All Dolled Up

Most of my fiber time this week was spent making clothes for an 18" Madame Alexander doll, whom I've named Dolly. (Creative, right?) I finished the cardigan. Here it is on the model:

I couldn't get Dolly to hold onto the sleeves of the fleece turtleneck she was wearing, so it was a struggle to git it on her, and the neck was a little tight because of the shirt, but it works.

Dolly's clothes will be a Christmas present for DGD2. I bought a similar Madame Alexander doll and had it sent to her mother, so I don't have to worry that the doll won't get there in time, and I can enjoy working on the clothes using a doll I get to keep.

I made sweats for her from a T-shirt that didn't fit me:

From fabrics in my quilting stash, I made a dress and pinafore...


...with some bloomers to go with the outfit. (I made the socks, too.)

She needed some regular panties, so after some experimentation, I ended up with these:

She will need more pairs, but they should go faster, now that I've established the design. Someone on Ravelry also mentioned that knitted undies work up fast. I may try that, too. I also got sucked into buying some knitting patterns for this kind of doll, like this and this. What can I say? They just fell into my cart. Well, I had some inspiration (encouragement) from the Ravelry group "American Girl Knitters."

I've made some progress on the Aran Pullover for Dolly. The pattern (and the patterns for all of the clothes I've shown you so far, other than the panties, which I improvised from the bathing suit pattern) is from Best Doll Clothes Book by Joan Hinds and Jean Becker. This is the front and back. I was a little confused with the references to other patterns in the book, and having to go back and forth from one page to another (I hate that!) but I finally figured it out.

Common Threads met at Lynda's on Thursday. Julie was finishing up this sweater for her granddaughter.



Julie also has finished the Kitty from Little Cotton Rabbits for her DGD, who picked the colors for the animal and clothes.

Here's the skirt for kitty.


Julie also had finished (she's been busy) this Thanksgiving quilt top. The turkeys are from Buggy Barn's Crazy Turkey quilt. And a panel.

She also had finished this cross stitch:

The framing was done by someone in Ogden who is very creative.

Julie's mother will be getting this one:

She has figured out how to get a lot done. She has extended family living with her full time, but she has a getaway in Washington, just out of St. George, where its warmer and she can be alone to play. It's a mobile home in the mobile home/RV park with pool and other facilities, where we had out quilt retreat. (Color me envious.)

However, she doesn't have her long-arm quilting machine there. She has had my Crystal Stars Quilt since the beginning of the year. It's finally ready, though, the quilting all done and only the binding and label to go. It was definitely worth waiting for! She did a great job with the custom quilting (her design). I threw it on the bed, but didn't adjust the pillows, because they would have covered up the border.

I was inspired for this quilt originally by the Connecting Threads "Sumptuous" quilt kit, now out in a new colorway. However, the hand-quilter in me didn't like all the extra seams, so I redrafted it, as I described in this blog post.

Friday was breezy, but otherwise nice, so we took a hike/walk with pups on the Gorgoza bike trail.

Ms. Moose paid us a visit on Saturday to prune the wild roses in our front yard, a service she provides annually.

What's on my needles:  Aran Pullover for Dolly and dishcloths more finished.

What's on my Featherweight: Doll clothes. Also binding for my Crystal Stars and still two blocks of the Kaleidoscope Quilt, still two blocks to go.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Signature Kill by David Levien, another Audible Deal of the Day. It’s a crime novel. It was gruesome, but well written and interesting. Fans of Dean Koontz, Patricia Cornwell and James Patterson will enjoy it. Also listened to Jodi Taylor’s short story “Christmas Present,” based on her Chronicles of St. Mary series. Very funny and entertaining. Finished The Murder at Sissingham Hall by Clara Benson, a murder mystery set in 1920s-era England on the Kindle app. It was good. Now reading The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer on the Nook app.

What's in my wine glass: Foxhorn Merlot, in the big bottle a very nice choice in bargain wines.

What's my tip of the week: A medical hemostat is useful for quilting and sewing. Too many sts stacked onto your hand quilting needle? No problem. Use the hemostat to pull the needle through. Need to hold onto elastic while sewing it to your doll clothes project? No problem. Use the hemostat to hold onto the elastic. Need to remove a plastic cap with a tear-off strip from a bottle? Use the hemostat to hold onto it and pull. Besides medical supply stores, you can often find hemostats at some quilt shops.

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.