Wrapping Things Up

The project for the Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Knit Along is finished. It will be a nice wrap to wear during the Yarn Crawl in March.

I chose to do the picot bind-off. I finished the knitting as we watched Olympic hockey.

The bound-off edge was rather ruffled and curled when I finished.

Someone in the Ravelry thread for the project said blocking took care of that, as I hoped. Here's mine blocking.

The blocking did take care of the curling and ruffling, as you can see from the photo of the finished shawl at the top of this post.

Now I needed something to work on, so I decided to alter my Melt the Ice Hat. I had ended the ribbing after 5" instead of knitting to 6", because I was afraid I wouldn't have enough yarn. Then I wasn't happy with it, because I thought the ribbing wasn't long enough to turn up around the edge. I took it apart at the top of the ribbing then picked up the stitches and set about knitting more ribbing. 

I stopped when the yarn was used up and then grafted the top back onto the ribbing.

I had this much yarn left when I was done.

I may make another one with thinner yarn.

The next knitting project will probably be the Traveling Woman Shawl with the lovely blue yarn I got for Christmas. (Or was it birthday?) The pattern needs to be flattened out. I rolled it up to fit it into my suitcase.

I need to take some photos for a new story I've written. I really should do that before I start knitting. The dolls will need costume changes and hair fixing, which will take longer than taking the photos. I might need to tidy up my workroom first.

It was a pretty busy week, in addition to the Olympics. Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday, and we went to Trinity's pancake supper, which had sort of a mardi gras theme.

We had nice conversations with the people at our table, but the most fun was the pancake race. Two children had to run from one end of the room to the other, each with a pancake in a pie plate. They were supposed to flip the pancake at the end of the room and then return to the starting place with the pancake intact.

After supper, we all went outside to burn the old palm crosses from last year.

We had a short pre-Ash-Wednesday service while the palms burned.

Then we went into the church to finish up the service and get our ash crosses on our foreheads. The choir sang on Ash Wednesday at the 6:00 service, so I received the ashes again.

We had been having difficulty feeding the dogs. Before Sandy, we used to just leave a dish of kibble out for the dogs, but we discovered that Sandy would eat until it was gone, and when we refilled the dish, he would eat that. Dusty likes to come and take a mouthful and then go away. Then when he felt like having some more, he would come back and find the dish empty. Sandy was putting on unnecessary weight, which wasn't good. Then we went to feeding them in separate dishes and watching while they ate. I told them, "This is Sandy's. This is Dusty's," indicating which dish. Then I stood there and watched them. If Dusty didn't eat all his, I would pick up his dish for a while. Then I started training them more aggressively. I would say, "Good eat," when Sandy started to eat. Dusty wanted the praise, so he would eat, too. When Sandy finished his food, I would make him come away from Dusty and sit, while I continued to compliment Dusty for eating. I would tell Sandy, "Wait," and "Good wait!" while Dusty continued to eat. If Dusty finished his meal, they would each get a treat.

Now Sandy has begun leaving the dishes as soon as he has eaten. He waits without being told. Dusty seems willing to keep eating as long as I keep telling him, "Good eat!" or he finishes eating.

We walked almost every day this past week. Sometimes, especially if it was cold and windy, we only went to the woods for a little off-leash time and then walked back along the trail. Here's a screenshot of our route using the Walk for a Dog app from WoofTrax.

I had to cook some, of course. I made some Dutch Oven Bread, and it came out with a very crispy crust.

We had some apples that were getting old, so I made some cobbler.

I wanted potatoes as a side dish, but something a little different from air-fryer potatoes or roasted potatoes, so I made scalloped potatoes. 

Friday I see my ophthalmologist again to get a prescription for driving glasses. A week from next Wednesday we head north for the Yarn Crawl and Charlie's ultrasound procedure.

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, BlueSky or Spoutible if you need information.

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon or B&N and search for Billy: Stories 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, Classic Tales Retold, Our Favorite Verses, More Classic Tales Retold or Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, 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: Just finished The Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Knit Along shawl and the Melt the ICE hat. Hope to cast on for the Traveling Woman Shawl.

What's on my iPhone: Still The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles, on theAudiobooksNow app. Some progress this week.

What's on my sewing machine: Put away until the next project.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Are you watching the Olympic Winter Games? Did you know that some dolls participate in the Doll Winter Games? They do, and they have mostly the same events as human people do. Here's Winter Games, a story from The Doll's Storybook.

What's my tip of the week: We xx

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

The stories in Billy: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Talking About Boys, Changes, Shhhhh!, Staying After and Money in a Jar.

The stories in More Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Welcoming a Stranger, The Rescue, Unmasked, Fuzzy Town––A Play and Sky Blue.

Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook. 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.

The stories in Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

The stories in Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook 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, only 8%, because the vendor gets a cut. My author's page at Book Baby is here. Scroll down and click on any of the books that interest you. Find my books at Barbara's Bookstore as well, or ask your local library to order the books.

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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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.