All Good Things....

All good things come to an end. We said goodbye to more stuff, including our mattress.

We found the recipient of the free mattress in the Online Yard Sale on Facebook, one of the good things about the website.

We also used some classic newspapers DH had been saving. Great packing material, and it kept me entertained while I worked. 

One of my favorite headlines from the inside was "Nude Swimmers Make Waves at Cal State Fullerton." Funny I don't remember that one.

Also unearthed was DD's look-at dolls. I will send them to her. In the basket with them was this pre-1980 Madame Alexander Marme doll. The only place in the house tidy enough to take her photo was on the mattress we were about to give away.

Her joints are very loose, but with restringing she will be good as new. I'll try to get that done before the kids come for Christmas.

Janet stopped by on Friday to drop off this card she made.

Everyone at Vintage Stitchers had signed it. It made me cry. What great friends I've had, and I definitely will stay in touch.

There was also a nice gift card. (Janet said it was for quilting supplies, not food or gas, so I had visions of us standing on the street corner, begging for money for food while I had this nice gift card in my purse.) Best of all was this photo Diane took two weeks ago at the luncheon they held for me. these are some of the best friends I've ever had.

I don't know if they will keep this up, but they took photos at the meeting I missed. A couple of finished quilts and a top. This was Barbara's masterpiece, lovely appliqué.

Janet had this top finished. It was nice to see it all done.

I think this is Rebecca's. That looks like the top of her head and her feet, and I think I remember her working on it.

You saw this top of Marilyn's in June, and here it is quilted: 

The rose hips are magnificent this year. Wish I had time to pick them and make some jam. There are hundreds!

I managed to get one more story done early in the week. That may be all I will get scheduled for a while, but they are scheduled through September 14th. Here's this week's story.

The members of the choir at my church had a farewell party for me on Sunday after church. I'll try to include photos next week.

School starts soon for the kids. Here are Daphne and Zachary in their new school duds.

I'm skipping some of the "What's on my..." items this week, as everything is packed up except my knitting and hand quilting projects, and I had no time to work on them.

Today is moving day!

What's on my iPad/iPhone: The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill by Julie Klassen. No further.

What's in my wine glass: I'm not even looking at the label now.

What's my tip of the week: Listen to your inner voice. There may be unexpected wisdom there.

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.

Sweat Shop

Poor dolly is nekkid. All her clothes have gone to her as-yet-unnamed counterpart in Wisconsin. She looked good in the outfits before she got stripped down, though.

The Aran pullover I had so much trouble with came out nicely in the end. It’s the”Fisherman Knit Sweater” from Best Doll Clothes Book by Joan Hinds and Jean Becker. It’s a good pattern, but the authors refer you to other sweaters in the book for shaping, but not until after they tell you how to make the pattern. If you want to make this sweater, I recommend reading my notes on the Ravelry page for the project to avoid the pitfalls I encountered. The yarn is Knit Picks Stroll Sport in “Bare.”

The skirt came from McCalls Crafts 2506, only I put elastic in the waist instead of cord.

Dolly is ready for hiking in her hiking outfit. The shirt came from the pattern and the shorts from the book (see links above).

For the hat, I used the pillbox hat brim for the sides of the hat and the hat top from the pattern McCalls 2506. I used the witch hat brim from the doll clothes book, only I made the witch hat brim 1” shorter all around. I made two hat tops; put one inside-out inside the other and sewed them to the brim, which was two brims sewed right-sides together, turned right-side out and top stitched with concentric circles 1/4" apart.

Dolly's slippers came from this Ravelry pattern. I used Swish Worsted in “Lotus” and added a pom-pom to the top front of each slipper.

I improvised Dolly's mittens from this pattern, but knit it in the round with slightly thicker yarn, in this case, Swish Worsted in Hollyberry.

They’re really thick, but the package was going out Saturday, and the thicker yarn went fast. This was important, because I finished them about 9:00 PM Friday night, then still had to wrap all the packages going in the box to DD and her family. The mittens have a double-stranded crochet chain cord connecting them, which will go through the coat’s sleeves, so the doll doesn’t lose one in the snow.

Except for the boots, Dolly’s rain outfit was purchased online from The Doll Clothes Store in Silverton, Oregon. The boots came with Dolly. She nearly cried when she parted with them. I’ll have to make it up to her.

I packaged up the outfits in separate zipper bags, so it would be clear which things go together, in case that’s important. Here’s what it all looked like ready to ship. (That boxed outfit in the back was a freebie that came with Dolly. The second doll didn't come with it, so I sent that along, too.)

Poor Dolly really needs some clothes. I enjoy looking at her, so I will have to get on it when I have time. 

Vintage stitchers had their annual potluck holiday party/meeting on Thursday. Included in our show-and-tell was Julie’s album, which she had made as part of a class at Davidene’s in working with felt and embroidery. The album contains all her resource info.

Julie had finished the kitty she was making for her granddaughter, who picked out the colors for the cat and the dress.

Diane’s showed us this quilt top. She is going to put on a border, and she collected suggestions on how to deal with it.

Barbara was making floor pillows for her grandkids. You use a twin sheet folded lengthwise into a tube overlapping in back. Then you turn it right-side out and sew compartments to hold bed pillows.

Our first performance of the Park City Singers holiday concert was held Sunday evening. As always, it was fun. We still have one more performance to go this week. After that I can concentrate on the music for Christmas Eve.

Our annual holiday letter is in the mail. Whew!

Finally, we got more snow. I hope we can get out with the pups and do some snowshoeing soon. Everyone stay warm!

What's on my needles:  Only the Trickle Socks now.

What's on my Featherweight: Finished with doll clothes for now. Still sewing on the binding for my Crystal Stars and waiting on the last two blocks of the Kaleidoscope Quilt. After I clean up my fiber studio. It looks as if a tornado went through there. (I was the tornado.)

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Listening to Christmas and holiday music. Still reading The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer on the Nook app.

What's in my wine glass: Nathanson Creek Cabernet Sauvignon, with the frog on the label...of course. Based on my past, I see lots of frogging in my future.

What's my tip of the week: Precise cutting is so important when you’re quilting. If your fabric is about at dark as your cutting board, especially if it's the same color, it will be easier to see the edges for cutting if you turn it to the wrong side, which is usually lighter. Of course, this wouldn't work for homespun or batik, but it does for most other fabrics.

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.

All Dolled Up

Most of my fiber time this week was spent making clothes for an 18" Madame Alexander doll, whom I've named Dolly. (Creative, right?) I finished the cardigan. Here it is on the model:

I couldn't get Dolly to hold onto the sleeves of the fleece turtleneck she was wearing, so it was a struggle to git it on her, and the neck was a little tight because of the shirt, but it works.

Dolly's clothes will be a Christmas present for DGD2. I bought a similar Madame Alexander doll and had it sent to her mother, so I don't have to worry that the doll won't get there in time, and I can enjoy working on the clothes using a doll I get to keep.

I made sweats for her from a T-shirt that didn't fit me:

From fabrics in my quilting stash, I made a dress and pinafore...


...with some bloomers to go with the outfit. (I made the socks, too.)

She needed some regular panties, so after some experimentation, I ended up with these:

She will need more pairs, but they should go faster, now that I've established the design. Someone on Ravelry also mentioned that knitted undies work up fast. I may try that, too. I also got sucked into buying some knitting patterns for this kind of doll, like this and this. What can I say? They just fell into my cart. Well, I had some inspiration (encouragement) from the Ravelry group "American Girl Knitters."

I've made some progress on the Aran Pullover for Dolly. The pattern (and the patterns for all of the clothes I've shown you so far, other than the panties, which I improvised from the bathing suit pattern) is from Best Doll Clothes Book by Joan Hinds and Jean Becker. This is the front and back. I was a little confused with the references to other patterns in the book, and having to go back and forth from one page to another (I hate that!) but I finally figured it out.

Common Threads met at Lynda's on Thursday. Julie was finishing up this sweater for her granddaughter.



Julie also has finished the Kitty from Little Cotton Rabbits for her DGD, who picked the colors for the animal and clothes.

Here's the skirt for kitty.


Julie also had finished (she's been busy) this Thanksgiving quilt top. The turkeys are from Buggy Barn's Crazy Turkey quilt. And a panel.

She also had finished this cross stitch:

The framing was done by someone in Ogden who is very creative.

Julie's mother will be getting this one:

She has figured out how to get a lot done. She has extended family living with her full time, but she has a getaway in Washington, just out of St. George, where its warmer and she can be alone to play. It's a mobile home in the mobile home/RV park with pool and other facilities, where we had out quilt retreat. (Color me envious.)

However, she doesn't have her long-arm quilting machine there. She has had my Crystal Stars Quilt since the beginning of the year. It's finally ready, though, the quilting all done and only the binding and label to go. It was definitely worth waiting for! She did a great job with the custom quilting (her design). I threw it on the bed, but didn't adjust the pillows, because they would have covered up the border.

I was inspired for this quilt originally by the Connecting Threads "Sumptuous" quilt kit, now out in a new colorway. However, the hand-quilter in me didn't like all the extra seams, so I redrafted it, as I described in this blog post.

Friday was breezy, but otherwise nice, so we took a hike/walk with pups on the Gorgoza bike trail.

Ms. Moose paid us a visit on Saturday to prune the wild roses in our front yard, a service she provides annually.

What's on my needles:  Aran Pullover for Dolly and dishcloths more finished.

What's on my Featherweight: Doll clothes. Also binding for my Crystal Stars and still two blocks of the Kaleidoscope Quilt, still two blocks to go.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Signature Kill by David Levien, another Audible Deal of the Day. It’s a crime novel. It was gruesome, but well written and interesting. Fans of Dean Koontz, Patricia Cornwell and James Patterson will enjoy it. Also listened to Jodi Taylor’s short story “Christmas Present,” based on her Chronicles of St. Mary series. Very funny and entertaining. Finished The Murder at Sissingham Hall by Clara Benson, a murder mystery set in 1920s-era England on the Kindle app. It was good. Now reading The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer on the Nook app.

What's in my wine glass: Foxhorn Merlot, in the big bottle a very nice choice in bargain wines.

What's my tip of the week: A medical hemostat is useful for quilting and sewing. Too many sts stacked onto your hand quilting needle? No problem. Use the hemostat to pull the needle through. Need to hold onto elastic while sewing it to your doll clothes project? No problem. Use the hemostat to hold onto the elastic. Need to remove a plastic cap with a tear-off strip from a bottle? Use the hemostat to hold onto it and pull. Besides medical supply stores, you can often find hemostats at some quilt shops.

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.