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

Esmeralda’s Dream

Esmeralda had a dream…

That all her sisters had special eyes, just like she…

Esmeralda (Princess a la Mode) is the only Blythe that comes with ready-done sleep eyes. I had always wanted to give my existing girls sleep eyes, but lacked the courage. Thoughts of breaking them or otherwise maiming them were inescapable, deterring me from taking up that steel crochet hook and prising their little noggins apart. Oh, but how I still longed for sleep eyes, made worse ever since I received Esmeralda in January. They’re just so sweet!

So, this week I decided to take the plunge, and armed with a 1.25mm crochet hook, some sturdy nylon cord and an assortment of pull string charms appropriate to each girl (Gwendolina has got yellow glow-in-the-dark stars), I set about performing open Blythe surgery, with impressive results.

To be honest, it was very, very easy and I don’t know why I was so worried. So, in the spirit of Blythe love, I though I’d share with you my method for giving Blythe sleep eyes. A couple of notes. All my girls are RBLs (the newer version with three screws and no glue), which makes opening them up a complete doddle. I’m pretty certain that the method will work for other Blythe types (BL, EBL, SBL, ADG), but you will have to open the head appropriate the the mold in question, and I take no responsibility for any mistakes! Another thing is that in my haste, I completely forgot to take any photos, so my notes are the best I have to offer. I hope they are understandable, but leave a comment if you want help. Having said that, if I were to receive another girl (cough, Ichigo Heaven, cough), I will be doing the procedure again in an instant, and promise to take pictures this time!

Here goes…
1. Disconnect the spring with a crochet hook by wiggling it until you get a grip.
2. Undo all three screws
3. Gently pull the back face plates off. They connect at the ears with little flaps, so squeeze gently here. You will also need to gently prise the plate off where the bottom screw holes are, as there are connectors here. This step is tricky as the plates can be stiff, but just be patient.
4. See where the spring is still connected to the eyemech? Thread your cord through that little hole and *back through the spring* before you tie the string in a knot above it (thus holding the spring in place). This anchors the spring in place, means you won’t lose it, stops it rattling inside the head, and means that you still have everything in place, should you want to reverse the procedure.
5. Thread the other end of the string back out of the face plate through the square hole where the spring was formerly anchored.
6. Reattach the back face plate, again being gentle on each of the four spots. It will *click* at each ear – do not be alarmed!
7. Put the screws back in
8. Add a pull charm
9. Existing string closes the eyes (and makes them change colour). New string does the job of the spring and re-opens the eyes.

Et voila! Use the original string to change the eyes as normal (thus closing the eyes) and the new string to open the eyelids back up. All the new string is doing is replacing the function of the spring you disconnected, which opened the eyelids up automatically after an eye change. Just think about how long your girls have gone without a sleep – surely they deserve a well-earned rest?

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).

A big week for a little cat

Up against it timewise tonight as we’re going out pretty early to see Pudsey’s Christmas lights being switched on. Apparently it was a member of the Emmerdale cast who did the honours last year, so hopefully it is going to be an all-star event – when I walked past the leisure centre earlier there were at least two speakers rigged up the the PA system. I’ll let you know which Yorkshire ‘great’ is in attendance this time, as I know you won’t rest over the weekend otherwise…

Anyway, enough of my ramblings and back to the main topic – my darling pussolini (please excuse the dodgy connotations – the nickname stuck and that’s that) Mr Victor. After I picked him up from the vets on Wednesday afternoon, he was feeling most sorry for himself and was walking all wonky. Following a two hour cuddle, where he was asleep for most of it on my knee , I roasted him a chicken breast for his tea and he went back to sleep until the morning. He’s pretty much been asleep since then and is sat next to me now, snoring away having just fallen back to sleep again – it’s been a big week for a little cat! I just hope he carries on sleeping as I want to stop him licking his stitches, as he refuses to wear his collar – can you believe they charged me an extra £8 for this on top of a total bill of £360?????? He’s now got half his tummy shaved and has been left with 10cm gash along the join between his thigh and body (not a good place in terms of healing). The stitches dissolve over time, so hopefully he won’t be goig back to the vets (the tumour has been sent off for analysis and will be back on Monday. The result, that is, not the tumour ). John told his 90 year old Gran all about it, and her sage old lady advice was that he must be getting better if he’s eating so much chicken, and if you look at this photo you might agree too

Update on Victor

Thanks for your kind words about Victor everyone. They really do mean a lot to John and I. We had the test results in today, and it is a cancerous tumour. I can’t remember the exact name, but apparently it’s an okay one to have (relatively-speaking) in that it’s localised and can be treated through surgery alone as we caught it so early. The whole lot needs removing and then it’s sent to the labs for further tests and to make sure they caught it all. Hopefully it shouldn’t come back, but if it did it would be in the same spot.

I’m taking him in at 8.20am tomorrow and he should be back with us once his catty anaesthesia has worn off (which is just as risky as the op itself in my mind). Fortunately, the costs are relatively bearable at £250, which is a relief. The whole incident has made me realise that I couldn’t really afford to pay much more than this, so we managed to find cat insurance for them both without an upper-age limit andwith 50% off introductory offer (praise be Tesco – you may be the scurge of the high street, but you’re the savior of my pets). Obviously, I can’t claim for this as there’s a 14 day lead-in on the policy before you can claim for new illnesses, and there’s no way I’m waiting that long to pretend that it’s a new ailment at another vets and start the testing again, as it could get worse in this period (illegality aside, natch ). But if anything else happens in the future, at least both cats are covered.

I’ll keep you posted with progress updates. At least Mr Victor is not aware of what’s going on – the worst thing for him will be the nil-by-mouth from 9pm tonight.

Prisoner, Cell Block V

Mr Victor is broken I was giving him a cuddle yesterday when I felt something strange on his leg. At first I thought (hoped) it was a big knot of hair, as he’s so fluffy. But on closer inspection, I found a lump slightly large than a marble on his inner thigh near his groin. Victor has had lumps and bumps before – he used to have a cyst, where the hair follicles were blocked, that we had to squeeze for him. But this time it was different, I could just tell. As soon as John got home we took him to the vet’s. I had to bump him into his basket by his bum – that look on his face says it all.

The vet agreed that it wasn’t a cyst and suggested that it was either a trauma or a tumor. I can’t see it being a trauma as he’s a housecat, and the skin was probably red because he’s had the scratchy flea comb ran over him so much. So that leaves the tumor option. The vet took a sample and we should here by Monday, or possibly Saturday. I do so hope that it’s benign – my dog had one similar on his outer thigh and it caused him no problems so we left it alone, which is the course of action we’ll take with Victor. But what if it isn’t? I have so many questions whirring round my head at the moment, not least related to the cost issue. My pets aren’t insured – the were too old to take out a policy by them time we could afford it. Last night’s trip, coupled with last week’s dramas has already set us back over £200, and all this work on the house, plus my non-income since September whilst I am writing up my PhD has left my pot somewhat bereft. How much is a reasonable amount to spend on a pet? How should you make these decisions. How can you make these decisions??? All help and advice would be very much appreciated at the moment.

And another catastrophe

My poor little cats have been in the wars recently. They’ve had to put up with so much disruption, with moving; having a catty holiday at John’s parents; being driven to distraction by power tools; having a stream of new people coming in and out of their new home… the list goes on. Poor old Sol has been worst affected. When cats get agitated, they try to pee a lot, whether they actually need to or not. The constant strain on his bladder gave him an infection, which had to be treated with some seriously strong drugs. Then, the vets’ ordered in the wrong food for them, which is bad as Sol has an extra-sensitive tummy. We gave him some substitute food whilst the new stuff came in, but this just made him expel as much as possible out of both ends. Then to make it worse, he’s been looking rather thin and all his hind quarters are bony.

And then I notice that he’s biting himself. For the first few days I put this down to his highly-strung ways. But then his dopey little brother Mr Victor, who is the most laid-back thing in the world, starts doing the same. Yup, they’ve got fleas. I am so upset about this. My cats are housecats and have never been outside, so in the 8 years that we’ve had them, they’ve never been in fights, risked car accidents or picked up any nasty infections. After scratching my head (actually I have felt rather itchy…) I realise that they picked them up during their holiday to John’s parents’, as his mum used to let this mangy cat from down the street into her house.

Fortunately, there’s a good petshop near us, so I was able to quickly stock up on de-fleaing goodies. I’m now in the process of nuking the house. Their beds have been boil washed and every single plush surface has been sprayed so much that the hole in the o-zone layer has reappeared. I also had to treat the cats. I had to comb their hair using one of those fine tooth combs – a bit like the nit combs you had when you were a kid. I got tons of eggs off and a few live ‘uns, several of which jumped straight onto me, eeeewwwww Fleas are hardy little buggers and near impossible to kill. I even quartered one with scissors and part of it was still jumping around. The worst bit was administering the treatment. Mr Victor’s fur is so thick that I couldn’t get to the skin, so I had to cut it right back to the flesh on his head before I could apply the drops. This really upset me and I’m worried the treatment will be less effective, as I think I diluted it with some big, ploppy tears I love my cats so much and feel so bad for putting them through this. I do hope that they return to their normal, happy, fluffy, snoozly, non-itchy selves very soon.

The first weekend off since?

Yet again I have been rubbish at posting, but for that you can blame the boyf. He has been relentless with the DIY drive, the majority of which seems to fall upon me (“I don’t know how to hold a paintbrush Flissy”). Anyway, the results can now be seen. Our lounge is now complete and is looking rather fab.

I have a lovely place to work, which is very important when you’re home-based. In the last house I faced a blank wall and now I have a fab view to boot!

But the thing I love the most is the view out of our bedroom window – it’s very special.

I’m thinking of selling this shot to the Pudsey Tourist Board if there is one (if there isn’t one, there should be), as Pudsey is very underrated.

To be fair to John, he has been working hard. He spent the past two weekends taking out the kitchen and putting it back together. There was a reason for this. The kitchen had an island unit which housed a gas tumble dryer. To accommodate the outflow from this stupid dryer, the whole kitchen floor was raised up by NINE INCHES, so you had to step up to the kitchen. Not only that but the stupid unit meant there was nowhere to put a dining table. So the island unit and the raised floor had to go! This meant:

stripping the kitchen out
removing the laminate floor
removing the floorboards
cutting out the frame which supported the raised floor
dropping the plumbing
dropping the power points
re-routing and killing some gas feeds
laying new floorboards
re-laying the laminate
re-fitting the kitchen

All this work just to fit in a dining table! It’s fair to say that I like my food, but this was excessive. I hate bad design with a passion, and this was the most poorly designed kitchen I had ever seen in my life! John’s dad’s a joiner so he helped with the re-fitting. When he saw the state of the kitchen design, he did that tradesman thing of sucking the air over his teeth whilst grumbling about shoddy workmanship (“bloody nailguns” – a no no for joiners, apparently). Anyway, they both worked hard, as this pic proves.

In non-house news, we have a new toy!

It’s a 1972 (tax free, yeah baby) MGB GT, and it’s John’s pride and joy! He’s not let me have a weekend off DIY in two months, but now he’s said it’s okay to down tools. We’re taking it for a spin to Whitby later, so I should be able to take some great photos – it’s glorious today!

Hopefully by the next post, I should have some nice crafty pics for you. I have just started Mummy’s Christmas present, but 2cm of knitting isn’t really worth the effort of even clicking the shutter button. I’d better move fast – there’s only 79 days until Christmas and this is present number one on the knitting list…