Keeping Entertained

Zachary's quilt is with the quilter. I dropped it off on Thursday.

I forgot to get a photo of the backing fabric, but I think this is it (website photo).

I have the binding sewn, pressed and ready to go.

To go with the quilt for Zachary's birthday, I have the Ruby Red Fashion Friends doll, Alex. I'm making him some clothes, including pajamas. I made him a sweater using my free pattern Pippa's Wonderland Turtle.

It's a quick and simple pattern. I used some Essential (Stroll) sock yarn from Knit Picks in "Flint Tweed." I've had it a long time, since before they changed the name. They still have Stroll yarn. It's basically the same, but they changed the name shortly after I bought what I used for the sweater.

Dolls don't like to have clothing pulled on over their heads, so it buttons down the back. This way, it can be used as a cardigan, too.

I finished Clue #1 in the Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Knit Along and started Clue #2 on Wednesday, when it came out. I really like how the beads look.

Saturday I finished the second clue.

I can't work on the MKAL project until the next clue. This means I had nothing to knit, so I wound up the yarn for the Milk Thistle shawl on Saturday and CO on Sunday. The kit was a nice present for my birthday. The herringbone stitch is proving to be a challenge. I frogged and started over again more times than I can count. It has I-cord edges, so it will take a while for it to look right, I think, but I'm not planning to start over again...again!

The pups were still wearing their sweaters until the weather warmed up a bit. Here they are, working their shift at KP duty, where they are pre-rinse specialists.

Because it warmed up, I've taken the sweaters off. We have snow melting, a muddy backyard and wet streets, but it's noticeably warmer. To keep out of the mud, we have been walking around the block or along the streets instead of on the trails.

There's still ice in some places. When we find that, we step over into the street and walk around. I expect we'll get more snow. After all, it's still January.

I have a lot of difficulty responding to comments to my blog posts because of technical issues beyond my control (my lack of understanding of how things work). Message me on Facebook, Ravelry or Spoutible if you need information.

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart". Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of any of our books, including Emil, Mariah or Classic Tales Retold, please leave an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.

Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: Still the Happier Days Shawl, the Mystery KAL for the Rose City Yarn Crawl 2024. I'm waiting for Clue #3 on January 24th. The Milk Thistle, for which I have the kit, newly started.

What's on my loom: Still folded up

What's on my sewing machine: Ready to put on the binding when I get Zachary's quilt back. Need to start some pajamas for the doll Alex.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: In A Visit to the Mesozoic, Billy gets some help from Mandy when studying for a test.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished listening to Ginny by M. C. Beaton. Now listing to Another Time, Another Place , #12 in "The Chronicles of St. Mary's" by Jodi Taylor.

Also still reading Harry Potter und die Kammer des Schreckens by Joanne K. Rowling (in German), the physical book, which I received for my birthday.

What's in my wine glass: Pleno Voo vino tinto 2021 from Portugal. It seems very nice, but I still don't have my sense of smell back, so I'm not sure I can really vouch for it (or any wine, for that matter).

What's my tip of the week: Just sewing a strip of cloth along one edge of a quilt top for a border until you run out quilt top may seem a way to save time, but you can end up with a quilt that looks like a potato chip. It's best to measure the length of the middle of the quilt. I sew the longer border on first, so I measure the length of the quilt top from top to bottom, then cut two border strips exactly that length. I pin and work in the ease as needed. Then I measure again for the width of the quilt, which is now larger by the width of the borders. I sew the top and bottom borders on the same way. I end up with a quilt top that is flat.

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with a few changes. 

Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook is available from the BookBabyBookshop and other booksellers worldwide. Poems included are Valentine's Day, Keeping Pets, Back to School, Victor the Vulture, The Week Before Christmas, Insomnia and Veronika's Vocabulary Verses.

The stories in Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Little Green Greatcoat, The Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.

Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are also still available from booksellers. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories in Emil are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The three stories in Mariah are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less. 

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 or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

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Buttoned Up

The buttons were a day late due to the weather, but I'm happy with them, and they're on the Kultainen käki sweater now, which means I can wear it.

The pattern was for a pullover, but I find I wear cardigans more, so I knitted it with a steek in the front. I like how it fits, although I didn't choose my turtleneck color very well to go with it. I'm happy with how the colorwork turned out.

I had to move the motifs over. Otherwise the front opening would have gone right through the design. I needed seven buttons, and they came five to a package, so I had to buy two packages, giving me three extra. I decided to fasten one of the extras to the inside of the cardigan, so if I lose a button, it will be handy. 

This is the second time I've ordered buttons from Button Bin Etsy, and I've been pleased with them. Their buttons are lovely, and reasonably priced, even taking shipping into account. These are natural olive wood. I'm also very impressed with the yarn, Kelbourne Woolens "Camper", which came from Starlight Knitting Society in Portland. The yarn really made the colorwork look good, even before blocking. I think the color of the buttons goes well with the Autumn Heather (the camel color). The green is Moss Heather. The name "Kultainen käki" means "Golden cuckoo," which appears in the Finnish epic poem "Kalevala." The pattern is from the book Knitted Kalevala by Jenna Kostet, which is full of patterns inspired by "Kalevala."

The rest of Clue #1 for the Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Knit Along came out on Wednesday. I had finished it by Saturday evening. The next one comes out this coming Wednesday.

Attaching the beads can be a challenge, but this time was more so than the last time I did it. The holes in the beads are not uniformly large enough to use my Boye size 11 crochet hook for each bead. Also, my vision and manual dexterity have diminished, which doesn't help. Last time I used a needle and thread, but someone on Ravelry suggested dental floss for this project, so I gave it a go. I found using a needle threader helped. I pull the floss through the stitch with the crochet hook, put the threader into the bead, then pull the floss through so the bead is on both ends of the floss. Then I pull the floss until the stitch comes through the bead. I had the beads in a little bowl, but they skittered all over the place, and it was hard to grab them with the needle threader, so I cut a piece of fleece and put it in a little tray. That went better. 

When I finished the first clue, I picked the EmPower People Kerchief back up. (It has been hibernating.) It was easy work to finish it. It's soft and warm. You wear it like a cowl.

When I wasn't knitting or sewing on buttons or working on my knitting projects, I took some time to work on Zachary's quilt. I had already cut the strips needed. I decided to use my Featherweight, since I wouldn't need to do any zigzag stitching, and I had stuff piled in the cabinet for my Eversewn Sparrow 15.

With rotary cutting and strip piecing, this quilt is quick and easy. Here's what my blocks look like.

By Friday I had all 20 blocks finished and sewn together in the diagonal setting, which is my favorite.

I got the borders on Saturday (a one-inch inner border out of the red fabric) and Sunday (the four-inch paw-print used in the blocks). Now to buy the backing fabric. I'm hoping the ice has melted enough that I can go to the store.

I should be able to to deliver it to the quilter sometime this week.

Peter, who was here to help out after Charlie's cataract surgery, left to go home on Monday and arrived home safely late in the afternoon. We had an appointment with the ophthalmologist late Monday morning. (Everything looks good for the recovery of Charlie's eye after surgery.) We knew some bad weather was moving in, so we decided to take the pups for a walk in the woods while it was still "nice" out. 

It was good we did, because the anticipated bad weather moved in on Wednesday, causing a disruption in trash and recycling, as well as delayed mail.

The pups had an appointment with the groomer on Tuesday. Sandy's color gets lighter every time he gets a haircut. He's a very pretty color now, but he has lost a lot of hair.

Besides the snow and then rain, we had extremely low temperatures followed by thawing and then freezing again. The robins, who had been flitting from juniper tree to juniper tree, loading up on berries, suddenly found themselves with a salad bar. The rain had knocked lots of berries to the ground. The birds spent a good part of Friday in our back yard, feasting.

The birds were mostly undisturbed, because Dusty and Sandy didn't have much interest in spending time outdoors. Instead, they either snuggled with a pillow on the couch or tried to dig a hole in the carpeting. Figuring they must be cold, I pulled out some old dog sweaters for them.

The sweaters are a little snug, because they have been washed and dried so many times. I haven't had any complaints, though.

Our next-door neighbors gifted us each with a book as a thank-you for looking after their plants and collecting their mail while they were gone for a few weeks before Christmas. Since I had my dog-related accident and was recuperating the whole time they were gone, I really didn't do any of it, but I appreciate the gift. Charlie's book was about geology, and he seems to be very interested in it. Mine was a cookbook, Cook's Illustrated Vegetables Illustrated. 

The last shopping trip before his eye surgery, Charlie came home with regular brown lentils instead of red lentils, so I went looking for a good recipe that calls for brown ones. I found "Moroccan Lentil and Swiss Chard Soup" on page 432.

I had to make some substitutions, because we were missing some ingredients and aren't going anywhere. I found passable substitutions. For 1 T grated fresh ginger, I used 1 teaspoon powdered ginger. For 3/4 C minced fresh cilantro, I used 2 t dried. I cooked dried chickpeas instead of using canned. I used cooked rice instead of orzo (same quantity) and Chinese cabbage instead of chard. All the other ingredients were as-written, except I didn't find that it needed added salt, because there is salt in the canned tomatoes. I think it turned out great (although I still don't have much sense of smell yet). I baked a small loaf of Dutch oven bread to have with it. Yum!

I have a lot of difficulty responding to comments to my blog posts because of technical issues beyond my control (my lack of understanding of how things work). Message me on Facebook, Ravelry or Spoutible if you need information.

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart". Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of any of our books, including Emil, Mariah or Classic Tales Retold, please leave an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.

Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: Finished the Kultainen käki cardigan. Still working on the Happier Days Shawl, the Mystery KAL for the Rose City Yarn Crawl 2024. Clue #2 is due out on Wednesday. Just started a sweater for Zachary's birthday doll. In my queue is the Milk Thistle Shawl, for which I have the kit.

What's on my loom: Still folded up and waiting.

What's on my sewing machine: The binding strip for Zachary's quilt.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: In Trouble at School came out in 2019. In it, Billy got into a fight protecting Mariah from bullies. The dolls discuss why dolls become bullies and how to deal with them without getting into a fight.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished listening to The House at the End of the World

by Dean Koontz. For something entirely different, now listening to Ginny by M. C. Beaton. Still reading Harry Potter und die Kammer des Schreckens by Joanne K. Rowling (in German), the physical book, which I received for my birthday.

What's in my wine glass: Dominic Hentall Puglia (Sangiovese/Negroamaro 2020). Not bad, but I should point out that my sense of smell still hasn't returned, so I may be missing something.)

What's my tip of the week: For placement of buttons, if I haven't made buttonholes on the other side, as I do when the button/buttonhole bands are knit along with the body, I like to use stitch markers (the kind that open and close like a safety pin) to test the location of the buttons. Depending on the size of the buttonholes, they can be clipped on and used as buttons to verify that the location is right. Then, when I'm happy with the placement of the buttons, I sew each button on and remove the stitch marker as I go.

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with a few changes. 

Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook is available from the BookBabyBookshop and other booksellers worldwide. Poems included are Valentine's Day, Keeping Pets, Back to School, Victor the Vulture, The Week Before Christmas, Insomnia and Veronika's Vocabulary Verses.

The stories in Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Little Green Greatcoat, The Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.

Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are also still available from booksellers. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories in Emil are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The three stories in Mariah are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less. 

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 or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

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Blocked!

Ta-da! All done but the buttons. They are on the way, due here about Thursday, although with the blizzard conditions across the country, That may be optimistic.

The colorwork turned out great, thanks to this wonderful yarn, Kelbourne Woolens Camper, which I will plan to use again. 

This is how it looked after the steek. I picked up 128 stitches for the buttonhole band. (Actually, I picked up a stitch for every row, then worked back along the row slipping four stitches and then passing the third stitch over the fourth, reducing the stitches to 128.) I worked the other side to match.

I didn't use blocking wires, just pins when I blocked it. (Photo below.) Some wrinkles got blocked into the knitting on the sleeves, but I can hit those with my steam iron when I get the buttons on, hopefully in time for next week's blog post.

I got the placemats cut apart, but still need to weave in the loose weft and then block them. I'll need the dining room table for that, and it was needed by family for the last few days.

While I'm waiting for the rest of the first clue for the Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Knit Along, I'm back to working on my whole-cloth quilt, which has been sitting around for over a year. I really would like to get it finished this year. Things keep getting in the way. It's more trouble to bring out a quilt to work on than to pick up my knitting.

Thursday was Sandy's birthday. Because of Charlie's cataract surgery on that day, we didn't get to celebrate, but I got this photo. We'll have a party on his "gotcha" day, March 25th, the anniversary of when we picked him up in Pahrump, Nevada. I got this photo of him, though. One year old, 23 lbs., maybe close to full grown. 

He gets groomed tomorrow.

We did manage to take a walk on the 10th, the day before his birthday, which is also our older granddaughter's birthday. (I can't believe she's already 31!) We have been having snowstorms, so we took advantage of a break in the weather.

The pups had a good time playing in the snow.

They had snowballs in their leg and belly hair by the time they got home.

Poor Sandy had to spend about three hours of his birthday in his crate, because of Charlie's cataract surgery. The surgery went well, though, and recovery is going well too. His checkup the next day showed healing was as expected, and he already was seeing clearly again. It's a bit scary, though, because his other eye was damaged in an accident many years ago when he was young and his brain learned to ignore the limited vision in that eye. Surgery on his one good eye is not without risk.

Peter came down from Beaverton on Thursday to help out, in case something came up. The trip was a challenge for him, because we were already getting more snow on Thursday. He had to come over a mountain pass to get here. We found out they closed that highway after he got through. He had planned to go home yesterday (assuming we didn't need him anymore) but postponed his return because of the winter storm. He will try to go home today. He has to use chains, because he doesn't need snow tires at home.

The pups have continued to enjoy the snow. This was in our backyard on Saturday.

The snow kept coming...and coming. People here in Bend aren't used to this much snow, so no one is out on the roads. Even if you know how to handle it, and have all-wheel-drive and snow tires, other people don't, so it isn't safe. We pretty much didn't go anywhere over the weekend. Choir practice and church services were even cancelled. We've had occasional breaks in the weather, though, so we have walked with the dogs a few times. It has been pretty much the same route, so only about 2/3 of a mile. I figure we get more exercise trudging through the snow than we would normally get on a walk, though.

I had already done the photo shoot for the new story, which came out on Friday. This story introduces Pam, our new character. (See link to story below.) Pam was a nice surprise gift from a special friend who wanted to see her in the stories. She will be in more.

Wisconsin is also getting snow. Here is our son-in-law and the two Wisconsin grandchildren.

I'm now officially unable to use my own hearing aids because they're too loud, even turned down as far as possible. I'm using Charlie's hearing aids turned up a notch. I can watch TV and hear everything unless there is music. For some reason, the music is always too loud and the dialog too quiet for the hearing aids. (I had the same problem with my own hearing aids.) Unitron chose this time to chang the app, and now it's very difficult to pair my hearing aids with the phone. I wish that when things work they would leave it alone!

My sense of smell is still severely affected, but I sometimes have a day or two at a time without noticing the phantom smell more than once or twice. I hope that means my natural sense of smell is returning. The neurosurgeon said it will take time to know for sure. My balance is great.

I have a lot of difficulty responding to comments to my blog posts because of technical issues beyond my control (my lack of understanding of how things work). Message me on Facebook, Ravelry or Spoutible if you need information.

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart". Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of any of our books, including Emil, Mariah or Classic Tales Retold, please leave an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.

Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: Still the Kultainen käki cardigan, ready to sew on the buttons when they come, the EmPower People Kerchief (hibernating) and the Happier Days Shawl, the Mystery KAL for the Rose City Yarn Crawl 2024. I'm waiting for the rest of Clue #1 on January 17th. (This week!) In my queue is the Milk Thistle Shawl, for which I have the kit.

What's on my loom: Still folded up, but now back in the corner with the windows, where it was before we needed the space for the tree. It's dusted, and maybe I'll wax it before I warp again. I had a hard time moving it before Christmas to make room for the tree, but with Peter here, it was easy to move back.

What's on my sewing machine: Still ready to start Zachary's quilt. When I was ready to sew the steeks on the Kultainen käki cardigan, I discovered that someone (I suspect I know who) had adjusted the thread tension all the way up to 9. I had to get out my manual for my Eversewn Sparrow 15 to figure it out. I may use the Featherweight to piece Zachary's quilt, but I'll need the zigzag when I get ready to make clothes for his doll.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: “It Isn’t HerFault.” In this new story we meet Pam, who arrived as a Christmas gift for Maryanne, a little girl who has diabetes. Pam wants to help the child, and Veronika and Mandy give her some advice about how she can.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Just finished listening to Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. I can highly recommend this book, especially as an audiobook, with Ray Porter as narrator. Just restarted Dean Koontz's The House at the End of the World. I had started it a while back and had to put it aside to do other things, but now I want to finish it. I started over, because it has been so long.

Finished reading Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen by Joanne K. Rowling (in German), the physical book, which I received for Christmas. Now reading Harry Potter und der Kammer des Schreckens, the sequel.

What's in my wine glass: D.R.G. (Daryl Rex Groom) red blend 2018. Excellent!

What's my tip of the week: If you have a long-sleeved pullover or cardigan to block and only a limited number of blocking mats, placing the sweater on an angle can sometimes get the sleeves on the mats.

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with a few changes. 

Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook is available from the BookBabyBookshop and other booksellers worldwide. Poems included are Valentine's Day, Keeping Pets, Back to School, Victor the Vulture, The Week Before Christmas, Insomnia and Veronika's Vocabulary Verses.

The stories in Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Little Green Greatcoat, The Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.

Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are also still available from booksellers. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories in Emil are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The three stories in Mariah are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less. 

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 or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

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