The Summer Sorrel top is finished. It dried quickly with the warmer weather we've been having. I didn't use any pins or blocking wires, just smoothed it out and let it dry.
I like how it fits. I wore it to church yesterday.
I've been moderating the Goetz Doll Lovers group on Ravelry pretty much on my own, as the other two moderators have had things come up and needed some time off. It has been a struggle to keep the group going and keep KALs (Knit-Alongs) and other activities going. I think some of the participants have had children or grandchildren grow up and lose interest in dolls, which is more or less my situation, too, so they aren't as motivated to knit, crochet or sew for their dolls. Fortunately (for this month) the designer of Sugar Grove South has a birthday in July and agreed to sponsor a special event for this month to celebrate, a July2026 KAL. She has four new designs. Participants buy one or two of the patterns and can get one or two of them for free if they complete the project(s), post a photo and include a project page for each in their projects. A free project can't be used for the second project. I decided I should participate, and Olivia needed some clothes. I picked out a pattern, pulled out some choices of appropriate yarn and let Olivia pick. 😅
I've had a busy week, but doll clothes don't take too long. I'm happy with the result, and so is Olivia, I think. The pattern is Sunshine Season.
Here's the back. It took 20g of yarn left over from my Space Doodle cowl from the Rose City Yarn Crawl Master KAL in 2025. Doll projects are great for using up scraps of yarn.
I have been trying to get to cleaning up my workroom for some time. It's an absolute mess. I had to dig through things to find yarn for Olivia's summer top. Once I was done with the knitting, though, I had no more excuses. My cutting mat counter has been obscured by nylon netting left over from making a couple of scrubbies for the R•Pod. I had planned to make a couple more for the house, but the netting just sat there, uncut. After I had my work table mostly cleared, I went to the cutting mat and cut the rest of the strips for scrubbies. Then I needed to sit down for a while, so grabbed my crochet hook and made this.
By the end of the week I was ready to cast on a new project. I picked the Vilai sock pattern from Cookie A's Sock Innovation book, which I've had for years. I've made three other pairs of socks from patterns in this book and enjoyed all of them. It has been a long time, though, and it took me a long time to find the book. I bought it as an E-book for the Kindle app. I couldn't remember the exact name of the book, and then I couldn't find it among the several book-reading apps I have. Finally, on Sunday, I located the name and then found the book in the Kindle app.
The dogs went to the groomer on Monday. Monday night was the first practice for the Summer Choir. Here's a list of the songs we'll be singing:
Both Sides Now
Hark I Hear the Harps Eternal
Homeward Bound
Let the River Run
Lovely Day
Sing Gently - Whitacre
The Parting Glass
Together We Rise.
(Some of the pieces are pretty challenging. It will be a busy summer.)
Tuesday evening we had another Madroña Vineyards pop-up party meeting. This time we were given a recipe. Le Sequin, to make if we wanted to, along with some wine-paring suggestions to choose from. Charlie considered the recommendations (Riesling or Cabernet Franc) and chose a Madroña 2024 Zinfandel, which was good.
The recipe was for four servings, but it was recommended to serve it immediately, so I didn't want leftovers. Therefore, I cut the recipe in half. Here's Le Sequin recipe.
Some of the people who made the recipe adapted it because they couldn't find an ingredient or didn't like something, like walnuts, for instance. Those who who served a Riesling with it highly recommended that pairing. Our Zin was good with it, but next time I make this, we'll try the Riesling. It was fun having a chat with everyone and toasting whenever someone mentioned Nebbiolo (a wine variety).
Summer weather has finally arrived to Bend. We took several walks this past week, including walking to the Ponderosa Park for a little off-leash time for the dogs before their grooming session. We walked home afterwards. The sidewalk goes into the construction zone close to us, and we accidentally walked in, thinking we could get out the other side. Then we found there was no way out, so we had to turn around and retrace our steps, adding about 1/2 mile to our walk. We ended up going home the way we had come instead of the planned alternate route. Here's a screenshot of the Walk for a Dog app for the walk. The out-and-back on the left was to take the dog to the groomer's and then back.
Other days we walked on the trail. The dogs had a little off-leash time in the woods next to the construction zone. Sandy really doesn't like the heat, and he goes from one shady spot to the next, the way Misty used to do. Dusty is panting in the photo, because he had been running around. Sandy is better at staying close to us, so he was mostly just hot. We take water along with us regularly now that it has warmed up.
My new book is back with Charlie for another read through. I'm hoping it will be ready to send to Alexa when she returns from Paris, where she's vacationing with Johan, her sister Alyssa and niece Elsie (the only one I make doll things for these days). Here's Johan, doing his version of Rodin's "The Thinker."
Peter's holding down the fort with the two cats (Olive and Mango) and the dog (Louis), while Soren visits with his other grandparents. Peter can work and leave the animals home alone when he has to be at the office. What are they doing? Olive took the stopper out of the sink, so she's helping Peter fix it.
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: Finished the Summer Sorrel top, Olivia's Sunshine Season and a new scrubbie (not technically on my needles, but on my crochet hook). Now working on the Vilai socks from Cookie A's Sock Innovation book.
What's on my iPhone: Still listening to Regime Change by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan on the Audiobooksnow app. It's like listening to a novel, except that it's nonfiction and very well researched.
What's on my sewing machine: Still put away until the next project.
What's in The Doll's Storybook: This week's story finds Jolena trying to learn Spanish so she can carry on a conversation with the dolls who live in Chile or Argentina next time she visits with the Doll Ski Team. Here's ¿Por qué?
What's my tip of the week: Frozen vegetables or fruit in large bags tend to stick together in storage in a deep freeze. Then it becomes difficult to measure out the right amount for a small number of servings (in our case, two). When they come into the house from the store, I immediately measure them into smaller bags in two-serving amounts. Then I store all the smaller bags together in one place in the freezer. When I plan to use them, I just grab a bag. It's already remeasured. (OK, I just eyeball it, but I've done this for a while.)
Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog, and they are reproduced in print with a few changes.
Book #7 is in the works.
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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