A Week of Events

There wasn't a lot of fiber fun this week, but I managed to finish one washcloth to go to a military troop stationed in Africa....

....and have a good start on another one.

I plan to wash them before sending them, as I've found that the dye in cotton yarn often runs.

The "Sunshine in the Rain" shawl is blocked and ready to wear. It was pretty easy to block, because it has holes in all the right places to line up to block evenly.

It took about 24 hours to dry.

We had our time taken up during the week with filling out paperwork to apply for a loan to refinance our house so we could get a better interest rate and finish the improvements and repairs. One glitch was the "Peggy-Margaret thing," as it has come to be known.

Back in the day, when I applied for my Social Security card, I was allowed to use "Peggy" although my birth certificate, passport, voter registration and driver's license were all issued to "Margaret." That was 1961. There was no problem at all until a few years ago when Utah passed a law that mandated that the name on your Social Security had to match your driver's license. By then, I was already receiving Social Security and didn't want to mess that up. I also didn't see why I had to change my name legally to Peggy, so I fought it. My state representative was able to get DMV to waive the issue. When I renewed, the same thing came up. I had a new state representative, who also was able to smooth the way for me to renew.

When we moved to Oregon, I was given the choice of which name I wanted on the license, but they recommended using Margaret, because that was what was on my passport, just in case I needed the additional identification for traveling overseas. So all my adult life (from 18 on), Peggy worked, received paychecks and paid income tax, while Margaret drove, voted, traveled overseas and gave birth to three children. With this refinance, the lender decided they wanted to have proof that I was both Peggy and Margaret, so I had to try to find the scanned copy of the letter I received from the state of Utah explaining the problem and the emails between my state representative, the person at the DMV and myself. Finding all that was a headache and took time, but I was finally able to produce them. It resulted in one more document for me to sign, too, but all's well.

On a lighter note, Friday's story in The Doll's Storybook was about a cat Mandy brought home from school and Emil's surprising ability. Here she is, taking off her coat after bringing the cat home in a box.

And here's the cat.

I've been trying to get permission from the manufacturer of the dolls (Götz Puppenmanufaktur Intl., a German company) to use my photos of the dolls in a printed book. I had received some legal advice that if I could document that I tried to get their permission and they didn't respond to my inquiry, they would have a hard time suing me if I went ahead and did it, so when they didn't respond to several emails, I sent them a registered letter, thinking that would be my documentation.

That was August 28th. On September 15th my letter arrived in Frankfurt, but then tracking only said it was en route to its destination. There was no change as of Wednesday, when I went to the post office to see if they could help me with tracking. The local post office only had access to the same information I had, but gave me a number I could call to find out what to do. I was busy with other stuff (see above) so it was Friday before I called. The representative I talked to on the phone explained how to put in an inquiry online. That would start the process of getting in touch with Deutsche Post to find out where my letter went. I spent half the day trying to file the online form.

After finishing with USPS online, I checked my email messages and discovered I had an email from Götz. In it, they said that they were delighted to give me permission, and that the wording I am using in my blog post explaining that I'm not affiliated with them and giving them credit for designing and producing the dolls was perfect for a published book or books, which meant they had looked at my stories. The next step will be to see if an organization that deals with pediatric cancer wants to get involved up front, if not, I'll have to self-publish on my own, but at least I can move ahead with the project. I'm so excited!

The week involved a lot of the H-word toward the end, because we have company coming this morning for coffee and pulla, and we had to clean the house. It needed cleaning anyway, because the appraiser will come sometime this week.

We went out Tuesday evening for a scotch-tasting party. We had 10 people. There is way too much to know about whiskey, but I could taste the difference, and they were all good. I found out that after you sniff the whiskey "neat," which means without mixing anything with it, you should add a few drops of water before tasting.

We watched this video together, just for fun.

The host had a small house, but she had a Steinway grand piano in her living room. she played a little bit for us.

It was fun having a small group in a casual setting. We got acquainted with everyone and had a nice time. It snowed when we left to go home. They are already planning another one, and we will be going.

We managed to continue our two-mile walks every day, in spite of the busy week, which included getting the dogs groomed.

It makes me tired, just re-reading all this! I hope to get in some fiber fun this week, and certainly the washcloths will continue.

What's on my needles: Washcloths for Africa

What's on my sewing machine: Put away for now.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt. Another week with no progress.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: "Marmalade." Mandy comes home with a surprise.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: I stopped listening to A Scandal in Battersea by Mercedes Lackey to listen to How To Start a Revolution, a nonfiction book by Lauren Duca. The author is a young journalist and award-winning columnist at "Teen Vogue." The book made me laugh and cry at times. She talks about the new political awakening of millennials and other young people, and how they can change the world for the better peacefully. I can recommend it.

What's in my wine glass: Terrain Vineyards California Red Blend, 2016 vintage. One of our staple wines.

What's my tip of the week: If you have bare floors meeting wall-to-wall carpeting, you can sweep the dust and dirt from the floors onto the carpeting and then vacuum the carpet, rather than sweeping into a dustpan. Obviously, you would only want to do this if you planned to vacuum the carpeting right after sweeping. Otherwise, you will be tracking the dirt and dust back onto the floor. (It's good to pick up any larger objects, such as books, newspapers, dog toys, balls of yarn, etc., first, though.)

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.

Small Creatures, Living and Make-believe

My "Sunshine in the Rain" shawlette is all done except for the blocking. 

I thought I would get it blocked in time to wear on Sunday, but things got in the way. I'll try to get it done this week.

Monday we had our first real snow of the season. As expected, though, it didn't stick long. 

The leaves are changing, though, and they're very pretty.

We had the annual blessing of the animals yesterday to celebrate the feast day of St. Francis. Rocky knew what it was all about, but Dusty just wanted to meet the other dogs or, as an alternative, come up and sit with me in the choir. Many of the dogs lifted their voices in song along with the congregation when we sang, "All Things Bright and Beautiful." The lady in the wheel chair is holding a lizard. He is a bearded dragon. She had him in a costume with dragon wings and a leprechaun hat. As far as I know, he did not sing along. We also had a fish. I don't think the fish sang, either.

My new character, Emil, was introduced in Friday's story, "Welcome, Emil!" In it, Emil comes to live with the cast of The Doll's Storybook. He comes with vision and hearing problems, but the other dolls do their best to make it easy for him to settle in.

I managed to gt two more T-shirts decorated with iron-on transfers. I used free graphics for Emil's skateboard design, and the "Forget Princess, call me Your Honor" design is from Free To Be Kids Shop on Etsy and is used with their kind permission. (They have T-shirts with the design available for people, but not for dolls.) I purchased the T-shirts for the dolls on Amazon. They are designed for 18" dolls, but fit the slightly taller dolls I use just fine.

Mandy's cat came with Emil from My Doll Best Friend in the UK and will make his appearance in next Friday's story.

If you're new to my blog, the dolls are from Götz, a German company, but they are manufactured (like pretty much all dolls these days) in China. Some of the dolls are available here, but a wider selection can be found internationally.

My friend Cheryl has a son serving in the military in Africa. He and his comrades will not be home for Christmas, so she is soliciting hand-knitted washcloths (and other knitted items) to send to them. Message her on Ravelry here if you have something you want to send her. The deadline is early November, so get cracking.

Our Daphne is raising money for Girl Scouts. If you don't have a scout of your own to support, feel free to purchase something here and use her as your scout: Daphne H., Troop 7074. They have an option of magazine gift cards to donate to members of the military and their families, so you can help our troops at the same time as helping the Girl Scouts.


What's on my needles: Washcloth for Cheryl's effort.

What's on my sewing machine: Jacket for Emil.

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Welcome, Emil! Emil comes and settles in with his new family.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still A Scandal in Battersea by Mercedes Lackey, not much time to listen this week.

What's in my wine glass: Montevina Skyland Ridge Barbera 2016. Excellent!

What's my tip of the week: Do you have some old pillows that have seen better days? They can be repurposed as great throw pillows (who can't use more of those?) by covering with upholstery fabric or a quilted cover. Just cut a rectangle the size that will cover both sides of the pillow plus enough for a seam allowance. Right sides together, sew up two sides, turn right-side out, put the pillow inside and sew the open end shut. (You can do something fancier, if you want, but you don't need to.) If you need a spare pillow for a guest, you can always put a pillowcase over your decorative pillow.

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.

Crochet!

I haven't had much experience with crochet, but some of it was this week.

I have used this pattern and this one. They are pretty similar. the design is pretty simple, although knitting with strips of nylon net isn't very smooth. The result is a great dish washing device, though. I have paired these with knitted dish cloths in the past for Christmas gifts.

While I was delving into crochet, I decided to try to make a doll bikini.

For the top, I used this pattern (not available as a PDF, so you either have to read it off of the computer screen or copy and paste to something you can print). The pattern gives you a top with a skirt and wide shoulder straps. I just ended the pattern at the point where I had the completed band around the chest. Then I attached chain ties to the top of the triangles and tied them behind the neck.

The bottom was a greater challenge. I had to keep poor Veronika in the altogether, so I could match what I was doing to her body. I did a lot of ripping before I got it the right shape, which turned out to be something like the silhouette of a champagne glass. I may try to make another one of these.

The Coastal Skies Shawl finally got blocked. It has an 82" wingspan. My niece, who is a Seahawks fan, says these are Seahawks' colors. I hadn't though about that, but they are. At any rate, I've been wearing it, and it's warm and soft. The pattern is Knockout Round.

Our kimchi was going fast, so I made some more, this time with the seasoning a friend recommended. It's Mother In Law's Gochugaru Korean chili pepper flakes. I'm thinking it is a little less spicy.

I ended up with six cups of kimchi this time. (Each jar holds 1 1/2 C.) One of the things I like about kimchi is that you don't have to can it. It's still raw, but pickled.

This week's story is "Money in a Jar." Billy and Veronika discuss how to save money to buy what you want, and the difference between "want" and "need."

I got the idea from a recent article by Warren Buffett, which has a few other ideas besides what I used in the story.

We missed two days of walks this week. I waited until late afternoon, so DH could walk, too, and then it rained. Both days. The rain comes in the late afternoon and early evening.  It would be better for me to walk in the morning and then again in the afternoon, if the weather is OK. We had been waiting because it was pretty warm (a high of 92ºF) in the middle of the day. DH doesn't get up until 9:30 AM or so.


What's on my needles: Still the Trickle Brick Socks and another dish cloth.

What's on my sewing machine: Not much this week

What's in my hoop: Still the Whole Cloth Quilt.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Money in a Jar.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished From This Moment by Elizabeth Camden. It was pretty good. Now listening to The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey. This is one of a series "A Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms," but each novel is a stand alone, based on the same fantasy world, one in which "Tradition" tries to force likely candidates into the mold of well-known fairy tales, while the protagonists try to go their own way.

What's in my wine glass: Red Blend Portugal by Casa Santos Lima. Pretty nice!

What's my tip of the week: A rolled-up newspaper in your hand is a good way to get a dog to behave. You don't have to hit them with it (in fact, you shouldn't), but just holding it is like a kings scepter. They know you are boss. For serious misbehavior, hit it against your hand. It gets their attention.

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.

"Snowpocalypse" Is Relative

We received a lot of snow this past week.

Much of the snow came on Monday, although we had a little snow every day. Supposedly, this was the most snow in any 24-hour period since 1917, so more than 100 years.

Park City, where we used to live, got about the same degree of magnitude more than usual as well. We left there to get away from the constant snow, so as bad as it is here, it would have been much worse there, and we got out just in time.

I took advantage of the snow to write a story for The Doll's Storybook dealing with too much snow and with disappointment. Strangely enough, the title is "Snow." I had already written one, but thought it would be better for next week. Here's a preview:

With next week's story written, I'm free to enjoy the Rose City Yarn Crawl later this week. I blocked my new shawl, which I'm calling The Peanut Butter Cups Shaw. It's the Mystery Knit Along project for this year's Crawl. (The pattern is available for $7.50, and there is one for crochet, as well.) I used my 12 1/2" quilting square ruler to help me line up the blocking wires, so my 90º angle would be 90º.

Here's what it looks like after blocking.

We are supposed to wear our shawls as we visit all the yarn stores in the Portland area. I plan to do that, if we can get to Portland. We have one mountain pass we have to conquer to get there, and more snow is predicted.

We also plan to visit Laika while we're there. It isn't open to the public, but our son works there, so we count as family. It will be fun to have a tour. If they allow photos, I'll take some for next week's blog.
Because Daddy works at Laika, the two west-coast grandsons went to see The Missing Link on Saturday. It comes out in April, but Laika employees and their families get a sneak peek.

The Götz Doll Lovers group on Ravelry is having a knit along for the month of March. Jacknitss, one of the designers, had a special sale of her patterns to celebrate her birthday. I picked up three patterns. I don't know if I'll get them all done this month, as there are other things going on this month, too. This is the one I'm starting with. There are three options for the skirt, and the one I'm doing is a tiny cable design. It's the one on the far right.

These projects are quick, and I'm getting close.

While I was busy with snow, a dentist's appointment and knitting projects, there was a hearing in DC. I watched when I could, but when I had to leave my iPad to do things, Dusty was on duty. I told him to bark if there was something I shouldn't miss. I heard some occasional growls, but no barking, and he wagged his tail a few times. Based on the news coverage, I think I got to see all the highlights. I was knitting, so I didn't mind that his head was in the way.

It's always interesting to see our government at work or trying to work.

We ended the week with snow and woke up Sunday morning to hoarfrost.

It's beautiful, but very cold and damp. It happens when the moisture that has settled on vegetation and other things freezes.

It took two of us working for 15 minutes with two ice scrapers to get the car windows clear Sunday morning. It sure is pretty, though. It doesn't show up as much on the Juniper trees in our backyard because they are currently loaded with snow, but the other evergreens (pines, firs) really collected it.

I think Punxsutawney Phil lied about an early spring.

Daphne is selling Girl Scout Cookies. If you want to support the organization, you can buy and donate the cookies to the Ronald McDonald House. Her link to cookie sales is here.


What's on my needles: Finished blocking the Mystery Knit Along shawl for the Rose City Yarn Crawl. Now working on some outfits for my cast members.

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

What's in my hoop: Still the Spring Flowers quilt. I hope to get back to it after the yarn crawl.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Snow.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Then listened to Holding: A Novel by Graham Norton and narrated by the author. It was an Audible Deal of the Day. It was good. Now listening to The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell, who wrote How To Train Your Dragon.

What's in my wine glass: Muchas Manos Merlot-Syrah-Tempranillo from La Mancha. Possibly one of my favorites.

What's my tip of the week: You can "install" buttons when you knit if you have already picked them out by knitting them in. Here's my description on how to do it from a project where the buttonhole and button bands were knitted as part of the project, with three sts in garter st at each end: "Buttons are knitted-in this way (like adding beads): On the same row as the buttonhole, work to garter st border (last 3 sts), K1, pull a loop of the working yarn through button from back to front and then again from front to back. Place the loop on the left-hand needle, being careful not to leave a YO across the right-hand needle and keeping the button in the front of the work. Knit the loop together with the next st. (I found I sometimes needed to pull on the working yarn to tighten at this point.) End with K1. There were still 3 sts of garter st border. Work back across row as usual. One point: If you ever need to change the buttons for any reason, you will have to break the old ones to get them off."

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.

Approaching Normal

On Sunday, we finally had some real snow here in Bend. I think it was a little over an inch.

Most of the week was spent resting, with the exception of a few simple chores, like laundry and cooking, which I tried to spread out so as not to get too tired. I drove myself to a couple of doctor's appointments and stopped at the store to pick up my medication.

While resting, I sometimes had the energy to knit, and was able to finish the Nurmilintu Shawl, which I started on my birthday. Blocking required that I get down on the floor, which wasn't easy. It wasn't the tidiest pinning job, but it was good enough.

It took about 24 hours to dry. Usually I use a fan to speed up the drying, but I'm not sure where our fans are and didn't want to disturb DH, who is still getting over his cold and has a lot of work to do. There was no hurry, and I'm happy with how it turned out.

The project was something I could do without expending a lot of effort, and it kept me from going stir-crazy during the worst of the pneumonia.

DBIL stopped by on Sunday while out for a walk. He's continuing to recover from his surgery. We had tea and got caught up on things since his last visit. He's looking good, but has lost about 10 lbs., which he couldn't really spare, so he's trying to put it back on.

I managed to get the photo shoot done for this week's story, which will appear on Friday. Billy and Mariah have some trouble at school, and Veronika tries to advise them.

During the writing of this story, I realized the Mariah looks very nice in purple, so I CO a dress for her using this yarn.

I'm using my Everyday Play Dress pattern, which I haven't made up for some time, and some sock yarn I bought during our first visit with DBIL about 18 months ago. It's a quick knit, and I finished it last night.

It's a very casual dress, designed for play.

It has a placket in the back, with buttons.

I really designed the dress for slightly plumper, shorter (18") dolls, so I modified the pattern. I stopped the shoulder increases two rows early, so there were fewer stitches around, and changed the increases that provide flare to the skirt. Then I worked an extra 8 rounds at the bottom of the skirt before the 5 rounds of garter stitch, to make it longer. I knit it in the round, but it can be knit flat and seamed. Instructions for both methods are included. I plan to make a cardigan to go with it.

No too many projects in the house got finished this week, other than putting all the Christmas things away. DH did manage to replace the little faucet that dispenses filtered water, a difficult job, because the area where he had to work was rather confined due to the placement of the sink. However, here it is in all its glory.

It's firmly affixed in place, unlike its predecessor, a chrome model that took two hands to operate because it kept swiveling around if you didn't hold it. This one matches the kitchen faucet.

We watched the professional football playoff games yesterday afternoon. Both were cliff-hangers, which made for very exciting watching.

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

What's on my needles: Finished the Nurmilintu Shawl, and then the Everyday Play Dress for Mariah. Of course, still the Kisu Takki Cardigan for Jolena is still in progress, and a new cardigan for Mariah to go with he dress.  

What's on my Sparrow 15:  Still waiting.

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

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Boredom. Billy deals with having nothing fun to do. 

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Fear by Bob Woodward, about halfway through.

What's in my wine glass: Muchas Manos Merlot Syrah Tempranillo.

What's my tip of the week: Photosensitive night lights are handy when placed in strategic places, such as hallway and bathroom. They don't have to be unplugged in the daytime, and some of the newer ones provide adequate light to keep from tripping over things if you have to get up at night.

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.