Life Goes On

It has been two weeks since my last regular blog post. Here's a summary of my activities:

We came across this audiobook while getting things ready for our garage sale. I think it says it all!

On Saturday, we held our first garage/moving sale in preparation for our move.

For once, the weather was our friend (in spite of the threats by the weatherman to the contrary). We had a lovely day to haul a bunch of stuff out of our dining room, sit with it for four hours and then haul most of it into the garage. We did sell a few items, so it was worthwhile, and several people who had asked us to save big pieces based on photos came to pick up their items. And now the stuff is in the garage.

The Hoosier Cabinet went to the lady who sits in front of us at the opera. (She's a fiber person, and we always have something to chat about during intermissions.) I had showed her some of the photos we posted on Facebook, and she asked me to send her the one of the Hoosier along with the dimensions. After measuring where she wanted to put it, she said she would take it. She and her husband came to pick it up during our garage sale.

The roll-top desk went to a fly fisherman, also on the basis of the photo. After he said he would take it, he added, "I'm so excited!" We had the following exchange on Facebook Messenger. I thought you would get a kick out of it.

He turned out to be just as funny in person.

The coffee table, rolling butcher block, gas grill, some antique books and other antiques have all moved on to new lives with other families or vendors. Still a few items to sell or dispose of, and we'll be ready to move. I figured out that when we sell something we actually get paid twice. Not only do we have money we didn't have before, but we're saving money by not having to move the stuff.

Then our daughter and our younger daughter-in-law each saw something she wanted in the photos, so my old autoharp is going to Wisconsin for a new life in music, and DH's clock is going to be a DIL/FIL joint project in Oregon after we get moved.

Rocky, on the right, who is 13 1/2, had his annual checkup on Wednesday. Everything was good, except his blood pressure was a little up still (like his aging human parents), so he has had blood-pressure medication added to take with his thyroid pill.

He's in excellent health, otherwise. He had his first EKG, and it was outstanding. His thyroid was perfect on the current dose of medication. His teeth are beautiful. He's getting a little hard of hearing, but otherwise in good shape. So Rocky, DH and I have the medications and hearing issues of old age, but 2-year-old Dusty is the one turning grey.

There have been changes to the family, though. I had planned to buy a new doll after we got moved: Götz Lena in Aspen, who looks like my older niece when she was a child. (I have two nieces, and Mandy looks like the younger one when she was little.) I worried that this doll would be gone by the time we moved, as she is a limited edition. Maxine at My Doll Best Friend promised to hold her for me until I was ready, but DH said, why wait? Who knows when we will have a mailing address again, and what's one little doll to add to the stuff we have to move or take with us? So I ordered her on Friday, May 18th. (If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will know that I have been holding the line on new purchases before our move, so this was a major transgression.)

Lena was due to arrive on May 23, my late MIL's birthday and coincidentally, also the birthday of my older DIL, the one who is a quilter.

The girls always arrive on their birthdays (funny how that happens), so it would be nice to have one with a birthday I can remember without looking it up.

My sewing machine is on its way to Bend, so I had them tuck in a cute little white blouse. She would need shoes (you can't wear ski boots in the house), so I also ordered some sandals and some slip-on canvas shoes. Those items and her ski equipment (skis, poles, helmet and goggles) were all she brought with her.

The girls always get excited about a new arrival. They tried to pass the time by trying on some of my clothes, like this pair of socks.

Lotte checked out the bookcase to see if there might be any books there she was strong enough to open and read. It was a lot of exercise for her.

While thinking about names for Lena, I lost my dear friend Joanie (see last week's blog post), so I decided to name the new doll after her by putting "Jo" in front of her name, so she is Jolena. Joanie would have thought it was a hoot to have my new doll named after her. She enjoyed knitting animals, but she got a real kick out of my girls when first Mandy and then Vroni joined me for visits to her. Vroni sat on the coffee table, staring adoringly at Joanie during the visit where she accompanied me.

According to tracking, Jolena landed in Cincinnati, then flew to Miami on May 22nd. I thought that was strange, but she was still due to arrive May 23 by the end of the day. Maybe she talked them into letting her spend her day of waiting at the beach, but she hardly was dressed for it. That night, she stopped in Nashville on her way back to Cincinnati. Quite a side trip! However, when I got up on the 23rd, she had arrived in Salt Lake City and was purported to be "with courier." She showed up just as I was getting ready to leave to take Rocky for his checkup, so I brought the box in and left it unopened until I got back. (Insert dirty looks from the other three girls.)

It's easy to open the box (or, as the girls say, their coffin), but the real challenge is releasing them from the restraints. We had to get a group photo before Lena took off her ski clothes. It's nice she came with a long-sleeved T-shirt and tights under her ski outfit.

Because she didn't have much else to wear (the aforementioned white blouse and a pink short-sleeved T-shirt from another vendor, which I had reserved for her, was all she had to change into), the other girls loaned her some things. I gave her two braids in front, like the girls who participate in alpine events competitively. She tells me she is an aerialist, but she wants to take up ski jumping and slopestyle, too. (I may have trouble getting her skis away from her. My plan was to send them to Daphne.)

Lena says cooking is her superpower. She helped me make banana waffles in the morning. I made her tie her hair back, so she wouldn't get it in the food. (Don't worry; her shoes haven't touched the floor yet.)

While we were cooking, I learned a lot about Lena. She let me know wanted her middle name to be Marie, so she is Jolena Marie. This is because there is a doll where she came from who looks just like her but doesn't ski, and her name is Marie. Jolena wanted to add Marie's name to hers, so she would always have something to remember her friend. I found Marie on the website of the online store Lena came from, so she could see her friend.

I related this little story on the Facebook group "Gotz Dolls Fanclub," and someone told me she had Marie and had set it up so they could "talk" on Facebook.

Poor Lena has been somewhat neglected during her first few days with us, because I've been busy packing, cleaning, working the garage sale and dealing with the pups, who are much more demanding than dolls. (Our next house has a dog door, or we don't buy it!) I hope to make her a new version of the Russian Dress.* It will be fun to see Lena in a dress.

In the meantime, Saturday night supper was reheated leftovers, so I didn't have to cook. I told the girls, "The first one who blinks does the dishes." This is what I got:

(If you don't think this is funny, you should know that they need sleep masks to sleep; their eyes don't close when they lie down...like mine sometimes.)

*I have had to rewrite part of the pattern, because I learned that the designer had given the rights to the pattern to someone else. The balanced skirt was already mine, but the lace bodice was copied, so the new one will have my skirt and a different lace bodice. 

What's on my needles: Still the Coastal Skies, on hold while I work on the Cabbagetown Jacket for Matti. On the first sleeve, so I will be done soon and can make arrangements to hand him over for the silent auction.

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

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

What's on my wheel: Stanzi is still in hibernation, but I plan to set her up downstairs in the former loom area, so it looks cozy. 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz. I haven’t had much time to listen this week, but Koontz is one of my favorite authors.

What's in my wine glass: Amberhill Special Blend, 2010. One I discovered on a trip to Colorado. Very nice.

What's my tip of the week: If you have a recipe that calls for thickening with cornstarch or flour, you can use psyllium instead. It works just as well, is a healthier alternative and adds soluble fiber, which is good for the digestion and for your heart. I have heard that you can use chia seeds, too, but I haven't tried that yet.

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.

She Did It Her Way

My friend Joanie crossed over the Rainbow Bridge Saturday night.

(Yes, people cross over the Rainbow Bridge, too, not just pets. Otherwise, how would we find all our pets when we get there?)

Joanie has been my friend for the past nearly 18 years. I'm sure everyone who ever met her considered her their friend, too. She had a way of making people feel that she was interested in them and cared about them, and she made people want to spend time with her, too.

My friendship with Joanie started when she showed up on my doorstep right after we moved into our condo in Elk Run, right across from hers, in September, 2000. She came with a basket of goodies, including Moose Poop (better than it sounds).

She told me later that she hadn't included a bottle of wine because we might be Mormon--this is Utah, after all. Joanie and Ev's windows looked down into ours, and she could see everything that went on in our living area, she told me later. As she watched us uncork a new bottle of wine every night, she decided we probably weren't Mormon.

Over the next few years we shared a lot of adventures. I'll never forget how much fun we had. In many ways, we were very different, but that only added to the fun.

We discovered quickly that we shared interests in the fiber arts. We were both knitters, but Joanie was also a spinner and a weaver, and I was a quilter. We shared our passions with each other. Eventually, because of her, I learned to spin and weave...in fact, she talked my husband into buying her loom for me, so I'm now a weaver, too. 

I have thought of Joanie every time I've sat on that bench to weave and will do so until the weft and warp of life is done. Or they cart me off to someplace without Joanie's loom. If I'm not kicking and screaming, then it probably doesn't matter, but then the loom will go on to a new weaver.

Joanie and I did a lot of knitting together, including making "Sam the Ram."

We were both intimidated by the pattern, so we decided to work on it together. Joanie usually came to my house for these sessions. I would read the directions from the pattern for the part we were on, and we would knit that section. We called ourselves the "Sheepish Ladies." 

Sam had a seed stitch pattern across his chest. It's pretty much like ribbing, (K1,P1) across. I knit Continental style, so it went fast for me. Joanie knit English/American style, so she had to move the yarn front-to-back and back-to-front after every stitch, which is much slower. When we got to that part, I would get to the end of my section and go put the kettle on while she continued. We always laughed about that. It wasn't a race. We adapted to each other. That project taught me how to read charts. At some point, everything fell into place. If I hadn't had to figure it out for Joanie, I wouldn't be doing the knitting that I'm doing today.

The horns were complicated, but we got them done. Then it was time to stuff Sam. Joanie found someone she was able to talk into giving us some real fleece from some white sheep for the body stuffing. We were afraid the white should show through the darker head and feet, so I provided some poodle hair (almost the same as sheep, I think).

Joanie introduced me to crafts I knew little about, like Scherenschnitte. (I think that's what this is.) 

One of my most treasured gifts from her is this piece.

It will hang in a place of honor in our new home, as it has in the one we're leaving.

Joanie joined the groups I participated in, Vintage Stitchers and Common Threads. She always had something to share, like this porcupine (or a seal, or a bat).

And she often was inspired by a friend to take on a new project.

Her eye for design showed up in everything, such as this quilt, which we worked on together, paper-pieced pine trees.

Here it is, on the wall, which she made me measure when we were designing the quilt:

(Quilting was done by our mutual friend Julie, who also helped with the piecing.) It was a fun group project for the handful of us who helped her with it.

My friends became her friends. We attended her parties, like her Halloween Spooktakular, where we became acquainted with other friends of hers...many of them, anyway.

Or we went out to breakfast, a special birthday treat. Joanie knew all the best places to eat.

Then there was her wonderful 80th birthday party at a friend's house.

We shared an interest in antiques and went to the Acorn Antique Fair in Ogden a couple of times a year as long as she was able. We would stop for breakfast at Morgan, then drive on to the fair. The last time we went together, we found that she wasn't the only one being wheeled around.

We would have lunch at the train station and then wander through the shops, sometimes ending up at the Needlepoint Joint or Shepherd's Bush before heading home. Occasionally, we would stop on the way home for dessert at Taggart.

I'll never forget the time when we arrived in Morgan for breakfast, only to discover Joanie didn't have any money. At all! She had left her purse at home...but she had her knitting bag with her. I paid for our breakfast, but when she found a Navajo rug at the fair she "had to have," I put it on my credit card. ("Charlie won't mind. He will like the points," I said.) She gave me a check when we got home. I always asked after that, "Do you have your purse?" And we would look at each other and laugh. (The rug turned out to be a good buy.)

Joanie also had a wonderful sense, knowledge and understanding of design that carried over into everything she did. She taught me to embrace neutrals and order, and I hope I brought a little bright color and some spontaneity into her life. For instance, this is her fiber studio:

And this is mine.

I do have an "after" photo, but this is about my friend.

Joanie could always make me laugh. I hope I did the same. After our puppy had a second close call with wild-mushroom ingestion requiring another quick trip to the vet, Joanie gave me this book.

Funny, yet practical.

We shared this love of animals. She loved my animals and I loved hers. My gift to her one year was a framed photo I had taken of her sweet kitty, Kasha.

Joanie wouldn't be bullied or pushed into doing anything she didn't want to do, although--to me at least--she always seemed to finesse the situation so everyone ended up thinking they had had their way or thought she was right. When the time came that she was unable to climb the stairs, Joanie installed chairlifts on each of her two stairways. When she was unable to care for herself, she hired Ana, who also became a friend. Oxygen tubes went everywhere. She didn't want to leave her home. The few times she was in the hospital, she just wanted to go home. She went home and managed to stay in her home until the end.

Joanie, you go, girl!

Thank you, Joanie, for being my friend. You have enriched my life.

Great Northern Caper

The Lace Caper Dress

by Peggy Stuart 

Copied from a photo on Pinterest of a dress made by a Russian designer. This pattern is made to fit Gotz Hannah, Happy Kidz and Classic Kidz. Modifications might be needed to fit other 18-19” dolls. Bodice is worked back and forth. Skirt and sleeves are worked in the round or flat. 

Materials:

Yarn: 4-ply/fingering yarn, 1 50g ball. 45g of Knit Picks Palette was used.

Needles: 2.25mm/US1 - 2.75mm/US2, or size needed to get gauge for bodice, 2 sets of dpns , 2 circulars or 1 long circular 32” or longer for Magic Loop.

Buttons: 3 3/8” buttons.

Other notions: Small amount of tulle, optional, stitch markers or yarn scraps.

Gauge: 32 sts and 44 rows = 4” over stockinette st. (Leaves or diamonds should measure 1 1/4"/3.1cm from top to bottom.

(Note: I have put the buttonholes at both ends. This makes it easier to know where to sew on the buttons.) 

Dress:

Ribbing: CO 69 sts. Work 3 rows of 1 X 1 ribbing, starting with P. You place marker after 13, 10, 23, 10 sts with 13 left, or instead you can wrap the K1 stitches with a contrast yarn (see photo, below).

If you do this, the sts wrapped are the 13th, 23rd, 47th and 57th, with 12 sts left. The yarn is easily taken out and moved upward as you work that st. It's important that the M1L comes before the marked stitch and the M1R comes after.

Bodice (using chart)

Row 1: RS, (Buttonhole Row. Slip markers or move yarn as you come to them.) K1, YO, k2tog, k9, M1L, K1, M1R, K9, M1L, K1, M1R, Work first row of chart on next 23 sts (stitches added with the increases bring it to 25), M1L, K1, M1R, K9, M1L, K1, M1R, K9, K 1, YO, K2tog. (77 sts)  

Row 2 and all WS rows: K3, P to last 3 sts, K3.

Row 3 and all RS rows through row 15, slipping markers or moving yarn as you come to them: K to Marker or yarn, M1L, K1, M1R, K to marker or yarn, M1L, K1, M1R, work row of chart, M1L, K1, M1R, K to 1 st before marker or yarn, M1L, K1, K to end. (133 sts at end of Row 15)

Row 17: (Buttonhole Row) K1, YO, K2tog, K17, M1L, K1, M1R, K25, M1L, K1, starting with P1, work Row 17 of chart, ending with P1 (increases are built into the YOs in chart), K1, M1R, K25, M1L, K1, M1R, K17 K1, YO, K2tog. (141 sts)

Row 19a: (Sleeve divide if working the sleeves in the round) Removing markers or yarn as you come to them, K21 and place next 29 sts on waste yarn. CO 2, continue across 41 front sts according to chart, place next 29 sts on waste yarn, CO 2, K to last end. (87 sts) 

Place markers after 23rd and 64th sts for chart borders. 

Row 19b: (Sleeve divide for working sleeves flat) Removing markers or yarn as you come to them, K21 and place these sts on waste yarn or holder, CO 1, K 29 sts, turn and work 3 rows of 1X1 ribbing, BO. Reattach yarn at underarm, CO2, SSK, (K2, YO, K3, YO, K2, CDD) 3 times, K2, YO, K3, YO, K2, SSK, K next 29 sts, CO1, turn and work 3 rows of 1X1 ribbing, BO, reattach yarn again, CO 2, K to last end. (87 sts)

Row 20 and all WS rows to bottom of chart, Row 48: K3, P to last 3 sts, K3.

Rows 21, 23: K to 1 st before marker, Sl1, RM, work CDD incorporating st previously slipped, replace marker right before CDD just made, continue with chart to last two sts before next marker, Sl2, RM, Sl1 st back onto left needle and work CDD incorporating 1 st from next section, replace marker just after CDD, K to end. 2 sts decreased. (Row 21: 85 sts, Row 23: 83 sts)

Row 25 and all RS Rows through Row 47 except Rows 33 (Buttonhole Row), 35, 37 and 39: K to marker, SM, work chart, SM, K to end. 

Row 33: (Buttonhole Row) K1, YO, K2tog, K to 1 st before marker, Sl1, RM, work CDD incorporating st previously slipped, replace marker just before CDD, continue with chart to last two sts before next marker, Sl2, RM, Sl1 st back onto left needle and work CDD incorporating 1 st from next section, replace marker just after CDD, K to last 3 sts, K1, YO, K2tog. 2 sts decreased. (Markers should now be before first CDD and after last CDD in Row 33.)

Rows 35, 37 and 39: K3, K to 1 st before marker, Sl1, RM, work CDD incorporating st previously slipped, continue with chart to last two sts before next marker,  Sl2, RM, Sl1 st back onto left needle and work CDD incorporating 1 st from next section, K to end, replacing markers as for Row 33. 2 sts decreased. At the end of this section of chart you should have 75 sts.

Bodice (written directions)

CO and work ribbing and place markers as written.

Row 1: RS, (Buttonhole Row.) K1, YO, k2tog, k9, M1L, K1, M1R, K9, M1L, K1, M1R, K1, K2tog, K3, YO, K1, YO, K3, CDD, K3, YO, K1, YO, K3, SSK, K1, M1L, K1, M1R, K9, M1L, K1, M1R, K9, K 1, YO, K2tog. (77 sts) 

Row 2 and all WS rows: K3, P to last 3 sts, K3. 

Row 3: K 12 (to marker), M1L, K1, M1R, K 11, (to marker) M1L, K1, M1R, K2, K2tog, K2, YO, K3, YO, K2, CDD, K2, YO, K3, YO, K2, SSK, K2, M1L, K1, M1R, K11 (to marker), M1L, K1, K to end. (85 sts)

Row 5: K to Marker, M1L, K1, M1R, K to marker, M1L, K1, M1R, K1, (YO, K1, CDD, K1, YO, K5) 2 times, YO, K1, CDD, K1, YO, K1, M1L, K1, M1R, K to 1 st before marker, M1L, K1, M1R, K to end. (93 sts)

Row 7: K to marker, M1L, K1, M1R, K to marker or yarn, M1L, K1, M1R, K3, (YO, CDD, YO, K7) 2 times, YO, CDD, YO, K3, M1L, K1, M1R, K to 1 st before marker, M1L, K1, M1R, K to end. (101 sts)

Row 9: K to marker, M1L, K1, M1R, K to marker, M1L, K1, M1R, K2tog, (K3, YO, K1, YO, K3, CDD) 2 times, K3, YO, K1, YO, K3, SSK, M1L, K1, M1R, K to 1 st before marker, M1L, K1, M1R, K to end. (109 sts)

Row 11: K to marker, M1L, K1, M1R, K to marker or yarn, M1L, K1, M1R, K1, K2tog, (K2, YO, K3, YO, K2, CDD) 2 times, K2, YO, K3, YO, K2, SSK, K1, M1L, K1, M1R, K to 1 st before marker, M1L, K1, M1R, K to end. (117 sts)

Row 13: K to marker, M1L, K1, M1R, K to marker, M1L, K1, M1R, (YO, K1, CDD, K1, YO, K5) 3 times, YO, K1, CDD, K1, YO, M1L, K1, M1R, K to 1 st before marker, M1L, K1, M1R, K to end. (125 sts)

Row 15: K to marker, M1L, K1, M1R, K to marker, M1L, K1, M1R, K2, (YO, CDD, YO, K7) 3 times, YO, CDD, YO, K2, M1L, K1, M1R, K to 1 st before marker, M1L, K1, M1R, K to end. (133 sts) 

Row 17: (Buttonhole Row. There is no M1 at either end of lace section; increases are built in with the YOs) K1, YO, K2tog, K17, M1L, K1, M1R, K25, M1L, K1, P1, (K3, YO, K1, YO, K3, CDD) 3 times, K3, YO, K1, YO, K3, P1, K1, M1R, K25, M1L, K1, M1R, K17 K1, YO, K2tog. (141 sts) 

Row 19a: (Sleeve divide for working  sleeves in the round) Removing markers or yarn as you come to them, K21 and place next 29 sts on waste yarn. CO 2, SSK, (K2, YO, K3, YO, K2, CDD) 3 times, K2, YO, K3, YO, K2, SSK, place next 29 sts on waste yarn, CO 2, K to last end. (87 sts) 

Row 19b: (Sleeve divide for working sleeves flat) Removing markers or yarn as you come to them, K21 and place these sts on waste yarn or holder, CO 1, K 29 sts, turn and work 3 rows of 1X1 ribbing, BO. Reattach yarn at underarm, CO2, SSK, (K2, YO, K3, YO, K2, CDD) 3 times, K2, YO, K3, YO, K2, SSK, K next 29 sts, CO1, turn and work 3 rows of 1X1 ribbing, BO, reattach yarn again, CO 2, K to last end. (87 sts) 

Row 20 and all WS rows to bottom of bodice, Row 48: K3, P to last 3 sts, K3. 

Row 21: K 22, (CDD, K1, YO, K5, YO, K1) 4 times, CDD, K2, K to end. 2 sts decreased. (85 sts) 

Row 23: K 21, (CDD, YO, K7, YO) 4 times, CDD, K to end. 2 sts decreased. (83 sts) 

Row 25: K 22, (YO, K3, CDD, K3, YO, K1) 4 times, K to end. (83 sts) 

Row 27: K 23, (YO, K2, CDD, K2, YO, K3) 3 times, YO, K2, CDD, K2, YO, K to end. (83 sts) 

Row 29: K 24, (YO, K1, CDD, K1, YO, K5) 3 times, YO, K1, CDD, K1, YO, K to end. (83 sts) 

Row 31: K25, (YO, CDD, YO, K7) 3 times, YO, CDD, YO, K to end. (83 sts) 

Row 33: K1, YO, K2tog, K 17, (CDD, K3, YO, K1, YO, K3) 4 times, CDD, K to last 2 sts, YO, K2tog. (81 sts) 

Row 35: K 19, (CDD, K2, YO, K3, YO, K2) 4 times, CDD, K to end. (79 sts) 

Row 37: K 18, (CDD, K1, YO, K5, YO, K1) 4 times, CDD, K to end. (77 sts) 

Row 39: K 17, (CDD, YO, K7, YO) 4 times, CDD, K to end. (75 sts) 

Row 41: K 18, (YO, K3, CDD, K3, YO, K1) 4 times, K to end. (75 sts) 

Row 43: K 19, (YO, K2, CDD, K2, YO, K3) 3 times, YO, K2, CDD, K2, YO, K to end. (75 sts) 

Row 45: K 20, (YO, K1, CDD, K1, YO, K5) 3 times, YO, K1, CDD, K1, YO, K to end. (75 sts) 

Row 47: K 21, (YO, CDD, YO, K 7) 3 times, YO, CDD, YO, K to end.

Continue with skirt.

Skirt section is worked with needle one size larger for more fullness. May be worked flat and seamed by working the K and P sts as they appear and P the YOs. **See further instructions for working flat at end of pattern.

Or: Using 2 sets of dpns, 2 circular needles or one longer circular needle and Magic Loop, work in the round.

Skirt (worked in the round)**

Set-up round: Place first and last 3 sts on 2 dpns and overlap (left over right) and K 1 stitch from each needle (as for a 3-needle BO) together, then P the 2nd and 3rd stitches from each together (this serves to join to work in the round). Then (K2, P2) to the end. (72 sts) You can place stitch markers at the beginning of each of the 18 sections if you want, but the pattern is easy to see after the first few rounds.

Rnd 1: K1, (P2, K1, YO, K1) to last 3 sts, P2, K1 YO. K the next st onto the end to hold the YO in place, and then the beginning of round will be the first of the P2 at the join.

Rnd 2, 3, 4: (P2, K3) to end.

Rnd 5: (P2, K1, YO, K1, YO, K1) to end.

Rnd 6 and all other non-pattern rnds: (P2, K to end of section) to end.

Rnds 9, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29, 33 and 37: (P2, K1, YO, K to last st in section, YO, K1) to end.

There are 414 sts after Rnd 37.

Continue until 40 rounds have been worked. Each section will be 23 sts. (414 sts) BO in pattern after Rnd 40.

Reattach yarn to sleeve opening and with dpns or circular needles PU 1 st at underarm, K to end of round, PU and K 1 st at underarm (31 sts). (K1, P1) to last 3 sts, K1, P2tog (30 sts). Work 2 more rounds of K1, P1 ribbing. BO in rib. 

Finishing: Weave in ends, sew buttons on left back closing extra buttonholes. Sew underarm sleeve seams and skirt if knit flat. Block. (Skirt hem will need heavy blocking.)

Abbreviations:

YO: Yarn over, also called yarn forward. Bring yarn to front and over needle. Work next st. It will make a hole. For this pattern, it is used for making button holes and follows K2tog, so no stitch increase.

CO: Cast on. Use long-tailed CO to start project. For flat version of sleeves and underarms, use backward-loop CO. 

BO: Bind off, cast off.

CDD: Central Double Decrease. Sl 1, K2tog, psso.

M1L: Pick up bar between sts through the front, K through back loop

M1R: Pick up bar between sts through the back, K through front loop

PM: Place marker.

SM: Slip marker.

For longer skirt,  increases may be made with more rounds between, such as every 3rd round for the swirled skirt or every 6th round for the balanced version.

**To work skirt flat, do not join back bands, but work first round as written, but K the last 3 sts. Row 2: Turn, BO 3 sts and work the sts as they appear (K the sts that appear as K, P the stitches that appear as P) and P the YOs. Work all RS rows as written for in the round and WS rows as Row 2, but without binding off any sts. You will need to overlap the bands and sew up the back when you finish the dress.

Note: (Added 2/25/2023) I am unable to respond to comments on this blog. Please contact me on Ravelry if you have questions.

This pattern is protected by copyright.

Any items made from it may be sold.

Copyright © 2018 by Peggy Stuart 

Last update: 5/11/18