Free at Last!

I am free because I quit my day job. I no longer slave over things I have designed, printed, folded and dispersed for others. Of course, I no longer have a steady paycheck either, but hey, sometimes you have to sacrifice. Also, of course, this means that my husband will have to support me but I believe that was in the original contract anyway...or at least the one I choose to imagine.

Now, after I clean up after five years' worth of slapdash housekeeping because of work and do the taxes, i.e., find the paperwork and deliver it to the accountant, I will have time to play dolls!

Unfortunately, a lot of that slapdash housekeeping included neglect of my doll room which shows it in the piles of boxes and bags and bins and Battat horses (too big to put anywhere except the "stable" under my computer desk/sewing table) and various more or less doll-scale stuff I have collected because I thought it had furniture-oid or other possibilities, and...you doll folk get the picture, I'm sure.

It also means that I will have time to put out the GENE magazine in a more regular fashion. Not to mention, keeping up a running commentary on this very blog.
      (repaint and photo by Terry Barner)

But the most important thing I believe this means is that I will have time to organize the Dolly Diva Designs Boutique and actually get it up and running. I know, I know. I hear the loud chorus of my long-suffering public (okay, my one follower) screaming, "About time!"

So. Let's see how much fun I can have and I'll report on it all right here!

Till next time.

Oh, how I love doll people! (originally posted Sunday, August 15, 2010)

Today, I was wandering around on the 'net when I thought I would look up Butterfly Ring dolls. I have a goodly number of them because they were cheap there at the end and I bought them to play with, frankly. Of course, I haven't...but you who have read my blog from the beginning (and I may be talking to myself here ;P) know that I'm not what you call out there doing what I keep writing about wanting to do. But that's another story.

Anyway, I happened upon a site that has not only patterns for every fashion doll you can think of, including the elusive and less than popular Butterfly Ring ladies, but the patterns are NOT the kind everyone else in the world does, i.e., for clothes, but for DRESS FORMS and SLOPERS! I shouldn't even call them "dress" forms because she has them for the guys too! Yes, there are forms for all of them from Ken to Batman!

Her name is Lyn Waring and she lives in Australia but there's no shipping charge. Why? Because she sends you pdfs via e-mail, that's why! How brilliant that is! She will send you CDs via snail mail if you can't receive the pdfs via e-mail for whatever reason and of course must charge a bit of postage for that.

I've already decided I will have to get a set for every type of doll I own–and I own more than I should, let me tell you.
So! It just may be that I will actually get this little boutique thingie going now that I have a source for what I need for draping and fitting and pattern-drafting and all. Am I excited? YES!!!!!

Hmmm. Maybe this lady would be interested in putting a little ad in our HLAYG newsletter! That is if I actually ever put another one out! I'm so far behind on that score right now it's pitiful. Too much interference from reality, for my taste. Grrrrrr!