Back to Normal?

We couldn't walk on Monday because of the air quality, but we had a pleasant last day with our daughter before she left to go home on Tuesday. While she and her younger brother were here, we had them go through some boxes of their stuff. One item that came out of a box was this Steiff bear from circa 1975 belonging to our daughter.

His name is Bye-bye, and new, he was like this one, only a couple of inches larger. He "growls" when you tip him, but the growl is very short now. Unfortunately, Bye-bye has been blind for many years. Our older son decided to remove the eyes when Bye-bye was young. I've ordered these new eyes, and I hope they will work. I hope to have them installed in time for next week's blog post. 

Also in the boxes were her Madame Alexander "Pumpkin," a life-size doll that was as big as she was when she received it, and her Fisher Price "My Friend" dolls. They are all dirty and need restoration. I'm giving it a try. I started with Mandy. I put her in a lingerie bag and added her to a load of laundry, cold water, and set on "delicate," not that she's really delicate. When she came out, I worked some conditioner into her hair. While that sat in her hair for a while, I gave her a nice rubdown with a damp washcloth dipped in baking soda. I think she's good enough, although I might try to get her body suit a bit cleaner.

She is looking forward to playing with the grands when they come for Christmas. (Fingers crossed!)

I've made progress on the trailer rugs. The first one is almost finished.

I've also made some progress on the Taina Shawl. The "Sea Slug Pink" is growing on me.

I put in some time working on the whole cloth quilt and hope to get more done this week.

Rocky spent his birthday on Tuesday with a walk, some special treats and a new toy. We were not able to get him groomed in time for his birthday, because we postponed his grooming appointment so we could divide it up into two sessions. Thursday was the first "half," the shampoo and brushing out. He seemed tired when we picked him up, but not so exhausted as he was after his last grooming, which was all done one one day, along with Dusty's, which meant he had to spend the entire afternoon there. Dusty had his grooming appointment at the originally scheduled time on August 20th, while Rocky grew an extra serving of shagginess. Here's what he looked like when we brought him home on Thursday.

Friday, he went back for the clip. He seems happy to be rid of all the extra hair, and he seems to be able to see better. I think we probably need to trim the hair from his eyes when it starts to get long again. He isn't totally blind, but the extra hair in his eyes must have hampered him enough that he was bumping into things. He seems to know where he's going now. He's off the pain and anti-inflammatory medications entirely now and doing well for a 17-year-old dog. We treasure every day we have with him. This is his birthday photo, three days late.

I ordered two of this peg rack and put them up on the wall in the fiber studio, end-to-end. This will keep the big Kidz out of the way, when I need the space. The pegs are just under 3" apart, and there are seven pegs on each of the racks. Where the racks come together in the center, the last peg of one and the first peg of the second one are just under 4" apart (so Jolena, in the middle, is a bit lower on the rack. I put them up high, so there should be minimal dust. The racks are white.

I bought a third rack to go in our hall for the children's jackets, although we're already using it now. Buying three racks enabled me to have free shipping, so the third one was almost free. We picked out the wood, rather than the white, for the hallway. While the kids were here, we had Johan (the shortest grandchild) show us how high he could reach to put his coat away. This should help minimize the clutter in the entryway when everyone is here for Christmas.

The proof copy of Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is on its way to me. That means that in a short time, the second book in the series will be available from booksellers.

I'm hoping it won't need any further work, but the proof copy will let us know.

Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: Taina by Eevi Kesäkuu.

What's on my loom: Trailer rugs.

What's on my sewing machine: Winter clothes repair.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. A little more progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Working Without Pay. The Kidz discuss why dolls and dogs are not slaves, even though they don't get paid for what they do and can be bought and sold.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished to His Lordship's Pleasure by Marion Chesney on the Chirp app. Just started The Deserter by Nelson DeMille and Alex DeMille on the Audible app.

What's in my wine glass: Red Blend Portugal by Casa Santos Lima. One of our favorites, and with a pretty label.

What's my tip of the week: Marks can be removed from vinyl doll skin using 10% benzoyl peroxide (acne cream). You can smear it on where "permanent" marker has been used, cover with plastic wrap and leave overnight, all week or for a month, if needed. It can be reapplied until you're satisfied with the doll's skin. It's good to test on a small area (like the bottom of a foot) to be sure you like the effect. Find out more here or here.

Where's my book: Mariah: Stories from the Doll's Storybook is available from booksellers worldwide. If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop. Royalties go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment, and that's 50% of the price when you buy there. Other bookseller take a much bigger cut. The three stories in the book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with few changes. The stories (and links to them) are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

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.

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Moving Ahead

The past week is just a blur. Looking at my photos helped, however. I remember that I made a hat for Pippa to go with the pajamas, though.

I made the hat so I could have a knitted component to the pattern, which made it possible to put the pattern in my Ravelry store.

I had to delete the photos I took that showed how to sew the pajamas, because the file was too big to upload, but I'm hoping the written directions will be sufficient.

There isn't much in the way of patterns for this size doll. The Wellie Wishers, put out by American Girl, are a similar height, but they are slimmer and shorter by a bit. That isn't too bad with something loose and knitted, but the more fitted something is, and the more the fabric lacks stretchiness, the more important fit is.

Now I'm working on outfits for "Mr. Truly Me 74," a boy from American Girl, for Zachary for Christmas.

I'm starting with my Wonderland Turtle using sport-weight yarn. It's designed for the slimmer Götz Happy Kidz, but someone has used the pattern for this size doll, and she included her gauge on her project page, so I'm able to duplicate the gauge and, with luck, the fit.

I will be sewing some things, too. I think I probably have enough patterns to use. It will keep me busy.

The listing for my book on Amazon has the correct price now. It has also appeared on the UK site. It should soon be available for preorder internationally all over the world. You have to search for "Mariah" by Peggy Stuart or "Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook." If you specify "books" you might get it faster, but the link to the page for the US is here.

Everything beyond the costs of production will go to St. Jude. I have a fundraising page set up on their website to become active December 1st., so people will be able to go to that page to donate, if they like, and I think I will be able to include the links for purchasing the book there as well.

I was still making phone calls to get voters to go to the polls all through Tuesday. As you undoubtedly know, we had a long wait to get the results. We were pleased, and by Saturday morning we discovered we had no champagne to chill, so DH had to make a run to Costco. (It isn't as if we knew we might need some bubbly at some point!) We were ready for a chilled toast by the time the speeches were underway.

I was happy to have been part of getting out the vote in Georgia. It was certainly worth the time and effort, and I got to make some new virtual friends. Now they want me to start writing and calling Georgia again in a few days to make sure everyone votes in January for the runoff. Our Christmas plans have been greatly modified, so I should have the time. I've never lived in Georgia, but my parents came from the Deep South, so I feel comfortable with the culture.

What's on my needles: Wonderland Turtle for Mr. Truly Me, just finished the turtleneck collar.

What's on my sewing machine: Waiting for clothes for Mr. Truly Me.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. No progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: In The Book, Pippa finds out a little of the history of the story blog and learns that she is part of something bigger than herself.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: I'm still just listening to music. I started a Dean Koontz novel (his new one), but I didn't get very far.

What's in my wine glass: Domaine Auzias Cité De Carcassonne Malbec. I like this one, but my first taste was after sparkling wine, so maybe...

What's my tip of the week: Lining pans and cookie sheets with parchment paper can save a lot of cleanup. Get the unbleached kind if you can.

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.

Boy Makeover Haircut With Rooted Hair

Here's how Billy got his second haircut:

I washed the hair, then, while it was still wet, I separated the bottom row of roots and hair from the rows above it. Then I trimmed the bottom row to about 1/2". It will stick out, but we will deal with that later.

Then I did the same thing with the sides.

The next rows were cut by combing small VERTICAL sections of  hair away from the head and trimming them:

Here you can see the back is done:

I continued around both sides and the front:

Here's how it looked in back:

Here it is in front:

Then I put a wide elastic band around the head while the hair was still wet:

I pulled the rubber band down under his nose, so it wouldn't mash his eyelashes.

Here he is with the hair dry.

Here's a view from the side....

....and the back:

I found it helps to use a glue stick around the edges of the back and sides. I did this when the hair was dry, then put the rubber band on again. This will need to be redone if the hair is washed again, because glue stick washes out.

If you aren't happy with it when it's done and you can't fix it, you can always shave it off and get a wig.

Lotte’s Pleated Skirt Instructions

Fabric: homespun or shirt/dress fabric, 1/3 yd (for yoke cut on the bias) or 1/4 yd (for yoke cut on crosswise straight-of-grain. (If you have to piece the skirt, you can hide the seam inside a pleat. Just be sure to match up any stripes or plaids. You can use a different fabric for the yoke if you don't have enough of the skirt fabric.

For Happy Kidz:

1/4” wide elastic, at least 8.5” (longer is better, because you can cut it after insertion.)

Cut a strip of fabric 3.75” wide and 35” long for skirt

Cut another strip of fabric 3.5” wide and 12” long, either on the bias or crosswise straight-of-grain, for yoke.

For Little Kidz:

1/4” wide elastic, at least 7"

Cut a strip of fabric 3.25” wide and 28.5” long for skirt

Cut another strip of fabric 3” wide and 10” long, either on the bias or crosswise straight-of-grain, for yoke.

Turn up long edge of skirt 1/4” and press. Turn up again and press again. Sew close to first fold for hem.

Turn under long edge of yoke 1/4” and press. Turn up again 1/2” and press. Sew close to first fold for elastic casing. Mark elastic at 8 1/2”. Attach safety pin to other end of elastic, insert into casing and bring out the other end. Remove safety pin and sew right along the edge of the elastic where it comes out of the casing. Pull elastic through to the mark and sew again at that point. Cut of excess. Right sides together, sew yoke shorter ends together. Press seam open.

Make pleats as wide or as narrow as you like, keeping in mind that pleats should take up three layers. If you have a plaid fabric, you can use the design as a guide. Right sides together, sew short edges of skirt together for a back seam. Do not press. Pin pleats along the raw edge of skirt, starting with the back seam, arranging the seam so it is on the inside of a pleat. Fold and pin each pleat, all the way around. Check and make sure the top edge of the skirt and the bottom edge of the yoke are close to the same size. The yoke will stretch or contract a bit, even if you have cut it on the crosswise straight of grain. When you are satisfied, pin bottom of pleats to match top. Sew 1/8” in from raw edge along top using a basting stitch. Pin bottom of yoke and top of skirt all the way around, right sides together. Use plenty of pins to ease in any excess yoke fabric, if needed. Finish seam with zigzag or straight stitch, or serge. Top stitch yoke right above skirt all the way around.

This pattern is protected by copyright. Any items made from it may be sold.

Copyright © 2019 by Peggy Stuart

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.

Repairs and Registrations

One of the planned chores I had set for myself this past week was to repair this hole in my favorite afghan.

I crocheted it several years ago with Knit Picks City Tweed DK using Shaina Scott's Busy Bee Throw pattern. I wasn't sure I had any of this yarn left, but I went stash diving and came up with a single but unopened ball of yarn, and it was the right color: Enchanted. It was fairly easy to make a new hexagon to replace the damaged one. What wasn't so easy was to pick out the pieces of the damaged hexagon and the black (Obsidian) yarn I had used to edge each hexagon and sew them together. I didn't have any more of that in my stash, so I was forced to salvage and reuse the yarn from the afghan. Here it is after the repair. The new hexagon looks a little less fuzzy than the old ones around it, but time will take care of that.

How did this damage occur? It had to do with a dog and a toy in the lap of someone sitting on the couch under the comfy afghan.

I worked on the Mystery Knit Along shawl project for the Rose City Yarn Crawl. I finished Clue #4, and #5 is due later today. I can't show it yet, as some people want to be surprised about what it looks like, and they may not be as far along. DDIL and I are both making this project, and we will wear them when we participate in the Yarn Crawl next month.

It's fun to be sewing again. I've been working on some clothes for Billy and will start on a wardrobe for Alister to go with him when he goes to live with Zachary in April. I plan to try Billy's clothes on Alister to see if I can use any of the same patterns the way they are or if they need alterations. I started out by making a pair of jeans using the Liberty Jane Boot Cut Jeans pattern from Pixie Faire. It's designed for American Girl (and Boy) dolls, which are a bit larger around than Götz Happy Kidz or Classic Kidz, but I've figured out that only the pants back pattern needs alteration, and I have a pattern piece I substitute when I use this pattern. The only other changes are a shorter waistband and elastic.

The shirt is entirely my own pattern. I usually cut the pocket, collar and cuffs on the bias, but I only had a fat quarter of homespun for the shirt for Billy. I was able to fit all the pieces on and have enough room on the fold by folding the fat quarter lengthwise. The back yoke and cuffs have to be cut out twice, but they fit. There wasn't much fabric left over, though.

My pattern for the shirt is in this blog post.

Then I made Billy a baseball cap, using the Lee & Pearl Classic Ball Cap pattern.

Here it is from the back.

Here's the finished outfit. (He's wearing the shirt over his T-shirt, because it's cold, even indoors.)

I think Billy is happy with his new outfit.

I'm planning to make Billy a dressy outfit, too, with a short-sleeved dress shirt and sweater vest. I CO for the sweater vest on Saturday, and the shirt is cut out and started.

We have been getting more snow, and quite a bit came down on Thursday. We decided that not too many people would be driving around in the middle of the day, so we took our two vehicles to the Department of Motor Vehicles to register them.

In spite of the weather, we managed to get out to walk with the pups. Dusty needs the workout more than Rocky does, but it's good for both of them. Here they are after a nice walk, enjoying the couch. I (keep a quilt on the couch to protect it. I have two that are the right size, and I switch them out when one needs washing.)

Rocky is passed out after our walk, and Dusty is watching the street. They go to the groomer today!

What's on my needles: Still the Mystery Knit Along for the Rose City Yarn Crawl next month. I finished Clue #4 Friday night. The next clue is due today. Also working on a sweater vest for Billy.

What's on my sewing machine: More clothes for Billy.

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

What's in The Doll's Storybook: "Meeting the Elephant," where the dolls wonder about why we have different religions.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith, a.k.a. J. K. Rowling. I liked it, although it was difficult to keep up with all the facts uncovered by the detective. The ending was a surprise, but it made sense. Then listened to The Shark by Mary Burton. The story was good, but I have a problem with explicit sex scenes in audiobooks. I bought it because it was a Daily Deal from Audible, so it didn't cost much. Now listening to Winter and Rough Weather by D. E. Stevenson, one of my favorite authors.

What's in my wine glass: Motto Gung Ho Red Blend 2015. Not bad!

What's my tip of the week: My tip this week is a recipe.  When we have bananas that are getting overripe, I often make us smoothies for breakfast. Sometimes, though, I throw 2 bananas into the blender with 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 cup milk, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 cup rolled oats and 1/4 cup oat bran. I blend it until it's smooth and bake in my 54-year-old waffle iron. (It can also be used to make pancakes, but for that, the oil can be omitted or reduced.)

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.