Another Week, Come and Gone!

During breaks in the rain, a few things happened outdoors. The squirrel picnic table was installed. It took the "tree rats" (as a friend calls them) about overnight to find the "picnic."

The next day: picked clean. The squirrels even cleaned up after themselves, gathering up all the corn that fell onto the ground.

The vegetable and herb pot is producing tomatoes. They're small, Siam Mini Tomatoes.

The hydrangea bushes in the front of the house are blooming nicely and growing, too.

We finally have some apples, after three years in the ground. I'll go out on a limb (tee-hee) and say that the birds are going to love them.

The birds should love the strawberries, too. This one is about 1" long. There are quite a few. I hope they leave us one or two to pay us for our work.

I finished Pippa's Stripy Pullover. I published a revision to the original pattern (Pauly's Stripy Pullover) to make the ribbing tidy. I had forgotten that you have to knit one row/round of the ribbing color before starting the ribbing. Otherwise the top of the ribbing appears in the other color.

All the blocks in the T-shirt quilt are sewn together with the sashing. Just the borders to go, and the top will be finished.

The quilt would go together faster, but I have to keep an eye on Rocky when Charlie is out in the yard. Now that the weather is nicer, he likes to go outdoors, too, and walk around. Someone has to supervise him, though, because he can barely see or hear, and occasionally he collapses on the ground and can't get up again. He has a hard time getting down the stairs from the deck, and he can't get back up them, so we have put up a baby gate to keep him on the deck unless we're out in the yard to watch. I put him out on the grass in the morning for ten minutes while I fix the dogs' breakfast. Then I put him out several times during the day. I have to go get him, because he can't find his way back. (He never did have a very good sense of direction.) Rocky  just visited the groomer on Friday. It's still cool, so he wears one of his fleece jackets until his hair grows back in a bit. I'm so glad he survived long enough to enjoy some nice weather again.

 

The Doll's Storybook just reached four years. I thought about taking some time off, but the stories keep coming to me and I have to write them down. I have a post that lists all the stories, starting with the first one on June 22, 2018, along with the links to each one. The way the blog is organized, it's hard to find the earlier stories otherwise. There are 209 of them, one each Friday. I've been starting to think about another published book, perhaps one with all the classic stories and fairy tales, retold as only the dolls can tell them.  

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.

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

What's on my needles: Finished Pippa's Stripy Pullover. A few more rows done on the Hinterland Pullover. Soon it will be long enough for the ribbing. No progress on the emPower People Kerchief.

What's on my loom: No progress on the Trailer Rugs, but I'll be needing them soon, so....

What's on my sewing machine: Still the T-shirt quilt.

What's in my hoop: No progress on the Whole Cloth Quilt.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: In this week's story, The Perils of Pauly and Pippa, Pippa finds out that she has had an advantage over Pauly by coming into a family of other dolls who know what kinds of things are dangerous. She teaches Pauly all the things you have to watch out for, including how to cross the street.

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: La Crima Purpura again, "Vino Tinto Seco" (Dry Red Wine) from Spain, notes of cherry, but dry.

What's my tip of the week: If you weigh your yarn before you start on a project, then weigh how much you have left when you're done, it will tell you how much you used. It's better than weighing the finished project afterwards, which might have several different kinds of yarn and perhaps some buttons. It also will take into account any tails you trim off after weaving in at the end. (High humidity can make yarn weigh more.)

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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The Power, Light and Heat

We’ve had very cold temps, hovering around 0°. Squeekers found some sun to warm up in on the back deck.

Sunny’s flat screen had good reception until it got dark. (It’s mostly bird and squirrel shows, but she enjoys them.)

We’re set up for cold temps, but the evening of New Year’s Day the power went off.

It was already dark. Stuff for dinner was in a.) the gas oven, which doesn’t work without power, b.) the electric oven, which, obviously, doesn't work without power and c.) the microwave oven that doesn’t…well, you get the picture. Of course, the TV went off during the Rose Bowl game. (Did Stanford win?) DH had to trim the oil lamps by candlelight. With no power, we had no heat for the house other than the gas stove downstairs and the fireplace in the living room. I had washed the tablecloth and set the table with the good dishes, but we weren’t going to be able to eat in there, because it was already getting cold when we were ready. The bright side: the bread was already baked (I use the bread machine to mix the dough and bake in the oven) and sitting on the cooling rack. The salad was made, and the salad dressing and the butter were already out on the table, so we didn’t have to open the fridge. The stuff in the ovens was close enough to being done that we could just leave the doors closed for a bit. We just had to wait until the power came back on to heat up the asparagus in the microwave. It made a nice dessert. Dinner turned out OK, even if we couldn’t really see what we were eating. I tried to knit by candlelight, but gave up and settled down with my iPad and the book I was reading on it.

I had finished the “Dolly Does Dinner” outfit for Dolly. Here it is with the bolero. I think Miss Daphne and Dolly's counterpart, Daphne Jr., will enjoy it when it arrives for her birthday in May.

I was ready to start on two new outfits, using the patterns “Crossover Cardigan Set” for "Dolly's Out for Shopping" and “Girly Tank Top Set” for "Dolly's Valentine Set" both from Ravelry designer Jacqueline Gibb using this yummy stuff I picked up at Wasatch & Wool on Wednesday. (The ribbon came from Michael’s, where I stopped before going on to the yarn store.)

The yarn is Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in White, Ultra Marine, Yellow and Butter and Frog Tree Ewetopia with the romantic color name “1251.”

I’m participating in a KAL (knit along) on Ravelry in the American Girl Knitters group. We have to make a project between January 1st and 31st that has a heart and/or kiss somewhere on it (for Valentine’s Day). It has to be either a sweater and hat, or a dress, and it can be knitted, crocheted or hand-woven. We can use any colors we want. We get a free hat pattern if we finish, and all qualifying finishers will be included in a drawing. On top of that, several designers in the group have offered special deals on their patterns. I wanted to start something, but had to wait for January 1st to start the Valentine outfit, so I CO the houndstooth skirt from the other outfit (which doesn't meet the qualifications for the KAL). It was done the next day, a quick and fun knit, especially if you pay attention to the pattern instructions. On Friday, when it was legal, I CO the "Skinny Rib Top" from the other pattern, which fortunately also goes well with the houndstooth skirt. Dolly really wanted to get out of her party clothes. Here they are together.

We also ordered Dolly and Daphne Jr. "wig brushes," which have metal tines or spokes set in a rubber base, recommended for both American Girl and Madame Alexander Dolls, which is what Dolly and Daphne Jr. are.

What's on my needles:  The “Dolly’s Valentine Set” and “Dolly’s Out for Shopping” outfits for Dolly, working on the second skirt. Still the Trickle Socks, of course.

What's on my Featherweight: Still waiting on the last two blocks of the Kaleidoscope Quilt, as well as some underwear and other stuff for Dolly.

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished An Irish Country Village by Patrick Taylor, then started The Dead Key by D.M. Pulley, both from Audible. Finished reading The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer on the Nook app, then started the The Other Harlow Girl by Lynn Messina on the Kindle app.

What's in my wine glass: Nathanson Creek Cabernet Sauvignon, the one with the frog on the label because I ended up having to frog the houndstooth skirt a couple of times because I misread a couple of lines in the pattern. (Not the designer’s fault. It was very clear.)

What's my tip of the week: If you live where the power goes off in the winter, it’s really good to have an alternative form of heat. Keep flashlights with fresh batteries, candles and matches and possibly oil lamps. More important, know where all this stuff is so you can find it by the light of your phone. Speaking of phone, keep it and other devices charged. It’s a good idea to have a backup power source. Ours has a plug like a car cigarette lighter that we can plug our charger cords into. You can also use it to start your car if the battery is dead. It’s a good idea to be prepared for power outages no matter where you live. Tornados, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes can all leave you without power. Be prepared.

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.

High Fiber--Progress on All Fronts

We've had some progress on all fronts here. First, we finally got our first snowfall of the season. This was my back yard:

The resorts are happy. Now if it will stay cold enough, maybe they can keep some of it to form the base they will add to when they make snow. (All of our local ski areas made it into the top 10 ski resorts this year.)

The cold weather, even temporary, is hard on our wildlife. Not that Squeeky is wild. He depends on his "welfare check" to get him through times when food is hard to find. We have watched him put some aside, though, just in case. His favorite handout is peanuts, which come pre-packaged in squirrel take-out boxes.

We were glad to have our bathroom remodel progressed to the stage where we don't have to worry about ventilation or being warm enough to dry out the materials. The tilework is almost done. The grout still has to go in (today), but you can get an idea of how it will look.

The floor of the shower is pebbles, so we will get a nice foot massage while we shower. The old shower stall was smaller than the shower in our little trailer, so this is an improvement.

The political campaigns will be done soon, too. I'll be glad to be free again to knit, quilt and spin! (Once I get the house cleaned up, though.) I completed my mail-in ballot on Friday. Rocky made sure I filled it out properly. 

If you haven't voted yet, be sure to do so, regardless of the candidates you support. The important thing is to inform yourself and vote!

You may have noticed Rocky's sweater. I finished it for him nearly a year ago, and he has been enjoying it tremendously! It's great that it can go through the washer and dryer and still look nice when it's done.

The pattern is Biscuits and Bones by Patons. The yarn is Knit Picks' Swish Worsted in "Hollyberry."

Progress has also been made on my Dogwood Blossoms cardigan:

In case you're seeing this project for the first time, I made some changes to the sweater. I threw out one color and added several others. I also changed the design to drop-shoulder. You can read what I did here.

The grandkids are coming for the Christmas holidays, so I will be cleaning up and getting ready. Both grandsons are expecting to see moose! Here's Soren's request, received Saturday:

Then Zachary seconded the motion on Sunday:

We're ordering salt licks!

Everyone who's in Sandy's wake, please stay safe!

What's on my needles: Dogwood Blossoms.
What's on my wheel: Full Circle Roving in "Pigeon."
What's on my iPad: Just finished Odd Apocalypse by Dean Koontz, from Audible. Great book, as usual!
What's in my wine glass: Charles Shaw (Two-buck Chuck) Shiraz. One of our favorites!

Note: This blog post was produced entirely on the MacBook, using the iPad for photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.

High Fiber--Fluffy and Cold

We got another blizzard, starting Saturday night. Here's what it looked like midday on Sunday:

This is the time of year to be concerned with those less fortunate. Do you carry a packet of nonperishable food in your car? You never know when you might come across someone in need. Our Squeeky has been stowing peanuts away for cold weather:

Still, Squeeky has us to feed him, the least we can do when he's so accurate predicting the weather for us. (If he makes multiple trips to our back upstairs deck for sunflower seeds and peanuts, we know a storm is coming!) We think Squeeky is either a Chickaree or an American Red Squirrel, which might be the same thing. He has been living here since about the time we got Rocky six years ago.

The snow brings opportunities for outdoor fun, though. Saturday we went snowshoeing. Here Rocky jumps to catch a snowball I threw for him.

It has been a busy week, though. I worked on Christmas presents all week. I finished the Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ) for Daphne. (I've been using the pattern in Elizabeth Zimmermann's The Opinionated Knitter. Here's the front--

And the back. I started out with Knit Picks Stroll spinning fiber and dyed it with Koolaid. (Photos of the process were discussed in an earlier blog.) Then I made a worsted-weight three-ply to make a bigger version than I made before.

I lengthened the sleeves, which can start out turned up as cuffs. As she grows, they can be turned down. I also made a hood for it based on Elizabeth Zimmermann's Tomten Jacket hood. It worked out great. I had never done grafting with garter st before, but her instructions made it easy. Easier, in fact, than Kitchener St. for the toe of a sock. Bet you can't see which row of sts is the grafting!

I haven't shown a picture of Daphne for a while, so here she is, seven months old. I will see her in just a few days! Her first Christmas will be here at our house!

Vintage Stitchers met on Thursday for its annual potluck lunch holiday party. Everyone had something to show. To see all the quilts and quilt tops we had for show and tell, check out my Quilt With Us page and my photos.

Besides the BSJ, I finished up the second and third felted bag. The one on the left will hold Oh Baby! Crochet, and the lucky recipient of the one on the right will get Knit & Wrap by Nathalie Mornu, which includes a pattern by our own Cheryl Waters and Anet Skillin.

There is also a learn to spin kit from Blue Moon Alpaca Ranch, to which I have added some of KP's Peruvian Wool spinning roving. Other knitted and quilted presents for friends and family may be seen in my previous blogs.

I just took the last of the pacapoo off my wheel. It's drying now, so I should be able to start DH's hat tomorrow! I still have presents to wrap and cleanup to do.

My app of the week is Jingle All the Way. I'm looking forward to showing this to Daphne, although she will be a little young for it right now. It includes the book, which is about a Husky pup who gets a home for Christmas. Kids can read the book themselves or have it read to them, make their own recording with a music background, put together puzzles and play a barking xylophone. You can get the stuffed toy to go with it or not. What a fun app! (It was free when I got mine, so even better!)

If you have kids with you Christmas Eve, check this out. You can track Santa's progress around the world!

Happy holidays, everyone! I'll see you before New Year's Eve!