Getting bigger, just like Mister

Remember this from yesterday?

It's getting bigger.

Almost done with the body, about 2" to go.  then I'll pick up the sleeves with 2 circs and work downward.  Finish the neck and then it should be done.  Next a matching hat and booties.

I suspect that Mister is also growing nicely.  I'm one very excited and nervous Grammie!  

New Bambi Yarn!

I love dyeing and knitting and wearing wool/bamboo yarn. It's so soft and yet very sturdy.  Great stuff.  I keep trying different combinations of this yarn, and have found the ultimate Bambi yarn!  80/20 superwash Blue Faced Leicester/bamboo.  BFL has this long fiber which gives the yarn a subtle sheen.  Wears like iron, and yet it is so comfy next to your skin.  The bamboo doesn't take the dye, so the yarn has a heathered appearance.  Really really lovely yarn!  Each skein has 430+ yards, 100 grams, and costs $23.00.

Here's what I just listed in my Etsy shop:  Bramble, Dreams, and Remember.

And I also added one very pretty skein of Carrie Lace yarn (80/20 merino/silk.  100 grams.  1300 yards) Aruba

New Yarns

Pretty new yarns listed on Etsy.  The first 3 are Penny yarns:  450 yards, 75% SW merino/25% nylon,

Anya

Mauve

Reflection

And here is Sunshine:  Bambi yarn.  430 yards, 80% SW merino/20% bamboo

All available on Etsy.

The girls ain't nekkid anymore.

Did that get your attention?  Do you think I might be on the banned blog list from now on?  Evil laugh.

Here are 2 of them.  Doll on left is wearing a mini skirt and the Poet's Darling Top from Liberty Jane.  I don't bother with fancy front seams on the skirt, and the original patterns is too short for my liking.  I kind of like the skirt to cover the doll's bottom, so I made a teeny adjustment and now I have it at the right length.  It's my go-to pattern for easy skirts.  The top was a bit of a challenge for me, but now I understand it, and want to do it again.  However, I think that the sleeve is way too small at the top, so I will make it a bit longer.  And I'll also try for a short sleeve.  I did get to be an expert (!) in attaching bias binding.  I think I might actually understand it after attaching it in this pattern.  I think I will use a contrasting binding the next time, just for the fun of it, and maybe put a border on the skirt in the basic fabric of the top.  I can't tell you just how much fun this is, even with my cursing at the bias binding.

Next to it is the freebie doll dress.  This was my first attempt at attaching bias binding, and I didn't do a great job of it at all.  Now I understand the method.  There's a lot of fudging  in that binding here, but I don't think it's noticeable, and anyhow, does the doll really care? This is a pattern that can take a lot of playing around.  Make it shorter and you have a cute summer top; use a contrast material on the straps, make it shorter  and then add a ruffle to the bottom.  Put on a pocket.  Whatever.  I find that I'm using knitting knowledge on the sewn clothing and sewing knowledge on the knitting.  Cross-cultural experience.

I've been buying most of my patterns on Liberty Jane, and for the most part, I think they are very well done.  Plus I like the more modern feel to the patterns.  I can't see the grands liking froofy goofy dresses and 2 layer-ruffles on the bottoms of pants.  I also like Joan Hind's patterns very much.  She has good instructions that I can understand, and her designs are also contemporary.  Another great designer is Carpatina.  Her dolls are simply lovely; they are skinny 18" dolls and need their own patterns, but she makes her patterns to fit both her dolls and the AG doll.  Haven't made any yet, but I have some of her historical patterns.  I'm not ready for them yet, but my knowledge increases with every garment, and I think I can tackle her patterns in a little while.

The quilt is coming along.  I'm about to attach the inner border, and then work on all the little pieces for the next border.  I'm truly loving this, and I'm constantly looking for new patterns.  But first, I'd like to make my way through a bunch in the Schnibbles book.  I'm using charm squares because the quilts are wall hanging size and a lot cheaper for a beginning quilter to make.  I'm still doing a lot of cutting and sewing, but I like doing small things (hence the doll clothing), and it's easy enough to make any of these with layer cakes, which are 10" squares.  Same technique, only bed-sized quilts.

Here it is, ready for the first border.  Nope, it's not perfect, a couple of seams don't match very well, but I'm happy enough with it.  I tend to be a perfectionist in these things, so ridding myself of that silliness is good for me.

Here are a couple more projects that I've completed:  a couple of pillowcases to match my new sheets, and a wonky little bag that I misread the instructions on, and cut it a lot smaller than it was supposed to be.  But it came together OK, and only you know what a mess I made following the instructions.  BTW, I cannot follow directions.  Neither can my mother.  So following any directions for any of these projects is really hard for me.  Still, it's good for my brain.

The other pillowcase is the opposite of this one.  The border of this one became the body of the other one, and I switched the border also.

Knitting is going along fine.  A mystery project.  In fact, the next project in the Light And Dark Lace Club series. 

Dyeing:  After a long spell of not dyeing, my mojo came back and was influenced by some batik fabric I bought.  Here's a pic of all of them, and they are all available on Etsy, of course.

scrapperjen - Thanks. Aren't they fun?

Scrabblequeen - You know that I cannot read directions, and it took me 2, yes 2, hours to figure out how to cut out this simple pattern. Next time I'm going to use tissue paper and make a real pattern up. Once I started sewing, it was a piece of cake, but you have to see me cutting to see real confusion!

Linda's Shawl

Here she is, Linda's Shawl, all ready for you to knit.  This sweetheart of a shawlette is knitted from the bottom up, not my usual top down.  You start at the lace border, work it without any shaping, and then go on to the stockinette part, which has all the decreases.  That makes it such fun to work.  You have all the fun of the lace while you are anxious to start, and then you just motor along on the stockinette part with each row having less and less stitches.  You'll be amazed at how quickly it knits up.  Once your rows start decreasing, you just go faster and faster.  Such fun!

Here's the story behind the shawl.  Lots of times I unvent or find a lace pattern where the edging has a nice curve or point, and I want that edge to be the outside edge of a shawl.  So, I decided to do this one, bottom up and take advantage of the edge of the design.  But this can be tricky because what do you do if you run out of yarn on the stockinette portion?  I have a bit of a priori knowledge here since I've made lots of these little shawls top down and I know my yardage and how many stitches I end up with.  So, I was somewhat sure that it would all work out.  Not totally sure but almost, kind of, maybe.  And indeed, I ended up with a nice little ball of left over yarn.  

Here's the thing:  When you get to the stockinette portion, the rows have less and less stitches, and therefore use less and less yarn!  So while you're sweating it out that you are just going to run out of yarn, you suddenly realize that you do have enough.

In the event that you do run out of yarn, there's no reason why you can't just loosely bind off.  Your shawl will work more like a curvy stole than a shawl, but that's a lovely shape, too and just as cuddly and capable of draping around your neck.  So it's all a win/win situation.

I used Bambi yarn here and a size 5 (3.75mm) circular needle.  The trick to these shawls is drape; you don't want tight knitting as you need for socks, you want a fluid garment.  So go up to a 4, 5, or even 6 needle to get your gauge, and you'll be so pleased to see how nicely it works up.

You can easily use a variegated yarn here; just make sure that the lace will be visible and not lost in the colors.  A solid or almost solid will be fine, of course.

Linda's Scarf

As a bonus, I've also included a scarf with the same lace pattern.  I loved working the lace, and wanted to do a bit more.  Hence the scarf.

You can also use the lace in a sweater, either as a border or an overall pattern, as a ruffle for mitts, even for socks.  It is so pleasant to work, one of my favorite lace patterns.

Needless to say, I have 2 new shawlette patterns to write up and have test knitted, and the other day, I started yet another one.  What a crazy obsession this is!  I have more shawls that I know what to do with, but I just love wearing them.  They've become knitted embellishment for me. 

pendie - You'll really like knitting this one.  I'm so in love now with bottom up that I have a gazillion ideas in my head.

Scrabblequeen - Not a problem; the shawl isn't going anywhere.  ;-)

LivvyLove - Thanks.  I do enjoy the entire process.  OK, not the writing up, but the designing and playing and knitting! 

Happiness is air conditioning!

Ah, Air Conditioning!

I love it when people say that they don't believe in air conditioning. We would get customers like that all the time in my library days. They'd come into the library and stay for a long time. Then, on the way out, they would dramatically sigh and complain about the heat. So, me, being a kindly soul, would ask them if they had AC at home. "Oh, NO! We don't believe in air conditioning!" What I didn't say, being somewhat nice, was: "So, if you don't believe in AC, why are you in the library?" I didn't even roll my eyes. It seems to me that if you don't believe in AC, then you should avoid it like the plague. But I didn't say that, 'cause I am a kindly, gentle, lady-like person.

We're heading towards 96 today, which is a far sight better than yesterday's 102. And in the spirit of total optimism, I dyed woolly yarn yesterday. The yarn is my new Bambi, 80/20 SW merino/bamboo, so it's not all wool, but still. The basement, AKA my dyeing studio, was relatively cool yesterday morning, so I did my thing, and after it cooked, I let it dry out in the heat. I guess that temp is good for something.

So here we are, and the colors are really very very nice.

Berry Buckle




Corn




Eliza




Dilly




Felicia




Redwood




Peacock




You like? You want? email me at fritzL234 AT yahoo DOT com

I'm going to make myself some iced tea and have a bit of lunch. What else can you do in this heat? Just relax, enjoy the AC (and no, I don't keep the house cold, but yes, I use it), and think of January. In 6 months, we'll all be complaining about the cold. So it goes.

Jen - Thanks. I had a good time dyeing them.

Scrabblequeen - I think you're correct. I often wonder if the same people who don't believe in AC, don't believe in heat in the winter.

itsJUSTme - I knew someone who bought a car without AC, but had the open sun roof. She bought it in winter, and then regretted it in summer!

The Yarnarian Does Socks and Shawls

Shadows on the snow from the backyard fence.

It looks like we have lots of snow. Nope. Just the tiny bit left, but I noticed how the fence was shadowed on that bit of snow and liked it a lot.

I'm back into knitting socks. I'm not sure if the full mojo is with me, but I'm enjoying what I'm knitting. During the summer I dyed up a skein of Bambi yarn into a self-striping pattern, and never did anything with it. Yesterday I started a sock with it, and I'm very pleased with the results. I've been looking at a number of German sock blogs, and a lot of the knitters make plain Jane socks just to show off the dyeing. So, I'm now doing a 56 stitch sock with a rib of k5, p2. Just enough pull in from the ribbing to fit well, and still not miles of stockinette.




The other project I started is another shawl. This one is in my new Penny yarn, which I really really like! Really like! If you want a lovely, soft-yet-durable sock yarn 75/25, with great yardage (450 yards +), this is your baby. I was in a pastel dyeing mode when I dyed it, and it never sold. I liked it, however, and wanted to do something with it. I tried socks, but the coloring wasn't happy with a 56 stitch repeat. So, I tried this little shawl, and I'm so pleased with it. I'm not going to tell you what the lace part will be like because I like to surprise you, but here is the center portion, and it is easy, peasy with great bang for the tiny extra bit of work involved.




Sunrise/sunset in Morristown, NJ for Sunday, January 10: 7:22/4:50. Did you notice that the days are a bit longer in the afternoon. Spring is on its way. I'm very good at self-delusion.

itsJUSTme-wendy - Let's hope he doesn't have very large feet. The Hubbo's socks took me forever. 3 pairs and then I told him I was done. giggle.