(no subject)
Feb. 29th, 2020 09:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snowazaleaTo date, I have ten ball-jointed dolls. In order of appearance:
I cross stitch a great deal as I listen to my PDF's through the Microsoft speech function, and this week, I also sewed pyjamas for Bryony by hand while listening.
It feels great to be able to participate in the hobby in that way.
I made an account for and explore the BJD Discord channel this week, but I saw quickly that it requires more time to participate than I can give. Basically, I can give no time to participate in any meaningful hobby discourse. It was a similar case over Winter break when I revitalized my Blogger account, followed other bjd blogs and commented, and then had to leave the activity entirely once my semester began.
As isolating as it feels, I have more recently been exploring new ways to participate in the hobby. Hand-sewing is one. I have started taking pictures with my Huawei smartphone and uploading them to Flickr, rather than using my SLR camera and Instagram, as I have for the past several years. Instagram requires time and energy to enjoy, while Flickr doesn't carry the same need for social reciprocation. Additionally, I have begun searching for bjd photos from the early 00's and archiving them into galleries in my free time.
The dolls I've bought since returning to school-- Gertrude, Jude, Coral, and Frances-- have taken much longer to develop as part of my doll family, because I haven't had time to write for them. Of the four, Jude and Coral come from the last novella I wrote for NaNoWriMo before returning, and I have felt more certain of their personalities and aesthetics. Gertrude and Frances are both named after women writers I have studied in graduate school. I have the sense that I still have a creative life, but that it stems from the work I study, most of which has been nonfiction in recent years. I haven't had much time to write creatively or explore my dolls' personalities as I did in years past.
Gertrude was the last doll I purchased while I still had a salary and benefits. My three newest dolls have been much older dolls, "vintage," in line with what I craved most, and at a price point that felt right for moments when I needed a reward. In fact, Coral and Frances share a body.
Now that I've gotten into the habit of looking at old Volks dolls on Dollyteria and Den of Angels, I can't imagine buying anything else in future.
My biggest doll purchase more recently was a makeover for Glynnis. Her face-up was damaged, as was her wig and eyes, so I sent her for a new face-up and cleaned and restrung her over Winter break. I also purchased her a new wig and eyes. It ended up being rather costly and unsatisfying, unfortunately. The face-up artist did a beautiful job on her, but she came home to no new wig and eyes. Her old acrylic eyes were cracked and her wig damaged, so I threw both away. Unfortunately, already distracted with the forthcoming semester, I mistakenly ordered her 18 mm glass eyes, one of which is like half the size of her head, instead of 12 mm. The eyes are a pretty gray color, and I believe they will be perfect for some forthcoming old-school bjd I bring home one day years from now.
The wig outcome was much more unfortunate. It never arrived at all. The day I should have received it seems to be the day all hell broke loose between the postal service between the United States and China, due to the coronavirus outbreak. The package was marked as delivered to me, and my attempts to communicate that it was not were met with complete indifference by both the seller and the courier. It's the first time I've ever been so badly burned ordering something from China, but given the way things are right now, and the fact that I haven't found time to contact the post office, I decided to take a loss on it and just not order anything else overseas until circumstances change. I strongly suspect that the package was delivered to the wrong person, who promptly threw it away, due to the coronavirus scare.
The outcome for Glynnis is that her face and body are beautifully restored to her 2014 beauty, but I don't have eyes or wig in the colors that match the faceup I ordered for her. The only other gray glass eyes I have are pupil-less, which I bought many years ago just to "try," and they look terrible. Bryony is using my only other pair of 12 mm blue eyes. His brown acrylic eyes also cracked, so I had to throw them out, as well. The only blonde wig I have has long bangs, and Glynnis looks best with no bangs at all, because she has a short forehead.
tldr; My Winter break doll splurge was kind of a disaster.
- Josette, Dollmore Model Ha Yarn
- Dresden, Dream of Doll Twing-key
- Willow, Angel of Dream Qing
- Glynnis, Doll Leaves Lilith
- Bryony, Doll Chateau Erwin
- Josian, Dika Doll Kay
- Gertrude, Dollmore Kid Flocke
- Jude, Volks MSD FCS F-15
- Coral, Volks Super Dollfie Cute Kurenai
- Frances, Volks Super Dollfie Cute Kaede
I cross stitch a great deal as I listen to my PDF's through the Microsoft speech function, and this week, I also sewed pyjamas for Bryony by hand while listening.
It feels great to be able to participate in the hobby in that way.
I made an account for and explore the BJD Discord channel this week, but I saw quickly that it requires more time to participate than I can give. Basically, I can give no time to participate in any meaningful hobby discourse. It was a similar case over Winter break when I revitalized my Blogger account, followed other bjd blogs and commented, and then had to leave the activity entirely once my semester began.
As isolating as it feels, I have more recently been exploring new ways to participate in the hobby. Hand-sewing is one. I have started taking pictures with my Huawei smartphone and uploading them to Flickr, rather than using my SLR camera and Instagram, as I have for the past several years. Instagram requires time and energy to enjoy, while Flickr doesn't carry the same need for social reciprocation. Additionally, I have begun searching for bjd photos from the early 00's and archiving them into galleries in my free time.
The dolls I've bought since returning to school-- Gertrude, Jude, Coral, and Frances-- have taken much longer to develop as part of my doll family, because I haven't had time to write for them. Of the four, Jude and Coral come from the last novella I wrote for NaNoWriMo before returning, and I have felt more certain of their personalities and aesthetics. Gertrude and Frances are both named after women writers I have studied in graduate school. I have the sense that I still have a creative life, but that it stems from the work I study, most of which has been nonfiction in recent years. I haven't had much time to write creatively or explore my dolls' personalities as I did in years past.
Gertrude was the last doll I purchased while I still had a salary and benefits. My three newest dolls have been much older dolls, "vintage," in line with what I craved most, and at a price point that felt right for moments when I needed a reward. In fact, Coral and Frances share a body.
Now that I've gotten into the habit of looking at old Volks dolls on Dollyteria and Den of Angels, I can't imagine buying anything else in future.
My biggest doll purchase more recently was a makeover for Glynnis. Her face-up was damaged, as was her wig and eyes, so I sent her for a new face-up and cleaned and restrung her over Winter break. I also purchased her a new wig and eyes. It ended up being rather costly and unsatisfying, unfortunately. The face-up artist did a beautiful job on her, but she came home to no new wig and eyes. Her old acrylic eyes were cracked and her wig damaged, so I threw both away. Unfortunately, already distracted with the forthcoming semester, I mistakenly ordered her 18 mm glass eyes, one of which is like half the size of her head, instead of 12 mm. The eyes are a pretty gray color, and I believe they will be perfect for some forthcoming old-school bjd I bring home one day years from now.
The wig outcome was much more unfortunate. It never arrived at all. The day I should have received it seems to be the day all hell broke loose between the postal service between the United States and China, due to the coronavirus outbreak. The package was marked as delivered to me, and my attempts to communicate that it was not were met with complete indifference by both the seller and the courier. It's the first time I've ever been so badly burned ordering something from China, but given the way things are right now, and the fact that I haven't found time to contact the post office, I decided to take a loss on it and just not order anything else overseas until circumstances change. I strongly suspect that the package was delivered to the wrong person, who promptly threw it away, due to the coronavirus scare.
The outcome for Glynnis is that her face and body are beautifully restored to her 2014 beauty, but I don't have eyes or wig in the colors that match the faceup I ordered for her. The only other gray glass eyes I have are pupil-less, which I bought many years ago just to "try," and they look terrible. Bryony is using my only other pair of 12 mm blue eyes. His brown acrylic eyes also cracked, so I had to throw them out, as well. The only blonde wig I have has long bangs, and Glynnis looks best with no bangs at all, because she has a short forehead.
tldr; My Winter break doll splurge was kind of a disaster.
