Dyeing is Hard

     Recently(ish) I received 2 dresses from Holy Clothing in the color dragons blood. Online it looked like a beautiful red color. In person it looks very orange and I am not a fan at all. So I decided I would try my hand at dying the dresses. I looked into the correct way to do it, followed the instructions on the Rit website, and was incredibly disappointed because it did absolutely nothing. Partially because the instructions are inaccurate on the website and partially because the bucket dying method doesn't seem to be particularly good. I wanted to try the washing machine method, but I can't get my machine to stop while it's full and not drain. There is probably a way to do it, but I don't know what it is. 

     So the next option was the stovetop method. That required buying more dye, fixative, and a pot, since you can't use a dye pot for food. Once I had everything I needed I was ready to start. Though the pot was not large enough to do both dresses at the same time. 

    The first time around I used scarlet dye and it didn't seem to do anything. I figured I would try the wine and hope for a good (non orange) red color. 

     I filled the pot with the hottest tap water I could get, and put it on to start it heating further. 

     I added the salt, as instructed, and then I got to cooking my dress. I left it to heat for an hour, which is the max time the bottle says you should do it. I then dumped the dye water, refilled the pot with the hottest tap water, put it back on the stove and added the dye fixative. 

     The end result was a less offensive color, but still not a great color. Either red is super hard, Rit dye isn't very good, or I am missing a trick. But at least I have a less offensive color (nicer in person). 

    You can see by my comparison that there is a difference in color after dying one dress with the stove top method. Now I needed to dye the second dress. When I went to the store they didn't have any wine colored dye so I bought royal blue. I figured I would get some color that was less orange and might be interesting. 

     While the dress was in the pot it looked super dark. Black at times, though I knew it wouldn't end up black (I would not have been offended if it had). The tag looked like it might end up purple, and I was OK with that too. 

    It still looked super dark in the washing machine. I had no idea what color this was going to end up. 

     This was not at all what I expected! The pot was clearly not big enough for this large dress, and I ended up with a somewhat mottled color. But, strangely enough, I don't hate it. I might see about getting a larger pot and trying again to see if I can get the color more even, but I really don't hate how this came out. 

     Before anyone offers this advice; yes, I used the correct type of dye for the material the dresses are made from. Other than that I also followed the instructions carefully, though if anyone has any tips (other than a larger pot) I am open to ideas. This was definitely an interesting process, though time consuming. I don't think I will be doing it again, but you just never know. 

The Law Library Part 2

     I seem to have a bit less interest in assembling tiny libraries than I did. That obsession didn't last long it seems. I still have a coffee shop to build, 2 if I go back to the cheap one I got with the super hard to follow directions, but I don't know when I will get to those. I should though at some point. 

     I had all 3 floors of the law library assembled, individually, with the lighting on them, just sitting on my table for weeks. Yesterday, I figured I would get into the final assembly, to put the floors all together, at least a little bit. 

 

     Getting all of the supports built took a chunk of time. They were not hard, they just had several pieces for each one. And I had to keep track of which piece all 6 supports were, so they ended up in the correct places. They were not identical. 

     I knew from building the first library that gluing the stairs as I assembled was the way to go. The instructions on this set actually say to glue them, which is helpful information to have. 

     I really love the railings in this set! The library is really very fancy. 

     One of the most helpful things about this set is that it is completely enclosed. It has a dust cover on the front, so I don't have to worry about dusting a bunch of tiny miniature things. Several pieces in this set are very delicate and fell off, or tried to fall off, while I was assembling everything. The final assembly took a lot of patience. 

     I actually was completely over working on this set before it was done, but since I was SO CLOSE to being done, I kept on going. I should have gotten up to stretch a time or two, but I just powered through. I really like the final result and I am glad I finally got back into working on this one. 

     I finished with very little time to spare before it was time to get ready to go to go to a dance class. My friend Angelique started a west coast swing class on Sunday afternoons and I really wanted to go. I have done west coast swing only a few times. Once at a holiday party with Angelique's group (but Tuesday nights and not as close as these new lessons), once at a pop up event where I actually took my first WCS class, one dance at the ballroom fusion event I went to a week ago, and now yesterday at the new place. It is HARD starting to learn a new style of dance. I can follow almost any dance, with minimal instruction, as long as I have a good leader. But when I decide I want to learn the style "the right way" I go right back to that awkward newbie stage where I all of a sudden can't read the signals (or realize I missed a signal after I turned the wrong way, etc.) and I have to concentrate really hard. But to advance in any style of dance you have to learn the basics. Yesterday's beginner lesson was amazing and I learned the basic step (or one of them, apparently there are others too) and then we immediately changed the direction of the basic and learned 2 passes. Then, anyone who was beginner went to another room while the intermediate/advanced lesson was happening. We worked a lot more on foundational stuff and learned a sugar push, which I learned a year ago and completely forgot how to do. But now I have it back. And I worked very hard on doing the basic steps properly. The anchor step (the waiting for the next move) is just different enough from salsa and bachata that I have to really think about it. But I will get there. And eventually I will have 3 styles of dance that I can confidently do. 

     Today I don't have to go to work which is always nice. I love my job but I also love not having to go. Maybe I can get a lot of work done in the studio. If I ever bother to get in there.
 

The Law Library

     I finished the magic shop book nook before vacation, and since I have been so obsessed with them, I ordered 2 more book nooks to make sure I had enough to last the whole vacation. Well, it turns out that I didn't spend nearly as much time building book nooks as I did when I first started making them. But I do still enjoy them. Maybe just to a healthier level. 

     The first step, similar to the original library I assembled, was putting together books. There were 4 sizes and I don't know how many of each there were, I didn't count. I just put them together and separated them into baggies so I wouldn't make mistakes with them. 

    Next I started in and built a fancy cabinet, with "glass" doors, and a filing cabinet. Now the instructions for these is just as detailed as for the library, basically, but it is also a bit less detailed. What I mean by that is there are some things, like all the file boxes, that say they can be freely placed. So I will figure out where I want them. I haven't even put all of them together yet. 

      I made it this far, I think last Sunday, and then I got distracted. Part of it is I am working on a secret project that I am almost done with. And that has held quite a lot of my focus this week. 

     Several of these random pieces were done last weekend and left off to the side, but I finished putting the desk together today. It felt good to make some progress again. Finally. Even though my fingers hurt a lot. Both my thumbs are split and my pointer finger on my right hand is also split. They are at that super painful stage where they just kind of sting and throb all the time and there isn't really a whole lot you can do about it. If anyone has a really excellent remedy for split fingers, that isn't Band-Aids or liquid Band-Aids, I would love to hear it. 

     I had to sort of make the top bookshelf in the stack work. All of these shelves called for either the painted wooden shelves of books or size C books. Once I got to the last shelf I didn't have enough C sized books left. So I went through the rest of the instructions to see what I needed the most of, of what I had left, and ended up using book size A. They are kind of too big but either I made a mistake somewhere (likely) or there were not enough books in size C. Whatever, at the end I will have a law library. Even if it doesn't end up exactly as the designers planned. 

     I only have one day left of my vacation, which sort of sucks. I do love my job these days, but I also really enjoy not going. I am not looking forward to being constantly tired again, not having enough time in the day to get anything done, and having to wake up early. But it is only 6 weeks until the February break and maybe soon I can share my super secret project. We'll see. 

Happy New Year!

       I started a new tradition for myself last year. It's a very simple idea. Get a jar, I recommend a large one, and when something really nice happens, or you do something really fun, write yourself a little note about it and add it to the jar. I put the date, it's nice to know when the cool things happened. Using different colored pieces of paper make it an even nicer visual. 

     On new years day, empty the jar and read all the notes. This was even more fun than I thought it would be. Some of the things I remember really well, like cool things I did with my kids (and extra kids) when we went to Texas. But some of the things I didn't think about often, so I didn't necessarily remember them. This was such a fun idea. 

     Elecktra came over and the kids got their gifts (we do gifts on New Year's day) and she loved everything I got for her. Travis seemed to be pretty into his gifts, and he's even wearing his new pajamas, which is amazing. Travis usually doesn't like to switch out pajamas but he wore the ones I got him last year (all year, every day) and now he's wearing the new ones. I wash pajamas a lot, lol. 

     The other thing I did was make chicken and dumplings. Which I have never made and I haven't eaten in years. It was so good! For anyone curious, this was the recipe I used. It did have a few alterations because I didn't have everything I needed (oops) and I thought it was way too thin so I made some roux to put in it. Much improved. 

      So far 2026 has been really excellent. My good things jar was definitely part of it. I added a little note about the day to start off my jar. I am going to try to remember to add even more of the good things that happen. Because bad days happen, but not all days are bad. And it's a really nice way to count your blessings. 

Model Horse Gift Exchange

     I haven't signed up for the model horse gift exchange in many years. This year I decided to join, even though I probably shouldn't have for financial reasons. But I managed not to totally overdo my spending, partially because the unpainted resin that was part of the gift was already in my collection. After that I just tried not to go too overboard. I mostly succeeded. 

     Through USPS delays and me forgetting to give my new (over 2 years old, but "new") address to the coordinator, my gift ended up at my old house. But a quick visit solved that problem. When I finally had time to open the package I found 2 beautifully wrapped gifts. 

          There was actually quite a lot of stuff in those "two" gifts! One was the anxiety bookshelf and the other was a box of treats; a Barnes and Noble gift card, a bag of extra books, and a miniature art cart. I have almost bought a cart like that several times over the years. 

       I have also strongly considered buying an anxiety bookshelf many times over the years. I did put that on my wish list specifically. A variety of companies make them, I didn't really expect to get one, especially not from the original company. But I did, it's pink, and as soon as I took it out of the box I shook the crap out of it. That was really fun!

 

     Then I put all the books neatly on the shelves. It wasn't this neat when I got it, which is no surprise when the package had been in the mail. It was pretty much just as fun to put the books on the shelf as it was to shake it up and make the mess. 

      So let's talk about making messes and being destructive. It's fun. It's therapeutic at times. Which is actually the idea behind an anxiety bookshelf. To be able to break things or cause chaos without getting in trouble is just super fun. If you have never been to a rage room (where you go in and break stuff) you should find one and try it out. Some things are not actually that fun to break, like flat screen TVs or old desk phones. But wine bottles especially are exceptionally fun to break. I think the best part of the rage rooms, after being able to break stuff, is not having to clean up. That part is awesome. 

       Part of the joy of the anxiety bookshelf is being able to clean it up. Yesterday, I had all the books on the shelf and it looked so neat and nice. I love books and I love miniatures, so it's nice even just as a decoration. Then I had the idea that I wanted to sort the books by color. So I shook up the shelf again (still fun) and then sorted the books. Could I have done an even better job sorting the colors? Of course, but I wanted to enjoy the process, not become super particular about it. I am glad I did this, it amused me, but I actually think I like it when the books are just on the shelf not in a particular way. Which just means I get to shake up the shelf and do it again some time soon. Maybe tomorrow. 

     Thank you Christina Harrington for a really cool bunch of gifts! And thank you to everyone who continues to read my blog even when almost none of it seems to be about dolls or model horses. I do still make dolls and still think about model horse things, like Breyerfest. I am planning an extra long trip next year so Travis and I can get to the Kentucky renaissance festival the weekend before Breyerfest. Anyone who wants to come with us is welcome. We are likely going on July 5th. We're also, hopefully, finally going to get to Mammoth Cave. I am sure I will have room in the car if someone wants to take that trip with us too. Potentially Monday the 7th or Tuesday the 8th, I haven't decided quite that far in advance for that trip. I hope everyone has a great New Year's Eve, no matter what you choose to do. Stay safe and I'll see you next year!

More 3D puzzles

         I am now completely obsessed with the book nook type 3D puzzles. For the first one I had to start by assembling 198 books. For this one I just had to make 22 of them. 

     This is the first time putting "glass" in windows. Not that there were really any windows in the library I built. This kit was interesting because it started with assembling a variety of shelves before you even touched part of a base. 

       I forgot to take a bunch of photos as I was building the magic shop because the building is just way too much fun. 

     This piece is a smaller scale than the library. That sometimes made it tricky to put things in place. Fingers are way too big but tweezers are not strong enough (no matter what advertisements show) to add some of the decorative elements. 

      There are a lot more electronics with this kit, compared to the library. There is a whole secret compartment to hide the battery pack in. I had to put in 8 of the tiniest screws I have ever seen. 

       I had to build portions of clockwork. This really was a very different build than the library. But it was just as fun. 

      This whole side piece had 6 separate window pieces that needed "glass", and then there was one decorative panel with no "glass", as well as an open portion for the wiring to come out of. 

        These kits are kind of pricey, but I do think they are totally worth the money. The precision needed to make a bunch of flat packed pieces, that pop out of their flat packing and can be snapped together (usually with no need of glue) is not something that is simple to do. And the craftsmanship on these isn't shoddy at all. Some of the pieces are painted on both sides. And this kit came with several extra pieces. I am assuming in case you accidentally broke some of the more delicate pieces (or dropped one on the floor and couldn't find it). 

      I finished up the magic shop on Friday night, staying up a bit too late to do it. I was going to stop before the end, because I was tired, but then I realized that I only had about 4 steps left. So I finished. 

     

      I tested out all the electronics and lights before I put everything together, and it all worked great. But when I first finished the assembly I had some of the wiring plugged in the wrong places and the lights flickered and the music didn't play. Which was a bummer. I didn't know what I had broken in assembly. 

      However, I took some bits apart and changed the plug position of 2 wires that looked similar. After that, everything was great again. The shop has 3 settings, music and lights on, just lights on, and nothing on. The clock, which works, is separate.

     I have 2 more days of work and then I will be on vacation until after the new year. I have 2 more kits coming since I am now completely obsessed with these. I may need to put up a shelf, not only for these, but the horses that keep showing up here. I got a green one the other day that I am trading for a pink one. And I have nowhere to put her. 

     It's a beautiful solstice today. Very sunny and not too cold. Travis and I went to a masquerade ball last night and had a great time. I love to see how much he smiles when we are out dancing. And I love that several people ask Travis to dance. The very last dance before we left was a merengue, not my favorite, but my friend Alice and I both danced with Travis. Alice was the first person, other than me, to dance with Travis. She was also the second dance partner I ever had, in my very first lesson. She is so sweet and kind, and I am very happy to call her my friend. 

 

     I'm looking forward to vacation, though I will have to get into the studio and force some productivity. I have been working obsessively on a secret project (yes, more than one obsession at a time, I am exhausted!) that still needs a lot of work and also has a deadline. But doll work really needs to happen. Hopefully the amount of actually extra time I will have for a couple of weeks will be enough to do all the things. And go out dancing more!

    I am having a ton of issues uploading to Blogger, and have no idea how to get a video into it (especially when it keeps saying I am not signed in. So I will just add a link here. 

Puzzles and Miniatures

     I love miniatures, just as many people in the model horse hobby do. I also really love puzzles. In the past several months I have seen a whole ton of ads for Book Nooks, likely because I have paused on them, so the algorithm shows me more. A while back, maybe a year or so ago, I bought a miniature cafe room kit. I then didn't have time to get into it, lost it, found it, and finally pulled it out to get started. The instructions were confusing and kind of hard to follow. The time needed to assemble the various miniatures to go into the cafe was more than I have. I worked for hours, until I got bored, and had made very little progress. I put it away and may eventually get back to it and do some more work. 

     Once I started seeing the Book Nook kits I was very interested. Really, it's like a miniature AND a puzzle, all in one! I love that. But they are also kind of expensive. There also seem to be a ton of fake websites that may or may not ever send you an item, which may or may not be the real thing. I did finally cave and I purchased one, on Amazon. I hate that I buy so many things from Amazon, but they offer very easy returns. If I received a counterfeit item I wasn't out $60 (yes, this kit was $60.)

    When you open up the box you see a bunch of flat packed items, with a very extensive manual on how to assemble everything. So it is a puzzle only in the sense you put things together, not that you have to figure out where the pieces go. The kit arrived last Friday while I was at work and I was very excited to get home from coffee-date with Travis to get started. 

     The first thing I had to do was assemble 198 tiny books. That involved punching out the tiny book shaped pieces of wood and putting a book cover sticker on them. It wasn't hard, but it did take a lot of time. 

     198 teeny tiny books. But it wasn't boring or challenging. There are a lot of duplicate books in the library. Which is OK and actually realistic. I don't actually know how many times I have accidentally bought a book that I already own. Thankfully, Barnes and Noble is also good about returns. 

    So I got started on assembly of the library, after I finished putting together 198 miniature books, paused to watch a show with Travis, and then got back into assembling for an hour or so. I only stopped on Friday because I was very tired and decided to go to bed. 

    

     Saturday morning I got up, had coffee, and almost immediately got back into building my library. And then I obsessively worked on it all day. And by all day I mean ALL day. I started at probably about 10:30 in the morning and didn't stop until about 7:00 at night. And then only because Travis wanted to go dancing. The assembly time says 8-10 hours, but I am pretty sure in total it took me longer than that. But I did have issues with the stairs not staying together.

      I also eventually discovered I had somehow missed putting 2 pieces in, I had to take some stuff apart to get those in. Most of the pieces on these do fit together very snuggly. The stairs however should have been all glued together before I even tried to put them in. Not that that was in the instructions. Some things did require glue, but the stairs were not one of them. I did end up gluing some parts that didn't require glue. 

      I did also figure out very far into the assembly that I had messed up the wiring for the lights. So I took apart as much stuff as needed to come apart so I could take out all the wiring, measure everything, mark which light was which (with painter's tape) and then put everything back together again. That took up a lot of time. But having the wiring correct seemed like a really great idea. 

     Travis and I drove an hour and 20 minutes down to New Haven, Connecticut, to go to a dance class and social my friend Alan was having at a studio we have never been to. I don't usually bring Travis to venues I haven't checked out myself first (I know what things will make him comfortable and make me feel he is safe and comfortable) but I had seen some photos and I was willing to risk it. We hadn't been dancing in weeks. As it turns out it was an amazing place. Alisa, the owner of the studio, was immediately welcoming. The bathroom was located right outside the studio, which meant Travis wasn't going to have to wander to find it, or forget how to get back to the studio. And I had a handful of friends there that also look out for Travis. The lesson was potentially the best I have ever had, and the most athletic (Latin dance is a full body workout anyway, but this was extra). The social was also super fun. Someone handed Travis a maraca at some point and the look of pure joy on his face made me realize I needed to buy him maracas (done). The studio is a really far drive but I would be willing to make the drive again. 

     I didn't have time to get back to my library building on Sunday, or the entire week. As I have mentioned before, my life is super busy. But last night (Friday) I got a couple of tiny pieces done. Then this morning I got back into it. Last Saturday, when I finally stopped the assembly, I was actually fairly close to done. So this morning I worked for an hour or two (I didn't check the time when I started) and got it all finished. Then I cleared enough space on the bookshelf to put it in. I love this piece!

     The lights all work and one simple to use touch switch turns them all on. It's just a circular decoration on the floor that you gently touch. I have no idea how it works, but now I kind of want to do some research and figure it out. I don't know if it's pressure (you barely have to touch the thing) or maybe slight vibrations. I just know it's very cool. And if anyone knows the how of touch switches please let me know. I will likely research it, but I have no idea when I might have time to do that. 

     Before I had even finished building my library I already bought another little miniature to put together. I briefly looked at the instructions but I am not sure it is going to be as user friendly as the library. There are also more things controlled by electronics, as well as several lights. I will make sure to follow all the directions very carefully. I am looking forward to putting this one together too and may get started today. 

      So last weekend I spent my time doing exactly what I wanted to do, without regard for much of anything else. I did do laundry on Saturday, but I didn't put anything away. I didn't wash the dishes for 3 days. Society didn't collapse. I did pay for my lack of chores by having to catch up on putting laundry away on Sunday. It did also take me two or three days to catch up on dishes. But I had a really great time building my library and going out dancing. I think I will remind myself that sometimes I should do things just because I want to, not just because I need to.