Alyrenee's Copious Spare Time

Just finished these. The yarn is the self striping sock yarn from Knit Picks knit on size 1 kollage needles using the Sailors Delight pattern from the 2-at-a-time socks book by Melissa Morgan-Oakes.  I am pleased with the results. These match the little baby legwarmers I already made for baby sir.  Now I am starting on another pair from the same book. Here's to plowing through the yarn stash!  I even frogged two half done socks that weren't working to try again. It helps that I am now on maternity leave and also dreadfully sick with a cold and pretty much unable to get off the couch...so lots of time for knitting.

I am pretty chuffed. The first box arrived today...only a few days from my due date..and after a horrible day at work. Inside was a sunny yellow tissue wrapping and some great goodies.  There is a cute bodysuit in size 3/6 months, juice beauty hand cream, a boon silicone feeder, and a story board book with an owl on it!  So the feeder seems neat...i guess you put mushy fruit or veggie pulp in it and it will ooze out holes while the baby holds it in his mouth.  I bet some cold mushy fruit pulp in there might be nice for teething babies too.  The board book is cute and goes nicely with my owl theme nursery. Bodysuits are totally useful and the print is really adorable on this one from the Tea Collection.  And I love the Juice Beauty line already...and hand cream is totally needed with all the constant washing I will be doing.  Plus some coupon codes for discounts from some of these same brands...all in all..nice stuff and I am pleased.

So since seeing Hunger Games Catching Fire...I became obsessed with the Katniss Cowl (like the rest of the knitting world). I also bought a Tonner Katniss doll in order to make tiny versions of the film fashions for myself and to sell. I worked up a bunch of patterns based on the film clothes and plan to sew them up this week. I am planning a cowl for me and thought I would test out some theories with a mini version  for Tonner Katniss instead. I have made three now and I think I have it down for the doll size.  For human sizes I think I will use a combo of crochet and knitting with a focus on the herringbone stitch and and using some short rows for shaping...maybe even a cable to mimic some of the textures.  I tried both for the doll and decided to stick with crochet for the whole thing.   I used a size D hook with knit picks palette fingering weight yarn in silver. And the cowl part is a drawstring cord core with the yarn crocheted around it.   Now onto the leather hunting jacket.

So I got Birchbox and so far it has been fun.  I have had two boxes now and I am not disappointed.  The last two boxes have not had much makeup in them though...and I was sort of hoping that these little treats would keep me from going crazy on ulta or sephora on a regular basis.   My sister had just signed up for Ipsy and I decided to try that service as well. http://www.ipsy.com/r/7kzy It seems like Ipsy is more makeup driven while birchbox seems more about luxury hair and skin products.  I like that the Ipsy surprises come with a little makeup bag too....definitely a nice bonus.  So expect a review at some time in the future.

This sounds like an awesome idea....

We got a sneak peak at this gorgeous doll at convention and most of us have been waiting with baited breathe.  She is finally here!  A lottery doll (which of course I entered) and with an edition size of 600, fingers crossed that I get her.  I love platinum hair girls and I think she will be an amazing hat model for my little millinery creations.  I am also wild about the combo of the platinum hair and the chocolate dress...just stunning. Item # 76009 Evening in Montreal Victoire Roux™ Dressed Doll IT Direct Exclusive Limited Edition of 600 Dolls Estimate Ship Date: Approximately the Third Week of February 2014  Suggest Retail Price: US $99.00 + Shipping and Handling * *(+ applicable sales tax for Maryland residents only). Doll Tech Specs: Body Type: IT/Victoire Head Sculpt: Victoire Roux™ Quick Switch Feature: No Skin Tone: FR White Hair Color: Platinum Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied "Evening in Montreal" Victoire Roux™ is a fully articulated 12-inch vinyl dol

Man...adorable abounds in the new DG collection.  Integrity really knocked this one out of the park.  First, the boys are great AND they kicked up the edition size to 750 so more people were able to get their hands on them...but it seems like they have still sold out even with the larger size. The prices have gone up but I still could not resist Auden with his Gaultier sailor vibe.  I think he will go nicely with my Baby It's You  Chip doll with his brunette pompadour hair!!! Tooka was the surprise runaway hit of the bunch and darn near impossible to find now.  That owl dress is the cutest and her hair is fabulous.  I think its fun to see R&D Susie in the mix and I am in love with that red leather jacket.  She will be a R&D/IT Direct Exclusive and available for pre-order from IT soon.  I have not been collecting the DG Girls since I have been focusing on the Jem dolls (and their different size body) as well as the newer FR girls and the latest body update for the

Some new faces this time for the FR16 line and all of them in cocktail or evening wear.  I was most taken with Elsa Lin in the red...and it seems like she is the best seller of the bunch. I adore the Elsa sculpt but I am also a big fan of the Anais sculpt.  It is also wonderful to see how different these girls can look just by changing their skin tone, hair color, and facial screening.  All of these are about $175 with an edition size of 300.  I managed to resist ordering as I knew I would be dropping cash on the Jem dolls...but if any of these show up later in the year on sale, I might just bite.  They aren't cheap, but for $175 you are getting a stunning couture fashion (note FASHION....none of these are fluffy gimicking costumes and they are all highly detailed garments with added embellishments)  coming with rooted well done hairstyles and unique facial screening, amazing jewelry, handbags, and other accessories like fur stoles, gloves, and cocktail hats!

It's been awhile since I have paid attention to Madame Alexander.  I am pretty limited in my 'little girl' doll collecting with the odd Tiny Betsy here and there so the bulk of her offerings are lost on me.  I used to have a few Alex dolls but no longer.  I do still have some Alex clothes and if they still made stand alone outfits, I would likely buy them. I did notice a few interesting offerings in the latest collection though. Madame Alexander Isaac Mizrahi Classic Iconic Collection "Isaac Mizrahi Iconic Alex" - Limited Edition of only 250 pieces. Estimated ship date: mid-June   Retails for $199/ Two Day Dreamers Price $159 The Furry hat is festive.  The rest...meh.  I like the puffer coat and it would be cute on Tullabelle.  I would be more interested in some skinny jeans, great boots, and a handbag. In the Wizard of Oz Collectio n, Madame Alexander is jumping on the 're-imagined' train with some 16" Steampunk offerings.  So

Squeeeee!  New Jem!  I figured we would see more Jem in this wave...mostly because this is a licensed product and since they only have it for a specific amount of time, they are going to milk every penny possible from Jem collectors.  There was definitely some anti-jem backlash on the forums which I found annoying.  I get that people want their FR dolls...I am one of them.  But it is not as if we are getting Jem INSTEAD of getting FR.  There will be plenty of FR this year...just not in February.  Chill people. Onto the outrageous goodness (My thoughts in BLUE): Item # 14046  Raya Alonso™   Adult Collectable Doll The JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS™ Collection Limited Edition of 750 Dolls Worldwide Approximate Ship Date: Week of March 17th, 2014  Suggested Retail Price: $119.00 US   Available for Pre-order from Any Authorized Integrity Toys Dealer    Doll Tech Specs: Body Type: Color Infusion / Jem Head Sculpt: Raya (New Sculpt) Quick Switch Feature: No Skin Tone:

I decided to make some more boob pads...but some quick and dirty ones this time. I used a mayonnaise lid as the pattern and cut one later in white PUL fabric and another in white polar fleece. I basted the two layers together and then did a three thread serge around the edge of each.  I imagine you could skip the batting if you used a temporary fabric adhesive spray and then went straight to the serger...but then you would likely want to wash these before using them. Polar fleece is usually a good wicking material in addition to being soft next to the skin. The PUL is waterproof  to help with leakage and with only two layers and a served edge, these are pretty thin.  I made six pairs and there is still a ton of material left (I purchased  a quarter yard fleece remnant for $3 and a yard of PUL with a 50% off coupon for $6/yard). It took about 15 minutes to complete and I estimate the cost to be less than a fifty cents a pair.   I might make a small zip 'wet bag' for these to s

So my husband is a big blues man. Chicago Blues Fest is like his Christmas. Every year he sets up shop on the lawn in his hat and Hawaiian shirt and has the best day. So I came across a tiny straw baby hat yesterday at Buy Buy Baby and just had to get it.  Today I decided to make a little mini me version of daddy. I used Butterick pattern 5510 and made the medium size. I used fabric that I had bought in Maui...it was a big bag of scraps left from cutting Hawaiian shirts from a quilt booth at our hotel...just the right size to squeeze a little baby shirts in.  Who knew? The medium size will likely be too large for him in June...but i figured too big is not a bad thing...he will likely be wearing a onesie underneath and a larger shirt will keep more sun off of him.  The pattern itself was pretty quick and easy to make. I plan to make some more. My friend suggested this would make a great Magnum PI shirt...just have to get him sunglasses, a Tigers hat, and a mustache.

I just whipped these up. Seemed silly to purchase washable pads when I figured I could easily make them. I cut six circles total (one in PUL diaper fabric, one in cotton batting, and one in flannel).  I bagged them out, turned them, and then topstitched them to finish.  These are washable, should be absorbent and then the PUL fabric should prevent leaks from showing through.

So Mister Guy and I have decided to go with a cloth diaper service after all...so I made more diaper covers. This time I had better luck with the fold over elastic by giving it a ton more pull when sewing in the elastic gather parts. These sew up really quick. I plan to make a little diaper sack next to put in the diaper bags to keep the smelly messy diapers in...

Just finished these. I've heard from several moms that legwarmers are great. They keep those chubby legs warm but you don't have to take them off for diaper changes.  I made these from Knit Picks self stripping yarn.

Just finished knitting this for a birthday gift. He is pretty adorable. I believe thus pattern was from a now defunct knitting magazine.