Slow Down

Accidents like this can happen.

Hello, Dolly!

My grandmother recently sent Eleanor this read-headed doll. It use to be my aunt's and has seen a lot of love. I decided to try and clean her up a bit, so I went on-line to do some vintage doll research. Sorry, Galeese Girls, your toys are vintage. Heck, my toys are considered vintage. I found plenty of info on Rainbow Brite and My Little Pony.

I found markings on the back of her neck that indicate she is a Horsman doll, model #22, but I couldn't find a picture of the original doll. There is a picture on the Horsman website that could very well be her, but it doesn't mention which doll it actually is.
As you can see, her hair was a matted mess. I want to try to smooth it out, but was afraid it was too brittle and would break. I found a lot of information about fixing doll hair and thought I would give it a try.
The first thing I did was clean the whole body with diluted Dawn dish soap and a soft washcloth. Then, I used the diluted soap in the hair, careful not to get water and soap in the eyes, and rinsed the hair clean. Many websites recommended soaking the hair in fabric softener to make it more manageable.


I soaked her hair for about an hour, squeezed out the excess fabric softener into the sink, and the got to combing through her hair. It was still in clumps, so I used Elle's plastic baby comb and started at the ends, working my way up to the scalp. It took awhile, but I was able to comb through the hair smoothly when I was finished. I then rinsed out the fabric softener and laid her on her back to dry. (I didn't want the water to drip down into her body, because there are metal parts inside)


At this point she looked like Chucky, with her hair sticking straight out. I knew that I needed to smooth her locks somehow and thought that it would be best to try the doll "boil perm" I had read about on quite a few sites. They recommend using drinking straws to roll the doll's hair into curls, but I decided to use foam rollers.





The rollers were actually too long, so I took the foam part off, folded it in half, and rolled the hair around it. To secure it, I put a pin through it. Now she was looking like the character from Hellraiser. Do you see a theme here?

After boiling water in a medium sized pot, I removed the water from the heat a dipped only the rolled hair into the water for about 30 seconds. I rinsed the hair in cold water and left her to dry for a good 24 hours.

When her hair was dry, I carefully unrolled each curl, then used the comb again to fluff the hair.

I'm quite happy with the results. She doesn't look brand new, but she looks a lot better than she did a few days ago. Now we just need to get some clothes on this doll.

Congratulations Ryan & Sasha!

My very good college friends welcomed their first little one, Remi Elizabeth, to the world on February 10 (Marley is their dog). She weighed 4lbs 8oz and was able to come home last Friday. Sasha was my roommate for about 3 years at Mizzou. Our other roommate, Lacey, and her husband just had their little girl, Beau Jean in December. Maybe they'll all grow up, go to Mizzou, and end up at the house on Bouchelle. To our future tigers.

Cutie Booties

I finished crocheting the baby booties that I mentioned the other day. I love them. They look so cute on her little chubby feet. (The pictures are a little blurry, because she doesn't keep those feet still for long.) I used a pattern by Kelly McCaleb, but altered it a bit. I followed the pattern the first time around, but I wasn't pleased with my outcome. It turned out big and bulky, and didn't really look like the example picture. I'm not sure where I went wrong. I may have used a heavier weight of yarn than I was suppose too. So, on my second try, I used the same weight of yarn as I did before, but used a smaller hook (the pattern calls for a G hook, but I used an F instead) and used a single stitch on the last row instead of a half-double stitch. Also, I'm not sure how a baby would keep these little slippers on her feet, so I added the suggested tie. They work up pretty fast and just look so darn cute. I'm stopping myself from crocheting all day and making a pair in every color. Is she really going to grow out of all these cute little baby things one day?

More Teeth, Less Sleep

The top teeth have popped through. The first couple of nights she was up every 3-4 hours, so we tried some Tylenol. She's sleeping better now, but lately she's been waking up around 3 or 4 in the morning (way too early to start my day). Usually, after a bottle she will go back to sleep, but there have been just a couple of mornings where she refuses. At that point I put on some t.v. show until the eye rubs start and I put her back to bed. I know, the t.v. is not a parenting tool, but my brain doesn't work that early, and the remote does. Remote wins.

A Few Crochet Projects

Yes, yes, yes! It is beautiful outside. Elle and I even took a walk today. She needed some fresh air after being cooped up this winter and covered in layers and layers every time we left the house. This kind of weather change rejuvenates and motivates me to get moving. It's funny how during those cold and dreary winter months you have to motivate yourself to do even the simplest tasks. Now, I know this weather is too good to be true for February in Chicago, so I am going to take advantage of it while I can.
Lately, I have been working on a couple of crochet projects. I'm a book taught crocheter so I'm kind of figuring out the patterns as I go. The first item I finished is a dress/top for Elle.

I say dress/top, because I actually started this when I was still pregnant, and if I remember correctly, I used the pattern for a 3-6 month baby and I'm not sure if it will fit her now as a dress or as a top with leggings or pants underneath. Anyways, I dug it out of my yarn box and finished it up. I got the pattern from a book that has many adorable baby items. I decided to try some other projects from the book, but I kept getting frustrated with the pattern directions. I assumed that I was just wasn't familiar with the techniques and went online to see if anyone had advice for creating the projects in this particular book. To my surprise I came across review after review stating that many of the patterns were incorrect and that the book seemed to be edited poorly. Well, at least I know now that it wasn't just me, but I wish I didn't waste my money on this book. You can even see that the left strap on the dress I made is thinner than the right even though I checked and double checked the pattern. Next time I try to find a pattern book I will make sure to read a few reviews first.

The next project I've been working on is a blanket using the crochet block patterns in this book, 200 Crochet Blocks, by Jan Eaton. I really like the examples and colors she shows in the book. They really inspire you to try them out. I did check up on this book and found a list of corrections here. I haven't checked my copy to see if they have been revised, but now I know where to go if they haven't, and I don't feel like I wasted my money.
Today I started my third endeavor, a pair of baby booties. I purchased a pattern from Kelly McCaleb's Etsy store. I've seen a lot of patterns out there for booties, however these booties seemed unique and more like little ballet slippers than booties. (Wow, I just said booties one too many times). I'll let you know how they turn out.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Was anyone shocked that we have 6 more weeks of winter? Not me. Although I am praying that they fly by.