I don’t sew very often because, let’s face it, my forte is not in sewing. Sewing in a straight line is my current sewing related goal. It may seem like small potatoes to some of you, but it’s a goal for me. As much as I’d love to claim that I meant to do that when my seams aren’t straight and the lines are crooked, nobody means to sew that poorly ever. Which is where I come in – sewing badly all the time. But I can sew, on occasion and intentionally.

After sewing a dress that was sized for Neos, I eyed the fabric I had left over and decided that I really wanted to make a dress for Middie as well. While I hemmed and hawed over the design, I remembered being charmed by the big-little outfits I made previously, so I just had to do it again. Nothing says I love Middies like dressing them like the (bigger) Blythes! Making twin outfits is definitely my wheelhouse. What do you think? I’m definitely thinking of making more dresses like the BlytheCon Vancouver ones. It helps me combine something I love and am fairly decent at (knitting) with something I’m not-so-good at (sewing) and they actually fit and look okay!

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!

Kitty Brighton’s wearing: top/chelleshocks (me!), capris/unknown.
Lydia Melbourne’s wearing: dress/chelleshocks (me!)
Moxie’s wearing: dress/chelleshocks (me!)
Primrose’s wearing: top/chelleshocks (me!), capris/Fruit Punch stock

Whenever I find that there’s an increase in the drama in the doll community, I really like to just take a step back. One of the nice things about it being still primarily a hobby with many online interactions is that it is easy to take a step back. You can stop going on Facebook (or stop notifications from all of those groups!), you can temporarily block a forum (or permanently block a Tumblr page…) from your web browser, and just stop altogether. It’s easy to take a pause and a break from the go-go-go online world of Blythe.

I like to take a moment to myself sometimes, and just have some alone time with the dolls. It’s nice to take a moment to create something for them just because or to have a dolly spa day or change out outfits for fun. Sometimes when I get wrapped up in blog post ideas, I find that every single Blythe photo I took was for the purpose of a blog post and sometimes that’s fun, and sometimes it’s not. I went into the Blythe hobby to enjoy myself, not to make it into a job of any sort. Sometimes it’s nice to make something for Blythe just for fun, not because I’m writing up a pattern (although I do love creating patterns as well, so I guess that’s okay too).

It’s important, I think, to reenergize from time to time because it renews your interest and enthusiasm for the Blythe hobby. It’s nice to sometimes just spend some solo time with the dolls, or to create something that’s literally just for you and nobody else. After all, Blythe is a hobby. For some people it is also a livelihood, and I think that’s amazing that they can turn something that they love doing into something that is self-funding and then some. But for me, it is first and foremost a hobby. So sometimes I take a step back, change some outfits, and remember why this hobby is fun.

Do you take breaks from the online part of the Blythe hobby? What do you like to do?

Photo credit to sxc.hu user ngould.

Five years ago to the day, I announced to the Blythe community the existence of this website: BlytheLife.com. Five years ago, my Blythe family looked like this:

Now it has grown in numbers, with a couple of pint-sized additions.

In the last five years, I’ve made a lot of great friends in the doll community. I’ve had the fortune of meeting some of these wonderful people in person. I’ve attended two BlytheCons (Portland, OR and Seattle, WA), and I have the pleasure of being one of the organizers of BlytheCon Vancouver – which is happening in a little over a month from now on Sunday, August 9th at the Sheraton Wall Centre.

To celebrate BlytheLife and you, my wonderful readers, I will be creating something for a lucky reader! That’s right, it’s giveaway time!

I will draw from the pool of commenters on BlytheLife and randomly pick someone to win something! The prize could be anything at all – no spoilers will be given until the winner (winners? maybe….) are announced! The more you comment, the more chances you can have in winning. The winner will be selected and announced on July 31st – any non-spam comments between now and then will be eligible to enter!

This will be open to international entrants. In the words of one of my favourite trilogies written recently, may the odds be ever in your favour.

One of my favourite doll companions for taking along with me when I go for hikes or car rides is surprisingly not a Blythe doll. It’s not even a Middie or a Petite. Who is it, you ask? My Petworks Usaggie, Kanin:

This is possibly because there’s no hair for me to worry about, and the fact that he consistently wears the same thing all the time so there’s no outfit changes necessary. If I am bringing a doll of the Blythe variety along, I tend to gravitate towards Eden Mouse (because I love her). Lately, I have also been gravitating towards one of the fraternal twins (Mollie & Moxie). Their bright hair colours are just so cheerful!

Who is your preferred travel companion?

Kanin’s wearing: shirt/Luxie Lou, scarf/chelleshocks (me!)
Eden Mouse’s wearing: dress/Monique Magnifique, helmet/chelleshocks (me!)

Seeing as how BlytheCon Vancouver is happening on August 9th, it’s probably not surprising that BlytheCon Vancouver has taken over. Over the last couple of weeks I rolled an incredible amount of 1:6 scale yoga mats (they will be partnered with a donation from SupaBonbon), because yoga is an activity that many Vancouverites participate in and occasionally attempt to close major bridges for (the event never happened, the public were not pleased about it). There’s also been just a lot of juggling of activities behind the scenes in terms of figuring out which vendor goes where – I have that lovely job, which I actually find quite enjoyable at this time.

The other organizers and myself have been busy finalizing details, organizing donations that have arrived (and featuring the donations/donors and vendors on the website: blytheconvan.com), as well as having fun! If you want to join in the fun, it is not too late to get your tickets online and to see about entering a contest or two! We have some really amazing prizes and I’m so looking forward to seeing everyone! It should be a lot of fun!