I finally got to Soa and her new body. She needed tights and underwear in order to protect her brand new body from the metal stand, so I had to make them first. Then I decided to try a different wig than the one she was wearing with Asa's "Mother Nature" outfit when she was borrowing Asa's body. After all, now that she has her own JID body, and there's just that one outfit available for her to wear, she needs to celebrate with a somewhat different new look. 

She really needs something special of her own, but for now this will have to do. I'm wondering if her choice of forget-me-nots is intended as a not-so subtle message to me?

Nami is back home, and decided to try on my second little sweater - not that she needs one today, with it being so hot and humid. For this second sweater I wanted some texture, so I used a "box stitch". I had to alter my already altered pattern because the box stitch works out wider and shorter than just plain old stockinette stitch. So this sweater is nice and roomy.

I also finally figured out how to make button loops small enough for my tiny buttons. I did buy larger buttons at Micahaels for the first pink sweater, but the buttonholes are still too big, so I'll have to go along with some matching sewing thread and make all the buttonholes smaller. At Michaels I was tempted by some nice super-fine multi-coloured sock yarn for another sweater, so I bought a ball. 

However, I've been thrown off by an issue with my Peach. She has pale marks in her resin right in the middle of her face along the tip and bridge of her nose. They were not visible on the blank head but showed up during the faceup process. In real life they aren't that noticeable except in certain lighting conditions - and if it's pointed out. I need to contact Iplehouse and see what they say about it, because these dolls are too expensive to just accept a flaw, especially in the middle of the face, and unfortunately it's all I see now. The marks are most visible in black & white....

It's very disappointing, because I thought I'd finally sorted out the situation with my second KID, and now she has an issue.   But, ignoring the marks, she sure looks nice in black and white.

I tried the more contemporary outfits on Peach and Lonnie, and took some photos. It's amazing how different they look now - but that's what's so great about BJDs - they are so changeable!

It's interesting in that Peach seems to look a little younger in this combination.  I think I'll keep them both like this for now, so I better go clean up all the clothes and wigs.

Went to pick up my three dolls last night. Soa finally has her own nicely blushed JID body. Nami had a dent on her forehead removed, and was given a nice rosy body blush, manicure and pedicure. And Peach was given a lovely faceup. So, now everyone is finally as they should be. 

I put the mint and rose Victorian outfit on Peach and played with several wigs to see which one I liked best, ending up with a strawberry blonde mohair wig I originally made for Kassia. I really like her. She has such a sweet delicate face, but she seems more mature-looking than Lonnie.

I took a few photos this morning while the backyard was still in the shade, before the sun rose over the house. Today I'll try some of the more contemporary clothes on the two of them and see which wigs go best with those.

Our wisteria is in bloom. For the first twenty years or so it never sent out a single flower, but the last few years it's decided to bloom, and this year there's more than ever. Unfortunately the leaves come out with the flowers and hide them, so Jan went up on the ladder on the weekend to thin out the leaves so the flowers show up better. They are looking spectacular!

I'm well into my second little BID sweater, but it's hard on my arthritis and carpal tunnel, so I'm alternating with other real-life chores - like sewing liners into sleeping bags for our trip. I've also washed and folded the eight fabrics destined to become my new shirts. Now I have to cut them all out and start sewing - which is not among my top one hundred favourite things to be doing, but the sooner I start, the sooner I'll be done - for another few years.  So, if sometime in the not-too-distant future you come across some large, white-haired old lady, wearing a shirt made out of one of these fabrics, be sure to say "Hi!", because there's a good chance it's probably me.

I finished my first tiny sweater, and learned a lot along the way. The tiny stockinette stitch made for a very stiff sweater, and I wasn't confident about the front band with buttonholes, so crocheted it. I sewed on the only pink buttons I had, but they are too small and pop right back out of the buttonholes. Maybe part of the problem is that the holes are vertical. I need to get some slightly bigger buttons at Michaels next time I'm there. 

I've started the next sweater, and this time it will have an all-over texture pattern, and I'll try knitting the front bands with the buttonholes as part of the sweater. I'm not sure yet how I'll deal with keeping the texture pattern consistent as I decrease at the sweater yoke, or how to pre-determine where to put the buttonholes, because I don't know beforehand exactly how many rows the sweater front will be. I'm really not a biMaybe I'll just stick with crocheted bands again.

Today we celebrate the towel - hand towel, paper towel, beach towel, dish towel, cleaning towel, and the bath towel - where would we be without them?  Cold, wet and soggy!

It's bath day at my house, and the girls certainly appreciate their nice, big, warm towels.

Now that Peach's Victorian outfit is finished, I was looking for something new to do, so I thought I'd finish the sweater I started awhile ago. It's based on a free pattern by Dolls West Designs. I first knit a sample square to test my gauge, and had to reduce the pattern considerably as I'm using thicker yarn than the pattern called for. So this first sweater is a test. I'm writing down all the new stitch numbers so I can either duplicate the results next time, or make changes.

I don't think there will be any new doll outfits in the next little while, as it's just four weeks until our next trip, and I have a lot to do during that time - including sewing myself a bunch of new shirts. I hate sewing for myself, but much prefer my own homemade shirts to those available in the store - but I wait until I absolutely have to sew new ones before I actually do it. I save fabrics I like for years, pre-wash them and fold them away for when it's time to make a new batch of shirts, then wait until the previous batch made a few years back starts to fall apart.  I think I have ten different fabrics ready and waiting. It's just it's such a BIG job - literally. The patterns are huge - compared to doll clothes patterns. The seams are endless. Give me nice tiny doll clothes to sew any day! Of course, it's possible my sewing machine will like the nice relaxing break. All those nice long seams, it can just cruise along, and take a nice break from all those short stops and starts on the tiny doll clothes seams. 

In the meantime, I'll just work on little sweaters for my dolls. I'm rethinking the outfits my trip dolls will need, and am thinking they might all need more contemporary clothes with nice warm sweaters. I don't know - can I make that many sweaters in just four weeks?

Yesterday was "World Turtle Day", and even though I had been thinking ahead and took a photo earlier this week so I'd be all ready to go, somehow I seemed to have had a "senior moment" and the day passed me by. So here's Byuri having some fun with some turtles....

I finished the new mint and rose Victorian outfit last night, and went out to take a few photos this morning. It was a mix of sun and cloud, with strong winds, and ever so cold (4 degrees C) so the conditions weren't the best. But at least I can share a photo of the finished outfit.

And a full-length view of the dress.....