Piggy Wig Hats for Piggy Wig Girls

So yesterday I introduced you to Bettina Batfink. Isn’t she gorgeous, sigh? Actually, within the Blythe world, Ultimate Tour (of which Bettina is one) is a bit of a Marmite girl – you either love her or hate her. Many people find her pouty little lips and chin blush somewhat objectionable, and many do not like the whole gothy thing she’s got going on. I, however, find all this fab. Anyone who knows me in real life will understand this – whilst I am not a fan of purple and black velvet; platform shoes with metal panels welded to the side; or dying my hair black, I do love images of skulls and bones, and really dig that whole dark Victoriana thing that there is. Think more Russell Brand than Marilyn Manson So for me, Bettina is perfect, with her little bat wing tattoos on her shoulders, bat hair accessories, skull eye chip and black pull charm. I love her so much!

However, there is one downside to her – the hair. Don’t get me wrong – in many ways it’s beautiful. It’s soft, long, silky and tame. But it’s in perma-pigtails. The way that her hair has been thatched for the full length of her head and along her fringe means that if you take her hair down, you risk losing the lovely neat thatch line that makes her piggy tails so pretty and, even worse, that her fringe is simply lost in her mass of hair Because of this, I decided to leave her hair in pigtails, which really doesn’t bother me as I’m a very lazy dolly hairstylist anyway. But it did mean that she couldn’t wear any hats, risking a cold noggin in the winter. Or did it?

After a bit of though and a play around with a few idea, I managed to come up with a hat pattern especially for pigtailed girls – you simply feed each pigtail through a hole in the hat and then put it on as normal! So inspired by Bettina, I have designed a range of OOAK Piggy Wig Hats, which happen to be for sale in my Etsy shop

I really enjoyed making these and I am sure that more will follow – and yes, any Blythe in pigtails can wear them so long as you style her hair in pigtails! As well as creating a new crochet pattern, I really enjoyed designing and stitching my unique felt motifs and am super pleased with the results. As ever, though, I have put the needs of the shop before my girls, so I really must make sure that I make a special hat just for Bettina that’s hers to keep forever

I’m back! Did you miss me?

Hello blogging world! Well, I am back and – phew! – what a hectic and surprising month this has turned out to be, with even more twists are turns in store for the immediate future! I’ll try as much as I can to fill you in without boring the pants off you. First of all, I finished the final draft of my thesis. I’d like to pay great respect to my poor laptop for carrying the burden of the whole 86,000 word endeavour (excluding references and bibliography!). The beast got handed in to my supervisors on Tuesday, and in my mind I had set aside three weeks for them to read it, and three weeks to make any amendments deemed necessary. So, imagine my fall-of-the-seat surprise when an email pops up on Thursday saying that not only had they read it, but it was excellent and that it was ready to hand in, apart from a couple of minor changes. I took minor to mean a couple of weeks’ work, but no! Apparently, the changes should take no longer than a day!!!!! So, err, that’s that and I’m on my way to Sheffield on Thursday to get it bound and handed in! I have also found out that out of my cohort of 20, I am the third person to submit, which is rather good. Actually, to be completely honest, I am annoyed that I am not the first. I know that being so competitive isn’t attractive, but that’s the way I am. I like to be first! I like to win! So, I have rationalised to myself that I would have been first had I not also took some time out to renovate two houses over the period of my PhD; indeed had I not done this, I would have actually finished my PhD in under 3 years. So not only would I have been first to hand in, but I would have equalled the Department record, which makes me a winner on two fronts! I told you my competitiveness was downright ugly

And, errr, talking of renovating houses, itchy feet has struck again! Yes, despite the stresses of last year’s move to Leeds, it’s time to up sticks again, and move onto pastures new once more. Pastures new being Sheffield. The place I lived in for ten years, loved, ended up loathing, and have recently come to a new understanding with . I don’t really want to say any more at this stage, because there’s actually quite a lot riding on this move that isn’t about floor space and money, and if I say it now, and it doesn’t come off, the disappointment will be too raw and deep to relay here. The stress levels are already high, made worse by the fact that it is all completely out of my controlling hands (the other aspect of my competitive nature), and I once again only have the sage words of Russell Grant for solace. Whilst I don’t want to say much more for now, I will however just say that there are no babies involved though

Amongst all of this, I have still managed to find time for a spot of light crafting. I am in the midst of making a pair of these socks, but it’s soooooo slow! I’ve heard how most people get bored by the second sock, but for me, tedium has set in halfway through the first ankle! But, I don’t give up (tenacity being a good aspect of competitiveness) – no socks are beating me! So, I’ll keep you posted on that one! I’ve also been bitten by the Blythe crochet dress bug, which also bit Rima a couple of weeks ago with wonderfully creative results. It started in March with these (I don’t think I shared these before).

I then moved onto creating another new pattern, with even prettier results.

Indeed, the feedback to this dress was so lovely, that I started to make a few for sale on a commission basis, where each panel is in a colour handpicked by the buyer. (Further details are here, plug plug ). So far, it’s been wonderfully fun, and I have got to try out some amazing colour combinations such as these.

Indeed, the shop as a whole is doing rather nicely! It’s always a pleasure to make special clothes for special girls, and even better when you’re able to see the results of your labour being worn and enjoyed.

(THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR SHARING YOUR PICTURES WITH ME – FULL CREDITS AVAILABLE HERE).

What we’ve been making

As I had previously mentioned, the lack of posts has been the result of many hours crocheting for my little shop. I’ve made four different lines so far; two of hats and two of tops.

The first things were these gorgeous bonnets with little crochet flowers added.

Then, a wonderful find at my new-found secret yarn supplier led to the creation of some little sparkly sequined helmets. (In fact I managed to get some more of this in new colours, so keep your eyes peeled for further helmets!)

After being buoyed by the positive feedback I’d received, I decided to try out some of my designs for little tops. I loved making these jumpers and was super pleased with the way they turned out.

And just this weekend, I revealed another design – my babydoll camisoles – which sold out in three hours! I was astounded, to say the least. I know a lot of people were disappointed so, if time allows, I’m going to make some more for sale on Etsy this week

There has been a couple of downsides to this frenetic Etsy activity. For one, the girls are getting very peed off at having to model all the clothes without ever getting to keep any for themselves.

Also, I think that all the money I’ve made has been pretty much reinvested in wool, adding to the already precariously large Pudsey wool mountain! Only thing for it is to make some more clothes!

I’m opening an Etsy shop!

That’s right! It’s opening on Monday night and will be full of wonderful goodies for that special Blythe in your life.   It’s called Millie Made…  Just for You  in honour of my special seamstress, the Tailor Gibson. The first things for sale will be these lovely crochet bonnets for Blythe. They’re made out of Debbie Bliss cotton angora and are super soft and gorgeous. In case you can’t wait until Monday, there’s a few for sale on This is Blythe at a special discounted price

I’ll be adding to it slowly but surely over the coming months with new designs – my head is overflowing with ideas to the extent I’ve dedicated a little notebook to jotting them down! Needless to say that only the very best yarns are being used – Debbie Bliss, Rowan, Louisa Harding and Lain du Nord to name but a few. But surely Blythe is worth it?

Crossing the finish line!

Hoooorraaaay!  I have finished all of my Christmas knitting, and have actually managed to avoid a desperate rush to get it done on Christmas Eve or, worse, Christmas morning as I predicted!  So here it all is!

I say ‘all’, but there is also the bag that I toiled away over for weeks, which is now safely wrapped and under the tree  As you can see, there are two pairs of ‘Fetching’ mittens, which was a super easy pattern to follow and a great introduction to cables.  I didn’t use the recommended yarn, but used Debbie Bliss cotton angora, simply because I once bought 60 balls cheap off eBay, and now I must use them to justify the purchase!  To be honest, I think the recommended cashmerino would have been better, as there is not much stretch in the yarn I used, which has left the cables a little tight.  Fortunately both mums have bony hands (they don’t read this blog, of course), so the mittens will be a perfect fit!  The little stripy jumper is for my little brother.  I should point out that even though he’s my little brother, he ain’t that small – in fact he’s 7 stone more than me!  No, the jumper is small in size, as it’s for Doggy, his threadbare childhood toy.  I modeled it on the one I made for Blue Ted, and will get a photo of the two of them together, as promised.  Finally, the little lilac mouse is a special present from Victor to my Mum.  He caught it in my yarn stash for her as he wanted to say a big ‘thank you’ for her generous help with his surgery fees.      

So that’s it for the craft.  Now there’s just a small matter of wrapping all our presents to worry about!  I do find every year that, despite my best intentions, it’s a desperate rush to the end to get everything done.  Are you the same?

However, now that Christmas knitting is out of the way, my attention has turned to thinking of new projects.  Indeed a trip to Sheffield to see my hairdresser, led to a quick detour to the yarn department in John Lewis and a gentle tickling of the ole credit card.  So, in 2008 you should be seeing me make one of these, one of these, and a lovely pair of socks out of some amazing pink Regia sock-making yarn that I bought.  And after all that, I hope to be making this cardigan (the wool has been laid by for me in John Lewis as it’s going on sale in January).  If I can manage that, I’ve arrived (in the knitting sense)! 

Christmas Crafting Fun :)

When I started this blog, I really wanted it to be an outlet for my crafty stuff – for others to enjoy, and for me to keep a record of my developing ’skills’ so on a low day I could look back and see what I’d achieved. However, I seriously had no idea that a few weeks later, I’d be selling up, moving to a new city and renovation another house, whilst writing up my PhD thesis. In fact, this life-changing decision was made in MacDonald’s at the end of the M67 on the way home from some friends’ wedding. Never let it be said that I’m a gastronomic snob (although I did have the vegetarian option on a wholemeal sub and took the wrapper home for recycling).

Since then, life has been manic with little time to myself to do the things I enjoy, which has left me stressed, ratty and at times rather tearful Recently, however, things seem to have turned a corner. DIY is reaching an end, and is my PhD thesis (I hope, crossing anything cross-able). I’ve even managed to find some time for my beloved craft! Do you remember me mentioning that I was making a bag for my mum? Yes, I know it was a long time ago but I didn’t forget about it or give up. Slowly but surely I’ve been plugging away at it and now it’s done!

Do you like it? I do, although I try not to look too closely at my stitching up (not my greatest skills). I wish I could claim credit for the pattern, but it’s from Knitty. That lovely frayed fabric brooch? Nah, not my idea either, but so kindly provided by Maize on her blog. It is super sweet though and matches the inside perfectly. I love the corduroy lining – I bought extra so maybe my girls can have some winter capes when I get my sewing machine a fortnight on Monday (wooooottt!!!!)? There’s even a knitted pocket inside that caused no end of headaches, make no mistake. I followed the pattern to the letter and all of it’s turned out mm perfect apart from the darn lining which is 2cm too wide. This called for some judicious sewing and stretching, but hopefully Mum won’t notice (I think you have to be looking for it).

And that’s not all I’ve made! Next weekend it’s my Dad’s wife’s birthday and I had bought her a really cute trinket box for her newly decorated bedroom. I wanted something to put in it, so decided to crochet a poinsettia brooch for her, as it’s December’s birth flower. I’m really pleased with how it turned out, it’s my own design (!) and the clear glass seed beads are sewn on individually for a dewy effect.

And here’s something I’ve made for Sarah/electrocuties for our handmade festive Flickr swap (Sarah – if you’re reading this, don’t scroll down!). It’s a hat for her super-cool Blythe, Pepper. I’ve never used a variegated yarn before and I’m really happy with how it looks. Only trouble is that all my girls now want one. I *hope* there’s enough left for three more hats!

Finally, I still have a WIP on the needles. This is a present for my little brother (aged 24 1/2), or for his childhood toy Doggy to be precise. AAaaaages ago I mentioned making a little jumper for my threadbare Blue Ted. Well I did finish it (did I ever show you? I guess not as it was mid-move), and when my brother saw, it a look of pure envy crossed his face (I *think* that’s what it was anyway!). So the equally threadbare Doggy is going to be getting his own for Christmas. I’ll take a photo of the two together at Christmas and show you all

So real progress all round! Having time has certainly helped, as has joining my local knitting group, injuries notwithstanding. I’d recommend a knitting group for anyone who is time-poor on the needle front as it’s a great way to focus your energies. My jumper for Blue Ted will be done by the next meeting in a fortnight, so the plan is to next make two pairs of these for our Mums. Wish me luck – I may even get this all done in time for the 25th, although I’ll probably be sat in the passenger seat on Christmas morning somewhere over the M62 sewing in the ends