Friday, December 30, 2011

Down the Rabbit Hole...

About 6 months ago, I saw a Blythe doll in real life for the first time while on vacation, visiting with a friend of a friend for the the day.  I'd seen photos before, but I'd never watched the eyes change color in real time.  I was intrigued.  I become more intrigued when I learned how Blythes can wear vintage Skipper clothes.

I love all things vintage & I adored miniatures as a little girl - the 1:12 Victorian doll house kind of miniatures, not Barbie stuff (though I did have my mom's vintage Barbie that sometimes poked her head into the doll house!)  Tiny vintage clothing?! This was too good to be true.

In October, again on vacation visiting a different friend, I perused a copy of her Haute Doll magazine and discovered knitting patterns for doll clothes!  The quirky aesthetics of Blythe, the vintage collecting aspect, and craft elements all combined to further heighten my interest; so I decided to make a knitted sweater for my friend.  As the little garment materialized before my eyes, I knew that the deal was sealed. I would have to get a girl of my own eventually because I found it so irresistibly delightful to make this miniature clothing.

First I bought some tiny print vintage fabrics and a Rement dress form to experiment with as I research Blythes.  As I practiced Blythe sewing, I fell in love with the kawaii prints too.  I used to live in Thailand & it just reminded me of daily life there - so much cuteness.  It's not quite possible for a grown woman to wear so much kawaii-style stuff in America and be taken seriously, but it could still be enjoyed through Blythe sewing and fashion.

The Rement dress form just made me long for a doll more, so I dipped my foot into bidding on ebay for them.  They always escalated into a mad bidding war right at the end & I wasn't ready to pay BIN prices, so I kept testing the waters without luck & then I discovered clones on Big Eyed Buys.

I got a Basaak girl from Thailand as an experiment.  I thought she would be good for customizing practice and just learning more.  Maybe I would find that it wasn't such an interesting hobby after all and I'd save myself a lot of time and money... no such luck, but I'm not complaining!

My first girl, Charlotte, has been a wonderful partner in crime for learning more about the doll world.  I've practiced sanding and converted her to sleep eyes so far.  We also have a "Feline Fancy" Petite Blythe friend, Minnie Mint, who I accidentally bought thinking she was a Middie before I realized there were actually 3 sizes of Blythe - a true beginners' mistake!

And today, I ordered my very first proper Blythe - a brand new Simply Peppermint girl from Hong Kong who will arrive at my home in 20-30 days.  I'm a bit giddy!

I started a Google+ circle just for Blythe stuff, then I discovered Blythe Kingdom... but I still want a place where I can just geek out on doll stuff, post pictures of my creations, and chronicle my dolly family adventures... far from the eyes of any non-doll loving people. I'm excited to delve deeper in - further down the rabbit hole!