Fortunate Weather

Well, the hand-quilting of the middle of the Spring Flowers quilt is done. Just the borders to go.

I'm stitching in the ditch around the dark blue inner border and plan on doing something simple in the white outer border. Then the sleeve and binding! My plan is to replace the Pine Burr quilt over the couch in the living room with the Spring Flowers quilt, and then put the Pine Burr quilt back in the Fall. If you've forgotten the Pine Burr quilt, here's a reminder.

Some of our bulbs are finally coming up, so it's fitting to be working on Spring Flowers.

The weather was helpful for our activities this week. The window replacement project is done (for now). The men came back on Monday and replace the two front windows in the living room.

Then they moved on to the kitchen.

Here's the kitchen window, finished.

The weather during the three days they worked on the windows was pleasant. It rained on Saturday, when they were off. They finished installing the windows they started with each day, so they didn't have to leave any windows open overnight. We hope to replace the others later on, but we have to spread out the costs because there is so much to do.

You may remember from last week that I needed something to knit when it got too dark in the evening for hand-quilting, so I started a turtleneck sweater for Mandy. I finished it on Friday. I think it's a good color for her.

She's an important member of the cast of The Doll's Storybook. Friday's story required an outdoor photo shoot along the trail near our home. I attracted a lot of attention while I was setting up the shots and taking the photos. I handed out a few cards. The story, Ups and Downs, found Mandy, Billy and Mariah out on the trail, throwing the frisbee, when they notice all the pinecones lying around. Mandy has to reach into her little vinyl brain to try to answer their questions.

We walked to the dog park twice last week. You can see how close it is to our house from this screen shot of the Walk for a Dog app. Less than a mile and a half round-trip.

The pups had a good time, and there are always interesting people to talk with.

This week's big home-improvement project is going to be the pad and driveway for our trailer. As I write this, their equipment has arrived, and we have moved our 5th wheel out to the street.

What's on my needles: Finished the Wonderland Turtle turtleneck sweater for Mandy in Macaw Palette.

What's on my sewing machine: Still doll clothes for Daphne's birthday doll, Marie.

What's in my hoop: Still the Spring Flowers quilt, but just the inner and outer borders to do. 

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Ups and Downs. Several of the dolls play outdoors and learn some lessons about pinecones.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished listening to Sir Philip's Folly by M. C. Beaton (aka Marion Chesney). Then listened to The Mésalliance by Stella Riley. Now I'm barreling through Marion Chesney's "The Waverley Women" series, having read The First Rebellion and Silken Bonds. Now I'm reading The Love Match. I haven't made up my mind about the Romance Package yet, because not all the books in the package have a "Steaminess" rating, and books by some authors I really like don't seem to be included. Many of the books included are already permanently in my library. The books in the Package are just on loan. You can keep up to 10 in your library at any one time. Then you can remove them to get additional books. Marion Chesney's novellas are 4-5 hours each, so rather expensive to buy per hour of entertainment, so I'll try to listen to as many as I can in this first month, which is up the middle of May.

What's in my wine glass: Terrain Vineyards Red Blend 2015, which should be Mandy's favorite wine, because she's a Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015--same vintage.

What's my tip of the week: Parchment paper is a good substitute for foil for many purposes. It has the added benefit of being naturally nonstick. If it doesn't get too messy, it can be wiped off and saved to use again.

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.

Windows on the World

Thursday saw the beginning of the installation of our new windows. 

They changed out the most difficult one first (the one over the porch) and then moved on to the master bedroom windows, which would not open.

By late afternoon (as you can tell by the sun shining on the western walls of the house), they were finishing up the windows in our bedroom.

Friday they finished up the upstairs, including the window in my fiber studio, which was badly warped and wouldn't open. (It was a good thing we didn't have to escape a fire!) They also changed out one of the living-room windows, one that's around the corner to the right.

You can see that they are enlarging the window frames, which will change the look of the house a bit.

Today they are working on the other two living-room windows and the one over the sink in the kitchen. I should be able to show those next week.

The gentleman who built the rail to our back deck returned to paint it. I think I only showed it covered with a tarp previously. Here's what it looked like before painting.

We had a lot of rain, which postponed the painting, but a break in the weather made it possible to get it done. Here's the finished job:

We're looking forward to using the deck, now that the weather is warming up. The warmer temperatures have made walking the pups more fun. I try to get out with them every day, usually for a walk, but sometimes for a trip to the dog park, so Dusty can play with other dogs. Rocky likes socializing, too.

Now that the snow has melted, we are using the Larkspur Trail more. There are entrances to the trail across the street and a few houses down in each direction. Here's what it looks like.

There are frequently people walking or on bicycles, usually with a dog or two. Each entrance to the trail has a poopie-bag dispenser and a trash can. We can include the trail with a walk around the block, as we did on this walk.

As an alternative, we can walk further on the trail and not use the streets much at all, as we did on this walk.

I really like using the Walk for a Dog app on my phone. I know how far I've walked, and the app donates to Best Friends (my choice of dog-related charity) based on how much people who have chosen Best Friends walk over time. Every once in a while, I get an email saying that a donation has been made. It's supported by advertising.

Meanwhile, I finished a twinset for Daphne's doll, Marie, shown here modeled by Jolena.

I still want to sew a coat or jacket for the doll, but I will need to buy some suitable fabric first. In the meantime, I cast on a turtleneck for Mandy, who should look good in green.

I'm finally making some progress on the Spring Flowers quilt. Here's what it looked like early in the week.

I started in the middle and have been working toward the outside. When this photo was taken, I only had a little more than half of the outer half-star blocks and plain blocks to quilt. You can see the unquilted areas stretching from the upper left of the photo, around the bottom to right side. As I write this, I have reached the half-star block in the center of the bottom of the photo.

I haven't figured out yet how I will finish the blue inner border and the white outer border. I might quilt in the ditch (as they say) and then do some kind of cross-hatching, but we'll see. It will be nice to get it done.

Holy week was a busy time, because the choir at Trinity was to sing for the Maundy Thursday service, then the Easter Vigil on Saturday night (which starts out somber and ends up almost a party), followed by two services on Sunday. There was a lot of music to learn, and the three services in such a short time was exhausting, but it went well, I think, and I feel like I'm contributing something useful and appreciated.

The Doll's Storybook this week is called Celebrations. It showed Charlotte preparing for Passover with a bit of the story of how the Israelites escaped from Egypt. (Much of the story is too gruesome for dolls or small children, and including all the details would have made the story too long anyway.) I felt that most of my readers are more familiar with Christian traditions, so I focused on Passover. However, the story does show Veronika out in the garden, hiding Easter eggs.

The dress in the photo is what she was wearing when she came to live with me. It was hand-smocked made for her by her previous owner, a gentleman named Simon Purple. Her original factory outfit was still available to purchase separately, so I was more than happy to receive this truly one-of-a-kind dress instead. 

For some cuteness this week, I thought you would like to see this photo of our granddaughter and fellow doll-lover Daphne, enjoying the ballet.

I hope all my readers had a wonderful holiday and a happy Earth Day!


What's on my needles: Wonderland Turtle turtleneck sweater for Mandy in Macaw Palette.

What's on my sewing machine: Still doll clothes for Daphne's birthday doll, Marie.

What's in my hoop: Still the Spring Flowers quilt, with quite a bit of progress made. 

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Celebrations. Charlotte explains about Matzoh, while they fix the food for her Passover Seder, and Veronika hides Easter Eggs.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished listening to Molly by M. C. Beaton. Then listened to The Parfit Knight by Stella Riley, which I really enjoyed. Riley is a new author for me. I found the novel to be entertaining and authentic and included a lot of subtle humor. One of the main characters is blind, which made it interesting from the standpoint of a character with a disability. Both of these novels were included at no extra charge with Audible's Romance Package. Although the predominance of the books available in the package are bodice-rippers and books with a naked male torso on the cover (which indicates to me that the novels are more X-rated than interests me), there are some sweet, funny stories included, and many of them have a "steaminess" rating available, so you can find out ahead of time whether the story is likely to suit your taste. Although I prefer a more balanced diet of books rather than just romance, I'm in the free trial time, so I want to evaluate if it's worth, to see if it's worth it to pay the monthly fee. Besides, I'm listening to as many of M. C. Beaton's novels as I can, because at 4-5 hours each, it's a shame to waste a whole credit for one, so I'm now listening to Sir Philip's Folly by M. C. Beaton (aka Marion Chesney). 

What's in my wine glass: Montevina Skyland Ridge Barbera, 2016 vintage. Nice.

What's my tip of the week: A plastic lid from a large jar makes a great coaster for a wine bottle to protect your tablecloth or countertop, or for that bottle of dishwashing liquid, a bottle of spray cleaner or a steel-wool soap pad under the sink. This one came with a big plastic jar of roasted nuts.

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.

Work or Play?

The big event of the week was our viewing of Missing Link on Friday. We snapped a photo of the credits when son Peter's name came up.

In my opinion, it's the best Laika film yet. After the movie let out, we went to an Italian restaurant for dinner.

Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, we went to Walmart so I could do a photo shoot for the week's story in The Doll's Storybook. You can find the story here. This photo will give you a hint as to what it's about.

Many thanks to the Walmart employee who played along and allowed his hand to be in the photo.

We bought Daphne a doll for her birthday, which is the middle of next month. Here's the one we bought:

She is the Götz Happy Kidz doll named Marie and is almost identical to Jolena, except Jolena has a part in the middle, and Marie's hair is pulled back. Now I'm working on outfits for Marie, and Jolena is (logically) acting as my model, because she has the same coloring. Marie arrived in Wisconsin on Friday and is resting in her box (possibly in the parents' closet) until Daphne's birthday.

I finished this outfit on Wednesday.

The turtleneck is my pattern. The pleated skirt is made from quilting cotton. The instructions are here.

Next I made the pajamas, using my pants pattern and the Little Abbee Slumber Party pattern for the top, altered to fit.

I'm sending Marie this bathing suit, which is made from a girls' sock, and so will have to make another one when I get a chance. (This is Vroni modeling.) I thought Daphne would like it because of the kitty face on the top.

I'm working on a twinset now in "Huckleberry Heather" Palette yarn. I plan to make some slacks to go with it. Marie will need a coat, even though it will already be getting warm. I haven't figured out what to do for that yet.

I worked a little bit on the Spring Flowers quilt. After Marie's wardrobe is finished, I hope to be at it most of my free time until it's finished. With luck, I can finish it while it's still spring. then I will have to find another wall for it.

Cooking always cuts into my sewing/knitting time. I usually bake our bread. This one was for sandwiches. I use the bread machine on the dough cycle.

Finally, I thought we needed some more cuteness this week. Here's Soren and Louis, napping together.

Well, they are partly on a quilt. It's this one:

What's on my needles: Twinset cardigan for Marie.

What's on my sewing machine: Doll clothes for Daphne's birthday doll, Marie.

What's in my hoop: Still the Spring Flowers quilt. 

What's in The Doll's Storybook: The Birthday Gift.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Revenant Eve by Sherwood Smith. It was a good story, although it was the third in the series. Fortunately, the author fills in the blanks for us. I would have listened to the others first, but this was the first one available to me as an audiobook. Maybe someday I'll get to listen to the rest of the series. Now listening to Molly by M. C. Beaton. 

What's in my wine glass: Patón Clemente Tempranillo Crianza 2016, from La Mancha. Delightful.

What's my tip of the week: Beware of leaving your sewing pins on a magnetic pin holder for too long. Eventually the pins will become magnetized as well and stick together. This is the kind I mean.

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.

April Showers

April started with some rainy weather....

....and a Knit Along (KAL) on Ravelry using a mystery pattern. Mariah was due for more clothes, so I picked a color that would look good on her from among the few balls of yarn I had in the right thickness, DK. The designer is Sharisse Dunn of Sugar Grove South. The project doesn't have a public name yet. If you're on Ravelry, you can still participate in the KAL, which lasts through the end of April, although it's no longer a mystery, because there have been a few finished projects posted.

The yarn is City Tweed DK in Jacquard from Knit Picks. For the capelet, I didn't have any DK in a color that would be good with the dress, so I used Knit Picks Palette held double. The color is Calypso Heather. The buttons were among some I bought in Germany during one of our trips to Europe.

Participants in the March KAL received a lovely pattern free from the designer who was the sponsor, Jacqueline Gibb. It's called Fiesta Fun. I started it last week and then put it aside to make the outfit for the April KAL. I made it for Vroni, who is pretending to be a Flamenco dancer, complete with castanets.

I think we need a story to go with this photo.

I've started another Wonderland Turtle. It's for Charlotte. I'm using Palette again, this time in Fuchsia.

Speaking of stories, in this week's story in The Doll's Storybook, Charlotte and Billy take their dogs for a walk and begin to wonder what makes the seasons change.

I managed to get in a little bit of hand-quilting this week. There is still a lot to go, but here's a look at what I'm quilting. It's my Spring Flowers quilt, hand-pieced and hand-appliquéd.

The stop-motion film Missing Link comes out Friday (April 12th). Be sure to see it if you can, and stay for the credits. Our younger son worked on the film. "Peter Stuart" should be under Special Effects. Here's the link to the trailer...which is not missing. We're planning on going on Friday.

The grandkids are growing up. Here's a shot of Zachary playing soccer/football. (He's the one in the red cap.) His birthday is today (April 8th). 
Happy birthday, Zachary!

We had a rainbow yesterday (besides the rainbow of colors in my fabric and yarn stash, which is always with me). This one showed up when I was on my way to church on Sunday, courtesy of the rain. I snapped the photo while waiting for a train to go by, so no laws were broken.

With rain every day, we still managed to fit in a walk almost every day, during breaks in the weather.
What's on my needles: The Coastal Skies Shawl. Every week I knit a couple of rows on it. I think it will be big. Also the new turtleneck, called The Final Turtleneck of the Season. Lotte (Charlotte) is due for something new, so this one is for her.

What's on my sewing machine: Getting ready to start sewing for Daphne's birthday doll.

What's in my hoop: Still the Spring Flowers quilt. I managed to make a little progress on it this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: It's Spring. What causes the seasons? The dolls ask Mandy.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Frankenstein, Lost Souls by Dean Koontz and then Frankenstein, The Dead Town, also by Koontz. That was the last of the series. Then I listened to School for Psychics, by K. C. Archer. It was an interesting story, but a little too Young Adult for my interests. It was a Daily Deal from Audible. I probably won't get the next one, even though the story was left hanging. Next I listened to The Darkwater Bride by Marty Ross. This book is a freebie for members from Audible. We get some choices each month. It's performed like radio theater, with several actors playing the various parts. It's a good story. Rather Hitchcock-ish. Now listening to Sherwood Smith's Revenant Eve.

What's in my wine glass: Starlight Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon 2017. You can almost taste the gum trees in this Australian wine.

What's my tip of the week: Do your shoes come untied? Here's a quick and easy way to tie them so they stay tied, but you can still pull the ends to untie. I think the person demonstrating the technique is left-handed, but you can get the idea. You start out tying the shoe the normal way, but you put the loop through twice. I learned this technique back in the mid-'70s from our older son's teacher. I've tied my shoes this way ever since.

https://youtu.be/YwqQvKtmefE

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.

Steek, Not Steak!

Autocorrect has finally learned that steek and steeking are acceptable words in the English language. Its most common word to substitute (as in "change it to") is steak, with steep a close second. However, this is a steek:

For those of you who don't know what it is, it's a cut in knitted fabric. It's used when you knit in the round with the intention to cut it in one or more places before making up the garment. It allows you to work always on the right side, a real advantage for working in two colors. Some stitches are added to each side of where the cut will go. With all but the stickiest, clingiest yarn, some form of stabilization is used. I prefer machine sewing just inside the steek. This can be done before or after cutting. The machine stitching keeps the knitted fabric from fraying. In this project, I knitted the two sleeves together in the round separated by steeks. Here you can see the two sleeves after the first steek was cut. I like to make two lines of stitching in one direction between the first and second vertical row of stitches and between the second and third. I cut the two pieces apart by cutting right down the middle, along the wider dark stripe. 

I do the same thing with the front.

I end up with three pieces for this doll sweater.

Then I trim by cutting along the row of stitches between the second and third vertical row when I sew the sleeve seams or when I add the front bands to the body. It leaves a very narrow but stable seam allowance. I do the same thing with the armholes (armscye is the technical term). For this project, I grafted the shoulders together first, but they can be bound off and sewn or connected using a 3-needle bind-off. For doll projects, I prefer grafting (using the Kitchener stitch) because there is less bulk.

I started this cardigan for Jolena last June. With the move, no access to my sewing machine and other projects, it got pushed aside. However, I finished it this week, so here is Jolena, maybe looking a little proud of her new Finnish cardigan.

I called this one Kisu Takki, which means "Kitty Jacket" in Finnish, because of the kitties. It's a free pattern, suitable for learning to make steeks in a project that is more than a sample and yet small enough not to frighten you to death when you have to cut it apart. As is typical for Scandinavian sweaters, the raw edges of the front steek is enclosed in a knitted band that is folded over on itself. I used a dark green for lining the hems, and the front and neck bands.

The free pattern is here. One person besides me has already made it, but she used the directions for my Stavanger Cardigan along with the new charts. (The Stavanger has red trim in place of the green, and sheep instead of kitties, with a geometric motif in place of the fish.)

Before finishing the Kisu Takki Cardigan, I finished up Alister's wardrobe. I was running short of time, so I altered Billy's PJs to fit. All that was needed was to shorten the sleeves. Now I have to make Billy some new ones.

Alister couldn't go to Zachary's home without some kind of bathing suit, so I pulled out more batik from my fabric stash. All he needs is a boogie board.

I had been concerned about Alister's leg, which bent at an odd angle, a common issue with Kidz n Cats dolls like Alister. While he was wearing his bathing suit, I thought I would try to fix it. I did a little research, which led me to believe I might be able to tighten up the joint with a simple procedure. Here he is before:

And here he is after.

All I needed to do was (please skip this paragraph if you're squeamish) pull his leg (and I'm not pulling yours!) until it was out of the socket but still attached by the elastic...um...ligaments, twist it 360º and let it go gently back into the socket.

Alister is on his way to his new home, and may already be there, as he was supposed to arrive today. Next Monday is Zachary's birthday, so it's in plenty of time. Alister wrote Zachary a letter describing his life in Houston before he came to live with me after Hurricane Harvey destroyed his home. He is no longer being produced, as Kidz n Cats has stopped production. I guess you could say he is a collector's item now, but he has been looking forward to going to live with Zachary. I'm sure he will have a good life there.

Friday's The Doll's Storybook was called A Good Turn. I enter into the story line by being sick in bed, although I remain offstage. (I'm not currently sick. This is a work of fiction.) Here's a photo from the story. See if you can guess what the dolls are up to.

If you only read one of my stories, this should probably be the one. People have been telling me it's the best one. I did have a lot of fun writing it and taking the photos. If you read it, I hope you enjoy it and share it with any youngsters in your family or circle of friends.

Saturday, the choir at Trinity sang for the memorial service for the wife of a choir member. It was a beautiful service. I had met her at church, but didn't really get to know her. She was three years younger than I am. She and her husband were on a cruise off the coast of Mexico (if I remember correctly) when she developed pneumonia. She was evacuated by helicopter to a hospital on the mainland, where she succumbed to the disease. Her immune system was compromised due to her second kidney transplant a few years ago. I assume she was on immunosuppressant drugs to keep her from rejecting the kidney. I have my issues, but I feel blessed that nothing that's wrong with me is life-threatening, at least as far as I know.

The weather has warmed up. The snow in the yard is almost gone. Friends in Park City have been posting photos of recent snow with huge walls along the streets in our old neighborhood, Summit Park. I'm so glad to be here. We have been walking just about every day. On Saturday, we decided to hit the Larkspur trail for part of our walk, which brought the total "mileage" to just over a mile. There were some muddy patches, but it was pleasant.

I hope everyone is enjoying the spring weather, or if some readers are in the Southern Hemisphere, the fall weather. Happy April Fool's Day!


What's on my needles: Fiesta Fun, a dress for Vroni using the pattern I got for free for participating in the KAL for Jacknitss' patterns, Designs by Jacqueline Gibb. I'm planning on making the dress version. Just cast on, so nothing much to show yet. I'm using Knit Picks Telemark in "Caution." (The yarn is long discontinued, but some of my stash has been around for a while.)

What's on my sewing machine: Clothes for Billy. He will be needing new PJs, and I want to make him some Cargo pants similar to the ones I made for Alister, or perhaps Capri-length.

What's in my hoop: Still the Spring Flowers quilt. I managed to get a little quilting done this week, but not much.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: A Good Turn, where I enter into the story, offstage.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Frankenstein: City of Night, Book Two by Dean Koontz, then Frankenstein: Dead and Alive, Book Three. Now listening to Frankenstein: Lost Souls, Book Four. I expect to finish up the series this week. I enjoy Dean Koontz. His books are full of suspense and horror, but also humor, and his writing is very poetic. This series has a little more humor than usual.

What's in my wine glass: Révélation Cabernet-Merlot Pays D'Oc de Badet, Clément & Cie, Elevé dans nos chais ("Raised in our cellars"), 2017. Very nice. From France, in case you couldn't figure that out. 

What's my tip of the week: A while back I mentioned that when I remove the kitchen trash bag, I put four bags in the bottom, folded one at a time, before lining the trash can again, a technique I learned from motel stays. I recently came across this quick way to line the trash can with the new bag, and I've been using it. Maybe you will want to give it a try. So easy a kid can do it. Or maybe a doll?

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.