The Little Red Hen

Dolled Up

P's doll has a new dress. I finished this last night and am pleased that the dress fit the doll perfectly when worked straight from the pattern directions.  P wanted sleeves that went all the way to the wrist so I just made them a little longer.

The pattern is F in the picture below. I used the self patterning sock yarn instead of knitting a two color design. P is thrilled. She has put in an order for a pink version of dress E,  a pair of underpants like those on the line, some socks, and a snowsuit.

We shall see.

I am off to spin some more yarn to make sleeves for the cable doll sweater I am knitting.

Thoughtful Sunday

"I like stripes on zebras,

Flowers on rugs,

Polka-dots on lady bugs,

Marble full of wiggly streaks,

Speckled stones you find in creeks,

Insides of shells, all wavy-pearly,

The way the sky looks very early."

Colors Are Nice, Adelaide Holl, 1979.

Needling Around

I may have mentioned earlier that I often have multiple projects going. It is so true. These are all knitting projects that I have been working on in just the last couple of days. Clockwise from the upper left:

1. the sleeve for another doll sweater like this -  being the third sweater knit from this pattern I stalled after knitting the body and starting the sweater. Really not much knitting to do but I was a little tired of the design.

2. a block for the barn raising afghan shown here. I found the bag of blocks and left over sock yarns when I cleaned in the sewing room and started working on these again.

3. The hem of a doll dress from a pattern in this book. I am letting the self striping, fair isle print of the yarn do the knit pattern here. I got the yarn at the thrift store (see yesterday's post). 234 stitches with a provisional cast on picot hem. Very tedious I really thought this would be a quick knit. After I finish cursing this hem row I think things will speed along.

4. Plain crew sock for D. This is the project I keep in my purse for whenever I have a spare minute to knit.

5. The swatch for the dress I'll be knitting during the olympics - the pattern picture is here.

Oh, and I just remembered the hat that I'm designing. I had a pattern worked out for the top down but am thinking about rewriting it from the bottom up.

Don't think this is all that I have on the needles though. I have some almost forgotten projects buried deep under piles of other stuff.

Remember this ? Well, I actually frogged it a few days ago. I am going to come up with a better pattern for this yarn, the gauge was just not working out.

and this? That Christmas tree in the background was from December 2008!! I may end up taking this one out too. I am learning that when a knitting project stalls this long that there is a reason.

I am focusing on knitting these days because my sewing room is open to the construction area upstairs and I don't want to get out fabrics and scraps and have them get dusty. My knitting projects are quite a bit easier to keep contained. Well, one at a time, they are. If I keep starting more they will be just as cluttery as a scrap quilt in progress. 

There is never a dull moment around here.

What is keeping YOU busy this winter?

Winter Thrifting

Winter thrifting around here is not nearly as exciting or thrifty as the warm weather rummage and garage sale season. We are limited to shopping at the local thrift stores. Last week I visited a few and came home with some fun finds.

I was happy to find this fun little pyrex bowl and pale green cashmere sweater. I haven't decided if I will wear the sweater as it is or frog it and knit something else. I think this yarn would look good in a cable design. I may just wear the sweater until I decide. It is a bit more green than the photograph shows.

 

Again I was happy with the pyrex dish for leftovers and was thrilled to find one of the Elizabeth Zimmerman books I have been looking for. I love that it has many notes in it from a previous knitter. It is a well used book.

I didn't notice that these last sweaters were Hokie colors until they were beside me in the car. The maroon one is definitely going to be frogged. It is a very unattractive design but it is knit with a wonderfully soft merino/angora blend yarn. I think perhaps I'll make a hat, mitten, scarf set with this yarn. The orange sweater is cashmere. I can really show my Hokie pride if I wear the sweater and hat set together! 

Hoki, Hoki, Hoki, Hy.
Techs, Techs, V.P.I.
Sola-Rex, Sola-Rah.
Polytechs - Vir-gin-ia.
Rae, Ri, V.P.I.

Winter Walk

We have been having some wicked cold weather around here.  We have had the same snow for weeks and are eagerly awaiting some fresh snow!  We want to have a snow day and build a snowman. It is too cold for snowmen now. The snow is dry and powdery and doesn't stick together.

Yesterday, we enjoyed a quick walk to the frozen lake.

 

Our house project is moving along slowly. We are still in the demolition stage. Some flooring came up yesterday and one wall in the stairwell came down before that.

If you were wondering - plaster dust gets in EVERYTHING. Even when you close doors to the demolition area. The entire house filled with a cloud of plaster dust. I cleaned up a lot of it but I think I'll wait until the rest of the  plaster that needs to come down is removed before doing much more.

Thoughtful Sunday

"The whole world had changed. Only the fairy tales remained the same."

Number the Stars, Lois Lowry, 1989.

Gratitude

I am grateful for even the smallest glimpse of the sun in the winter.

Handspun Handknit

This little doll sweater was knit as a sample for Chris's Blue Faced Leicester roving. It was a real pleasure to spin this fiber and the yarn turned out very soft. I split the roving lengthwise into fourths before spinning. This is what it looked like before I started. 

P loves this sweater. The pattern is for an 18 inch American Girls style doll but she was thrilled when we discovered that it also fits her doll. She has seen me knit two of these sweaters that were not for her. Both sweaters have been mailed away.

I am sure you can guess what I did last night.

I spun some yarn for a sweater for little miss Petunia's doll.

I don't know when I'll get that next sweater knit.

A mother's work is never done.

Thoughtful Sunday

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."

Anne Frank, Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank, 1952.

Pie Day

I seem to learn a lot of things on flickr these days. I checked in this morning and learned that today is National Pie Day. So, naturally I made a pie.

 

Put it on your calendars for next year. January 23 - National Pie Day.

If you're quick you still have time to make a pie tonight!

I mixed up a pie crust and used this easy recipe with blueberries from the freezer.

Happy Pie Day.

If you missed the celebration today you get another chance on  March 14: Pi Day.