Eye Candy

Now that I have your attention...

My friends from Common Threads honored me with a luncheon last week at Georgette's. I'm going to miss these friends!

Janet brought her project, a top from a kit from Davidene's to show, all done except for borders, etc.

Vintage Stitchers met on Thursday at Julie's. Rebecca is working on her next block from the Borboleta BOM pattern from Hat Creek Quilts.

Barbara had her peacock masterpiece back from the quilter.

If you're a regular reader of my blog posts, you'll recognize this as Marilyn's palette.

It was fun seeing Julie's remodel in progress. Their kids, who have been living with them for six years, are buying their house. Julie and her husband spend most of the time either at Bear Lake (summer) or in Washington, close to St. George (winter), but they also spend some time in Park City. They are taking part of the upstairs and the loft to make sort of a mother-in-law's apartment. They figure they can use it for six years whenever they're in town, and the house will belong to the kids and grandkids.

This week saw a little sewing with the newly-service Elna. I made underwear for the two dolls still needing it. I used a girl's lace-trimmed sock, size large. The cuff was turned into a camisole, using Velcro strips for straps, and the toe became panties, trimmed with fold-over-elastic. I wrote up the instructions in a separate blog post.

Jolena needed a bathing suit for freestyle practice, and so I used the same method to make her one. Here's how it looks from the back, so much better with the fold-over elastic instead of the raw edges.

(The instructions for the bathing suit are also included in the same blog post.)

Now that Jolena had a bathing suit, she was able to participate in freestyle skiing training at Utah Olympic Park. You can see professionals do what the kids are learning here. Here was Jolena after her first day of practice.

She looks tired to me.

I took the girls to watch one day during the week. We used their usual conveyance.

They watched (or in Lotte's case, couldn't watch) from the bleachers as Lena tumbled through the air and splashed into the pool.

I caught some great shots by using the "burst" function on my iPhone.

Lotte came to see us after practice. She says the hardest part is getting out of the pool with her equipment.

My friend Ellen, whose grandson does freestyle and slopestyle said Lena's form was pretty good.

Note: See disclaimer at the bottom. People have asked me how I got the photos, and I said (joking) that DH threw Lena from the upper deck, while I took photos as she fell. We didn't do that. He provided me with some fishing line, which I used to hang her securely below the upper deck. Then as she moved slightly in the breeze, I took photos. I cropped, and in some cases tilted, the photos I liked, then edited out any fishing line if it was obvious.)

Lotte's Viipuri Dress is finished. Lena's yarn has sparkles, and I gave her a ribbon sash. Lotte's is more casual and has a skirt with M1 increases instead of YOs, so the holes aren't as obvious.

Other people are starting to make the Viipuri Dress from my pattern. That's always fun.

Sunday morning I came into the dining room to find the girls had taken over my dining table.

Me: Good morning! What are you ladies up to?

Mandy: We're teaching Lotte and Lena to play cards.

Me: What game are you playing?

Girls (all at once): Strip poker!

(I hope they teach the new girls all their little tricks. They're already down to their undies.)

I don't know for sure who brought strip poker into my house, but Vroni is the only one who didn't arrive her NIB (new, in-box), and she clearly is winning, so I suspect her.

I took the cards away and am setting my alarm for 1/2 hour earlier in the morning.

Not having had much luck getting a response from Götz to use the dolls in a book, I'm working on making my stories into weekly blog posts, tentatively named The Doll's Storybook, perhaps coming out on Friday afternoon. The plan is to have the posts suitable for children, so my grandkids can read them. Maybe I can work on the book idea after we get moved.

What's on my needles: Just finished the second Viipuri Dress for Lotte. Nothing new yet, but the next plan is the Norwegian-style kitty cardigan.

What's on my Featherweight: In storage.

What's in my hoop: Still the Spring Flowers quilt, a little progress done this week.

What's on my wheel: Stanzi is still in hibernation. 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz. It was good, but a cliff-hanger. I know there's another in the series. Now listening to Rondo Allegro by Sherwood Smith.

What's in my wine glass: The last of a huge bottle of Frontera Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot. (I can't read the vintage.)

What's my tip of the week: A recipe, easy and healthful:

Tofu Mac And Cheese

Ingredients

• 12 oz whole wheat macaroni• 1 12.3 oz pkg silken tofu (I like Mori-Nu)• 2 eggs• 1/3 cup Greek yogurt• 1 cup milk• 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese• Salt and pepper

• 1 cup bread crumbs• 2 tablespoons olive oil• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions
1) Start macaroni cooking and set oven at 300°.
2 ) Blend tofu, eggs, yogurt, milk, and cheddar cheese in blender (along with a small amount of salt and pepper) until smooth. Drain macaroni, return to cooking pot and add tofu mixture.3) In a large skillet add butter over medium heat with the bread crumbs and red pepper flakes. Cook until crumbs are lightly browned.
4) Dump drained macaroni/tofu mixture into a 9 X 12 casserole dish coated with cooking spray.
5) Top with seasoned bread crumbs and bake for 30 minutes.

Serve with salad or vegetable.

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.

Quilting Fun

Veronika is my quilter.

She went with me this week to Davidene's to each a class in hand quilting. I sat her in her little chair and asked the students to tell me what she needed. We got: pillow, footstool, water bottle, quilt, hoop, needle, thread, thimble (that fits—not easy for her tiny fingers), scissors and some entertainment, like music or a good audiobook. I used her quilt to show how to handle quilting over and along seams, but otherwise, my life-size demo was done with the whole cloth quilt I'm working on, because it was easier for students to see on a solid, light-colored background.

We thought the class went well, and the students said they were very excited about doing some hand-quilting now. My handout is here.

Davidene had this quilt to show.

The fabric manufacturer had a pattern to use with these fabrics, but Davidene and her staff designed their own, using some ideas they liked from the pattern.

Another student showed us this appliqué project. It's all wool, except for some of the leaves and the embroidery.

There's an ant to the right of the vase, but it doesn't show up very well in the photo. Very cute!

It was past Veronika's bedtime when we got home. She slept late, but she needed a very big mug of coffee when she got up.

Thursday morning I went to Common Threads at Karan's. She had placed her appliqué quilt on the wall over the fireplace.

Karan has been working on come cutwork and had this to show.

She had finished working on this wool flannel appliqué...

...and these snack bags.

Kathleen was knitting, but she had brought this beaded hummingbird to restring. It's supposed to hang from fishing line from the ceiling at a window, and the line had broken.

In the meantime, I had finished the Russian dress I was trying to reverse-engineer a pattern for (make up a pattern by looking at the finished project).

The resulting pattern is here. 

I wanted it a little snugger at the waist, so I'm working on improvements while knitting another one.

In the meantime, I left Lotte sitting on the windowsill by the back door too long, and she discovered how to make the garage door go up and down. 

We gave our piano to a family with several children who are learning to play. They picked it up on Saturday.

The new rail went in on Friday. It's a big drop down the stairs from that spot. All that kept the grandkids from diving off before was the piano. 

What's on my needles: Still the Coastal Skies, a little more progress made, and the second Russian Dress.

What's on my Featherweight: More miscellaneous things to sort through.

What's in my hoop: Still the Spring Flowers quilt, but a lot of progress made this week.

What's on my wheel: Stanzi is in hibernation. 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Now listening to A Higher Loyalty by James Comey. Interesting so far.

What's in my wine glass: Charles Shaw (Two-buck Chuck) Merlot. Good value.

What's my tip of the week: When you knit a cardigan with built-in button/buttonhole bands, make the buttonholes at both ends. This is easy enough to do, and the ones you don’t need to use can be used for button placement. The added advantage is, if anyone ever wants to change the buttons to the other side (to hand the cardigan down to a younger sibling of the opposite sex, for instance), the buttonholes are there. Or if you’re making a baby cardigan and you don’t know the baby’s gender 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.

—

Time Marches On

Let's cut to the chase: Common Threads.

We met at Karan's on Thursday. Margareth came fully equipped to draft some patterns.

Georgette had just started this needlepoint project.

Ginny has made some progress on this needlepoint design.

Karan had finished this redwork quilt before Christmas.

I showed off my finished "Peggy's Sistine Chapel," which this group hadn't seen yet. I was working on a pullover for Vroni for her birthday. Lynda was knitting a sock, but she frogged it before I could get a photo.

Mandy came along to supervise me and to show off the slacks I made to go with the pullover for Vroni. (Mandy was my model, so as not to spoil the surprise.) The sweater she's wearing is my "Wonderland Turtle," not the surprise pullover.

I had to alter a pattern, so did a dry run with a different fabric. I discovered that I couldn't just fold the fabric over, cut out through two layers and then be able to match up the pattern (stripes). However, the fit looked good.

When I used the fabric I planned on, I was able to get the stripes to match fairly closely by cutting out one pattern piece at a time, rather than two layers, then matching the second one to first before cutting it out. Here's an example of what I did (with different fabric). You can just barely see the paper pattern (I use freezer paper) under the first piece I cut.

I turned the fabric over to cut out the second one. This is important because the stripes may not always be symmetrical, and with this fabric it was even more important, because it was a brushed cotton, so the sides of the fabric were not the same. (If your fabric is the same on both sides, make sure when you sew the pocket facings on the fronts that you aren't making two identical pieces. I did that once. You want mirror images.)

In the photos it looks black and white, but there is a little strand of turquoise running through it.

The pattern for the pullover was Cataddict's Steampunk Blouse. (Not a download, but I could copy and paste.) Here's how Vroni looked in the finished outfit, with her birthday shoes and necklace. (The necklace was made from an orphaned earring, some chain, rings and clasp from Michael's.)

I wrote a little story about Vroni's birthday party (photojournalism). I won't take up time/space here, but you can find the whole story here. One of Vroni's presents was a picture book, which the girls read and discussed. (How do you discuss a picture book? Maybe they were discussing why Matti gave Vroni a book called Puppy Love.)

To reward Mandy for doing such a great job helping me by acting as my model, I made her a pair of slacks on Saturday, using the same pattern. I also have the same pullover on the needles for her, but in Turmeric, sort of a soft gold. It will look good with the colors in her slacks.

For the slacks, I started out with the Pixie Faire's Boot Cut Jeans pattern. It's designed for American Girl dolls, so it's a bit too big for Götz dolls, like Vroni and Mandy. Also, the legs were flared, and I wanted them straight. I discovered that I could use the pattern for the front and front pockets exactly as it was designed, but I could remove the flare in the leg and some of the width in the...um...bottom...by making a new pattern piece for the back. The original pattern also had a top-stitched fold and back pockets, which I didn't think I needed, so I accounted for those as well, and the center-back seam had a strange kink in it, required by dolls with...um...stuffed bodies. I ended up with this. (Grid lines are 1".)

Feel free to use my "pattern," and the waistband is also smaller. In case you can't read it, you cut a piece on the bias, 11" X 2". Then follow the directions in the original Pixie Faire pattern.

Another person on Ravelry, "Weavespinner," made my first Fair Isle cardigan pattern. We had a few chats on the phone, so she would feel certain of what I meant in my instructions. Then she cut the steeks, knit the neck band, button band buttonhole bands, then picked up and knitted the sleeves. On Saturday, she posted this photo.

It's very exciting* for me to see my little designs show up from time to time, but the steeking project is special, because I know each person who makes one of these doll sweaters has learned a new skill (if they've never steeked before). She used colors similar to the sweater I made for Vroni, and I think she did a wonderful job, rating the famous "Steeking Badge," made for me when I made my first steek, by NoKnitSherlock on Ravelry. (Steeking badges? We don't need no steeking badges!)

But I did.

We visited Run-A-Muk Dog Park twice this past week, and when we were down in Salt Lake City to visit the upholsterer, we took the pups to Big Cottonwood Park, where they ran and played on grass with other dogs. Run-A-Muk doesn't have much grass right now, but it isn't covered with snow, either. More like slush and mud, so Run-A-Muk lived up to its name. I guess it will be a short winter for us.

Oh, and we probably will have to refinance our home to get the reupholstering done...on two Finnish armchairs. Watch for them about March.

*Seriously, this is really exciting for me.

What's on my needles: ZickZack Scarf, but I think I'm going to frog it. I'm finding it takes more concentration than I can handle without having lots of stuff going on (ADD issue). Also Mandy's Steampunk Blouse pullover.

What's on my Featherweight: Doll pants, shirts and skirts.

What's on my loom: Scarf to use up last of the warp.

What's on my wheel: Stanzi is hiding under the bed.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished Never Let You Go by Chevy Stevens, a Deal of the Day from Audible. Now listening to Murder on Black Swan Lane by Andrea Penrose.

What's in my wine glass: Twisted Old Vine Zinfandel 2014. Appropriate for drinking while spinning. (Maybe that's why Stanzi is under the bed?)

What's my tip of the week: It will be easier to get seams to match if the seam allowance that’s on top goes toward the needle as you sew and the bottom seam allowance goes away from the needle. With quilting, you can't always do it this way, but if you can't, a pin will help. Being aware that the seams nestle together better that way helps know when you need pins. This also goes for any sewing project (like doll clothes) where you don't press the seams open. (That's a whole other story.)

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.