Bats, Beethoven and Booty

Now that I have your attention….not done with doll clothes. Here is Dolly wearing the jeans that are part of her western attire:

The hat and boots came from The Doll Clothes Store. The pattern for the jeans was from Pixie Faire, not as hard as I expected. The shirt was from The Best Doll Clothes Book. Here's a closeup from the front:

And from the back:

We met at Joanie’s on Thursday for Vintage Stitchers. We were a small group, but sometimes that’s nice. Janet was working on her Washington Park Shawl, which will be glorious when it’s done. She was wearing this lovely dropped-stitch cowl she made. She’s getting to be a fantastic knitter.

Joanie had started a new project and needed help. (Difficult yarn, stitch count off. Story short: we frogged it, and I started it over and got her back to where she was.) Joanie is a talented knitter. She had this fruit bat from Knit Your Own Zoo.

Here is the fruit bat awake:

…and asleep.

OK, we covered the bats. Now for the Beethoven. I’ve been practicing my part in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. We only sing the final movement after sitting and listening to all the earlier movements, but it’s a humdinger when we get to sing. Most of the soprano part is in the rafters, long and high.

As for the booty. (No, not that kind of booty.) I received this in the mail:

It was an unsolicited package from a friend in the new Ravelry group, The Frog Prince and his Knitting Community Orphans, as a “Random Act of Kindness,” or “RAK.” We filled out a survey of our likes and interests if we wanted to participate. When we feel the urge to do so, we can choose a subject from among those who filled out surveys and send them something we think they would like. I found this in my mailbox.

Knowing I love knitting AND red wine, she thought it prudent to include this pin on the bag.

If you have to get RAKed, this is the way to do it. Then the next day, this appeared at my door:

All kinds of goodies from Knit Picks. I CO the Vicenza Shawl with the Hawthorne “Lovejoy” that arrived in the box (shown at the bottom of the photo)…once I ascertained that I had enough for the project. Not much to show yet, but I think it’s going to be a fun knit. The pouch now holds my favorite knitting notions, including my new favorite scissors.

I’ve also been taking part in the Spin-in that started Saturday in the The Frog Prince and the Knitting Community Orphans group. Here’s what I have so far:

The fiber is Knit Picks Full Circle 100% wool roving in "Fawn." It will be a blanket someday, when I get my weaving studio back.

I also knit and felted a new iPhone pouch, something I’ve been meaning to do since I got my new iPhone, which is a little taller than the old one and thus a bit too big for the pouch I made before we left on our trip last summer. Here it is with the fabric I used to line it. I don't know if the colors are showing up as they are, but the magenta background is a perfect match. The lining fabric is Connecting Threads batik “Nebula-Ultraviolet.”

I decided that, now that I know how to post a pattern on Ravelry, I would polish this pattern up a bit and publish it, so…if you really want to make one just like mine, you can find the pattern here.

While I was at it, I knit a little purse for Gabi (until she has to give it up for Daphne Jr., when the birthday package gets shipped). That way I could felt them both at the same time and save water.

Just in case you think spring has arrived, we got lots of snow this past week. Most of the snow is now gone, but it’s still pretty cold out, but I woke up one morning to this.

What's on my needles: Still hand-quilting the “Delectable Pathways” quilt. Working on the Aran sweater for Daphne Jr. and socks. Just CO (I admit I have a problem) the Vicenza Lace Shawl. 

What's on my Featherweight: Ready to start on Dolly’s Regency outfit when I get a chance.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to Saint Odd by Dean Koontz. Listing to the Beethoven’s Ninth choral practice recording is cutting into my audiobook time. Reading A Love That Never Tires by Allyson Jeleyne on the Kindle app.

What's in my wine glass: Gato Negro Malbec, a red, of course. 2014 vintage. Drink it while it’s fresh. :-}

What's my tip of the week: White vinegar and salt will remove tarnish from copper and brass. Cheap fix.

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.