Dolls Who Don't Get Sick

I've been sewing this week. I finished this blouse for Mandy on Saturday:

I used this pattern. I found the pattern instructions easy to follow, although it's a fairly complicated design. I had a fat quarter of each. Here's the back.

Originally, I was going to use the green pinstripe for the skirt, but when I chose this pattern for the blouse, I changed my mind and switched them. I don't think the lines of the blouse would have shown up with the print. I think it's a good blouse to go under a cardigan. 

Here's Mandy wearing the finished blouse and the skirt, which I made earlier in the week.

The skirt pattern is included in the free Cables and Herringbones Cardigan pattern. I've found some mistakes in the cardigan pattern and am working up a revision, but the mistakes are mostly in the written instructions, not the chart. The skirt fabric came from Connecting Threads. It has been in my stash for several years. I picked it because I liked it with the green stripe and the yarn.

I'm finishing up the body.

Then it will be on to the sleeves. It's for a St. Patrick's Day Knit-along on Ravelry in the Goetz Lovers group. I find this kind of sewing satisfies the same kind of creative urge that causes me to make quilts, but it's much less expensive, and the stories have sort of taken over my life otherwise. I like picking fabrics out to put together.

Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday. DH and I went to church for a Mardi Gras supper. We had Jambalaya. (There was a vegetarian version as well as a regular recipe.) After we ate, Father Jed brought all of last year's palm branches and crosses outside to where there was an outdoor fireplace of sorts for the purpose. He set them on fire to make the ashes for the Ash Wednesday services the next day. (That dark thing on his head is a Mardi Gras mask.)

We did FaceTime with DD and her family on Saturday. I got this screen shot. 

The kids have been busy dancing, as well as doing things at school. While we were talking I got to see several of the dolls in their collections. We have a date to do this again in two weeks.

We will have to decide soon if we're going to the Rose City Yarn Crawl. There was a case of the NOVID-19 coronavirus identified very close to where DS2 and his family live. It's still an isolated case at this point, and we know how to protect ourselves. (See "What's my tip of the week," below.) Eventually, it will be here in Bend, and we will have to contend with it. We're stocking up on some non-perishable food items and cleaning supplies, just in case we are both sick and can't get out to the store.

What's on my needles: Maine Memories (no progress this week) and Mandy's St. Paddy's Day Outfit cardigan to go with her new skirt and blouse.

What's on my sewing machine: Just finished Mandy's blouse. I think it's time for oiling and cleaning.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. Another week with no progress.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: "Rules for Success." Mariah and Charlotte discuss a classmate's changing the rules for hopscotch in order to win. 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Right now, a plastic sandwich bag, which I can carefully remove if someone touches my phone. I finished Scandal at Battersea by Mercedes Lackey and now listening to Amy Snow by Tracy Rees, which was a Daily Deal from Audible. So far, it reminds me a bit of Jane Eyre, but the story and premise are different.

What's in my wine glass: Kirkland Malbec 2018. Very nice.

What's my tip of the week: With NOVID-19 Coronavirus breathing down our necks, I thought I would devote a little space to what we can do to prevent the spread of the virus, now, while it's still fairly isolated in a few places across the US. We got this from Bend Fire & Rescue:

*Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing. (Well, they said, "soup and water," but I edited. Eat the soup, though. It may be good for you.)
*Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
*Stay home if you are sick, or if you need to go out, please wear a mask. (See comment on masks, below.)
*Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
*If you have flu-like symptoms, contact your physician by phone for evaluation procedures they may want you to follow, especially if you have been in an area where there is a known occurrence of the virus.
*If you have severe shortness of breath, call 911.

I've done a little research over the last couple of days, and in addition to the above, I've read:
*Masks, like the ones they give you at urgent care, are good to use if you're actually sick, to keep you from infecting others, but wearing one won't keep you from being infected by someone else. If I understand correctly, when a sick person exhales, sneezes or coughs, the virus exits the body in tiny droplets of water. The tiny droplets of water are captured by the mask, keeping them and the virus they contain inside the mask. If the virus is already out in the air around you, any droplets of water they may be in are so small they can go right through those masks, so a special kind of mask is needed. If you are a strong, healthy person, you should not buy one of these special masks, because people with compromised immune systems need them. They are already becoming scarce.
*Hand sanitizers may work on this virus, because they work on other coronaviruses, like the kind that cause the common cold. At the time I'm writing this, however, they have not been tried on the NOVID-19. Don't be complacent and assume they will protect you.
*Smart phones and tablets can be a source of infection. Don't share your phone or tablet with anyone, and wash your hands after touching someone else's device.
*Don't share things like makeup, eye drops, inhalers, etc.
*Pass on passing the peace at church. Put your hands together as you would to say "Namaste," or bump elbows or otherwise acknowledge people, but no handshakes or hugs. Surprisingly, drinking communion wine from the common cup doesn't seem to be an issue, but don't dunk your bread in the cup, in case your fingers accidentally come into contact with the wine. (Communion wine is fortified, so it has a high alcohol content, and the wiping and turning of the cup dries the area where any germs might have been killing them.)
*Don't get overtired or do something that would otherwise create physical stress, like dieting or running a marathon. Pay extra attention to good nutrition.
*If you know you're physically compromised, stay out of crowded places, like movie theaters, concerts or campaign rallies.
Everyone stay well!

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.

It’s a Whirl

Last weekend’s Spin Along resulted in some interesting yarn:

The roving (fiber) was AlohaBlu’s Targhee "Saturated Spring,” 2 oz. The result is more or less DK-worsted. I got 108 yds, Navajo-plied to show off the colors. I used a Kromski Sonata wheel equipped with WooLee Winder.

Here’s what the singles looked like. I used long-draw or modified long-draw drafting method:

I'll post another photo after it's washed.

We’ve had a “new addition” to the doll family. This is Gabi:

She's the Tonner "My Imagination" Starter Redhead.

There are a few slight differences, though, from other 18" dolls. I measured her, and this is what I got: 

chest, 10 5/8” 

waist, 10” 

hips, 11” 

thigh, 5 3/4” 

calf, 5 1/8” 

upper arm, 5 1/2” 

full body around shoulders, 13 3/4” 

arm length from shoulder, 5 1/2” 

inseam, 6” 

head (about where a hat would rest), 12” 

height: 18” (without shoes)

She can wear most clothes made for other 18" play dolls, such as American Girl. She will be the foundation for a new set of fashions to be set aside for the next doll to give Miss Daphne. (I'm trying to spread them apart a bit.)

Gabi has an all-vinyl body, not a soft body, like the Madame Alexander doll, Dolly, and the American Girl dolls that are so popular. However, like the American Girl dolls, Gabi has a wig. (Dolly has rooted hair.) Also possibly important, her eyes don’t close, so she needs a sleep mask to get any sleep. I found a sleep mask pattern on Karen, Mom of Three’s Craft blog, July 16, 2012.

Gabi makes a great Little "Red" Riding Hood. Here she is with the wolf pup she met on the way to Grandmother’s house:

I finished the “Time for Tea” dress, started last month, for her.

Here’s the Ravelry Project Page. The pattern can be found here. The yarn is Stroll Tweed "Bare" I had dyed with KoolAid.

Here’s the back:

A slip underneath the skirt gives it some flair.

I had some issues worth discussing. First of all, someone on Ravelry observed that hand-dyed yarn sometimes left color that was hard to remove from doll bodies. Remembering that KoolAid can dye protein (animal) fibers but not cotton or acrylic, I conducted a test using the bottom of the foot on each doll. The “dye’ applied to each foot didn’t leave a mark on either. I will be vigilant, however, when using commercially hand-dyed yarns for either doll.

Another issue was the blocking. I thought I could just wash the dress and hang it to dry, because it’s so small, but it stretched, making it too long and too big in the neck (Superwash wool will stretch) and very limp. I wet it down again and dried it using the hair dryer, with the skirt spread out in a circle, which worked better than putting it in the dryer, because I could choose the shape. With the slip underneath it was just right.

Dolly hasn’t been neglected. I managed to get some lycra on Thursday after Vintage Stitchers and on Friday sewed the leotard for Dolly’s ballet costume.

The leotard (actually the swimsuit from Best Doll Clothes Book by Joan Hinds) can be used for practice sessions and classes at the barre, as well as for the foundation of her performance costume, sort of a Mardi Gras style costume.

The embellishments to the costume are made with Patons Twister in “Fruit Loops.” A three-stitch I-cord goes around each armhole and the neck. The one at the waist has the addition of 12” sections of the same yarn attached at more or less equal intervals with a single crochet stitch, allowing equal tails to hang down over the skirt, which is made from three equal 7” strips across the width of fabric, gathered. The net is attached to a ribbon and tied at the waist. The I-cord is separate, so it can all come off for practice.

At Vintage Stitchers almost everyone was sewing binding on quilts you have seen before, but Barbara had this one you haven’t seen since June of 2014, and certainly not quilted yet then.

The blocks come together in the middle of each dark shape. Templates were used, but the curves are gentle, and piecing was done easily by machine. Many of the fabrics are by Kaffe Fassett.

We’ve had some nice, sunny days. It won’t last, though, so we got out with the pups for a hike in the snow. No snowshoes needed, because the trail was nicely packed down.

What's on my needles:  Striped dress for Dolly. The Trickle Socks, waiting.

What's on my Featherweight: Still doll socks, tights and undies. Will start on Regency outfit for Dolly soon.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished From a High Tower by Mercedes Lackey. Great story, narrator was fine except for pronunciation of German words. Now listening to The Watcher by Jo Robertson, a crime novel, another Audible “Deal of the Day.” Still reading A View to Die For by Richard Houston on the Kindle app.

What's in my wine glass: Crane Lake Malbec, a staple at our house.

What's my tip of the week: It’s easy to make gathers in fabric without any special equipment. Make two parallel rows of basting stitches along the edge where you want the gathers to be. Pull the bobbin threads from each end and adjust the gathers so they are evenly distributed along the edge and the piece is the width you want it to be. Then you can tie the bobbin threads together or wrap them around a pin at each end. If the basting stitches show below the seam after you have sewn the gathered material to the bodice, sash or whatever other piece you’re using, it is easy to remove. In fact, it’s easier to keep the gathers even if you allow one row of basting to show below the seam.

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.