How I arrived in Blythe World

I did not have a Blythe doll in the 70's as a child, as I was probably too old at that time.  I do have younger sisters, but I don't remember this doll at all.  I didn't even play with dolls all that much when I was growing up, because I was too busy.  I am one of 4 daughters, and surprisingly, none of us played with dolls!  We did have some baby dolls growing up, I am sure, but nothing memorable.  We were either outside playing with our neighborhood full of friends, swimming in our pool, riding our bikes, or doing house and yard work!  I also spent most of my free indoor time reading.  I was such an early and heavy reader, that I would use a flashlight at night when I was supposed to go to bed, and when I got older, my MOM made me go out on my first date, because she thought I stayed in too much!  Not much has changed :)

I learned how to knit and crochet when I was about 8, from our Grandma.  We were all taught, but I am the only one who still to this day enjoys the needlecrafts.  I love to create ... knitting and sewing included, but crochet is my favorite.  I call it my "therapy".

I did start a Barbie collection, but that began only in 1992, and I was already 35 by then.  My sister bought me a Barbie (as a joke, really) for Easter that year, because I used to wear this hideous gold-tone bathing suit top ... and that year they had "Sunshine Barbie" ... wearing a shiny gold suit like mine!  And she had blonde hair, so she thought it was funny.  I opened that Barbie ... and I fell in INSTANT love.  I was much more asset liquidated at that time in my life, so I was able to buy quite a few Barbies.  This was pre-ebay you must remember, and all I had was Toys R Us, and some other misc. toy stores here and there.  I also had a 5 year old (son) and so every trip we made to the toy store for Ninja Turtles ... had me in the Barbie section, adding to my collection!

The thing about Barbie collecting though ... they must STAY inside their boxes ... well, to be "worth" anything later.  I knew this.  But seriously, who has room for all that display?  I had so many Barbies, in their boxes, but they were just piled up, stacked up, and being stored in larger boxes ... in the garage!  How enjoyable is THAT?

Enter the computer age ... the ebay years (when it was FUN) ... 1999 and a few years after.  WHAT did I find out about all my precious Barbies that I had been toting around for 10 years?  THEY WERE NOT WORTH ANYTHING!  And ... they still aren't!  I had Barbies that were so beautiful, and special to me ... but basically worthless.  The ones you could go to Target that day and "find" ... were worth MORE!  So, I basically sold off as many as I could, the ones without sentimental value, i.e., not gifts from my friends and loved ones.  But they remained in their boxes, either way. 

Fast forward to ... 2008.  I took up crochet again, in a very strong way.  (Long explanation of how THAT all happened, at a later time.)  I basically stuck with either squares, to be put together later ... or whole afghans (i.e. SQUARE shapes).  NO fancy stitches, no color changes, etc.  Just plain, straight forward "crochet as therapy" for me.  My family thinks I am a crazy person, rightfully so, because that became the ONLY thing I ever WANTED to do  (besides work of course, which I have to do, every day, 5 days a week, for my entire life).

But something quite magical happened during the Holiday Season of 2010.  I was searching for an idea to make a Holiday/ Christmas afghan ... and one of my searches came up with "crochet turkey".  I thought, "oh, man, I have to see this!", because there is a website called "what not to crochet" and if you have never visited that site, you should.  It had me falling off my chair laughing, so many times, it is HILARIOUS!  It basically features HIDEOUS items made from crochet, either from vintage pattern books, or even things they have found today ... but the commentary is just priceless.  (I also acknowledge the stigma attached to crochet items.  When we were growing up, things like "tissue holders", kitchen items, "useful" gadgets, all made by usually your Grandma, were, um ...hideous!  So when I began to crochet, I was bound and determined to stay clear of hackneyed designs and try and make fresh, new, exciting designs, using bright and modern color combinations (Sarah London is a HUGE influence ... she is THE MASTER). 

Anyway, I digress ... Looking at that cute little "crochet turkey" ... just did something to me.  I printed out the pattern, and proceeded to take it home and try and make it ... I didn't even have to buy anything, I had every color of yarn already!  (Picture below is what came with the pattern:)

Of COURSE I screwed up the pattern, reading it wrong ... however, I ended up LOVING it more than their example of what it was supposed to look like!  I could just picture in my mind ... showing up on Thanksgiving Day, plunking the turkey in the center of the table, and my family would be SO IMPRESSED! 
(Picture below is MY turkey ... inside a wreath my sister had up for decor that day ...)

But first ...


I took him to work.  I placed him on my desk, which is front-and-center to several companies, so it was seen by all.  One person in particular loved it so much, she asked me "do you think you could make me one, plus 6 babies?"  WHAT ???  I mean, this ONE TURKEY took me ALL WEEKEND to do ... but for some reason ... I could not say no!    (Below:  The little Turkey Family I made for my friend ... )

And see, THAT right there, is what got me started ... I discovered that my little turkey, is what they call "amigurumi" ... which has its OWN little world!  I began another obsession (you will see ... that IS my nature ;)   I figured, since I could do all those turkeys ... I could surely do some Christmas decorations!  I started with an Angel tree topper ... tackled an entire Snowman Family of 4 ... and then, in my search for "ornaments" ... I saw it ... THE MOST adorable MINI-SWEATER ORNAMENT!!!  Well, I knew right then, I just HAD TO make those!  Had to! 

I began searching ONLY for the sweater ornaments ... checking out designs, patterns, figuring out how to make my own mini-hangers ... because to buy them was either WAY too expensive, or impossible to find any that SMALL!  AND.... here is (finally !) where Blythe comes in ... in my search for "Mini-Sweaters" ... came the most STRANGE looking doll I had ever seen .... BLYTHE!!!  I thought "geez, really?  what is all the interest in this kooky looking doll???"  and didn't give her another thought.  That is until ...

This is one of my crochet cardigans, on AshLeigh Aqua, a Little Big Eyes Doll

I discovered ETSY !  OH MAN?  AGAIN, I came to the realization, there is a HUGE following and deman for items for these Blythe doll lovers / collectors ... and I was on another obsession.  But first .... okay, here it comes .... I needed MODELS for my designs!  If I was going to offer my little sweaters to these Blythe lovers, then, I would need to SHOW THEM what their girls would look like ... not to mention the SIZE had to be just right.  Surely I could get me a Blythe doll ...

RIGHT!  Are you KIDDING ME?  OVER $100. for a used, nude, no-box, who-knows-if it is authentic, doll from overseas?????  You KNOW what I am saying.  Enter the enticing world of ... (Blythe snobs, cover your ears here:  CLONES !)  I am no snob.  I am no debutante, and I have certainly never been spoiled.  In any way.  By anyone.  EVER.  Not because I don't think I deserve it.  NO.  But because I would never ALLOW that to happen.  Firmly believing that all things come to an end, I could not bear it to lose a style I had become accustomed to, so I just stay in the middle ground ... of EVERYTHING.  My choice.

I also am known to not only "root" for the underdog, but BE an underdog.  Off brands don't bother me, if they can still do the job.  I have grown up being resourceful, out of necessity.  I WILL make it happen; if I make up my mind to do something, I will do it.  (Or at least give it the ol' college try ...)  My first thoughts are to try and get it done as efficiently and inexpensively as I can, but there ARE those things:  you just can NOT comprimise on.  And yes, BLYTHE included ...

I am known to be an intense and extensive research artist.  I never jump into anything, without researching the heck out of the subject.  Even before the internet!  In my research, for all things Blythe, as you can imagine, I did see the "Clone World".  I did notice how inferior the poor little clones were, but I thought, heck, all I need is a MODEL!  I don't need a REAL BLYTHE for Heaven's sakes! ... just to make a little crochet sweater! 

My discovery of "LITTLE BIG EYES" had a huge impact on me.  The first one I ever saw was probably on flickr.  Her face was not even comparable to Blythe, I thought.  She looks pouty, sad, moody, even mad ... where Blythe looked more like she had a shy little grin, and even a hint of a smile.  Due to the fact that the Little Big Eyes dolls were SO ugly ... I knew I just had to have one.  I thought she would do PERFECTLY FINE for what I needed her for ... a model.

I ordered her on the auction site, not more than $25. . . and she came from the USA.  I not only was not breaking my bank account, but I wasn't stressing about her delivery.   The very MOMENT I opened that box, and saw her face ... well, I am sure that is how Blythe owners feel about their first Blythe ... but  this feeling for me, was with my LITTLE BIG EYES ... AshLeigh Aqua.  (More on how I named my Girls in a later post).

I took her home, IMMEDIATELY took her out of that box, removed the hideous clothes that she had been wearing for about 10 years (KB Toy Stores sold these in 2001, I believe) ... and stayed up all night making her a nice, comfy, plush spa robe, complete with a waist-tie accented in spring green color, a hairband for her gorgeous hair, and a pair of matching slippers with pom-poms!  THAT is how much I LOVE her!

As you can imagine, it didn't end there.  I now had to search for SISTERS !!!  I wanted her to have 3 sisters, just like I have.  I was going to call my label "Four Sisters Designs".  (but later discovered this was too common, there are a lot of 'sister' names out there).  AshLeigh got her first sister, Bertha Belle, probably a couple of weeks later, also from an auction site, also from USA.  She got the same "spa treatment" when she came "home" ... as they all have.


Two lead to three ... which lead me to ... overseas!  Yes, I wanted to SEE for myself, the "clones" that were closer to how the real Blythe looked.  And all this time, I was researching, reading, looking at pictures, tutorials, etc.  So I was INFORMED.  I just wasn't "hooked" yet ...

My two girls from Hong Kong arrived shortly, and now I had 5.   PERFECT number.  Plenty!  Now, just start crocheting and get on with it!!!  Yeah, right.  I was like the obsessed collector ... just "checking" to see if there were any other Little Big Eyes out there.  Enter PATTY, from New Jersey.  She listed HER girls, ALL 4 OF THEM, at one time, on the auction site!  To me, this was PERFECT!  I wouldn't have to pay shipping times 4, and too, I did not NEED their original boxes!  I knew I was going to USE them.  Which leads me to another thing I love about the Blythe World of collectors ... as opposed to the Barbie World of collecting:  The Blythe World actually ENJOYS, AND PLAYS, AND DRESSES, AND PHOTOGRAPHS their dollies, even making them "talk" !   This was VERY appealing to me.  I was DONE living with crates of "treasures" that didn't even see the light of day, stuck on some shelf, in the garage!  (Don't worry, I DID save SOME of my Barbies for my granddaughters ... which my Son will have some day ... :)

Actual auction site picture by Patty from New Jersey

In my usual style, I bid and WON those 4 New Jersey Girls from Patty ... and I was happy .... Well, as happy as "The Princess and the Pea" could be.  There was just a little nagging "feeling" I had ... like there was "something" missing .... something just not quite right ...  So, after a few conversations on-line with Patty, the lady who allowed me to "adopt" all 4 of her Little Big Eyes dolls (she was offering them as a group, because although she felt she was not fully "into" them, she still cared enough to want to keep them together ... which I think is sweet :) ... she convinced me that if I looked around enough, I could find a REAL BLYTHE at a reasonable price ... and so .... that was all the encouragement I needed ... and the next thing I know, I am the owner of a REAL BLYTHE. 

Oh, but not just ANY Blythe ... no!  I later found out, she is the MOST UN-DESIRABLE of all the Blythes.  Not only is she an Ashton-Drake ... but she is an Aztec Arrival!  With THE most hideous hairstyle, the GREENEST face, combined with the most un-flattering shade of pinky-purpleish-mauve, and don't get me started on her outfit !   I know they were trying to "duplicate" the REAL Kenner Blythe that  came out in the 70's, but geez ... that was the FIRST thing I did ... get that OFF of her!

Okay .... so NOW I AM READY!  NOW I AM COMPLETE!  NOW I can start to crochet ......