High Fiber–The Usual

Pauly's Stripy Pullover is finished and the pattern published. The free pattern is available here. Specifics on the project (yarn, etc.) can be found on the Ravelry project page here.

It buttons down the back. (Dolls don't like having things pulled over their heads, and this gives the doll's human family member the fun of learning to button.)

I've started one for Pippa, so I could test my pattern. I'm past where I think I would have had mistakes in the writing, so I went ahead and published it. I may make a plain one next (without the stripes).

Voting is like date night! We had decided on all the races except governor, so we watched the debate, then checked out the candidates' websites to have a look at endorsements. Of course, we had heard a lot about them, but there were a lot to choose from! I'm pretty sure whoever gets the nomination would make a good governor.

It's so nice to be able to sit down with a glass of wine and the Voter Pamphlet and other materials, do the research and then mark our ballots. We put our ballots in the drop box on Tuesday. 

Rocky went to the vet to have his heart worm test done. It was negative. They looked at the place on his side that had been infected, and it was completely healed, although there is still a little raised place there, nothing to worry about. He goes to the groomer for a minimal grooming appointment on Tuesday, more or less a puppy clip. I've been trying to keep him brushed out. He looks like a bathroom rug.

After his Paul's clothes arrived, Zachary took a photo and texted it to me on his new iPod. The shirt is on backwards but still stylish with his swim trunks and hat.

Here's one where Paul is going on a hike.

Daphne's birthday was Saturday. The doll was no surprise, although she didn't know what the face would be. She seemed thrilled with Laura. (I didn't get what the new name will be. She always changes them.) I'm happy she still likes dolls. Daddy is talking about maybe checking out the duplex that was for sale, so the dolls can have their own house.

The candidate I've been working for in the primary is slightly ahead in the polls. I think she will be great. Voting ends at 8:00 tomorrow night, May 17th.

If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart" in Children's. Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of our first book, Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, it would help if you left an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them. Thank you to the people who have left reviews!

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

What's on my needles: Finished Pauly's Stripy Pullover. Cast on one for Pippa./ A few more rows on the Hinterland Pullover done. No progress on the emPower Kerchief.

What's on my loom: Still the same, no progress.

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

What's in my hoop: Whole cloth quilt, no progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Goodnight Pauly. Pippa discovers that Pauly doesn't have a sleep mask, so she goes in search of one.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to The Woman Who Smashed Codes by Jason Fagone on the Audible app.  

What's in my wine glass: Fabre Montmayou Cabernet Franc from Argentina. Tasty. I have such a good wine steward!

What's my tip of the week: If you change a sewing pattern in size by printing at a lower or higher percentage, be sure to adjust the seam allowances back to the 1/4" or 5/8" on the original pattern. 

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with few changes. Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is now available for preorder from booksellers world wide. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.

Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is also available. The three stories in the first book are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.

If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less. 

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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Blossoms and Feathers

The Brioche Shawl Feathers shawl is coming along. 

I put in a lifeline, which I move every few inches. The buttons are to keep the lifeline from coming out. It's fairly complicated, so I have to pay attention when I knit, but it's entertaining, and I'm getting accustomed to putting my stitches back together properly when I make a mistake. If I'm watching TV, the hand-quilting is a better choice for something to work on. 

I do need to CO a project for the KAL in the Goetz Doll Lovers group on Ravelry, though. I plan to make something for Daphne's birthday doll. This will be the Cabbagetown Jacket, which makes a nice winter coat, but I'm sizing it down for the Little Kidz doll Lotta.

I've rewritten my Wonderland Turtle turtleneck pattern for Emil's book, including instructions for sizing it for the plumper American Girl Dolls. I think it looks good on Emil, though. I plan to include the pattern at the end of the three stories in the book.

Spring is trying to come to Bend. The daffodils are starting to bloom.

The cherub in our backyard is keeping an eye on some little white flowers. DH says they're weeds, but the cherub and I think they're pretty. Not much else is blooming outdoors yet.

Indoors, however is another matter. The tomato blossoms are fading and the little tomatoes are growing.

Speaking of growing, Zachary turned nine on Thursday. 

They celebrated after school on Tuesday, however, because his parents were scheduled to get their second dose of the Moderna vaccine on Wednesday, and they wanted to be prepared in case it made them sick. It did. Fortunately, they were well again within 24 hours and happy to be finished with the vaccine.

I put a "Shop Now" button on the Facebook page for The Doll's Storybook. It goes to the BookBaby store, rather than to Amazon or Barnes & Noble. This is because when you buy through the BookBaby store, $7.48 goes to pediatric cancer research and treatment, but when the book is purchased elsewhere they only get $1.26. The book still costs the same. However, people who get free shipping from a particular bookseller will save that cost. Anyone who would prefer to do that can donate through our fundraising page. 

What's on my needles: The Brioche Shawl Feathers Shawl, making progress. Also ready to CO a winter coat for Lotta.

What's on my sewing machine: PJs for Lotta...soon.

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

What's in The Doll's Storybook: http://thedollsstorybook.blogspot.com 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished The Black Madonna by Stella Riley. Now listening to The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman, recommended to me by an online friend..

What's in my wine glass: Monastrell Bacanisimo Red from Spain. Not bad.

What's my tip of the week: If you rinse more lettuce leaves than you need for your salad, you can store them in a plastic bag or container with paper towels. They will keep longer.

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.

Rose City Yarn Crawl!

Pippa's Red Crocus sweater is done.

As part of the knit-along in the Goetz Doll Lovers group on Ravelry, I cast on this Dressing Gown pattern. I had 51g of the turquoise yarn for a project that was supposed to take 49g. I thought it might be close, but I ran out of the turquoise yarn before I even got the skirt of the dressing gown finished. The yarn must be much heavier than what was used in the pattern. I didn't want to rip it out, so I decided to add a deep border at the hem and then continue on with the bodice and sleeves using some yarn I had, Wool of the Andes Sport in "Bare." I picked up stitches from the inside loops of each cast-on stitch and have been knitting in the opposite direction (toward the hem) with the white. 

When it's long enough, I'll bind off and continue with the white for the bodice and sleeves. This rework of the original eliminates three buttons, because I had started the buttonholes at the stated point in relation to the cast-on edge, and have to stop and make the armholes. I think I can do something decorative that will make it look as if that were the design from the beginning.

We've started the Rose City Yarn Crawl, which is entirely virtual this year. DDIL and I got together yesterday via Zoom to visit our first two shops. The first one was Close Knit. I purchased three skeins of Harrisville Highland worsted-weight yarn. One in "Silver Mist"....

....and one in "Aubergine"....

....for these Mummers mittens from Saltwater Mittens.

I picked up a skein of the same yarn in "Russet"....

....for this teapot cozy. DDIL picked up this kit, but she doesn't crochet (yet), so she was getting it just for the yarn.

Then we went on to House of A la Mode, where after much looking around and contemplating I picked up this  Things Created Equal "Basic Sock" yarn in "Frosty"....

....and "Glacial"....

....for this shawl. The pattern appears to be very entertaining. It uses the brioche stitch, but in a curved design. DDIL wanted this kit, but they were sold out, so she bought the yarn for it from what was available. She also picked up some DK from the Things Created Equal line.

It was a very busy week in my personal life, too. First, because my mammogram from the week before was questionable, I had ultrasound on Wednesday. Because that didn't show enough, they did an additional mammogram. The result: "See you in a year." It was nerve-racking, however, waiting for the radiologist to come to a conclusion, but his time was taken up with all the regularly scheduled results to read, and they had to squeeze me in. Everything was normal, and they didn't think it was because of my vaccine, although that's sometimes an issue.

DBIL came for dinner Thursday, as he planned to fly back to Arizona on Friday. We didn't use masks, because guidance indicated that we could socialize indoors without masks if we've all been vaccinated, and we had all three had the second dose of vaccine. We've all been very careful, anyway. He will be back when the weather warms up down there. DH drove him to the airport on Friday morning. I hope we can go camping together this summer.

I managed to get the photos for two stories taken this week and a third one written. Once the photos are done for the third one, I'll be scheduled through March 19th. That's the most ahead I've ever been.

Today I'll be "visiting" all the shops in the Crawl. Each shop gets an hour to show off or demonstrate. If you're interested, click on this link and scroll down to "Zoom Shopping Event." I don't know if this will be available after today, but they may have a recorded version on the website later.

What's on my needles: Charlotte's Sleepover Dressing Gown.

What's on my sewing machine: Getting bored with nothing to do. The machine, not me!

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. Not much progress this week.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: "The Survey." Emil and Billy get some surprising advice from Pippa. 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still The Black Madonna by Stella Reilly and Love Is the Way by Bishop Michael Curry. The second has given me inspiration for at least one story.

What's in my wine glass: Provare red wine from David Marchese in California. A new one for us. I liked it. It's slightly spicy.

What's my tip of the week: You don't really have to add water to frozen vegetables when you cook them in the microwave. There is usually enough ice in the package to cook them nicely.

Where's my book: Mariah: Stories from the Doll's Storybook is available from Amazon worldwide. Also available from BookBaby 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. 

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.