Pretty dolls, warmth in the winter, food on the table, access to healthcare and education, & the best thing of all: really good friends. Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of reflecting to realize what you have makes you plenty rich in the grand scheme of things. Yes, it is always nice to want more dolls and more things – but sometimes it’s nice to take a moment to look at what you do have and the important part of life, and the hobby itself.

Supplies Needed

• 4.00mm/US G-6 crochet hook
• Small amount of sock yarn (good project for remnants!)
• Yarn/darning needle
• Scissors

Gauge
2 st per 1 cm

Pattern Notes
Total number of stitches that you should have at the end of each round is mentioned in the parentheses at the end of each round.

Abbreviations
sc = single crochet
st = stitch
sl st = slip stitch

Toque Directions
Round 1: Crochet 6 sc in a magic ring (6).
Round 2: *2 sc in next st* repeat 6 (12).
Round 3: *sc 1, 2 sc in next st* repeat 6 (18).
Round 4: *sc 2, 2 sc in next st* repeat 6 (24).
Round 5-9: Work even in sc (24).
Round 10: Work even in sl st (24).
Fasten off, tuck in ends.

Scarf Directions
Chain 16 (or as long as you want – 1 ch is the turning chain)
Sc across (15).
Fasten off, tuck in ends.

Notes on Pattern Use
This pattern may be used for personal or commercial use provided that full credit is given to BlytheLife.com/Michelle for the pattern (please include a link to the website or pattern page in your sales description). This pattern is not for mass-production manufacturing. You may not sell, republish, repost or claim the pattern as your own. If you have any questions regarding these terms, please email Michelle at michelle@blythelife.com.

It’s the season of giving! This year I had planned to get some little presents for my dolls, but with a dozen dolls – that’s a lot of little presents! I’d like to think that all the goodies that I get throughout the year would make up for the lack of presents to open on a certain day this year… I may be getting something for Mollie though. Mollie is my Simply Sparkly Spark, I got her as a Christmas present last year so her ‘birthday’ is December 25th and I think she’ll be getting a little something since it’s her ‘birthday’ too.

The first December that I spent with Blythes, I got my dolls (and I only had three in December 2009!) little hair clips that I still use today for both the dolls and myself when I need something small. It’s weird thinking of a time when I only had three dolls because since then my family has grown by another nine. And it’s also weird to think of a time before having Kenners, before having some of my favourite girls, before having people locally to play dollies with (!) because that was the biggest thing that happened for me in 2011. I gained local dolly friends and that’s amazing.

Life is better with dolls! And I think one of my goals (maybe) for 2013 will be to actually photograph and document each doll’s birthday and get them or make them a little thing. For some of them, 2013 will mark the first year that they arrived in my house, for some it’ll be their fourth year here and that’s pretty awesome too!

Are you planning on getting your Blythes presents for the holiday season?

In the spirit of the holidays, whatever you may celebrate, I’d like to remind you all to give back if you can to others! Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean buying more stuff for your dolls – although I’m sure your dolls would greatly appreciate it (I know I would!).

In the province of British Columbia, there are a lot of people who don’t get enough to eat on a regular basis. Half of those people are children. I’m forever grateful that I’m a doll and that I don’t need to eat (although Re-ment waffles are delicious!), but I know that Michelle needs to eat and she’s thankful that she has food to eat. She’s also thankful for Blythe too, because I’m just that awesome (Stick with the program, Sophie! – Michelle). People who live below the poverty line are always struggling for food, but with dipping temperatures, it makes it harder than ever to put food on the table, stay warm and make sure their kids have a little something for the holidays. Because nothing sucks more than believing that Santa gives toys to good little boys and girls and not getting anything because your parents couldn’t bribe Santa well and the bully at school gets a new iPod.

So in the spirit of giving, I’d like to remind people to pick up an extra can of food or something if you can while you’re at the grocery store. Or maybe the next time you’re getting a new Monster High or Lalaloopsy doll to get something else too! Kids may not need a Blythe, but a basic Barbie doesn’t cost that much, neither does a can of soup, a jar of peanut butter or a nice fluffy teddy bear to put a smile on a kid’s face.

If you’re looking for somewhere great to donate, here’s some places to consider checking out:

• Local grocery stores often have food bank boxes set out.
• Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society
• Food Banks Canada
• Feeding America
• Toys for Tots
• Coats for Kids Foundation

Giving back is fashionable and I’m all about staying fashionable. Until next time!

Sophie is a mostly stock Cappuccino Chat that came to live with me in June 2009. She loves shoes, new clothes, playing with her hair, fashion, magazines full of fluff and shopping. She aspires to be a model and would like to model for some of the ‘great’ dolly fashion houses one day.

Stuffed animal image by sxc.hu user aduhai.

I get some repeat questions from time to time via email and I thought I’d share them in a little question and answer post here on the blog. I’ve chosen to leave out the senders’ names and I’ve also edited some for spelling and grammar. The five questions are some of the more commonly asked questions (#2 is in there because I found it hilarious, not because I’ve been asked more than once) that I’ve gotten recently:

Why don’t you show any appreciation for Middie? I think everyone would want to see photos of Middie!

I would love to show everyone photos of Middies. I have shown some photos of Middies that I’ve taken that belong to others, but as I tend to be the photographer for most of the photos on the blog (interviews not withstanding), I don’t actually have a Middie of my own to photograph at this time. Once I do get my own Middie, you can be sure that I will take lots of photos and do posts about Middies. If you’d like to gift me a Middie, I wouldn’t say no!

Are you one of those snotty collectors who only collect the expensive Blythes?

For one, I take issue with being considered ‘snotty’… Secondly, ‘expensive’ is a relative term. When I first started in the doll hobby, I thought the cost of one Blythe was pretty expensive and I couldn’t see myself ever spending over $500 for a doll (please note, this was before I got any of my Kenners). So depending on what you consider “expensive” to mean, yes I may be one of those collectors who only collect expensive dolls. However, if you were to comparing me to someone who only collects art dolls that go for $2500 each, my collection isn’t that pricey after all. So I’m not entirely sure what the purpose of this question was, but no – in the grand scheme of things, my collection actually isn’t worth that much. It doesn’t cover tuition for a term, so that’s considered “low” for me.

What do you have planned for 2013? Are we going to get to see the results of your survey thing?

I do plan on sharing some of the significant results from my survey (if you haven’t already, you can still fill it out!). As for what I have planned for the blog in 2013… If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise now would it? I do have a lotof things planning for 2013 and I’m very excited for 2013 to begin as I have a lot of fun things that I want to show you all!

Why do you only post three days a week? Can you post daily?

I’m not aware if you all know this – but I don’t actually get paid to do this. Money that I make from people advertising on this site go towards the cost of keeping the website up on the internet (hosting fees). I generally write the posts in advance, editing as I need to keep the information current. However, it takes a lot of time to write posts that are meaningful, fun and somewhat fresh or witty. I would love to be able to devote more time to the blog, but I am a full time student right now and that means a lot of hours in school and a lot of hours doing homework and studying. As it is, sometimes it’s hard for me to get three posts up per week, much less five! If you’d like to help out though, I’m always open to contributions by visitors.

Can you tell me where I can find the $2 Kenner Blythe dolls?

If I knew where to find $2 (of most any currency) Kenners, I’d be buying them for me and maybe sharing them with some friends. Maybe. (The sad thing is, this is not the first time I’ve had a similar question – although usually the amount mentioned is more like $50 or $100.) I don’t know why people think I know where the bounty of cheap Kenners is, but Kenners just are not cheap unless you’re super lucky and at the right place, at the right time or you buy an abandoned storage unit full of dolls from the 70s. Other than that, I have no idea where you can find super cheap Kenners.

What do you mean you wouldn’t pay full price for a girl like me?

If you have any questions for me, you can send them to michelle@blythelife.com.