfit.

Clean and dry and nekkid

Here are some face close-ups for comparison with the “Part 1” posts.

Couldn't get out all the stains =(

Next, I’m starting the hair.  I read that I need to trim all the yarn fuzzies with very sharp scissors.  I started with Jessica’s because that looked the hardest.  Check out all this fuzziness.

Yay!  Anyway, the next (and last) post will be with everyone’s hair complete and with everyone dressed.  The old, stained clothing is another problem…it’s so old that you can hear the elastic break when you stretch anything.  Gah.  Hellloooo Etsy and eBay!!!

Cabbage Patch Kid Rescue (Part 1)

So I was at my parents’ house yesterday, and came across a bag filled with my sister’s and my own old cabbage patch kids.  Unfortunately, it seems several generation of mice also made their home in the bag….ruining some of the clothes.  For some reason, they left the dolls alone!  But of course, the dolls are probably ridden with mouse excrement and disease.  GROSS!  I found a couple online articles about cleaning up old CPKs, but I have no idea how successful I will be.

Here are the dolls stripped so we can see how they looked before I did anything.  Only one was my sister’s- the one with the short blond hair.  Notice the difference between her doll and my three relatively clean dolls.  Some may say her doll is just more loved.  Maybe.  I DO remember her doll being tossed at the kitchen ceiling fan, so maybe our brothers had something to do with it, as well.  =)

I apologize in advance for the creepy molesterish-looking photos.

My first doll

My preemie Wilhemenia. Wow, I butchered that.

She owes her extreme cleanliness to a bunny costume.

Jessica, WHY IS IT SO FILTHY

Okay, so we got the “before” shots.  I wish I remembered their names.  =(  I’m not even solid on the preemie’s name.  So step one is to squirt the stains (which was Jessica’s whole doll) with stain remover.  I used Shout because that’s what I had.

All Shout-ed up

The next step is going to be tying each doll in a pillow case and tossing them in the washing machine.  I am going to wash them in a gentle cycle on cold and then on hot.  Why?  I don’t know.  That’s how I washed my cloth diapers.  It just feels okay.  I’m just waiting for Gretchen to wake up because otherwise the big doll heads clanging around in the washer will surely do the trick.  And we should all know that a sleeping baby is one of the world’s greatest joys.

Woot!  The dolls were machine-washed on cold, then hot.  Jessica’s doll had to be shouted again and washed on hot twice.  I think the bodies are much improved, but I still see some black dots.  It was recommended that I wrap each doll in a towel and squeeze the life out of them to help them dry, but I opted for a fan.  Whatever, they’re cleaner than they were.

I wanted a Magic Eraser, but Justin wouldn’t get me one from Target.  Instead, I tried using Bon Ami and a toothbrush to scrub the preemie.  It definitely cleaned, but I managed to get the powder on the body and get the fabric wet.  Meh.  I’ll try the Magic Eraser next.