Zlata and Twinkies for fall

First day of fall, y'all!  It's actually been fall for awhile for me.  It's officially fall for me when I stop seeing commercials for allergy medicine and start seeing advertising for cold medicine, and this year that happened on Labor Day, LOL.  It's been an uncomfortable summer so I'm ready, and so are a few more of my dolls.  Y'all saw Doremi and Zoe, and now Zlata has a new dress to wear too.

Well it's new to her, anyway.  I had it ready for her last fall, but Zlata got held up in customs for a month thanks to this coronavirus crap, and then I had to sew her face.  It was worth the wait.  As with most of my Waldorf doll clothes the dress is a bit big, but I made it work.

From high-end rag dolls to high-end vinyl dolls now.  I have nineteen American Girls, and both Mama and I are both constantly buying them clothes.  Therefore, it was inevitable that I'd eventually end up with duplicate outfits.

Lindsey and Marina don't look a thing alike otherwise, but they're wearing the same exact outfit from the same Etsy shop.  I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth!  At least Mama has good taste (she bought both of these).

Happy fall,
RagingMoon1987 

A very good question

Mama and I were discussing Zlata just now, and I happened to mention that Waldorf dolls are made of all-natural materials.  I was trying to justify the ridiculous prices for some Waldorf dolls (I don't guess there is much justification for some of those), and Mama said "Well if they're all-natural, won't they deteriorate over time?  That kinda negates the price!"

I never thought of that!  My Zlata is made out of wool, mohair, and cotton, as are most of her clothes, and what do moths love???  Natural fibers, particularly wool and other animal products of that stripe.  Plus, Waldorf dolls are made for children, and we all know how rough children can be on their things!  How well do fibers like cotton and wool stand up to that kind of abuse?  I've handled Zlata enough to know that she feels sturdy, but I also had to save her from one of my cats last night because cats have claws and Zlata's fabric is the snaggy type.

Do any of y'all have any long-term experience with Waldorf dolls?  If so, how are they holding up???  Kindly share your experiences, and to keep this post from being picture-free, here's what Zlata is wearing.  Yellow is definitely her color.

With Memorial Day, Flag Day, and Independence Day being not too far off, I'd hoped to find something patriotic for Zlata to wear.  Unfortunately either patriotism is scarce among Waldorf doll enthusiasts, or no one ever thought of it, because I can't find anything for Zlata to wear.  Oh well, her Dr. Seuss dress is red, white, and blue, so I can toss her in that.  Yes, Zlata has a Cat in the Hat dress just like Justine-Marie does.  I just never thought to photograph it.

Much love,
RagingMoon1987

Caomei the scam doll

Well, I finally got ONE of the dolls I ordered from HappyKomi (after two friggin' months), and she is about as far a cry from what was pictured as night is from day.  She IS a rag doll...

...but she's not what I thought I was buying.  This is what I thought I was getting.

Her dress has a bunch of grapes on it...

...but her coloring and overall shape made me think of strawberries.  Since she's a Chinese doll I've chosen the name Caomei, which is the Chinese word for "strawberry."

Oh, and the extensive wardrobe that these dolls were supposed to come with?  Caomei was accompanied by one cheap dress and a matching headband, the latter of which is just a strip of cloth with wires inside.

The dress fits Caomei's soft little body, but it clashes with her hat (which doesn't come off).  Maybe it'll fit Cinnamon...

To wrap it up, here's how Caomei and Zlata visually compare.  No contest, really.

They make a cute pair, I'll have to admit, and it's a good thing that Caomei IS cute or she'd be going straight into the trash.  Well okay, that's a bit harsh since she's soft and well-made, but SHE.  IS.  NOT.  WHAT.  I.  ORDERED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  If any of y'all want a Waldorf doll, don't be dumb like me and order from Facebook ads.  I was able to make lemonade from lemons in Caomei's case, but not everyone can.  So be very, very careful and do your research, like I should've done!

Ciao,
RagingMoon1987

UPDATE, 11/30/20.  My other two scam dolls have arrived, and wouldn't y'all know, all three of them are wearing pink.  I've chosen to name Caomei's friends Liu (center) and Meigui.

As I noted above, they're cute but not what I ordered.  Don't order anything from Happy Komi, folks.

UPDATE, 12/28/2020.  Debbie Behan Garrett also fell for this scam, and unlike me she contested the issue with...moderate success.  I feel a little less dumb knowing that a smart lady like Miss Debbie got suckered by Happy Komi's attractive ads and too-good-to-be-true prices.  The doll she picked was a cute one, too!  She has chosen to donate her scam doll to a nice cause.

The compleat Zlata

My Waldorf doll is finished, and it took a fair amount of work to get her done.  Here's what she did look like...

...and here's what she looks like now.

Not as easy as I thought it would be, but not as hard either.  I began by marking her face with a dull pencil, and I did this freehanded so her eyes are a little off-kilter.  Hey, I'm not selling her or giving her away, so who cares if her eyes are a little off-kilter.  I will say that I'm glad I spent part of my adolescence drawing faces for the What's Her Face dolls, as that taught me how to sketch a simple, smooth mouth.

Actually, I gotta back up and show an intermediate step.  To get her eyes placed where I wanted them I was supposed to use map pins, but I didn't have any so I resorted to using push pins.  The results were...interesting.

LOL, she looks a little like a Daruma doll!  Indeed, when I showed her to Mama like this Mama suggested that I leave the push pins in place and paint on pupils.  Not a terrible idea, but the push pins would never stay.  So I sketched them on and then sewed them on, using brown for the outline and the eyebrows, that violet shade for the iris, and dark pink for the mouth.

Some folks also stitch in pupils and light clusters, but I decided to just be happy with the simple results I got.  The stitching is crude in places, but for me it's worth it to have a face.

The wig was the worst part, mainly because it took forever, and partly also because I've never worked with boucle yarn before.  See, I chose to first crochet a wig cap and then attach strands of yarn later.  This was hard to do because boucle yarn is very hairy, and it can be hard to see the stitches clearly.  I wanted a neat little skullcap, but I got a shallow bowl (I used a 5.75mm hook and followed my own pattern of single and double crochet stitches, for those wondering).

I sucked it up and began hooking boucle strands to the cap, transforming the bowl into this weird spider-jellyfish chimera.

After I got the edges of the hair crocheted in, I realized that I'd have a devil of a time getting the wig on the doll if I didn't attach it right then, so I did just that and crocheted the rest of Zlata's hair while the wig was on her head.  Zlata ended up with a LOT of hair, enough so that she could pass for a hair metal musician if I dressed her right.  So I braided it to keep it out of the way.

Nice, thick pigtails, just like one of the dolls advertised but NOT sold by Happy Komi and those other scam sites.  The style is bulky, but Zlata's cap and hood stretch to fit, so it's all good.

Yeah, my first attempt at making a wig came out pretty kludgy, but she at least has a wig so I'm just going to leave well enough alone.  Next time I won't crochet in quite so much hair around the base of the wig cap.

Overall I'm fairly happy with Zlata now, though I'll admit that my stitchwork needs a lot of practice!  I was tempted to give Zlata cornflower blue button eyes, like Epaphroditus has in The Stocking Child.  Hmmm, Epaphroditus...that's an obscure name if I ever heard one!  I thought it would turn out to be the scientific name of a flower or insect, but it turns out that Epaphroditus is the name of a Biblical figure who later was declared a saint.  How the Stocking Child got the name is beyond me (he doesn't use it much in the book), but the name can mean "lovely" or "charming" and thus fits him well.  Kudos to Tam for turning me onto that book, by the way.  Every month Tam does a lovely post on a doll-themed book, and so far The Stocking Child has been my favorite.  Since Zlata is made out of stockinette fabric she too could easily be a stocking child, minus the button eyes.  By the way, when the human protagonist of The Stocking Child first finds Epaphroditus the little doll is tangled up in a patch of burrs.  I wonder if the burrs left snags!  The book doesn't say so I assume that Epaphroditus came out of the burrs no worse for wear (kinda like Br'er Rabbit in the briar patch), but I know Zlata would probably snag if she were trapped in a patch of burrs.  See how finely stitched her fabric is?

Guess what my yard is full of.  BURRS!!!  If I decide to take Zlata outside I'll have to be very careful where I put her.  That said, I think Zlata needs a friend, a friend with cornflower blue button eyes and a crooked stitched mouth, a friend who converses with animals and humans alike and has a knack for poetry.  I think a doll like Epaphroditus would make a very fine friend for Zlata, and a very fine project for me to work on during the dreary months ahead.  Yes, winter is a fine time for sewing and snuggling soft, warm dollies, provided one doesn't already have a lapful of real live children (or pets in my case).  Regardless of when or if I get Zlata a friend, I've gained a new respect for the folks who sew these dolls' faces and sculpt them.  No, I still don't believe that all-natural materials are necessary to make a nice Waldorf doll, but I know now that sculpting their interior is NOT for sissies!  I'll definitely not be making one of these from scratch; sewing Zlata's face and fumbling with her wig is good enough for me.

See y'all on Thanksgiving!  I usually try to take a break from blogging then, but...well, I couldn't think of a better time to jam a post in.

Cheers,
RagingMoon1987

Waldorf dolls: a learning experience

As promised on my birthday, here is the story of my first Waldorf doll.  For the uninitiated, Waldorf dolls are also called Steiner dolls, even though they apparently have no connection to Jules Nicholas Steiner and his bisque dolls from days of yore.  Indeed, when I saw the name "Steiner" attached to a Waldorf doll I thought "WTH, that's not a Steiner doll!"  Turns out there's more than one type of Steiner doll, so keep that in mind if you're a fan of the antique bisque dolls.  Also be wary of confusing the name "Waldorf" with the name "Walda," as Waldorf dolls and Walda dolls are about the same as night and day.  Anyway, Waldorf/Steiner dolls are specialized rag dolls with minimalist facial features and fluffy yarn or wool hair.  They can be either gender, any race, and any age, and they're almost always handmade from all-natural materials (uh...WHY???  don't they know that all-natural stuff just drives the price up???).  Since these dolls are handmade out of the good stuff they're almost always expensive, meaning that I'd have a hard time getting my hands on one...and that led me to do something dumb.  My mommy made me do it, LOL!  Early on September 19th Mama sent me an ad that she'd stumbled across on Facebook, one that was offering these dolls for...I think half-off of a sixty-dollar price tag.  It sounded like a good deal, but let's ask Captain Picard what he thinks of that idea.

Yeah, some of y'all are probably facepalming right now too.  Mama and I should've listened to the captain!  This is what the site was claiming to sell (and what we wanted to buy).

Supposedly these dolls all came with extensive wardrobes, like so.

The knockoffs STILL aren't here, nearly two months after we ordered them, but I know for a fact that they're not real Waldorf dolls.  Some folks on Facebook got fairly decent knockoffs of the real deal, complete with large wardrobes of poor-quality clothes, and some got dime store rag dolls that were cute but WEREN'T WHAT THE BUYER THOUGHT THEY WERE GETTING!!!  Long story short, the pictures on the site were all stolen from various sources.  Some of the images appear to have come from DollsJoy and Taisoid, but I'm not sure where the pictures I showed above came from.  Some of the untrustworthy sites are Ashley's secret, ColorfulJell, Mimgo, Foforlove, and the site that suckered Mama and me in, which uses the names Kimiss and Happy Komi.  I also do not trust Emma's Realistic Toys, as they use the same pictures the other sites use and offer the items for the same prices.  Sooooo, if any of y'all want an honest-to-God Waldorf doll, DON'T GO TO ANY OF THOSE SITES!!!  I should've known those prices were too good to be true since that rule stands for any sort of item, but live and learn.

Luckily for me there is a silver lining of sorts, as my slip in judgement gave me the impetus to purchase a kit...y'know, like I probably should've done from the beginning but didn't because I'm dumb and lazy and a cheapskate.  She's really just the frame for a Waldorf doll since I'm too lazy and cheap to try sculpting my own, but she IS the frame for one.  I've chosen to name her "Zlata," after Zlata Filipovic.  This doll spent two weeks in quarantine after arriving from Ukraine.  No lie.

The completed doll won't look a thing like her namesake, who was and still is an attractive fair-skinned brunette, but I've always loved the name.  Zlata came from Happy Waldorf Dolls on Etsy, and she is legit.  Her name means "golden" in Ukrainian, which I find fitting considering her country of origin and the color of her "skin."  There were five skin options, but I liked the ruddy tone the best.

Zlata wasn't cheap (though not as expensive as a complete doll), but I think in the long run it'll be worth the effort to customize her.  It should be a fairly simple job, as I don't have to sculpt the whole doll.  Heck, I don't even have to worry about making a dress for her!  Dressing a Waldorf doll can be a tricky affair, since the clothes are pricey like the doll is, but Happy Waldorf Dolls has Zlata covered...literally.  The proprietor included a nice outfit, and I added the unicorn cardigan, which came from Baby Jane Knits.  

It tickles the soup out of me that the cardigan matches the outfit Zlata came in!  This was strictly a coincidence; Olga, the proprietor of Happy Waldorf Dolls, always puts her dolls in some sort of cute outfit, but I had no idea what it would look like and I didn't want to request specific colors, as doing so would've made good fodder for r/choosingbeggars.  Olga even gave Zlata a hat, which I wasn't expecting.  The doll kits showed clothes, but not hats.

I also have some bloomers and a dress that I'd planned to use for Halloween...

...but I didn't know and STILL don't know how long it'll take to stitch Zlata's face, so I've just set these aside for next year.  I wish I could photograph how soft Zlata is, by the way, as she is apparently stuffed with sheep's wool, and her cardigan is soft too.  Oooo, sheep's wool...sometimes when Daddy would take us to his black powder rendezvous he'd have a friend or two who'd have a sheepskin, and those things were so soft and warm that it was sinful. 

Now, about Zlata's face.  Some Waldorf dolls are a bit like traditional Amish dolls and subsequently have no faces, but I'd prefer that Zlata have a face and hair.  I have the yarn for hair, in the form of auburn mohair boucle yarn.  I have enough to make both the cap and the individual hair strands...hopefully.

I told Mama that it reminds me of a Tribble.  LOL, another Star Trek reference!  I am NOT a Trekkie, kids...not yet, anyway.  Regarding the choice of color, black hair was a bit too obvious a choice for Zlata's ruddy "skin," and red hair was too garish, so I picked the intermediate.  It's surprisingly course for yarn, but since it's simulating hair I won't moan about that too much.  As for eyes, I wanted something that would stand out, and I think violet eyes are interesting so I picked dark purple.  Happy Waldorf Dolls appears to feel the same way, as her dark-skinned dolls often have blue or violet eyes.  For the mouth I picked a dark pinkish red, since I want the mouth to be visible against the strong coloration of the base fabric.

Being the strange person that I am, I stewed about Zlata being all-natural except for eyes...until I read the label.

100% cotton!  Looks like I've got nothing to worry about!  Regarding the actual sewing part, sewing the mouth does not scare me at all.  I'll just get a chalk pencil, draw on the mouth, and sew over the draw lines.  The eyes do scare me, as the tutorial I found has a lot of steps, but I reckon I can get the job done.  I have the tools I need, so it shouldn't be too huge of an undertaking to get this doll complete.  All the sources I've found imply that the KISS method is the best for these dolls, so that's what I'm doing my best to do:  as I sew her eyes and crochet her wig I'll whisper "keep it simple, stupid."

At the time of writing Happy Waldorf Dolls has more kits available, plus several complete dolls (some Waldorf, some crocheted).  The most expensive of the dolls costs a little less than a new American Girl doll, which is a lot for a doll, but a fairly good price for a Waldorf doll.  So if any of y'all want one of these for yourself Happy Waldorf Dolls is a good place to start.  Bella Luna Toys also looks like a good place to go, though the prices are a little higher there.  And lastly, eBay has a few secondhand dolls that appear to be good as new.  The prices for the eBay dolls are unfortunately just as high as the prices for a brand-new doll, and since the name "Kathe Kruse" is attached to some of them they'll understandably go for a bit more.  I personally am in love with Miyu, one of the Kruse dolls, but she'll have to wait since I've got plans for something else this Black Friday.

Welp, that's it for today!  I'll keep y'all posted on Zlata's progress.

Hugs and birthday cake,
RagingMoon1987

A sweater for Zlata (and other stories)

It's my thirty-third, and I don't know who's more ready, me or Flaxie!

In addition to a box set of Laura Ingalls Wilder books and a copy of The Magic Flute, this arrived in the mail yesterday.  It's a unicorn cardigan for my new doll, Zlata.

This came from Baby Jane Knits on Etsy, and it's so soft I wish I had one in my size.  The hood has ears, a little horn, and a loopy pastel mane.

The buttons have Miffy on them!  I love it!

So who is Zlata, you ask?  Well, I was hoping she would arrive before today so she could be in the post, but she's coming from Ukraine so it may be awhile before y'all get to see her.  Zlata is a Waldorf doll, and there's quite a story behind her, one that serves as a warning to anyone who wants an affordable Waldorf doll.  I have a whole post set aside for that saga, and when Zlata gets here I'll share it.  I'll preface my story by saying that Waldorf dolls are expensive, and there are plenty of unscrupulous folks out there who want to scam buyers.  Buying Zlata was a learning experience, one that I hope to share with y'all soon...but I can't do it until all the dolls in question are here!

It's a quick post today and I apologize for that, but I have no dolly to show off.  Mexican food will be a-callin' my name tonight, so that's something.

Happy birthday to me and happy German-American Day to you,
RagingMoon1987