Sweat Shop

Poor dolly is nekkid. All her clothes have gone to her as-yet-unnamed counterpart in Wisconsin. She looked good in the outfits before she got stripped down, though.

The Aran pullover I had so much trouble with came out nicely in the end. It’s the”Fisherman Knit Sweater” from Best Doll Clothes Book by Joan Hinds and Jean Becker. It’s a good pattern, but the authors refer you to other sweaters in the book for shaping, but not until after they tell you how to make the pattern. If you want to make this sweater, I recommend reading my notes on the Ravelry page for the project to avoid the pitfalls I encountered. The yarn is Knit Picks Stroll Sport in “Bare.”

The skirt came from McCalls Crafts 2506, only I put elastic in the waist instead of cord.

Dolly is ready for hiking in her hiking outfit. The shirt came from the pattern and the shorts from the book (see links above).

For the hat, I used the pillbox hat brim for the sides of the hat and the hat top from the pattern McCalls 2506. I used the witch hat brim from the doll clothes book, only I made the witch hat brim 1” shorter all around. I made two hat tops; put one inside-out inside the other and sewed them to the brim, which was two brims sewed right-sides together, turned right-side out and top stitched with concentric circles 1/4" apart.

Dolly's slippers came from this Ravelry pattern. I used Swish Worsted in “Lotus” and added a pom-pom to the top front of each slipper.

I improvised Dolly's mittens from this pattern, but knit it in the round with slightly thicker yarn, in this case, Swish Worsted in Hollyberry.

They’re really thick, but the package was going out Saturday, and the thicker yarn went fast. This was important, because I finished them about 9:00 PM Friday night, then still had to wrap all the packages going in the box to DD and her family. The mittens have a double-stranded crochet chain cord connecting them, which will go through the coat’s sleeves, so the doll doesn’t lose one in the snow.

Except for the boots, Dolly’s rain outfit was purchased online from The Doll Clothes Store in Silverton, Oregon. The boots came with Dolly. She nearly cried when she parted with them. I’ll have to make it up to her.

I packaged up the outfits in separate zipper bags, so it would be clear which things go together, in case that’s important. Here’s what it all looked like ready to ship. (That boxed outfit in the back was a freebie that came with Dolly. The second doll didn't come with it, so I sent that along, too.)

Poor Dolly really needs some clothes. I enjoy looking at her, so I will have to get on it when I have time. 

Vintage stitchers had their annual potluck holiday party/meeting on Thursday. Included in our show-and-tell was Julie’s album, which she had made as part of a class at Davidene’s in working with felt and embroidery. The album contains all her resource info.

Julie had finished the kitty she was making for her granddaughter, who picked out the colors for the cat and the dress.

Diane’s showed us this quilt top. She is going to put on a border, and she collected suggestions on how to deal with it.

Barbara was making floor pillows for her grandkids. You use a twin sheet folded lengthwise into a tube overlapping in back. Then you turn it right-side out and sew compartments to hold bed pillows.

Our first performance of the Park City Singers holiday concert was held Sunday evening. As always, it was fun. We still have one more performance to go this week. After that I can concentrate on the music for Christmas Eve.

Our annual holiday letter is in the mail. Whew!

Finally, we got more snow. I hope we can get out with the pups and do some snowshoeing soon. Everyone stay warm!

What's on my needles:  Only the Trickle Socks now.

What's on my Featherweight: Finished with doll clothes for now. Still sewing on the binding for my Crystal Stars and waiting on the last two blocks of the Kaleidoscope Quilt. After I clean up my fiber studio. It looks as if a tornado went through there. (I was the tornado.)

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Listening to Christmas and holiday music. Still reading The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer on the Nook app.

What's in my wine glass: Nathanson Creek Cabernet Sauvignon, with the frog on the label...of course. Based on my past, I see lots of frogging in my future.

What's my tip of the week: Precise cutting is so important when you’re quilting. If your fabric is about at dark as your cutting board, especially if it's the same color, it will be easier to see the edges for cutting if you turn it to the wrong side, which is usually lighter. Of course, this wouldn't work for homespun or batik, but it does for most other fabrics.

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.