Eye Candy

Now that I have your attention...

My friends from Common Threads honored me with a luncheon last week at Georgette's. I'm going to miss these friends!

Janet brought her project, a top from a kit from Davidene's to show, all done except for borders, etc.

Vintage Stitchers met on Thursday at Julie's. Rebecca is working on her next block from the Borboleta BOM pattern from Hat Creek Quilts.

Barbara had her peacock masterpiece back from the quilter.

If you're a regular reader of my blog posts, you'll recognize this as Marilyn's palette.

It was fun seeing Julie's remodel in progress. Their kids, who have been living with them for six years, are buying their house. Julie and her husband spend most of the time either at Bear Lake (summer) or in Washington, close to St. George (winter), but they also spend some time in Park City. They are taking part of the upstairs and the loft to make sort of a mother-in-law's apartment. They figure they can use it for six years whenever they're in town, and the house will belong to the kids and grandkids.

This week saw a little sewing with the newly-service Elna. I made underwear for the two dolls still needing it. I used a girl's lace-trimmed sock, size large. The cuff was turned into a camisole, using Velcro strips for straps, and the toe became panties, trimmed with fold-over-elastic. I wrote up the instructions in a separate blog post.

Jolena needed a bathing suit for freestyle practice, and so I used the same method to make her one. Here's how it looks from the back, so much better with the fold-over elastic instead of the raw edges.

(The instructions for the bathing suit are also included in the same blog post.)

Now that Jolena had a bathing suit, she was able to participate in freestyle skiing training at Utah Olympic Park. You can see professionals do what the kids are learning here. Here was Jolena after her first day of practice.

She looks tired to me.

I took the girls to watch one day during the week. We used their usual conveyance.

They watched (or in Lotte's case, couldn't watch) from the bleachers as Lena tumbled through the air and splashed into the pool.

I caught some great shots by using the "burst" function on my iPhone.

Lotte came to see us after practice. She says the hardest part is getting out of the pool with her equipment.

My friend Ellen, whose grandson does freestyle and slopestyle said Lena's form was pretty good.

Note: See disclaimer at the bottom. People have asked me how I got the photos, and I said (joking) that DH threw Lena from the upper deck, while I took photos as she fell. We didn't do that. He provided me with some fishing line, which I used to hang her securely below the upper deck. Then as she moved slightly in the breeze, I took photos. I cropped, and in some cases tilted, the photos I liked, then edited out any fishing line if it was obvious.)

Lotte's Viipuri Dress is finished. Lena's yarn has sparkles, and I gave her a ribbon sash. Lotte's is more casual and has a skirt with M1 increases instead of YOs, so the holes aren't as obvious.

Other people are starting to make the Viipuri Dress from my pattern. That's always fun.

Sunday morning I came into the dining room to find the girls had taken over my dining table.

Me: Good morning! What are you ladies up to?

Mandy: We're teaching Lotte and Lena to play cards.

Me: What game are you playing?

Girls (all at once): Strip poker!

(I hope they teach the new girls all their little tricks. They're already down to their undies.)

I don't know for sure who brought strip poker into my house, but Vroni is the only one who didn't arrive her NIB (new, in-box), and she clearly is winning, so I suspect her.

I took the cards away and am setting my alarm for 1/2 hour earlier in the morning.

Not having had much luck getting a response from Götz to use the dolls in a book, I'm working on making my stories into weekly blog posts, tentatively named The Doll's Storybook, perhaps coming out on Friday afternoon. The plan is to have the posts suitable for children, so my grandkids can read them. Maybe I can work on the book idea after we get moved.

What's on my needles: Just finished the second Viipuri Dress for Lotte. Nothing new yet, but the next plan is the Norwegian-style kitty cardigan.

What's on my Featherweight: In storage.

What's in my hoop: Still the Spring Flowers quilt, a little progress done this week.

What's on my wheel: Stanzi is still in hibernation. 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz. It was good, but a cliff-hanger. I know there's another in the series. Now listening to Rondo Allegro by Sherwood Smith.

What's in my wine glass: The last of a huge bottle of Frontera Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot. (I can't read the vintage.)

What's my tip of the week: A recipe, easy and healthful:

Tofu Mac And Cheese

Ingredients

• 12 oz whole wheat macaroni• 1 12.3 oz pkg silken tofu (I like Mori-Nu)• 2 eggs• 1/3 cup Greek yogurt• 1 cup milk• 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese• Salt and pepper

• 1 cup bread crumbs• 2 tablespoons olive oil• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions
1) Start macaroni cooking and set oven at 300°.
2 ) Blend tofu, eggs, yogurt, milk, and cheddar cheese in blender (along with a small amount of salt and pepper) until smooth. Drain macaroni, return to cooking pot and add tofu mixture.3) In a large skillet add butter over medium heat with the bread crumbs and red pepper flakes. Cook until crumbs are lightly browned.
4) Dump drained macaroni/tofu mixture into a 9 X 12 casserole dish coated with cooking spray.
5) Top with seasoned bread crumbs and bake for 30 minutes.

Serve with salad or vegetable.

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.

Gotz Doll Underwear and Bathing Suit from Socks

For Happy Kidz, Hannah and Little Kidz.

Camisole 

1 girls' or women's sock 9" from toe to heel and 8" around foot (4" measured flat), Velcro, cut 1/4" wide.

Cut soft side of Velcro 4” X 1/4” (or cut in half lengthwise). Make 2.

Turn girl’s sock inside out with cuff folded over. Zig-zag along folded edge. Trim foot section close to stitching, leaving cuff with hemmed edge. Sew one end of one strip of soft velcro to the part of the cuff you want to be the front, soft side against the cuff. Sew one end of the other strip 1 1/4” away, or 2” stretched, also on the front. Sew small pieces of the hooked side to comparable locations on the back. Done!

Panties 

(See photos in bathing suit instructions for tutorial. Panties are made the same way in the crotch.) 

Cut fold-over-elastic 8 1/2” long for waistband
Cut fold-over-elastic 4 1/2” for leg opening, make 2.

Cut toe of sock off 3 3/4” from end of toe (more or less depending on how you want it to fit). Zigzag around cut edge to stabilize. The little toe seam will be in front. Here's the little toe seam:

Waistband: Take the 8 1/2” strip of fold-over elastic and find the center of it. Place it with the WS against the RS of the center front, extending above the finished raw edge. Pin so that the midpoint is in the center front and the two ends overlap by 1/4” - 1/2” in back. Sew in place and finish by sewing the ends together up to the top and lock. Turn to WS and trim raw edge close to stitching, being careful not to catch RS when cutting.

Fold over with the little toe seam in front. Place a pin 3/4” up from toe and another one 1 3/4” higher. Cut an oval opening through all layers, from one pin to the other. Cut toe open at seam. (See instructions for bathing suit for photo of how this is done.)

Turn WS out. Place WS of cut edge of one leg hole on WS of fold-over-elastic and pin, with cut edge as close to middle line of elastic, pinning as needed so the stretch is even from one end to the other. Sew with narrow zigzag stitch as close to cut edge as possible. working carefully around the sharper curve at the crotch. If you have to rain the presser foot, be sure the needle is down. Turn elastic to RS over cut edge and sew down on right side with the narrow zigzag stitch. (If you must use a straight stitch, you will need to stretch as you sew.) Repeat for second leg hole.

Pin crotch seam closed, RS together, making sure the beginning and end of the seam is perfectly matched. Sew closed using a straight stitch and 1/4" seam allowance. Trim corners of seam and finish with zigzag.

Bathing Suit (with modifications for Little Kidz in parentheses sock size S)

Cut fold-over elastic: 

Bathing suit front: Cut 1 at 3 1/2” (2 7/8")

For back and straps, cut 1 at 14" (11 1/4") 

For leg holes, cut 2 at 5" (4 1/4")

The leg holes of the bathing suit are made the same as for the panties. 

Fold sock in half, matching ends of toe seam, so you have four layers. Measure 3/4" (1/2") from end of toe and place a pin on double fold. Place another pin 1 3/4" (1 3/8") further up the sock from the first pin, but on the same side.

Cut small half ovals from one pin to the other, cutting through all four layers.

Cut open along toe seam as for panties. Trim toe seam away.

Place WS of cut edge of one leg hole on WS of fold-over-elastic and pin, with cut edge as close to middle line of elastic, easing as needed so the stretch is even from one end to the other, and pin in place, with the FOE extending a little bit past the end of the sock fabric, as the feed dogs will pull it in more. (It may be easier to turn sock inside out at this point, but you will certainly need to do it for smaller openings.)

Sew with narrow zigzag stitch as close to cut edge as possible. working carefully around the sharper curve at the crotch. Turn elastic to RS over cut edge and sew down on right side with the narrow zigzag stitch. Repeat for second leg hole. (If you have only straight stitch, you will need to stretch your work for sewing the elastic on both sides.

Sew crotch seam closed, RS together, using a straight stitch and 1/4" seam allowance. Trim corners of seam allowance.

Zigzag seam to finish.

Try on to check fit. (At this point, if the leg holes are too tight or too snug, you can cut them off, cut the crotch open and try again.) While your doll has the suit on, you can mark where you want to cut for the top.

Place a pin at the center front to indicate where you want the bathing suit to start. Place another pin at the underarm and a third just above the waist in back. Remove the bathing suit from the doll, being careful not to disturb the pins. Fold in half so that the two leg openings are together. Remove the underarm pin, noting its position.

Cut from the pin in back to the pin in front, passing through the point where you want the underarm to be and ending by curving your cut at the front to end perpendicular to the fold.

Sew the fold-over elastic for the front in the same manner as for leg openings. Trim any excess.

Match center of back elastic with center back and pin in place. Some of the elastic will extending past neck at each end to go around the neck. Do not trim off, as you will need that for the straps. With the WS of sock together with the WS of the elastic, sew as for leg holes.

Fold over and starting at the upper right extension sew all the way to the end of the other extension. Sew a short strip of Velcro 1/4” wide on the extensions so they will connect. Done!

For a two-piece suit, make panties out of your bathing suit sock, according to directions in the underwear section of this tutorial.

For the top, cut a piece from the top of the cuff. This one had a cute animal face and ears. It should be slightly bigger in the front than in the back.

Finish with FOE as for the waist of the panties. Sew straps of FOE folded and sewn together lengthwise where you would like the straps to fit. Sew a small piece of Velcro to the ends and decorate the front with buttons if desired.

Now your bathing beauties are ready for the pool or beach.

Hats are made from the Bucket Hat pattern from Matilda's Closet, purchased through Pixie Faire.

If you like my doll photos, check out The Doll's Storybook at http://thedollsstorybook.blogspot.com

*Cutting and use of sock based on this YouTube video: https://youtu.be/DYh6JUI7wsQ

This pattern is protected by copyright.

Any items made from it may be sold.

Copyright © 2018 by Peggy Stuart

Gotz Doll Underwear and bathing suit Rev. 3, 7/13/18

Please note: If you would have paid for this pattern, please consider donating the amount you would have spent to a child-related or other charity of your choice, such as CURE. I thank you for your generosity and for not having to do the books.

Inside Out

It was a short week, due mostly to a medical procedure, part of my preventative care. (That's the "inside" part.) However, that's over, and all is well.

Matti’s wardrobe is finished. As you may remember from last week's post, I made him the boy's version of the Cabbagetown Jacket (just shorter and without the flaring at the waist). Most of his wardrobe was purchased on sale from Silly Monkey, but his puppy, Goldie, came from Emily Rose Doll Clothes. Matti will be going to Therapy Animals of Utah soon to help them with their next silent auction. (The auction isn't for a while, but I'll be handing him over, because I'm leaving and didn't want to have to ship him.) Here are a couple of the outfits he will take with him. Dressy casual....

Of course, a boy needs pajamas.

He has an assortment of summer and winter, "dressy" and casual, and of course, Goldie. He's hoping she will have the right temperament to be a therapy dog, so he's being diligent with her basic training.

I picked up a couple of items for Jolena in the Silly Monkey sale, because she was unexpected (like my youngest child). My favorite is this outfit, especially the T-shirt with the butterflies.

The girls and I have been participating in a "Picture a Day in June" activity in the American Girl group on Ravelry. (They allow foreign-born dolls to participate.) Each day we get a prompt, and we're supposed to post a photo (or some photos) and say something about it/them. I try to make a little story out of each post.

For instance, June is a traditional month for weddings, so one day we needed to come up with something having to do with weddings. Here's what I did:

It's Mandy's turn to teach Jolena about her new family. Today's lesson is about Jolena's new parents' wedding.

Mandy started out with Vroni's Powerpoint presentation: 

"...and this is when they cut the cake at the reception..."

A Powerpoint presentation isn't really Mandy's thing. "I'll tell you what," she said. "Let's go cuddle in a chair with the old-fashioned photo album." That's cozier.

The chair was roomy with just two girls.

"They look like dolls," Jolena pointed out. "Pretty. They don't look like that now."

"Well, that was 52 years ago, Jolena," Mandy explained. "Human beings wear out as they get older, even if no one plays with them."

Jolena thought about that for a moment or two. "52! How much is that in doll years?"

Jolena's Viipuri Dress is finished.

I've been making corrections to the pattern, and I hope I've found all the errors. I'm making a new dress for Lotte, because her Russian Dress was the first one I did, and it wasn't small enough around the waist. It's a good way to check the pattern.

My sister-in-law's sewing machine has been serviced. I had planned to sell it, because I won't have room for it and its cabinet at our new place, but our younger daughter-in-law wants it, so we're taking it along to Bend and then will bring it to her when we visit next, as they only live a few hours away.

I think my sister-in-law would have loved for her to have it. She was very close to all our kids, having none of her own, but our youngest (husband of the DIL who wants the machine) lived with them for a time right after finishing college while he looked for a job, so they had a special relationship.

My girls were intrigued with the machine, especially Vroni. It formed the foundation for another little story, where they all cooperate to get the machine threaded and ready to use.

I'll be using it until we get moved, as my beloved Featherweight is in one of the U-haul boxes packed for the move. (I think those boxes have made it as far as Salt Lake City, but they will be on their way when we say we're ready for them to go. In my mind, they are on their way to Bend.)

Manuel, our music director at St. Luke's, and his family have gone to visit his mother in Argentina, so our little choir and our wonderful pianist are just providing basic service music, but Pam, our harpist, and Mary, an accomplished pianist herself, and the golden-voiced Felicia, are providing special music for services.

I managed to get the pups to Run-A-Muk Dog Park. I will miss that place, even though Bend has some great trails and dog parks.

We had a couple of warm days, and then it turned cool for about 24 hours. It's supposed to be warm again today.

We managed to sell a few more big pieces of furniture this past week. I think we're going to see what the local ReStore (Habitat for Humanity) will take, and then give St. Lawrence Thrift Shop a call. Both will pick up furniture.

The people we gave our piano to came and worked for a couple of hours bringing brush and other debris from our backyard to our dumpster. They are very grateful to have the piano, and we're happy not to have to move it.

I feel lighter, inside and out.

What's on my needles: Still the Coastal Skies, and a second Viipuri Dress for Lotte, so I can test the rewrite of the pattern.

What's on my Featherweight: On its way to Bend.

What's in my hoop: Still the Spring Flowers quilt, no progress done this week.

What's on my wheel: Stanzi is still in hibernation. 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz. It’s really good. Wish I had time to listen to it straight through.

What's in my wine glass: Lost Angel Mischief Red Wine 2016. “Naughty wines for naughty times.” On the back of the bottle it says, “Lost Angel’s wines are for people who appreciate bold, edgy and iconoclastic. They are as different and exciting as you’d like to be. As the old saying goes, ‘If you only live once, make it count. If you live more than once, then who the hell cares.’”

What's my tip of the week: There's no need to buy hummingbird feed with all that red food coloring. Just mix 1/2 C sugar with 1C boiling water. When it's dissolved, add 1C room-temperature water to cool it off. Store unused portion in the fridge.

Also, there is no reason to buy Gatorade or Pedialyte for electrolyte replacement. Unlike hummingbirds, I can't have regular sugar. I learned that if you mix 1/4 teaspoon sea salt per cup of water, you have the same thing. You can sweeten and flavor with honey, lemon juice, ginger or whatever, if you like. (If I get to be very old, I will have learned a lot of stuff.)

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.

The Long Goodbye

People are starting to say their goodbyes to me.

Since we don't know when we're going to be able to move (but hope soon) friends are arranging small parties, like this one on Thursday, when a trio of us went to lunch at Trio, a restaurant near us. It was warm enough and not too windy, so we sat outside.

The week was filled with work on the house, but I managed to get some knitting in. Matti's Cabbagetown Jacket is done. I just have a few more items to collect before I can hand him over to Therapy Animals of Utah for their silent auction.

The only modifications I made for a boy were putting the buttons on the other side, not adding the flared section at the waist and doing the BO after Row 63. Matti has shorter arms, so I only worked 20 rounds on the sleeves.

I learned two weeks ago that someone else had the rights to the Russian Dress design in English, so I've changed my pattern by using a different lace motif in the bodice.

I meant a major rewrite, but that part is done now, and I'm doing the test knit. I already had a different skirt as an option, so I just eliminated the original skirt. Now I'm working on another option with a longer skirt by making the increase rounds every 6th round instead of every 4th.

I'm using Knit Picks Glimmer (sock yarn) in "Fiji." I had a whole skein, so I think it's probably enough, even with the longer skirt.

I had called it The Russian Dress, but now it's a different dress, so I've changed the name to The Viipuri Dress. (Viipuri is the town where my Finnish MIL was born, but now it's part of Russia.)

Our daughter-in-law has asked for the sewing machine I was planning to sell, so I took it down to the city to get it repaired and serviced. When I get it back (should be soon) I can use it until after we move. I would like to make the girls each a bathing suit. I found instructions here on YouTube for making a doll bathing suit from a sock. I really need to trim the edges, though. It looks so unfinished this way.

So I have some fold-over elastic coming, which I hope will be good around the cut edges. I found these girls' socks to use. (The Götz Happy Kidz are slim, so the girls' size is perfect.)

They have a cute face on the heel. I'm trying to figure out how to use that, too. Two-piece bathing suit perhaps?

We have a dumpster out in front of our house now for construction and yard debris. Lena thought it was a doll box for a huge doll, and was worried that the poor thing needed to be let out, so Lotte dollsplained to her that there was no doll inside, just trash.

In other news, the pups went to the groomer. Here's Dusty. Summer cut. Rocky looks the same, only black.

Rocky's blood pressure showed some improvement during his check on Friday. Still high, but better. Apparently it takes a while before the medication takes full effect.

What's on my needles: Still the Coastal Skies, and finishing up the Viipuri Dress for Lena.

What's on my Featherweight: Still on its way to Bend.

What's in my hoop: Still the Spring Flowers quilt, but no progress again this week.

What's on my wheel: Stanzi is still in hibernation, just waiting to be set up downstairs in the former loom area, which is still full of boxes. 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still no time to listen to The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz. Maybe next week.

What's in my wine glass: Trader Joe's Coastal Zinfandel 2013. A new favorite.

What's my tip of the week: Zucchini can be shredded for a great salad, if you have some and can't get to the store to pick up lettuce. Per person: 1 zucchini (not baseball-bat size), scant tablespoon each of lemon juice and olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, a little shredded basil and parsley. Dried raisins or cranberries and sliced almonds or sunflower seeds are a nice addition.

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.