And still more coveted gifties...

For Lil' Emp, that other coveted birthday gift would be this...
As seen on TV, it's the PANCAKE PUFF PAN!!! Yes, he really wanted one. Yes, those TV commercials are good at sucking the kids in! (He even quoted, "it's good for breakfast, desserts, even snacks!"...) I swear, when I had mentioned it to my cousin (stating this as an odd thing...), she told me her son wanted one, too!

But look...
the pan actually works and the puffs really do look like the pics on the box!

And I owe a pic of my Little Paint Can, so let's revisit that...

The can contains two mini-skeins of Lorna's Laces, and a pattern!

I chose the colorway "Ashburn"; it actually reminds me of Nartian, IrishGirlie and Me!

And does this look familiar...? This is the activity that kept me and Lil' Emp busy for a bit on Saturday...

Yep! Soaking yarn for Round 2 Dying!

Lil' Emp thought that splattering violet over the entire painted flat would be interesting...actually, I think he wanted an excuse to fling the dye around. This was probably not the best project idea for an 8yo..

.Admittedly, the splashes made for an interesting dyed blank...

So despite the fact that I told myself I would dye yarn only from what I could dig out from my massive stash, I still somehow ended up at a LYS. And somehow ended up with this hand-dyed yarn...

This is Cleo Sock Yarn, an 80% Superwash Merino/20% Nylon yarn from Cinnamon's Dye Pot in "Potpourri"; I think she is based in Maryland if I recall correctly...

And today my JOE COOL SOCK KIT from WOOLGIRL Jen arrived! When I heard about this special kit, I had to order it, knowing what a big Snoopy/Peanuts Lil' Emp has been for at least 1/2 his life! To my surprise, he had told me he wanted red, as opposed to blue for a color choice (yes, we had the choice of "Outrageous Red" -I thought it had first been called Red Baron Red...or "Cool Blue"...


I was thrilled to see what Jen had come up with for us! How can this woman make money considering all the time, care, thought and attention she puts into the kits?!I opted for the Sport Weight and in addition to the skein of the Outrageous Red colorway of "Fat Sock" White Oak TV Yarns, I also got TWO different patterns, a paw stitch marker, hand-stamped snoopy cards (made by Jen), hot tamales, a Snoopy fabric bag, sunglasses, a bendable Joe Cool Snoopy on a keychain, and a Joe Cool pen!

Lil' Emperor was THRILLED!

And saving the best for last...
Another reason today was such an awesomely YARNY day! Nartian and I got to visit with IrishGirlie. We were (ahem!) obligated to help out a dear friend...you see, Nartian and I could not in any way allow Irish Girlie to get stuck with such an overabundance of BMFA STR so, you know...we had to offer her a 'bail out'! I helped take a few skeins off her hands!

Only a FEW skeins! The one in the rear is a HeavyWeight Rare Gems. The others are an assortment of Mill Ends, Rare Gems and a MochaBerry thrown in!

And, as always, the best part is spending time with good knitting buddies who we heart!

BTW-speaking of BMFA, Tina has started blogging over at the site! She posted a contest, so if any of you want a chance at winning some STR, hop on over and enter her contest. The peek at her awesome photo is worth the visit!

Asian Convenience Foods

Despite the fact that I am Asian and live in the SF Bay Area, I am not always up on the latest greatest Asian convenience foods. That said, it is always great entertainment for me to go to the local asian markets to see what they have on the shelves, in the freezers, refridgerators, etc...Being that I love food, it is really almost as fun for me as going over to Ichiban Kan to see what nick-nack goodies they have in stock.

So the other day, a co-worker friend of mine went with me to stalk the nearby Korean Plaza store. I found some noodles in the refridgerator section and can't help but notice how there is quite a large selection of refridgerated convenience noodles now available! This pack looked interesting to me, but at over $7, it wasn't a cheap proposition. However, I was hungry when I was shopping (yeah, always a no-no for food shopping...) and it ended up in my basket (along with many other goodies...)
But look at the contents-I got two servings and each serving was individually packaged out. But more amazing to me is how the veggies are being put into these little freeze-dried cakes, now. (New to me, maybe it's been going on for a while...)It actually ended up looking pretty good, too. Right down to the re-constituted dried shrimp!
Asian foods can require an acquired taste for many of the seasonings, and as I've gotten older, I've acquired quite the love of spicy foods. These are spicy noodles and they are yummy!

And check this out! My friend turned me on to this stuff! It's Angelo Pietro Miso Sesame Dressing! YUMMY! And a very quick fix for asian-style salads. I just chopped a bunch of cabbage and threw some on for a quick salad. But you could always add: pineapple, chopped green onion, almonds, chicken...you get the idea! HAD to share!

And before I move on to the yarny/knitting content, let me elaborate on LE's coveted birthday gift: the Nintendo DS handheld gaming system! He chose the "Crimsom" color and has quickly acquired all the Pokemon games he had been wanting between birthday money gifts and his "Ti-Ti" (aunt) bringing him out to get him his gifts from her.

Notice the "Brain Age" cover...no, that's not his game pick--it's MINE! ;) Yeah, me and my aging brain decided that this would be a good idea and that I could steal playing time on LE's DS to do some 'brain training' daily. He wasn't pleased about this proposition, but he's an only child, so I'm giving him the experience of being force to share!-lol!

And guess what? I WON a contest! I'm not going to say 'I've never won a contest', but it's not like it is a regular occurance for me to win knitting-related contests! I think all of you who read this blog are familiar with Jen of WoolGirl-one of the best indie yarn sources on-line! Anyways, she regularly holds contests on her blog which I usually will enter and occasionally don't get to, but I have to say that this was a pretty awesome prize!

Jen had blogged about this book of animals made from socks and gloves and shown her first attempt: Max, the dog. So out of all the correct guesses of what she was to make next, I was chosen! I got a copy of the same book AND a Little Can of Paint (Lorna's Laces), in my choice of color!

I will post a pic of my colorway choice later, since I didn't open the can yet (need to figure than one out!) and take a pic! And I'll let you in on my other activity of the day (other than photographing, preparing and eating spicy noodles, that is!)

It's Here, It's HERE!!!

I got my Namaste Malibu bag from WoolGirl Jen today! HOORAY! I LOVE IT!!!

Here it is, all flat-like, ya know?

Then I had to stuff it all up to illustrate its size...

Peek in! Here's the view from the top!

And above is all the stuff I crammed into it, for the picture
...and I could have stuffed a bit more in!

And what was all that stuff? Well, my (full) purse, for one...and a cake of Cherry Tree Hill supersock yarn!

And the plastic bag was filled with my nearly-complete Waterfall socks and leftover yarn, as well as my Central Air sock and companion 2nd skein for the second sock!

And then there was a stuffed up pouch, too!

And since there were a few requests to see the Lil' Emp's cake, I thought I'd share. Mind you, this is not an example of my best work! My standards have gone down, I cut corners in the prep, and heck-I'm rusty since I only do this once or twice a year! And I put the sphere on top before doing the writing-totally NOT how it's supposed to be done!-lol! Cake wasn't leveled, uneven border, LE couldn't find his Pokemon figures so I had to use smaller-scale stampers,...I could go on and on!-lol! But the bottom-line is...he loved it!

And for those of you who are not Pokemon fans,
the big red ball on top is a Pokeball; and if you can believe it,
the blue and yellow sprinkles are Pokemon sprinkles!

And because I am crazy and could not resist casting on another sock (and because IrishGirlie had me thinking of STR medium weight...and because I lost the momentum on my Monkey Kaw Kaw after realizing how tight they are through the gusset...

I cast on for the Ampersand pattern with a skein of STR Rare Gems I had gotten at Stitches West and that had been sitting in my stash, all wound into a cake, patiently waiting to become socks!

Awesomely quick knit that has renewed my knitting spirit and enthusiasm! I'm calling this colorway Magic Copper Pot! In person, you see more green and bits of teal in it, with a dark brown striping set against the most gorgeous copper background.

And the Waterfall socks above? Just need to kitchener and weave in ends and they should be completed in time to send to my friend, Car, on the anniversary of her sister's death. I can't believe it's been almost a whole year since Penny left us; she would have been 50 on June 30th. Car had written a lovely poem titled "Tiny Drops Make a Waterfall", so these will be a most fitting tribute to Pen and a wonderful gift for Car!

It worked!

A quick pause from this evening's activity (more on that in a bit) to show you what I completed this morning:

I re-sized the Malabrigo Loafers to make a pair for Lil Emperor-and it worked! Here is a pic of the first one (adult small), next to Lil' Emp's. Of course, the trick is knitting the second one. I did write down what I did; I just know it was off a bit numbers-wise, but I continued more instinctively than mathematically. I think I have the shaping in my head fairly well now, which is why I can't wait too long to get the second one done.

But first-I must get through my task at hand! I might not be up these wee hours of the night, if I had not worked on finishing the mini-loafer, but heck-who am I kidding?! I'd still be up because...tonight is the night that I drag out my cake pans, dyes and other decorating goodies so that I can justify all my past purchases and cupboard space! It is time to make the Annual Cake. Yes, folks, it is that time of the year again: Lil' Emperor's Birthday! Last year was the 'big' "7 on the 7th"; this year, I had to explain to him that he was not having a huge party when he reminded me on the last day of school that, it was the last day of school and that he needed his invitations!
Me: "What invitations?"
LE: "YOU KNOW! The ones for my party! I need to invite my whole class except for..."
Me: "What do you mean except for ____?! Anyways, I thought we'd do a smaller party this year."
LE: "OK, I'll invite just the boys and one girl...""
Me: "And which girl would that be?..."

And so the conversation ensued. But in this time, I get him to agree that a small party with just the few boys whose parents I am in contact with would be an acceptable party for him. And yet here I am, still doing the cake (a down-sized version of the usual double-layered 4' high 1/2 sheet plus 3-4 dozen cupcakes...). This year, it is a stacked 1/4 sheet (which I guess amounts to a 1/2 sheet!) with a 'Pokeball" on top. Yeah, Nartian knows the kid is seriously into Pokemon, as her Monkeys had to endure his chatter and banter and imposition of Pokemon on them for a whole ferry ride and more when we were up in Washington for sock camp!

LE dictated chocolate AND vanilla cake...he approved a marbled cake, which made it much easier for me! I sliced a 1/2 sheet in half and am stacking them into a double-layer 1/4 sheet cake. The 1/2 domes will be a "Pokeball" on the cake and miscellaneous extra eats!

So the crazy thing about dying icing is that it is very difficult to get a good red. The only good red dye available for food got banned years ago-yeah, same red as was/is? used for marachino cherries! Apparently, once notice was given it was no longer going to be sold, I guess the marachino cherry people stocked up on it. I guess the ban was maybe on being able to get the dye versus using it? Anyways, I can't recall...I learned that years ago in my Beginning cake decorating class! I was also taught that it is difficult to get a good black, too. But I am happy to report that I used a more recently purchased black decorating dye and got a decent black. Maybe black dye options have improved? Or maybe having this knowledge, I added a huge amount of dye paste to a small amount of frosting which addressed the issue from the start. This particular 'black' has a purply undertone. Blacks will either have a purply or greenish undertone cuz you can't get a straight black.

So here is a pic of the massive amount of frosting I made. "Decorator's icing"--very fluffy, no? And a heck of alot of calories, too!
The cool thing is that it gets all fluffed up with air, but smooths out nicely after you kinda let it 'settle', then mix it up, thinning with a bit of water. This is serious decorator's icing-old school style.



Like many of my hobby/interests, I don't get into them half-assed. I get all serious into them, yet somehow never serious enough to become advanced. With cake decorating, I stopped short of airbrushing. And I did notice a blown sugar class being offered when I was at the store today; it has been cancelled but when it gets rescheduled, I am seriously thinkin' I need to be there! Anyways, I did 'graduate' from Sugar N Spice's cake decorating series-yes, I took Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. Plus I took a chocolate flower class, Gum Paste flowers, and South African Wedding Cake decorating. Yeah, serious! This wasn't pastry chef Culinary Academy, nor was it Wilton's. This was secret-society professional cake decorating variety!

So about that red dye--getting a good red is difficult, which means you need to use a s--t-load of it to get anything close. And it will still be quite pink! And it will give the frosting a slightly different taste. And it seems that no matter how hard I try, the paste is able to magically creep its way up whatever implement I am using to scoop it out or mix it into the icing. So now my fingers are a magic red color-probably look more red than the icing, actually!

Yes, there is a reason I only do this once or twice a year! And a reason why I'm finding the yarn dying much more attractive!

And for kicks, since other bloggers seem so much better everyday-what-am-I-seeing life photos, I thought I would show you a piece of my yesterday...

It was the Fillmore Street Fair! And I had to bring Lil' Emp to his basketball clinic only two blocks away! What this means for me, folks, is that I got to drive around for 15 minutes looking for a parking space! The good news is that I did find a good space (no time limit, no meter!), but it's absolutely all about timing; hoping that someone will be leaving at the right time just as you are placed in the right position to get that parking space! And under 15 minutes sure wasn't bad for a day like yesterday-especially when my friend said she had to wait 'forever' just to get into the paid lot!

So this was in no way a quick post, but it got done between mixing, coloring, decorating...So tomorrow morning-the finishing touches--adding the Pokemon characters and the candle! Oh crap...still need to fill goodie bags! Luckily there will be fewer kids, but I found out my cousin will be coming with their 3 kids, so add on a few more! Now I really gotta go!

So as not to be a tease...

And to honor IrishGirlie's wish, I present to you the two Scout colorways I purchased this past weekend...

These are two of her newest colorways that have been crockpot dyed: Fresh Basil and Elycerose (hmmm...sounds like some fancy modern baby name...). They photographed a bit less blue than they actually are. The Fresh Basil is a bit more limey-green-ish and the Elycerose is a tad more violet blue, rather than gray.

And here, Scout poses with her new line-up of colors! Yeah, I was taking my pic from a different angle!
And, if course I was dying to knit up the self-striping yarn I had just dyed! So I cast-on for what was supposed to be a picot-cuffed plain vanilla pair. But alas, somehow I started knitting and came up with a twisted stitch patterning.

As I explained, (hmmm...or did I?)...I came home Sunday afternoon and that evening got inspired to dye my second skein to 'match'. Unfortunately, I neglected to recall that the Sky Blue made earlier was higher in ratio of water to dye, as compared to the other mixtures. I also think I made my brown a bit lighter than what was available in class. Ah, yes...different tones!

So now I think I will be knitting the cuffs from both skeins, and continue the remainder of the sock with the second color.

My hand-dyed 'self striping' fingering weight yarn-the sock is being knit from the darker skein on the left; I'll use the lighter tone skein for the foot.

Can I actually be blogging from my own computer?!

GADS! It seemed like forever to get my computer issues straightened out! Keep your fingers crossed for me! Lucky me, Nartian hooked me up with someone who was able to help get my computer bugs cleared out and get me back on-line! I think cookies are in order, here...(she knows what I'm talking about! So yeah, Nartian, I'm treating you to a dozen tomorrow!)

So prior to starting this entry, I had been looking through my past posts. SHOP YOUR BLOG, PEOPLE! Well, at least if you are like me...you know...decide you'd take a peek over at WoolGirl or BMFA or some other fav on-line store...no intention to buy, just want to see...then WHAM! the order goes in! Well, admittedly, I have been somewhat better. At least until this past week!

I swear, looking through my own blog, every skein I saw, I loved (of course, Silly! I did choose 99% of them!). It was truly almost as satisfying as shopping-especially since I know I already have them in my stash! And then, it reinforced how I definitely do NOT need more sock yarn! And I feel so satisfied that any urge to purchase more yarn truly does not exist. Well, ok, maybe that is not completely true, but I have to say that it really was a satisfying experience!

Anyways, onto this past weekend! The dye workshop with Scout (Jamie Dixon) of Scout's Swag was so much more than I expected! It was fun, it was educational, it was inspiring! It was humbling! I have to admit, though, aside from being able to learn to dye yarn from one of the best (Scout), the other best thing was taking this workshop at Knit One One. Sile (pronounced 'Sheila') is an absolute doll! She truly is the 'hostess with the mostess'-from making sure we all had water by our side to sip, to the homemade shortbread cookies and blueberries (the shortbread, I mean...)! She is not only welcoming, but made sure that she introduced everyone to one another as they arrived. These extra touches really make a difference and I feel even more fortunate that I was able to participate!

Scout demonstrates how she dyes her 'Orchids' colorway
(yeah, that's Scout...talented and gorgeous! Some women have it all...!)

And as if having a top-rate hostess wasn't pampering enough, we also had wonderful class assistants-Scout's bud, HizKnits (Stephen) and WonderMike, the dynamic YKnit duo! They were so great and (duh!) helpful!

Aren't Boyscouts supposed to be 'helpful'? HizKnits and WonderMike sure were!

Stephen came properly attired in honor of Scout (yeah, he's an Eagle Scout!)

Of course, a Bay Area Scout visit wouldn't be complete without a bit of stash enhancement. Scout brought several skeins of her latest 'crock pot dyed' creations for us to salivate over. Oh yeah, and purchase, too! I will have to post pics of the few I couldn't resist later...

In addition to communing with fellow fiber fanatics, I finally got to meet Nell of ChickenKnits, and got to spend time with Marisol of Purls Just Want to Have Fun! And Nartian even popped by on Sunday to check things out. We all enjoyed learning Scout's dying methods (we even learned to dye self-striping yarn...), but even more fun was playing and seeing how everyone else's turned out and what color choices they made.

Nell and Emy examine our work

dyed yarn, laying out to dry in the sun

And, as with everything, I learn best by doing and through MISTAKES! So...glopping on color will not always help and the colors will get muddier and muddier looking. But-after the dye is set through the heating process, it won't look quite so icky...And-superwash really DOES take dye up better! This, I learned, when I saw that my colors didn't come out so vibrant on my large skein of DK weight. I hadn't realized I needed my yarns to be 'superwash' (and if I had, I still woudn't have realized...); the DK skein I brought was NOT superwash! The colors are ok, but not nearly as rich or vibrant as I would have loved and as would have happened had it been superwash...

my dull, lifeless, muddied skein...(this, the non-superwash, folks...)

My 'self' striping' skein, (wound); I dyed a second (layed out) but had forgotten to dilute the sky blue a bit more and was a more heavy handed with the dyes that evening at home, so they will be similar, but definitely not the same tone

Dorky, pudgy me, Scout, Marisol, Nell and Raquel


And since I finished this ONE sock today...

Central Air pattern knit from Spunky Eclectic Super sport in the Route 66 colorway. This yarn is AWESOME!

So here's another long-A post for you, IrishGirlie! ;)

DYING for this weekend to arrive!

Cuz I got into Scout's dying class! YAY! I'll be going over to Knit One One for a dying workshop on Saturday and Sunday-I hadn't heard about it until just last week and somehow was able to get in! I'm so thrilled and can hardly wait!

And look what I completed...
The Malabrigo Loafers, acorn tassels and all!!!

And I decided what to make with the Silky Malabrigo...

The 'quick' adverb got to me, despite IrishGirlie voting for the Cowl of Kindness! But as you may or not notice from the photo, this is merely 1/2 a cowl and just about a completly knit skein. I only purchased one. Doh! Hopefully Article Pract will have a second one for me so I can finish it!

And Lil' Emp decided he liked those loafers, so I am going to endeavor to create his-sized slippers. My first thought was to use my lightweight STR, doubled and on smaller needles, but he seems to really like the Malabrigo and this color. Being that I actually had over 3.5 oz left of the Malabrigo (3.5 oz per skein, folks! so these were actually a 1-skein project for this small size!), I should have enough to do a second pair for LE. Hopefully the re-sizing won't be too much of a PITA! Wish me luck!

And so I'm a thief!

Anything to be able to post my new WoolGirl sock club kit! I got this last week and Nartian and IrishGirlie have pics posted to their blog-I stole this one from Nartian...


And I am so anxious to show off my RibbyPulli scoop, that I took this crappy-A pic of me in it! Yeah, uck! And this, folks, is why I am a Weight Watcher! And no, I am not pregnant, thank you very much! And yes, a better pic will be forthcoming...hmmm...like maybe I need to have Nartian take a pic for me tomorrow...But-it is DONE! Fine! Ends woven in this very evening after work as I discussed certain LYS STR arrivals with Nartian!

I think I can disguise this one!

Look at the detailing on this lovely Malabrigo loafer! Cool, huh? The color is Vaa and man, am I in love with this Coco Knits loafer pattern! Quick knit with sophisticated detailing. Once you finish knitting the sole, you pick up around it and end up knitting, oh, maybe 15 or so more rows and you are DONE! Of course, I do plan on knitting the suggested trims for it-acorn tassels, to be exact! And yes, they look way-cooler on a foot!
And a side view to better show the sophisticated shaping!

And I've started the second loafer-no 'Second Loafer Syndrome' for me! Plus, I'm trying to finish this pair for a dear friend's birthday!

So I guess it is time for confessions? Yeah-the yellow stuffing in the loafer is Silkie Alpaca-there is one other skein I bought...And the Lorna's Laces sportweight (the blue on the right) is one of three I purchased. But (as always...) I can 'splain! One of my cousin's daughters just graduated and will be attending UC Berkeley, so I decided to make her some Brioche socks that she can wear around the dorms! Uh-huh! Justified purchase! Oh-yeah!

So I suppose I should point out the wound ball behind the Alpaca Silk label...it is some Malabrigo Silky Merino which (so long as it gets completed!) will be another justified purchase; it's for my dear friend's daughter who is graduating. I plan on making her a cowl or neckwarmer. If I can only decide on a pattern! Right now I'm thinking of either the Cowl of Kindness that Nartian just knit or maybe Tudora or maybe a Mistake Rib neckwarmer...

So that was a a showing of some of my most recent purchases...

Yeah, if I only show ONE skein of each color, cleverly hide one in a finished object, and show one wound, it really won't look like I got all that much yarn, right?

And as for the Ribby Pulli Scoop? Let's just say it is going much slower than it looked in the last picture! Fingers crossed it is done in the next couple of weeks, but with the Loafers now ahead and the Cowl needing to happen...well, you know...maybe I'll have it done in a month!

Can this be the same blog?!

More knitting! Less purchases! What's going on here?

Not to worry, I'm sure I will have some stash enhancements or other such knitterly purchases to share with you soon. But remember, I just can't knit fast enough to keep up with my stash-and I need to go back to camp next year! So what is a gal to do...?

Well, I actually haven't knit much, but at least this is starting to look like a top, don't you think?

I was so busy working on it, that I blew past a row of increases! By two rows! So I was a bit delayed in having to frog back a few rows, but I will perservere. All I want to know is-where the heck did the focus come from all of a sudden? But not to worry...2 projects are soooo close to being cast on! Hint: Malabrigo worsted and Malabrigo Silky Merino...

BTW, blogging is slower these days-lots of computer problems! Sucks, really...

Deep in the forest...

...is a canopy--but not of leaves! No, this one is knit of the finest of Ravens wings...the most rockin' wings that could ever be because this, my friends is the Rockin' Tlingit Canopy Shawl!

Here it is, blocking...not the best job, but I tried!

A close-up of the detailing...as always, it is difficult to capture the loveliness that are the Ravens...

And this, prior to blocking...

I'm sure it is no surprise to Nartian to see this posted! Only hours ago did I share with her how I was so close to being finished I could taste it! It was hard to put it down while I did my work, but alas, the work day ended!

Knitting and a bit o' retro!

Well, I'm going to have to call this finished!

I finished the little Shakti baby hat to match the Shakti baby sweater. I loved that neckline finish so much that I wanted to use it for the hat. I used the same lace leaf motif, only I added a half repeat of the lace to add a bit of symetry to it. I thought it would be fun to do more of a 'beret-style' and for the top, ended with an I-cord, shaping it into what I thought was a bit of an enlongated leaf, which I tacked down.




After consulting with Nartian as to whether I should pull it out and wrap the I-cord end inward to make the leaf center a bit 'chubbier' (and perhaps more leaf-shaped), I proceeded to attempt this. Unfortunately, I did such a good job sewing and shaping the leaf, that I couldn't undo it! DRAT! So instead, I tried to pull it tighter, forming a pudgier middle, and left it sticking out (sort of...)


And the latest Rockin' Sock Club kit came today!

The pattern, Cleopatra, by Yarnissima, a designer I learned of through (who else?) Nartian and whose patterns I admire...

The color is Incredible Shrinking Violet! When I think of "Shrinking Violet", it brings back memories of an old 70's doll with a pull string talking device. "I'm called Shrinking Violet..."

Ok, my memories are from the 70's, but apparently Shrinking Violet was a 60's doll by Mattel:
"RARE 1963 MATTEL WORKING
SHRINKIN VIOLETTE TALKING DOLL
She is one sought after by many RARE TO FIND MATTEL DOLL FROM THE 60'S
She is adorable and in working condition. Shrinkin Violette does talk ! She says things like "I have butterflies in my tummy", "I wish people wouldn't look at me", "I'm called Shrinking Violet", "I'm just afraid of everything", "People are all so big". Her mouth and right eye do move when she talks. She does have stitching around her neck, and at the crotch area. She is in played with loved condition . Shrinkin Violet is one tough doll to find in working condition or at all, only made for one year by Mattel in 1963."

The only pic I could find of her on the internet is at the same site where I got the above:
http://www.a2zdolls.com/mattel.html

You have to scroll past the cluster of witches and past the ballerina babies-two past Tippee Toes (which, btw, I happen to have had one of those-horse and all!)

I found this background on the doll to be interesting, too...What I never knew about this strange, pull string doll we had for ages. I'm sure my mom must have gotten her second-hand at a White Elephant sale, but as I see the picture of Shrinking Violet again and read over all her phrases, I realize that I had forgotten the many phrases she would repeat-and that I had memorized back then! I can recall her purple cotton dress with the lace on the sleeves...memories! Am I really that old?! (And, BTW, the Shrinking Violette doll is older than me, just for the record!)

I was unaware of DC comic's superhero that Tina refers to in her Dyer's notes, but upon Googling Shrinking Violet, I was interested to learn: "She decided to put aside her plans to become a psychotherapist or a detective to become a member of the Legion." Interesting...was our Depraved Dyer aware of Shrinking Violets prior plans of becoming a psychotherapist? Could this be the draw to the superhero by our former-therapist Depraved Dyer?...?