xoxo, Blythe

...and we're back!

2013-03-16T13:57:00.003-07:00

Hi Friends!

We have moved back to our own site!

Please redirect your bookmarks/browsers/RSS to xoxoBlythe.com/blog. Thanks so much!

xoxo,
Linda & the Girls

Feature Friday Girl!

2012-05-18T12:02:00.002-07:00

Cassady is the Feature Friday girl of Oh Strumpets Blythe today!

She is one of my favorite girls (shh!) because I customized her to the fullest, including re-rooting her autumn-hued hair, giving her special "P-chips," "P-ring," and painting her faceup. Go read more about her at Oh Strumpets Blythe!

The Magic Hour

2012-04-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

I took Alex outside in the yard with me on a nice Spring evening, a little before the sun was about to set. The hour before sunset is the "Magic Hour," because the light is just really amazing.

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Meet Alex!

2012-04-01T13:22:00.000-07:00

Meet Alex, a new xoxoBlythe girl!

Alex arrived sometime last week. I haven't brought a new girl into the family since Summer 2010 so she was a breath of fresh air :) "Where did she come from? What kind of Blythe is she?" You may ask. Well, her exact origins are unknown - Alex is a little mystery. A very nice friend arranged for Alex to travel from Asia to San Francisco and then to LA to join the xoxoBlythe household. All I know is, she has had enough traveling and is ready to settle down for good.

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Spring Leaf Hat for Penny

2012-03-24T12:52:00.003-07:00

Spring has sprung!

It's so nice to see and feel Spring in the air. I took Penny outside to our backyard for a few photos after knitting her a new hat. I followed my own pattern to a tee so be sure everything is correct, so hopefully your hats will look just (or almost) like this when you're done. :)

It looks much more lush and jungle-like to Penny, but this is really just about two to three-feet high of growth. I love all the greenery in our backyard! We're still slowly moving things and cleaning up inside the house, but now that the weather is better and the days are longer, I should start working on the backyard too. I can't wait to spend more time outside!

Happy Spring, everyone.

Pattern: Emma's Hat

2012-03-17T15:25:00.000-07:00

Emma thinks you should go download our latest pattern and knit a hat (or two, or more!) for your Blythe girls!

I’ve been knitting this basic hat for Blythe dolls since 2006, and finally decided to write it down and share it. This hat pattern for Blythe uses DK weight yarn that’s fun and easy for an advanced-beginner. It’s probably faster if you use Worsted weight, but IMHO the DK weight is better in scale and proportion.

You will need to know basics such as cast on, bind off, the knit stitch, the purl stitch, simple decrease (k2tog), some experience with DPNs, and make a pom-pom. The end result is a super-cute knitted hat!

Have fun and let me know how it turns out! ^__^

Settling in

2012-03-01T21:15:00.001-08:00

Phew, I finally got a chance to sit down and sort things out a bit. So most of you know that I've moved! Not far from where I was, just a little bigger house and now I have my very own office/craft/dolly room! Yippee!

We officially moved about a month ago and it took a while to put things in their rightful place, and that includes my room too. There are still a bunch of boxes in here and things are still in disarray, but I'm slowly getting them organized.

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A Very Abby Valentine!

2012-02-14T20:46:00.000-08:00

Abby and I want to wish you all a lovely Valentine's Day!

xoxo

. . .
Headband by Rob & Sioux
Dress by Liz / Woollyrockers
Shoes from Volks/WTG

Portland, you have my heart!

2011-06-26T20:41:00.000-07:00

"Ahoy, mateys!"

Paige and I are back from Portland with such fond memories and so much more love for Blythe and the community. This was my first BlytheCon, but definitely not my first time being a vendor. I've attended quite a few handmade craft shows as a vendor, and I have to say BlytheCon was a smashing success and I could not have asked for a better experience!

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BlytheCon Here We Come!

2011-06-17T23:42:00.000-07:00

"Are we leaving yet?"

Paige is all packed and ready to head to BlytheCon 2011! We are SO excited to attend our first BlytheCon and can't wait to meet old friends, new friends, and friends we have known for so long but have not yet met in person!

I decided to go to BlytheCon in February, and in March I decided to sign up as a vendor. Three months later I (hopefully) have enough to bring to BlytheCon! Here are the xoxoBlythe items I'll be selling, along with their special BlytheCon prices:

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Spring Fling Blythe Meet

2011-04-24T23:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! A few girls and I went to the Spring Fling Blythe meet at Verdugo Park in Burbank yesterday and had a great time. The L.A. Blythe folks are so creative and made some amazing dioramas as well as some great spring outfits and bonnets for their girls!

As always, there are lots more photos in my Flickr - click on the thumbnails below to see more!

Paige, Dru and Taylor went to the meet and came home with some great prizes! Dru is wearing an Easter egg nest bonnet made by Barbara/DollNo9, and Taylor is wearing an Easter bunny hat made by Penny/BlytheGalaxy! We enjoyed some great mini cupcakes, chocolate, eggs, and we also brought a homemade banana pudding trifle.

Thanks L.A. peeps for making the meet another fun one!
xo

The Little Sailorette

2011-04-16T23:31:00.000-07:00

Ahoy, mateys! Dru is modeling a set I've just completed, The Little Sailorette knitted hat and dress set, which will be a raffle prize at BlytheCon 2011!

I had a lot of fun knitting this set - the dress is of course the style I have been working on for the past few weeks, but the sailor collar took a lot of experimentation and hours of staying up late. I tried several different styles and finally ended up with this one. So glad to finally figure it out as part of the dress! It's just not a sailor dress without the signature collar.

And of course, the hat was somewhat of a headache because I worked without a pattern and it took a while to figure out the exact gauge and number of stitches needed. This was actually attempt No. 2. My first attempt was an actual sailor-style hat, which turned out way too big and the style just wasn't quite right. After much research, I decided on a more versatile hat style but with nautical colors, and I am really happy with how it turned out!

The yarn used is Spud and Chloe Fine (80% wool + 20% silk), one of my favorite yarns to use for Blythe knitting. I used the color "Snorkel," and knitted it up with size 1 needles. Needless to say, the hat took FOREVER! I always forget how big Blythe's head is compared to the rest of her. LOL!

Here's another photo of Dru who worked really hard to make the dress look cute ^_^

I am really proud of this little set and I can't wait to see who will get to take it home at BlytheCon 2011!

Outfit Set for Japan

2011-04-06T23:29:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

xoxo, Blythe is proud to present a hand-knitted outfit set: Red and White. This retro-inspired outfit set is one-of-a-kind, hand-knitted by me to fit Takara/Kenner/Licca-bodied Blythe dolls.

Both bonnet & dress are hand-knitted by me, with size 1 needles in a pale cream-colored 100% Peruvian Highland Wool. Delicate lace pattern repeats throughout. The dress is decorated with a red velvet ribbon and a red vintage floral button. Snap closure.

100% of the auction ending amount will be donated to the Red Cross to benefit Japan. Japan is near and dear to my heart, and when I found out my work is doing a 2-for-1 match, I want to raise as much money as I can to help.

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Fascinating Fascinators... and BlytheCon!

2011-04-02T23:24:00.000-07:00

I am so happy to share this with you guys - I am going to be a vendor at BlytheCon 2011 this June! I will have knitted babydoll tops, dresses, and these really sweet and (of course) vintage-inspired fascinators/hairbands! Made with classy velvet ribbon, craft leaves, and a vintage button from my personal collection, each hairband is lovingly hand-sewn by me, and each is one-of-a-kind. I love these so much and I hope you (and your Blythe girls) will too!

I will be offering these exclusively at BlytheCon, and if I have any left, they will go into the Etsy shop. I am so excited about going to BlytheCon and can't wait to meet everyone!

Tiny Knitting

2011-03-17T23:22:00.000-07:00

After knitting for friends and babies for months and months, I'm slowly getting back into knitting dolly-scale again. Recently, I experimented knitting babydoll dresses using stitch patterns from this Leisure Arts Book. The yarn is a really pretty vintage wool in a variegated pink and I'm using size 1 needles. So tiny yet so satisfying! Dru is modeling a mock cable stitch that reminds me of strawberry-flavored Cheerios ^__^

I'm hoping to get a few dresses made in different colors to add to my Etsy shop.

Blythe Meet - Lost in Space!

2011-02-20T23:20:00.000-08:00

Click to see photos in my Flickr

Cassady, Paige and I attended a fun Blythe Meet today - our first of the year! It was quite a large turnout as we had nearly 30 people in attendance. I think it's the biggest turnout in all my years of going to Blythe meets! The theme was "Space," and so many girls dressed up for the occasion. We had lunch at Curry House, walked across to Q-Pop, took photos in front of the space shuttle sculpture, and hung out in front of Starbucks. Of course, being in the middle of Little Tokyo, a lot of passers-by were curious at seeing a bunch of crazy dolly people taking pictures of our dolls, and they stopped to take pictures as well.

I realized that since I got into Blythe in 2003 and started going to meets, this was my *26th* meet. Crazy! I counted every one I've been to (including mini-meets in people's homes, etc). I never realized I went to so many! I still really enjoy going to Blythe meets. After a meet, I get really inspired to craft - especially after seeing other people's amazing customs and sewing/knitting/crocheting, and of course, it ignites all sorts of dolly lust. Last time I was in love with Tart & Tea, and now I really want a Matryoshka Maiden.

Cassady, Paige, Una and I had a wonderful time hanging out with everyone at the meet - hope we'll get to do it again soon!

Paige says, "Aloha!"

2010-10-02T23:18:00.000-07:00

Paige at South Point on the Big Island of Hawai'i

Aloha, friends! Paige and I spent 2 wonderful, relaxing, and glorious weeks on the Big Island of Hawai'i! We loved it so much we didn't want to come back :)

Of course, you can see Paige's Hawai'i adventure in her own Flickr set!

Kitchen Queen

2010-09-04T23:17:00.000-07:00

Kensie is having fun in the kitchen! She seems to be settling in just fine.
She is wearing a sailor dress by Rhiannon/Dolluxe :)

Kensie joins the family

2010-08-25T23:14:00.000-07:00

One of my dream dollies has joined the xoxoBlythe family! Ever since I got bit by the Blythe bug in 2003, I've always wanted an EBL Picca, but somehow the stars never aligned until now. Say "hi" to Kensie, a very special EBL Piccadilly Dolly. She moved here from New York and we can't wait to show her around!

Of course, Emma, the head of the welcoming committee, was right there to say hello before everyone else. Our resident orange tabby cat, Marmie, wanted to say hello too.

They hung out in the loft living room and got to chat a little while Kensie settled in.

Then they both enjoyed some delicious sweets perfect for a hot summer day! We are so happy to have Kensie join us and we hope she will love California just as much as we do.

xoxoBlythe Knitted Tunics!

2010-07-26T23:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a sneak peek!

Finally - there will be an Etsy update for a batch of xoxoBlythe knitted tunic tops this Wednesday, July 29th at 5:30pm PST! That works out to be 8:30pm EST, Thursday July 30th 1:30am GMT, and 10:30am Australian time. I know it's not very EU-friendly, so there will be a 2nd batch this weekend that will be more convenient for our friends in the EU. Please stay tuned!

Thanks to everyone who has been waiting, I really appreciate your patience and your support! xo

July Blythe Meet

2010-07-22T23:07:00.000-07:00

The girls all dressed up for the meet! Left to right: Noe, wearing headband by Rob & Sioux and dress by Xie Kitchen, shoes by Princess Sara; Emma, wearing headband by Cristel, dress by Fishknees, shoes from Mattel; Paige, wearing headband by Rob & Sioux, dress by me, shoes from Volks; Reese, wearing headband & dress by me, and vintage shoes.

We had such a great time at the July Blythe Meet last Saturday! It was so nice to see our Blythe friends as well as meeting some new faces. We had our meet at the Aztec Hotel in Monrovia, the same venue as the meet in May, except this time we had a room indoors. Thanks Penny/Blythegalaxy and Fiddy for organizing! The weather was so perfect in May, but it was a scorching 100F/37C on Saturday! On top of that, the air conditioning wasn't working inside, so we all tried the best we could to keep cool and drink lots of liquids while admiring all the dollies before us.

It was an especially nice meet because we got to meet Gayle/Shadow Planet who was visiting from the midwest! We have been admiring Gayle's dollies and her work on Flickr for some years now, so it was wonderful to finally meet her in person!

We had a fun gift swap too - I really wanted to participate so I made a dress and matching headband on Friday night (good thing the meet was on a Saturday so I was able to stay up!). The theme was "Welcome to Hollywood," so I tried to make a set that would look great on a Hollywood Blythe, of course. Shades of cream, with neutrals like brown, gray, and olive green. And guess who ended up with my set - Fiddy! I hope her Hollywood will like it!

Knitting Factory

2010-06-29T23:06:00.000-07:00

My knitting needles have been busy! These are in colors "Blush" and "Cricket" (are they cute color names or what?). I have three more colors to do before a big update on Etsy. Hopefully in a week or two. I really wish I can knit faster, but I would rather produce better-quality garments.

I'm really enjoying the early summer days in Los Angeles. The June gloom is great, I love the cool and cloudy mornings followed by afternoon breeze and sunshine. I've been going to the park after work for a nice walk, and I'm thinking of getting a bicycle. Riding the bike around in my neighborhood would be so much fun and great exercise too. Hope you are all having a great summer (and winter for those down South)!

Say Hello to Taylor!

2010-06-19T23:04:00.000-07:00

My postman dropped off a special package this afternoon, and lo and behold, it's Taylor! Aztec Arrival has been one of my dream dollies for so long, so when the opportunity came up to adopt her from a good friend, I jumped at the chance. The last time I saw Taylor in person was probably in 2005? I'm so happy she is now part of my family. :)

Taylor tells me she loves animals and is a nature girl. She enjoys baking and veggie-friendly treats like tofu, tempeh and seitan. Hopefully she will inspire me to be more like her! She is so sweet, I think she will get along with the rest of the girls just fine! I have a feeling she will be best friends with my other BL girls, especially Abby and Emma.

Okay, I used to say I didn't mind if the Post Office worked only five days a week. But oh boy do I love these Saturday deliveries!

Knitted Tunic Tops

2010-06-13T23:03:00.000-07:00

I've been a big fan of tunic tops for a while, both for me and for my dollies. I love the retro-style silhouette and how comfortable yet stylish they are. There are quite a few sewn/fabric tunic tops that we love on Etsy, but I haven't been able to find a knitted version that I liked. So it was sort of a "happy accident" that I ended up knitting one after experimenting and lots of trial and error.

Abby looks quite pleased - this one was an experiment so we get to keep it!

Even though it looked okay, I wanted a much cleaner neckline, so I went ahead and made a few more. These are the two that came after. I played with the hem height and also the height of the neckline. I also tried to do teeny puff sleeves (LOVE puff sleeves!).

We ended up going with the one on the left. The one on the right is a bit smaller and still looks great on Licca bodies.

Here's Abby again with the final version. I'm happy with the cleaner neckline and the a-line silhouette. I also realized I can't be lazy and must block each garment for the yarn to relax and be shaped nicely. Now I am waiting for more yarn to knit more of these tunic tops. I have three green ones completed and am waiting for more yarn in blue, orange, pink and purple. Hopefully these xoxoBlythe knitted tunic tops will be in the Etsy shop real soon - check my Twitter or Facebook for updates! :)

Our first knitted dress

2010-05-31T22:57:00.000-07:00

After knitting for Blythe for nearly six(!) years, doing cardigans and hats, I finally decided to give dresses a try. Leigh is wearing our first test dress - which is pretty much just a modified hat! :)

I knitted in the round from the bottom up in a lace pattern, decreased accordingly, and when it's almost near the waist line, i knitted straight instead of in the round, going back & forth. When it came to the sleeves, I cast on extra stitches and went up from there, did a few rows of ribbing and then bound off. One thing I love about knitted garments is they have a bit of a stretch, so if you knitted a little too tight or too loose, it's almost impossible to tell. The bodice didn't take very long, but the skirt part took forever!

For a first dress, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I really like the yarn I'm using which is Spud and Chloe Fine, a gorgeous wool & silk blend. One skein will probably make 3-4 dresses!

Now that it's getting warmer here in California, I will most likely switch from knitting people-size to Blythe size. At least I have 25 girls to knit for. ;)