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Showing posts from March, 2017

Boat necking

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Dear Diary, Hans :  Mein Vati has been knitting away for me.  The latest line are boat neck jumpers. Jesse :  If I'm correct, boat neck jumpers were popular about 50 years ago but fell out of fashion and I haven't seen any for a while (which means nothing, by the way).  I found this pattern and I decided it would make a great jumper for Hans, with some alterations.  All these jumpers are knitted with DK knitting wools. Red Jumper This is the first one knitted.  It originally calls for an opening on each side of the neck, each of which are fastened with a button.  I don't like to pull anything over a doll's head so I closed up the openings and put a full length opening down the back which closes with buttons.  I don't like seams so when I knitted the back up to the top of the sleeves, I just kept knitting down to the bottom ribbing.  I avoided the shoulder seam but I still have 2 seams at the sides and 2 under the arms to work.  I replaced the coll

Hitting the road in comfort and security

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Dear Diary, Jesse :  When I travel, the boys often come along with me. I like them to be safe and secure, but also  discretely carried around for photo ops.  Taking photos is a bit of a pipe dream as I almost never take any when traveling.  We just returned from a 5 day tiki tour around the lower South Island of New Zealand and never did I even take the boys out of their cases, no more take any photos.  Anyway, I can still dream about it and so I have a selection of carriers for them. BJD carrier I bought this off eBay from a manufacturer in China.  It is the 1/4 50 cm BJD size and it fits Adam or Angelo perfectly.  I like it because they are safe inside.  It also has a shoulder strap so it can be easily carried around. Vintage plastic briefcase I found this in an op shop a month ago. I hesitated to purchase it but now I'm pleased that I did.  Everyone except Armand can ride in it.  It is very sturdy and durable so it's perfect for traveling on the pl

Commencing nini studio doll "chilly day": a rogues' gallery

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Dear Diary, Jesse :  I have just had an email from Jonny in which he tells  me that he has begun work on my boy doll.  We can all watch on Facebook the creative process Jonny will use to make "Chilly Day" boy a reality.  I've never had a doll specially made for me - it's quite a new experience.  It's a pleasure to share this with my followers. I thought that now it would be fun to look at how Jonny has brought his other boy dolls to life, from sketch to doll.  This isn't a rogues' gallery in the strictest sense; none of these boys are shady characters!  I am just having some word fun to describe this list of 'mug shots'. Emile Jacques v Sergei viii A Memory of Gene xiii New York Newsy xvi Chilly Day xxi What an adventure this is turning out to be!  Stay tuned and be sure to check Nini Dolls Facebook page for updates.

Invasion of the teutonic blondes

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Dear Diary, Jesse : Just after I purchased Hans, he went missing without a trace and I was nothing short of distraught.  It looked like Hans was forever lost in the post; what was I to do?  I started search eBay daily for a replacement but nothing appeared. Then, one day this Deutsches Kind (the same doll as Hans) appeared and I threw reason to the wind and hit the buy-it-now button. It is impossible to explain the reasoning I used to purchase this doll.  Somewhere in the dark, twisted corridors of my mind is a convoluted tangle of irrational thinking and wacky emotions, which are best left as a secret between my psychiatrist and myself... Friedebald Kruse He is a 50 cm tall "Deutsches Kind" by Kathe Kruse, date of manufacture unknown but I've been told it is probably the mid-1930s.  He is dressed in his original clothes and is in an excellent, unplayed-with condition.  The lady in Germany from whom I purchased him, told me that she'd had him in her c