A Stitch in Time

First of all, there's the progress on the Brioche Shawl Feathers shawl. 

The Brioche stitch is getting easy, although I sometimes need to review how to do some of the decreases. They only occur every few rows, so it isn't as if I can remember. At least I don't have to rerun the YouTube video each time anymore, however. Details of my project are here.

Here's Pippa, modeling the coat for Daphne's Lotta, who isn't allowed out of her box, but they are identical in size, so Pippa will do fine. Lotta has a blue dress that will go with this.  

I used thinner yarn and smaller needles with a gauge of 41 sts/ 4" or 10cm over k2, p1 rib with the smaller needles (2.5mm), not stretched. Details on the project are here. Our daffodils are coming up, and Pippa discovered one in the back yard while we did the photo shoot.

Rocky's light blue fleece jacket is in the laundry, so I made him a new one, this time in red.

Just in time for it to warm up here.

I spent some time tidying up my workroom. I still have more to do, and I want to get the loom put together. When everything is off the floor, I'll bring Beatrice (my Eufy robot vacuum) in here and turn her loose. I should have taken a "before" photo.

DH has been meeting with a group of Madroña Vineyards fans. I was able to join him on Thursday. Everyone received the same wines (see below) and we had a virtual wine-tasting. (The wine was real, but the meeting was via Zoom.) We tried the 2002 and the 2017 Nebbiolo. The 2002 was fantastic. We should perhaps get some more of the 2017 and store it in the wine fridge, although it's risky (a power outage or fridge failure could damage the result)...and there's no room in the wine fridge.

We discovered Madroña Vineyards when we lived in Utah and were active in the Park City Mountain Sports Club. Friends talked of it, so we stopped there when we were in California. 

My kit for the Kevät sweater arrived in the mailbox Thursday, but it was very late when the mail was delivered, so I picked it up on Friday.

DDIL and I will be doing these as a KAL. I have the cropped version and she is making the full-length one. The pattern is here.

I found out this past week that I will be getting monthly reports from Book Baby on sales of the book. Each month's report will be for the month three months before, so the first report I received was for December. The report in May will be for January, etc.

I hope to get a bit more quilting done this week, but I need to finish outfitting Lotta, so I can mail her off the beginning of May.

What's on my needles:  Finished the winter coat for Lotta. Still working on the Brioche Shawl Feathers Shawl. I replaced two buttons on my Dogwood Blossoms Cardigan.

What's on my sewing machine: PJs for Lotta, all ready to cut out, and then some leggings for her. Rocky's indoor fleece jacket, done, and some buttons sewn on Pippa's overalls.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. I got to move the hoop again.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: "A Science Experiment, Part 2." 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman, and now listening to The Other Emily, Dean Koontz' new novel.

What's in my wine glass: Madroña Vinyard's Nebbiola 2002. Delicious. It changes character with each food, and always delightful. A new favorite.

What's my tip of the week: You know those cans where you have a pull tab instead of using a can opener? They leave a rim around the top that makes it difficult to get all of the contents out. I have just discovered that you can actually use the can opener to remove that rim cleanly if you want. I don't know if this works on all cans, but it worked great on a coffee can and then some canned pumpkin.

Where's my book: Mariah: Stories from the Doll's Storybook is available from Amazon worldwide. Also available from BookBaby, Barnes & Noble and other booksellers. Royalties go to support pediatric cancer research and treatment. 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.

Bright Ideas, Bright Pups, Bright Dolls, Bright Power

Well, I did get some sewing in this week. Well, one seam.

Gabi (a Tonner My Imagination doll) is modeling the fleece hat and scarf I made for Lauren, the Habitat Girl. I'll be handing these items over this week. You may remember that Lauren (a Creatology doll from Michael's) has been outfitted by some of us and will be auctioned off at Habitat for Humanity's Overall Ball in Park City in October. Lauren has already moved in with someone from Habitat who is training and grooming her for the big day. I got the pattern for the hat and scarf here, but I made some changes. First of all, I didn't think the hem was needed because fleece doesn't ravel, and I didn't want to get out my zigzag machine for that little bit, so I cut the rectangle 1" narrower, the amount of the hem. The other thing I did that was different was I didn't make a pattern and cut it out with scissors. I figured might as well get some use out of my quilting notions, so I used my rotary cutter, rulers and mat for cutting out the three pieces needed. One seam and some additional cutting to make fringe for the top of the hat and the ends of the scarf, and I was done. All while Dusty was napping.

Some knitting happened this week, too, too. I managed to make two sweaters and two hats. True, they were doll-size, but still. (I'm glad I have to do this retrospective of my week, because I didn't think I had done anything crafty this week, with all that was going on.)

Here are Dude (left) and Buddy (both My Sibling Dolls), showing off their new sweaters and hats. I used the same pattern for both boys. Dude is wearing his with the buttons in back, which, as it turns out, is how you make a pullover for a doll. His hat has a tassel on top. Buddy's sweater is a cardigan, and his hat has a pompon on top.

Here's a look at Dude's tassel (Dude's real name is Dudley, but don't tell him I told you):

I had ordered some T-shirts and pajamas for the boys. They arrived this week from Home Sew.

Here's Buddy in his PJs. It said "Deer" on the package, but based on the shape of the head, I think they are moose with stylized racks.

Unfortunately, the T-shirts didn't fit the boys. They have very broad, manly shoulders. I could get them on, but they looked like something out of a '70s sitcom, so I'm making T-shirts for them instead. On the other hand, the T-shirts fit the girls just fine. (Please pardon the undies.) I'm working on a skirt for Hannah, now that I've made two things each for each of the boys. I hope to be able to show it off next week. Maybe with a sweater or top to go with it.

In the meantime, Tuesday found us with a man on the roof. 

Our new solar panels were installed Tuesday and Wednesday.

Additional disclaimer: I did NOT get up on the roof to take the photo below.)

This is pretty much the view from our living room, but we have to look at it through deck rails. The new solar panels are supposed to provide 50% of our current power usage. It may do better, now that DGD1 is no longer living with us. The power company will buy back anything we produce but don't use.

Typical weather for here in the Utah mountains this time of year: chilly nights and pleasantly warm days, unless it rains. Tuesday, DH was busy with the solar installers, so I took the pups up to the firebreak road. I had Dusty on a long leash, so if any bicyclists came by, and he tried to chase them, I could play a trick on him and teach him a lesson. I tried to get the pups to pose for a photo with the nice view in the background. I told them both "sit" and "stay. "Here's their individual interpretations of "stay." (That's Dusty on the left, at the end of the leash, and Rocky on the right.)

Dusty ended up right next to me. Oh, well. There are other lessons to learn first.

Like chasing bicycles. I've never had a dog who chased bicycles or cars before, so this was a new thing for me. On the advice of two vets and Dusty's breeder, we took him out with a very long leash. It was a chore to carry. As you can see from the photo, we had a choke collar on him. (It doesn't hurt the dog, just startles him.) The leash is heavy. I hauled it all along the trail and back without seeing any bicycles. When we were almost back to our car, we came across a bicyclist just getting ready to ride. (I think it might have been the same guy Dusty ran after the week before.) I asked him if he would help me teach Dusty not to chase bicycles, and he agreed. As he took off, very slowly, I kept telling Dusty, "leave it." He just watched. I suggested the bicyclist ride faster, and when he did, "leave it" only worked for a second, and Dusty was off after the bicycle. I had the end of the leash in my grip and just let the rest of it go. Wham! The little guy's feet went out from under him, and he was down. I thanked the bicyclist, and Dusty came back to me, none the worse, but hopefully a bit wiser. The bicyclist asked if that was enough, and I replied that it was a good first lesson.

Common Threads met at Karan's last week. There were only three of us. It was pleasant, though Karan was hand-quilting, and Lynda and I were knitting.

Happy 75th birthday to my own DH, Charlie!

What's on my needles: A skirt for Hannah. The “So-not-my-palette Cardigan” is sort of on hold while I work on doll clothes. Still on the second sleeve.

What's on my Featherweight: Doll clothes.

What's on my wheel: Put away for now.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still no audiobook in action, but I'm listening to practice music for the Park City Singers' Holiday Concert. Still reading Corinna: A Sweet & Clean Historical Romance by Lauren Royal. I'm still liking it.

What's in my wine glass: Trader Joe's Charles Shaw "Two-buck Chuck" Merlot. Always a favorite, even though we had to pay $3 for it.

What's my tip of the week: Beans are high in fiber and protein, but they cause intestinal distress in some people. Your body gets used to it if you eat beans frequently, but to reduce...um...gas, drain and rinse beans after cooking. If you're using canned beans, drain and rinse the beans before using them in a recipe.

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.