Remember way back when I said I had that New Doll Itch and how I wasn’t going to buy a new doll because funds and how my money would be better off saved up for that little trip to the Big Apple in October? (Spoilers ahead.)

“What am I? Chopped liver now?”

Yeah, that didn’t last very long because I currently have a doll waiting for me at the post office. I just need to go get her but have been unfortunately mostly snowed/iced in at home (and driving in very questionable weather when I go to and from work).  The weather’s been rather frightful, and (in short) annoying as it is now February. Despite living in Canada, my part of Canada rarely gets a lot of snow. Vancouver typically gets a small amount of snow that easily washes away with rain a few days after snowfall. Instead, the west coast has been hit with multiple snow storms since the beginning of December.

Photos soon of my new acquisition doll. I’m very excited about her, and haven’t told that many people about who it is – yet! I didn’t even go through the process of getting her some kind of fancy dress, although maybe I should. I can give you a few hints about the new girl though, she’s stock, blonde, and not a recent release.

It has been a few months since the last Middie Monday (#16 was published in October) – have you missed it? I still have just the two – Kitty Brighton (Jackie Ramone) and Lydia Melbourne (Yellow Marshmallow). Sometimes I muse with the idea of getting a third Middie Blythe (because everything is better in threes?), but then I stop myself.

I can barely clothe and shoe the two Middie Blythes that I do have. And I’m still operating that ridiculous challenge to myself that I’ll make the majority of their clothes by myself. Which is fantastic, because it means I can stop myself from shopping for them because I’m not allowed to buy new things. Yet on the other hand, it means that they don’t have a lot of clothes because I may just be physically incapable of setting aside time to sit down and sew or knit or crochet for them. That and I am the queen of making excuses for why they don’t have a larger wardrobe at this point. I’m pretty sure that since I got Kitty that I’ve made myself goals of crafting for her/them once a month, once every two months, etc. And those goals have not come to fruition.

Sometimes I wonder why I bother with this goal. Maybe because I’ve so publicly declared that it’s a challenge, or just for the fun of it. That and I really don’t bring them to meets that often, so it almost seems “okay” that they don’t have very many clothes to choose from because nobody is going to see them anyways.

In the mean time, these two lovelies have been in the same outfits for at least as long since I moved (back in July…) and much longer than that. But I’m currently working on something new – so that’s something, right?

Do you have any Middies? Have you made any clothes for them or do you buy them?

I used to keep various parts of my life fairly separated from people I knew in “real life”/offline. The only people who knew about my dolls were members of the doll community online. But with how interconnected everything gets on the internet nowadays (mostly with Facebook), there’s a trickle down effect that results in me occasionally being asked at work “So what are those dolls that you keep posting on Instagram/Facebook?”. I do add coworkers to my Facebook, which then results in coworkers being added to Instagram. And for the most part I actually don’t post a lot of photos of dolls anymore – it’s mostly tea these days, and photos of dolls when I’m at doll meets. I’ve just gotten into this weird constant phase where I am active but I am not active in the doll community at the same time. Yes, I still blog here, but I don’t have the motivation to take a photo of a Blythe on a daily basis.

“I’ve been wearing the same dress for months. Is there a dolly neglect hotline?”

Is this what adulting is like? Gosh, I hope not. Also, I still need to make a pair of scrubs for my dolls, because the idea of matchy outfits with me and a doll make me smile.

And yet I still find myself explaining dolls from time to time. I generally start with the fact that Kenners existed, how they were picked up by a Japanese toy company, and the dolls have the pull string and the ability to change eye colours. Usually that earns me a confused look that reads why I did even ask or it garners me more questions that usually consist of “Do you have any more photos?”. And just like a proud mama of a toddler or a fur-baby, I gleefully pull up my Instagram or Flickr and show more photos, or try to find a video I have on my phone of me clicking through the eyes.

Sometimes it goes into a conversation of “But why?” and then I just shrug and go “Why not? It’s a hobby just like crafting or video games.” (which, surprise! are some of my other hobbies). I ask them about their hobbies to which I get replies about baking, crafts, dance/yoga/jogging/other forms of personal torture and then I go “we all need something to keep ourselves sane when we’re not at work”.

How do you explain your doll hobby to the muggles in your life?

Lydia Melbourne’s wearing: dress/Endangered Sissy.

When I had under 10, it was super easy to remember all of my dolls’ names. Now that I’m getting up there in number, sometimes it actually takes me a moment when I look at a doll to think about what their name is. This usually doesn’t happen with a doll that’s been in my Blythe family for a while (like I could ever forget Sophie’s name!), but it sometimes it does happen with newer dolls.

The other day I was having a conversation where I called my Mondrian Lollie and then I paused and went “No wait, her name is ‘Lottie’…” and the person I was talking with went “Did you really just forget your doll’s name?”

“Do I look like a Lollie to you?!”

Yes, the answer is yes. For instance, I know that I named my Devi Delacour Maple Reed, but the other day I caught myself only referring to her as Reed and I knew as soon as I said it out loud that was wrong as well. I’m terrible, I know.

I really should just get little name cards for all my dolls so when they’re on the shelf they’re easily identified by name, stock name, and mold type – like in a museum.

Do you remember all of your dolls’ names?

Lottie’s wearing: dress/Buttonarcade.

One of the cute, quirky things about Blythe is her over-sized noggin to body ratio. It’s also one of the things that makes her so difficult to stand up! This is one of those moments when geometry comes into play in “real life” and suddenly it makes sense why your math teacher in grade school told you that this information was important.

Basically, there’s the ground, the doll, and whatever you’re using to stand up your Blythe. You want your Blythe doll and the ground to form a right angle, and then whatever you’re using to prop up your doll to form the hypotenuse, like so:

Now, there’s a variety of things that you could use to from the hypotenuse. Some sampling of things that I have used before include: plastic fork, chopstick from sushi take-out, bamboo skewers, and random sticks found on the grass. There’s pros and cons to all of these items, so lets go through some of them.

The plastic fork is fantastic because it can be inserted into the ground. This is especially good if you are trying to stand your Blythe up in grass or a sandy beach. You can insert the tines of the fork into the ground at and angle and that provides more support of your top-heavy Blythe. Plastic forks don’t tend to be particularly long, so chances are the end of the fork will rest on your Blythe’s back. Bonus – plastic forks can be clear/translucent! This is especially useful if you’re not wanting the fork to show that much. I used proper silverware in the photos of this post because silver is easier to see in photos than clear plastic, and for the tutorial’s sake it makes it easier if people can visualize what I’m talking about.

Chopsticks are fantastic. I personally like the unused variety of take-out chopsticks that are still attached together. Why? Because it provides a larger ‘base’ for the doll to rest against. Having a wider surface to rest against means that there’s less risk of her tipping to one side or the other while I’m trying to stand her up. Win-win!

Bamboo skewers are cheap, they’re easy to find at dollar stores (or perhaps you have some leftovers from making kabobs?), and they’re sharp and pointy – for the ease of inserting into the ground. One of the problems I’ve personally found with bamboo skewers is that they can break easily. They aren’t the sturdiest things I’ve ever used to stand up one of my Blythes, and I find that they can break in the ground if I’m trying to insert them into not the softest earth. Another downside to using skewers is that they don’t offer a particularly wide base – but you could use two bamboo skewers to form let another triangle – but this time it’d be an equilateral triangle (geometry comes in so handy in real life!) where the ground forms the base and the skewers form the equal sides.

Random sticks can be fantastic – free, and you won’t feel bad leaving them where you found them because that’s where it belongs! Chances are you’ll be able to find sticks anywhere – the downsides is that it may not be long enough, or too stick, and you may have a hard time hiding it in your photo (and if you don’t have the magical Photoshop skills, it may be hard to edit out). This is by far the cheapest method (can’t beat free!), so it is your best bet if you’re out and about and just need something to help you out with a photo.

But last, and certainly not least, just lean your doll against something! Propping up your Blythe against a wall or a bench or a tree will save you the hassle of trying to put geometry into action, although it may not provide you with quite the look that you were looking for. Use grooves between floor boards or tiles to your advantage! They’re there for a reason (and it’s an added bonus that they help with your doll photos!).

(And if you’re a parent, feel free to use this as a lesson to your kids about why math class is important!)