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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