Raising the Steeks

This is Carter.

After an internship as a model for our grandsons' doll clothes, he will be completely outfitted with his own clothes and go on to his paying job (paying, in that he will be bringing in money) at Habitat for Humanity as part of their silent auction in October. After that, he will go to a new home, most likely with a child who will cherish him and his wardrobe. 

Carter came to us from My Sibling and My Pal Dolls and came with his own denim carry tote (so he can go everywhere), a lttle plastic-free shopping bag for his groceries and a booklet on how to protect the environment. It's a good thing he arrived on a warm day. Carter definitely needs some winter clothes at our place. I'll be making him some sweaters, and changing him into some warmer pants.

He told me he was named after the former president, who has been such a supporter of Habitat for Humanity.

One of the first things I did was to try Gabi's sweater on him to help me in designing a sweater for him and other dolls his size. I found it tighter than I liked for this kind of sweater.

It fit him about the same as it did Molly, who came to Vintage Stitchers with Janet, just for the purpose of trying the sweater on for size.

Molly is an American Girl doll. She has smaller shoulders than Carter, but her arms are longer. The chest measurements are about the same. Looks like I'll be writing the pattern for another steeked doll sweater very soon.

In the meantime, Vroni's sweater is coming along. I'm on the second sleeve now, but here it was with the first sleeve underway.

My test knitter, Penny, encouraged me to draw up a full chart for the body and the sleeve. I'm very grateful to her, because it turned out to be easier than I thought, and I can see it will make it easier for people who want to follow my pattern. I'm also grateful to Simon, who inspired me to make Fair Isle sweaters for dolls (by making some himself) and then sent Vroni to live with me.

I've learned a lot about making these sweaters and am hoping to have very clear directions when I get done with this one.

In other doll news, Dolly got her ears pierced.

Actually, they are stick-on rhinestones, and they can be removed easily.

I found them at Michael's. I'm going to check with DD first to see if she thinks having a doll with pierced ears might make Daphne want to get her ears pierced. If I get the OK, a package of these will be in the birthday present in May.

The snow is melting and after the crazy blizzard a week ago that resulted in my getting home at 11:20 PM from a rehearsal that got out at 9:10 PM, we haven't had any more snow. I was happy to get to Vintage Stitchers, first time in a month. I had picked up my Kaleidoscope quilt from being quilted. I took it to Vintage Stitchers to show off the custom quilting done by Cindy, who works out of Davidene's Quilt Shop. I hope to get the binding on it this week.

Barbara had finished this great quilt.

The backing fabric she found for it is perfect. That's it, hanging on the chair.

Marilyn had this great machine appliqué quilt.

Barbara showed off her Dresden Plate quilt, because Janet was working on one.

Janet put down the samples of background fabric under her finished Dresden Plates, to get our advice about which one was most suitable. We all voted for the one on the left, which has a printed pattern that resembles a loose-weave fabric.

The quilt is for her daughter, who is getting married. Several of us went through our batiks and donated the colors she wanted, so she could have a variety.

Janet has been making pussy hats for friends.

With bulky yarn they go fast, and everyone wants them. She can make one in an evening, about as fast as making a dishcloth. Janet is so generous with her time.

Here's some added cuteness and a taste of spring, for my readers who live in parts of the country where spring comes when it's supposed to: our two younger grandsons planting strawberries at a local nursery.

Speaking of "spring," the pups are happy to get out in the backyard again, which they have been able to do the last few days, first with supervision: someone to keep them away from the house, where large blocks of ice were coming off the roof, a serious danger. We then graduated to letting them out alone for short periods when we couldn't see any snow hanging off the edges of the roof. Now the roof is clear...until the next blizzard.

What's on my needles: The second sleeve on the “Vroni’s Lavender Fields” sweater.

What's on my Featherweight: Steeks for “Vroni’s Lavender Fields” sweater are finished. Waiting for the next one.

What's on my loom: I still haven’t started anything with the leftover warp.

What's on my wheel: Stanzi still looking at me reproachfully.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished listening to D. E. Stevenson’s Vittoria Cottage. Now listening to Lies, Damned Lies, and History by Jodi Taylor. On the Kindle app, I’m still reading Dying to Read, The Cate Kinkaid Files Book #1.

What's in my wine glass: Fish Eye Shiraz. Always nice value.

What's my tip of the week: Like creamed soups but don’t want to fill up on cream? Want to add protein to a boxed soup? Use a carton of silken tofu to make your soup creamy without the fat or to increase the protein for a quick meal. Blend in the blender or use an immersion blender or egg beater to mix the tofu with some liquid. The soft tofu is the easiest to blend, but you can use even the extra firm with the same results. You might need to adjust the seasonings, because the tofu doesn’t add any.

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.