Ive tried hard to get the shape right.. very short! With accurate detailed Star fleet badge, Gold braid cuffs & Black trimmed asymmetrical neckline!

Check out more  at https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/153434614/startrek-original-series-fitted-uniform?ref=af_shop_favitem

Clue…It’s a classic album! Can you recognise it?

and sweater & skirt sets…. Please take a look at Etsy Here:

At New Year generally make people take stock and re-evaluate, which is a good thing. Most of those, often pointless, resolutions come from genuinely useful thoughts about what can I do to be happier this year?

I feel quite lucky and very pleased to say that I’ve done mine already – in November! Who says that it all comes together on January 1st?

1. Quit smoking, since 7th November! Success!

2. Go to the gym regularly. In the winter months, even if ‘regularly’ has only been Sunday early evening around 7.30 for an hour. I’ve been doing it for a couple of months, enjoying it and it’s become a habit now. Success!

I still have a couple more challenges, let’s call them that, then I’m not committing myself!

1. Try – daily dolly picture! This is tricky! I can only do this in in the evenings which are dark, so the only spot is on Marks model bench against a white wall!

They will all look a little like this!!

White wall, doll, prop! Hmmmm?

Let’s see how is goes? It might get very dull, or I might fall into the trap of trying to turn a boring ordinary photo into something different by ‘psych-ing it up’. Now this might sound like a cop out but I love it!! There are many joyous ways to I have found to do this! Each on engaging and stimulating in its own way… pass the LSD!!

Using something like phototropedelic iPhone app and watching a boring photo turn into something amazing colour by colour and adding stars. Here’s a picture I took at Alexandra Palace -“14 hour Technicolor Dream” anyone??

The other one I have found that I like is Cameran. Very Japanese!

Here’s a picture of my new Christmas dolly, Betty.

Or good old Photoshop – Curves, Filters, Saturation, or my new personal favorite, the stunning ‘Gradient map’!! For example…

Another challenge is a musical one – to try to play guitar for an hour a day, or at least 30 minutes!! I love music but unfortunately I have no musical talent whatsoever! Really, if I try to sing people run away! Well, Mark does….. I’m usually banished to another room if I pick up my guitar!

I used to play a lot. I’d get out my ‘Complete Beatles Guitar & Vocal’ & start at the back, working my way vaguely to the middle scanning for tunes that didn’t have too many F’s or Bs! I could almost play “You Never Give me your Money” reasonable effectively, with the change in the middle & everything.

I think I also played ‘Daydream Believer’ & ‘Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright’ a lot! I had a folder where I’d printed a lot of Online guitar archive tablature. I printed more this week. I was surprised that they still now in that horrible Courier font? It’s awful!  This week’s new tablature is not in courier anymore -I changed it!

Unfortunately I still can’t play any better; especially F’s & B’s and I don’t have a very good strumming technique!

So – why bother? Well, what’s actually inspired me pick up the guitar again was attending a session last year at work about How to increase brain power and improve brain functioning.

It was a great session – very inspiring. The biggest impact for me was realising that all out brains are ill-equipped to cope with the amount of stress we all have! The primitive centre of the brain which operates on “ye olde” Fight or Flight (or Freeze) principle releases hormones, adrenalin & cortisol to give us a boost! but this ‘danger’ period would have lasted what? Around 30 seconds to maybe 30 minutes, in which time you’d have run away or been eaten!

Now we work so many hours a day, juggling tasks and priorities all the time, it’s really hard to relax and escape from this ‘stress’ and the associated release of chemicals from the brain which make you more ’hyped up’!

This is my very non-scientific explanation of the way I understood how the human brain, wonderful though it is, has not quite evolved, or has mal-adapted and the important thing it to manage this by even more actively trying to relax, de-stress, calm down. And even more so, to learn how to effectively train our brains to develop, “self-directed Neuroplasticity’

Research has suggested that effective ways to overcome this are….

Learning a new language

Playing a musical instrument

Doing novel, interesting things more!

Developing good habits.

I decided then that I’d like to play guitar again and was lucky to have a few days over Christmas to make a start.

My fingers are now toughening up…. But there will be no playing in public or recording!

In other Blythe Dolly news!

Not much over Christmas but I’m now looking at a few ideas for Jan & Feb including a few designs inspired by Pop Art, Biba & 60’s girls! I’m pretty excited about these! Just scribbles and a couple of unfinished things on the go at the moment

Other news…Ive been thinking about reviving my original ‘Woolly Rocker’ Rock star dolls which were featured in Mojo Magazine, in 2001! I could have tried to make a lot and sell a lot as I was getting a lot of people interested – but they just take too long! So much detail! I don’t think people could appreciate the hours of work in these.. but I’ve found a few nearly finished ones and I might try to do something with them again?? This was a picture from then….

Lets see? I worked on a few all over Christmas for a whole week but they are still not done! Now I’ve moved on to dolly stuff!

Anyhow folks Keep on Rocking!! I’ll leave with this…..which I’ve become a little crazy obsessed with as for years I was convinced that nothing good came after about 1972! I’ve revised that to 1978, before it all went a bit disco!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0074smf/ELO_Live_at_Wembley_1978//

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01n3yf4/Mr_Blue_Sky_The_Story_of_Jeff_Lynne_and_ELO/

This dress is styled after the dresses worn by Betty on the show Mad Men,
It has a short cap sleeves and, mid knee length, fitted though body and cinched waist with wide a wide straight skirt.
Additional details include:
Button at the back of neck
White Daisy braid neckline trim

2.  The “Peggy” Graphic Stripe Dress

This dress is styled after the dresses worn by Peggy on the show Mad Men,
It has a short sleeves with contrast cuff, mid knee length, straight style navy and cream stripes.
Additional details include:
Cream collar
2 cream buttons at the neck line.
Fastens at the back with a poppa.

3. The “Megan” Classic Shift Dress

This dress is styled after the dresses worn by Megan on the show Mad Men,
It has a short fitted sleeves and, mid knee length, slightly fitted though body. More of a boyish style – straight up & down shift dressAdditional details include:
Button at the back of neck
Pearl brooch with gold sunburst embroidery.

4. The “Sally” A Line Dress

This dress is styled after the dresses worn by Sally on the show Mad Men,
It has a short extra puffy sleeves and, mid knee length, A-line style with a wide skirt. Low round neckline.
Additional details include:
Button at the back of neck.
White crochet trim neckline.
Button detain at the neck – made with 2 buttons.

5. The “Joan” Fitted Wiggle Dress

This dress is styled after the dress worn by Joan on the show Mad Men,
It is an extremely fitted wiggle dress with short sleeves and, mid knee length, fitted though body and cinched waist with tapered pencil skirt.Additional details include:
Button at the back of neck
Embroidered circle brooch pin.

So, I’d love to know… which one is your favorite?

Happy Valentines Day!!

Liz. xx

I’ve made more of the classic sweater & skirt sets in lots of colour combinations: Black, white, pink, grey, red and some new dresses. I like these smock dresses with buttons. Well, any excuse to buy cute buttons!

I may do some more Jumper dresses with flared sleeves and a roll collar in the next week or so but Ive really enjoyed making these. Please take a look here at Esty.

Then after that I feel something green & flowery for Spring coming on…..

There are 40 girls here:

Back row: Miranda/Rosey Red, Honey/Pow Wow Poncho, Becky/Kenner, Tess/Kenner, Penny/Kenner, Dimple/Dainty Biscuit, Orla/Cassiopeia Spice, Genevieve/French Trench, Sylvie/I Love You It’s True, Vida/Tweedly Do, Marsha/Star Dancer, Hetty/ Silver Snow Custom, Bobby/Kenner

  Middle row: Heather/Hello Harvest, Kalinka/Mrs Retro Mama, Dominique/Love Mission, Chica/Heather Sky, Mitzi/Aubrey, Cynthia/Kenner, Laurel Canyon/Adorable Aubrey, Audrey/Welcome Winter, Helga/Matrioshka Maiden, Dusty/Sunday Best, Twinkle/Darling Diva, Mimi/Veronica Lace, Kitty/Gentle River, Lana/Skate Date

Front row: Alica/Bohemian Beats, Margot/Parco, Celia/Casual Affair, Erica/Punkaholic People, Josie/Hollywood, Cherry/Bohemian Peace, Trudy/Kozy, Thumpety Thump, Eustacia/Goldie, Nancy/Aztec Arrival, Jeanie/Cappuccino Chat, Ophelia/Mondrain, Matilda/Disco Boogie

This is the last one I have from 200, when I had 33 girls, so the numbers have done up slightly!

Plans for this year include:

• Doll House clean & freshen up.
• Big group photo!
• Daily pictures of all the girls….Hoping to do another 360 Project.
• A bit of a closet clear out…. but I don’t know where to do this. Any ideas?
• More owl sweaters soon….
• More coat sets
• Another Blythecon UK
• & right now on the drawing board I’m trying out twinset set (sweater, circle skirt & cardigan) and Chanel style jackets.

1. Smiley Face      2. Panda Face    3. Flower Buttons    4. Argyle

The other thing I’m happy I figured out is a proper A-Line dress shape. This is the first try with Austen Powers style crochet ruffle and collar trim in angora yarn.