I have many collections that came to be because of Blythe. The shoes, the ribbons, the miniatures. I’m sure if I really thought about it, I could even connect washi tape to Blythe (I originally created an Instagram account due to Blythe friends, and some Blythe friends post photos of their washi tape collections and planner addictions, which led to my washi tape collection – that was a very easy connect-the-dots for me, actually!). And then there are the doll clothing patterns.

Let us forget that I rarely, rarely sew for Blythe, and how I’m kind of bad at sewing in straight lines, and the necessarily supplies add up when it comes to considering prices (the thread and the notions and the fabric, oh my!) – and then there are the patterns.

I’m not even entirely sure how this collection came to be, I’m sure it started off innocently enough and eventually just ballooned out of proportions with my sewing capabilities. But ballooned it did and now I have way too many Doll Coordinate Recipe books for someone who has a sewing machine that is gathering dust more often than not. I am, without a doubt, a collector of doll clothing pattern books – a curator of my own sewing pattern bookshelf (or part of a bookshelf). I do love flipping through them though, and gathering inspiration of what I would one day like to accomplish and create. These books have beautiful photography of what the pattern should look like. Should being the operative word as when I have attempted some patterns in the past, they have not turned out quite like I wanted them to…

Do you buy clothing patterns for Blythe? (Or Middie, or Petites?)

With the cooler weather, I think cowls are a wonderful thing. They’re easier to make than scarves, and it’s a lot easier to do things without the ends hanging into things (or food). Somehow this also translates to cowls being a good idea for Blythe, because this is an easy beginner’s knitting project. All you need to know is how to count, how to cast on, how to do the knit stitch, and how to bind off. And if you don’t know how to do any of those things, you can learn online at Knitting Help (except for counting).

You will need:

• Knitting needles (2.75mm/US2)
• Fingering or sock weight yarn (small amount, I used Knit Picks Palette)
• Scissors
• Yarn needle

Directions:

Cast on 12 stitches (I use the long-tail cast-on).

Knit back and forth (garter stitch) until the piece is 15cm (~6″).

Bind off. Seam the edges together.

Turn cowl right-side-out.

Slide it up Blythe’s legs, be careful around her hands (don’t get her fingers hooked into the stitches!), and have it around her neck.

With this past weekend being both BlytheCon UK and Blythe Fest, I can’t help but wish I had the funds to travel. Not just for the Blythe conventions (although that is a fantastic reason to make a trip as well), but just to travel and see the world in general. Funds have always been the primary reason why I don’t travel as much as I would like to. Sure, I’ve gone on road trips but never for too long. I’d love to travel to Europe again (I was last in Europe in 1999 and so much has changed!) and I would love to go to Australia and Middle Earth New Zealand!

Storefront window in Hong Kong.

When one considers my current financial status, such trips are a bit of a pipe dream. Despite all of that, it would be fantastic to go to Europe again and be there when it’s BlytheCon Europe, or BlytheCon UK. Perhaps take a super long flight to Australia (all the way across the Pacific, and then south) and pop in for Blythe Fest between going to tourist attractions. I’d also just love to go back to Asia (and stop by BlytheCon Japan, perhaps?!) and go to real brick-and-mortar shops to choose a Blythe doll and buy one in person. It’s so much better than obsessively checking a tracking number when you can just hold the box in your hand from point of purchase.

In the mean time, I will stick with the local day trips and having a doll in my bag for when I go places, because you never know when the need to photograph a doll with strike!

For those that do attend BlytheCons and its derivatives, do you often stay long enough to soak in the sights? Or is it more of a get-in, BlytheCon, get-out? When I went to BlytheCon Seattle in 2014, I was unable to afford to stay longer than that one day and I keep meaning to go back down to Seattle for a weekend but just keep pushing it off (although now I have a much better excuse, because the Canadian dollar is doing so poorly against the American dollar).

Eden’s wearing: dress/Plastic Fashion, helmet/chelleshocks.

Middie Monday is a feature that is published on the first Monday of each month! A guaranteed monthly post on Blythe’s little sister – Middie! If you have any suggestions for a future Middie Monday post, please send me an email or use my Suggestions form!

A couple weeks ago I wrote about being content with the Blythes that I have, but then the promotional photographs of Melanie Ubique Girl (an October 2015 release) came up. And despite the horrible name (ubique – really???!), although “ubique” is an actual word (for the curious, it is Latin for “everywhere”). But Melanie Ubique Girl’s older sister is Margo Unique Girl and it would have been a touch more fitting if the Middie was named Melanie Unique Girl (MUG 2.0). She is an adorable doll with super cute ash blonde hair and bangs (I’m a big fan of Middie dolls with bangs). And while I may not be in the right situation to buy a new Middie right now, she is super cute and I’d love to add her to the dolly family one day! (Plus – those shoes! the socks! the sunglasses!)

Do you think Melanie Ubique Girl would fit in well with Lydia (Yellow Marshmallow) and Kitty (Jackie Ramone)? And while I really was content with the dolls that I do have, now I’m jonesing for a new dolly. Maybe it’s because she’s super cute, or because I really love MUG 1.0 (but will never ever be able to afford her or justify buying her), or because I just really miss the whole aspect of continuously and obsessively checking tracking online.

Boots. Beautiful sparkly red glitter boots. Oh yes! I recently got these from Reallusion Photography, who was destashing these boots at a local Blythe meet. Score!

These boots are by Jemgirl Creations – I have other shoes from Jemgirl as well. They are made out of poured resin, and are delightfully glittery, very evenly mixed. Very sparkly, and it’s eye catching. I love them! These are quite possibly the most glittery, sparkly doll shoes that I own! There’s also some amazing detail that Jemgirl was able to get from the original boots, the lace detail is subtle with the busy glitter design, but it’s a fun detail to have in a quality pair of boots.

Tiny Shoe Love is a feature on BlytheLife.com to showcase and share doll shoes that grace Michelle’s picky dolls’ feet. We love tiny shoes in this house, and we hope you do too!