Independence Day!

My internet was down over the weekend, so this blog post is a bit late. It was another busy week, busier than usual, in fact. However, I managed to get more blocks made for the boys' quilts. (I'm up to 26 blocks.) So far, the blocks go either with the green paint chip or with the blue, or in some cases, with both. 

I went to Joann's on Friday to pick up some fabric for setting blocks for the quilts. ended up with the green on the left and the blue on the right, both fabrics that read as solid. I had forgotten the paint chips I was using for color selection, but I called Charlie, who was at home, and he took a photo of the samples and texted them to me.

The kids I'm making the quilts for are the ones who came to visit us over the weekend. This same weekend, we had Sandy's first puppy training class, and I had rehearsals for a concert on July 4th. Rehearsals started on Wednesday and were held almost every day. It's a joint concert with Cascade Horizon Band.

We were very busy, but I did manage to get in a little knitting, either at home or while waiting for a medical appointment. The pattern in the Kultainen käki Cardigan is starting to be evident. (That orange strip at the bottom is a removable tape that helps me keep my place on the chart.)

The boys' birthdays are coming up. Soren's is Wednesday and Johan's is a week later on the 12th. We sent their presents and cards home along with the parents.

Sandy is continuing to grow. He's up to 16 lbs. Sometimes he looks almost as big as Dusty. Tuesday our vet let us know that they finally had the canine influenza vaccine in, so I zipped over there and got the puppy vaccinated. We were hoping to get this done before his first puppy class on Sunday, and it was soon enough that he probably had almost complete immunity by then. He will need a booster in a few weeks. As he matures, he's safe in more situations. We can allow to be outside in the back yard by himself now, and he behaves better in general, so I'm expecting to have more free time in the future.

The day after Sandy got his vaccine, a young man knocked on our door and wanted to know if we wanted to sell our 5th wheel and the pickup. We had planned to trade in the trailer for the new RPod, but we wanted to keep the truck. He offered us more than the RPod dealer had offered as a trade-in, and we wouldn't have to tow it to Eugene, where our expected new trailer is. The young man wanted the trailer to live in, and it's a good size for a home for one person. His grandfather was helping him, but let him take care of all the business himself.

They were willing to take just the trailer, and we had almost finished emptying it of our personal stuff already. All it needed was some vacuuming and the tanks flushed out. We have the money, he has the papers, and all he needs is to find a way to tow it to Portland. We had a lot of fun with the trailer, but we really don't need something that big, and it isn't easy to tow around. We're looking forward to a new RV and more adventures while we're still healthy enough. It's like Independence Day!

Our son and DIL take turns running in the morning. They almost always take their dog, Louis. When they are here, they usually take Dusty, because he runs nicely with Louis. They are best friends. That gave Dusty and occasional break from being Mr. Mom to Sandy.

They will leave to go home on Tuesday.

Hope everyone in the US (and everywhere) has a safe July 4th!

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Happy Independence Day to all who celebrate!

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 "Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart" in Children's. 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 and Mariah, 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 and the EmPower People Kerchief (hibernating).

What's on my loom: I didn't make much progress on the placemats, but there's no rush. I did cut a few more strips of fabric.

What's on my sewing machine: Still quilt blocks.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: In "Where Do Dolls Come From," Jolena wonders about her origins. This story originally appeared on August 24, 2018.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to Die Unendliche Geschichte by Michael Ende. I'm really enjoying listening to it in German at .7 speed (70% of normal).

What's in my wine glass: Hawks View Winery 2019 Barrel Select Pinot Gris from Willamette Valley. The kids brought this one. It's a nice one.

What's my tip of the week: We will be camping without an oven that can be used without electricity. How to fix frozen dinners when we're boondocking. (I've learned that's what people call dry camping, or camping without hookups.) I froze lasagne in a plastic container lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. I picked containers that were square (so I can fit more of them in the freezer) but small enough to go into my pressure cooker. I have a rack with a handle, so it can be picked up and removed without getting scalded. (If you don't have that kind of rack, there's a workaround: just cut a strip of heavy-duty aluminum foil long enough to go under your rack and extend over the edges of the pressure cooker. Fold it lengthwise in thirds, and it will be strong enough to lift the rack. It can be folded over itself at the top to make a loop.) I put the water in the pressure cooker, then the rack with the frozen dinner, still wrapped in foil. I brought the pressure up and let it cook for 17 minutes. I let the pressure drop on its own.

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

Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is available from BookBabyBookshop and other booksellers worldwide. The stories 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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Changes

We're getting our house painted. Here's what we started out with:

We picked our colors from this pretty house:

On Wednesday they pressure-washed the house. They came back on Friday to start. First took down the decorative shutters. They did the masking, then they filled in areas that needed filling, scraped peeled paint and started with primer (that pinkish-grey color). Next they put on the first coat of white. On Saturday they worked for a few hours and then went home. Here's what it looked like mid-morning on Saturday.

They are back today to continue.

I changed two more T-shirts from plain to interesting using the iron-on photo-transfer process. Here's Mandy's.

Then Jolena's.

I learned from my mistakes last time. My iron needs to be set on linen, and I need to iron the heck out of it, turning it over to press again on the back. Images are free from UIHere. (Some of their images have royalties, so you have to pick and choose. I added the text to both. (There is no US Doll Ski Team, so I can't get into trouble, there, either.)

I'm using a free baby dress pattern trying to see if it would be suitable for a doll dress. I'm using fingering weight yarn and my smallest needles (2mm for the bodice and 2.25mm for the skirt). It's still coming out a bit big, but it might be all right, once the ribbon is threaded through the holes at the waist.

The story from Friday was based very loosely on The Three Little Pigs. Three dolls have an adventure they weren't expecting in An Encounter with a Wolf.

On Thursday, we hiked in Shevlin Park again. This time it was just the two of us. The park is very beautiful, with very tall trees (Ponderosa, I think).

There's a stream running along close to the trail, so we don't have to take water for the dogs.

The Walk for a Dog app changed its app considerably. I'm still learning how it works, but it looks very different. Now we have levels we can work for. I had been setting my own goals. We're already on Level 4.

We were in second place in the group of people and dogs walking for Best Friends Animal Society until our walk on Sunday. Now we're tied for first place with someone who may still have walked on Sunday but hadn't yet.

One new feature I really like is the interactive map that shows you where you are in real time, instead of just the walk you completed. The app is free. It's supported by advertising.

That evening, we went with DBIL to the Bend Brew Fest. Attendees buy tokens and a mug for tasting. Your beer chances with each stop at one of the booths.

Each sample is 2 ounces of a beer of your choice from among the 100 breweries represented.

DH and I shared the sampling. There were food trucks lines up and serving, so we ate there, too. The weather was perfect.

Sunday evening we went out with DBIL and his friend Hank. We went to the Monkless Brewery. They have beers with a higher alcohol content than most, and the names are interesting, such as "Meet Your Maker."


What's on my needles: The Best Sunday Baby Dress to fit a doll (with luck). I think it may be a bit big for the Happy Kidz, but it has ribbon around the waist, which should help, and it may fit the much plumper American Girls well, which will help people who are knitting for these dolls.

What's on my sewing machine: Waiting.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. No progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: An Encounter with a Wolf.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey. It was very good. Now reading The Adventuress: The House for a Season, series, Book 5, by M. C. Beaton. An interesting tale with a lot of humor, as always.

What's in my wine glass: Monkless Belgian Ale, only it was in a beer glass. A nice change.

What's my tip of the week: I've learned that dogs like anyone's kibble but the one they're used to, so a different kibble, especially puppy kibble, makes a good treat. Just feed one as a treat. Sometimes you can pick up samples. Dogs like changes, too.

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.

Grandmother's House

The Little Red Riding Hood costume is finished:

Here’s the back.

Another view:

The cape pattern is Kit's Christmas Cape by Cathy Bird with adaptations, mostly for length. The yarn is City Tweed HW in “Romance.” You can get more information on my Ravelry page for the project.

I’ve always seen Little Red Riding Hood in a dirndl, although versions the fairy tale appeared in many European countries. I couldn’t find a dirndl pattern I liked, so I had to improvise from a free overall pattern for Pocket Dolls (of all things) and the blouse from The Best Doll Clothes Book by Joan Hinds, but without the collar. For the skirt and apron, I just cut a rectangle (WOF x 11” for the skirt, 19” x a little shorter than the skirt rectangle for the apron). After hemming I sewed three lines of basting at the top of each on the right side and gathered by pulling the bobbin threads. I didn’t remove the threads after sewing the bodice and sash on, but tied them together and cut them off short, so the gathers show on the right side. The bodice opens in front, with an overlap and a placket opening in the skirt.

The dress fabric came from Connecting Threads and was a clearance fabric that seems to be no longer available. The apron fabric was a fat quarter from a quilt shop. The apron and blouse fabrics came from some long-forgotten quilt shops.

I haven’t done the staging for this project yet, but I already have the basket and the wolf. I’m waiting until I can get this doll. I’m not sure the dirndl will fit, because I haven’t been able to find her measurements, but there's some room in the waist. If It doesn’t fit, I’ll just have to make another one. Oh, darn!

I plan to make a Regency costume for Dolly, so she won’t have to stand there nekkid after I send the clothes to Miss Daphne for her birthday.

I needed a project for Dolly while waiting for the Ravelry Forum “American Girl Knitters” February KAL to start on Monday and the Spin Along on Friday. Soooo…I had to CO this dress for her. It’s supposed to be a flower girl dress, but I think it would be a nice Easter outfit. I'm using Stroll in "White" for the contrast color and the main color is Stroll Tweed in "Bare" that I dyed pink with Kool-Aid.

Vintage Stitchers met at Diane’s on Thursday. She had this quilt mounted on the wall in her stairway. She told us all to take a look when we used the powder room.

Brenda is working on this flannel/wool project she had started a long time ago.

It's "Primitive Gatherings" from A Primitive Garden. (No, it isn't upside-down; the plants are hanging.)  Julie is working on this sampler.

I couldn’t find a link for it. Maybe it’s too new. However, I did find this link to a kit Julie bought from the same company, but hasn't started yet.

She participated in a workshop during a quilt retreat recently, where they all had to bring strips of cloth in different sizes. They passed out the strips, and each person took some strips out to sew together. Then they passed what they had sewn to the next person, sort of like musical chairs, except that no one was left out. She ended up with this:

Julie has finished her Cathedral Windows pillow cover.

She has the binding on her flannel/wool felt wall hanging.

Julie also took a class at the quilt retreat where they made several different kinds of blocks. This is a something-halo. (I’ve forgotten the rest of the name.)

I think this is a dahlia.

This flower will be appliquéd onto a background.

She also brought us an old quilt top from the 1950s with a plain acid-green background. It belongs to someone else, so I didn't take a photo. She wanted to finish it, but first she needed to see if she could find the green in a quilt shop. It had a border along one side. Either she needed to remove the border or match the green and finish the border on all sides. I came across her after the meeting at a nearby quilt shop, and she had found just the right thing. It's a very unusual color. She's going to finish the quilt, quilt it and give it back. What a nice friend!

Remember those hexagons Rebecca decided to appliqué onto a background? She has lots of this great fabric to use.

Barbara has finished two identical Cactus Flower wall hangings.

Marilyn made this table runner to replace the one she gave away to Rebecca:

...and this Sparkling Gemstones quilt from Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott. (You may remember that several of the members, including moi, also made this quilt.)

Our hostess has finished this poncho in City Tweed DK. She made it according to the directions, but left off the optional cowl collar. She made it according to the directions, but left off the optional cowl collar. That makes her the third I know person to make this project.

Sundance is over. I had a great time, serving four shifts. Got to rub elbows with a few celebs and saw a few great films. I also got some knitting done while waiting for duty and guarding a door. This cold chap gave me an icy stare as I was leaving. I guess the people in the wait-list line got bored. 

He was almost gone by Saturday. It rained down in town on Friday night, although it snowed at our place. I think he melted because someone reminded him to "stay hydrated" because of the elevation, and he overdid it in the rain.

The snow continues to fall. And fall. [Sigh!]

Spinners, don’t forget, we’re having a Spin Along on the Knitting Community if anyone wants to join in.

Where? Right here, in the Knitting Community Spin Along.

When? Noon next Friday, February 5 until noon on Monday, February 8, 2016, in whatever time zone you're in.

Equipment: Spindle or wheel. (If you want to use the pencil method to spin, that's OK, too.)

Materials: Any spinable fiber. (Dryer lint, anyone?)

No prizes, no pressure, just spinning together and sharing what we’re doing.

What's on my needles:  “Time for Tea” party dress for Dolly. The Trickle Socks, waiting.

What's on my Featherweight: Doll socks, tights and undies.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished The Final Empire by Bandon Sanderson. I really enjoyed this one. I expect to read more by this author. Then I read Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen and narrated by Katherine Kellgren, who also narrated the “Bloody Jack” series. (I checked after I finished the book. One of the accents she had to reproduce rang a bell.) Speaking of bell, I’m now listening to Ashley Bell by Dean Koontz, his latest novel, which came out in December.  Finished The Other Harlow Girl by Lynn Messina on the Kindle app. It was entertaining, but sometimes you feel like the people in it are from today, and they got sent back in time. Now reading A View to Die For by Richard Houston. Not too far along yet, but it seems interesting and occasionally funny.

What's in my wine glass: Trapiche Malbec, 2014. Lovely.

What's my tip of the week: If you visit a location with a high elevation, do as Mr. Sundance Snowman did: avoid exercise, get plenty of rest, limit alcohol and stay hydrated until you get acclimated to avoid altitude (elevation) sickness. How long this takes will depend on your fitness level and the elevation where you live.

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.