"Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either." ~ Elizabeth Zimmerman

6/14/17

Today - Birds

The Parkarosa Bird Buffet is pretty busy lately. Mostly I have Chickadees, a Nuthatch, Pine Siskins, and various finches. However, there are some new birds hanging around lately I thought I'd share.

This year I hung a Hummingbird feeder in the buffet tree. It's getting customers.



I'm pretty sure this is a Calliope hummingbird. Haven't been able to see it's chest yet but we only get two types at my house and this definitely isn't a Rufous. The Rufous is brown.

A Black Headed Grosbeak showed up about 2 weeks ago.



The poor fellow seems to be alone. I've yet to see a mate.



He eats a lot too.



This last customer I call Birdus Squirrelus.



We've always had grey squirrels around here, but this is the first time any have bothered my feeders. He shows up while the front sprinklers are on which is why he's soaking wet. He spends a few minutes eating, then leaves. So I don't think I'm going to worry about it, unless he starts bringing friends. If that happens, I will be having a long talk with my cats.

Asa has new clothes. My sister, Jodie, made this dress to fit her.



She has some more she's made available for purchase on her web site, Jodie's Creations. If you have an Iplehouse JID girl, give her site a visit. Jodie's Creations

I've been working on Asa's kimono when I can. I have the body



and sleeves done.



I just have to put them together. It's going to fit Asa perfectly.

This is going to be my last post for awhile. We're heading out for Rhode Island to visit our daughter and son-in-law for a few days. I'll resume posting when I get back.

Live long and prosper. \\//

6/8/17

Adventures In Doll Kimonos

Had a very nice weekend. It was beautiful on Saturday. We'd had a couple days of rain so all the pine pollen was washed away. I was able to open the doors and windows and let the breeze go through the house.

Earlier last week 2 kimono patterns I'd ordered for dolls arrived, so I decided to get started on making a kimono for Asa. The patterns were difficult to understand without knowing something about kimonos, like how they're worn, why they were worn, etc. So I spent the morning googling kimonos. I learned quite a bit. The Japanese culture is so full of ritual. It fascinates me. Anyway, I could understand the patterns much better. I decided to make the kimono from a pattern designed for Ellowyne Wilde I bought from the Etsy shop DGRequim because it was the easiest looking.

Asa is just a bit bigger than Ellowyne, but kimonos usually fit loose. I took careful measurements and it looked like it was going to fit Asa.

There are actually 2 kimonos worn together. An under kimono with narrower sleeves is worn that is usually white, though any solid color can be used. The thing about this particular pattern is that she's designed it so it looks like there's an under kimono, but there isn't. However, the option to make one is in the pattern. I opted to make one. It turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. However, it's just a tad too small for Asa. It fits Ellowyne perfectly.



The second pattern I have is a little larger than the first one, so I am going to try it out. It's from Doll Pattern Bazaar on Etsy. The first pattern above actually has some waist shaping in it, which is not put in a regular kimono. This pattern here doesn't have it. It should fit Asa fine width-wise. I just need to add some length to the body. I hope to work on this next weekend.

I am currently working with cotton fabric on this project. I want to know what I'm doing before I get into something fancier. In the meantime, I found a very reasonably priced piece of embroidered silk on Ebay that I've bought for the fancier kimono, when I'm ready.

While I was sewing for my dolls, my husband was working on the hot tub. If you'll remember, it developed a serious leak last fall. He thought he'd work on it during the winter, but that didn't happen. He finally started working on it a few weeks ago, mostly cuz I was whining about it. (Heh heh). He's been working on it for several weekends rebuilding the inner workings, as well as the skirting around it. He wanted to finish it and get it out of his hair (as he put it) this last weekend. It's been a big project. He got it done and set it up back where it belongs beside the deck. On Monday I cleaned it out thoroughly because it had pollen, dust, dead bugs, sand, and all manner of icky stuff in it. Then I filled it with clean water. I couldn't get it to turn on though. So I had to wait until Sweet Hubby was home from work. He said the pump needed to be primed. He did that for me and got everything working.

On Tuesday morning I finally got to sit in the hot tub for a good soak again. My back is so happy.

Live long and prosper. \\//

6/7/17

Layette Set #21 for KnitWits

Another set finished. This set is obviously for a boy.



The Cardigan

I wanted to do something different. I wanted to make a little cardigan in the style of a letterman's jacket. This is what I came up with.



PatternLittle Coffee Bean Cardigan by Elizabeth Smith

Size made: 6 months

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver
Content: 100% Acrylic, Worsted weight
Color: Denim

Yarn: Lion Brand Pound of Love
Content: 100% Acrylic, Worsted weight
Color: Light green

Needles: U.S. size  7 circulars

Started: May 2, 2017
Finished: May 18, 2017

Comments:  I used the Little Coffee Bean Cardigan for my basic pattern. I had to use Intarsia in order to make this little cardi. It's been awhile since I've done Intarsia. Glad to know I still know how. I did 2 by 2 rib for the welt, cuffs, and button bands because that's what the pattern said, but I wish I'd done 1 by 1 rib instead. The stripes would look better. Other than that, I'm very pleased with how it came out.

I love the buttons. I found them at Joann's. So appropriate for a sporty type of garment.



All in all, I think it turned out pretty good.



The Hat

With the cuffs and whatnot being striped, I wanted to incorporate that into the hat so it would match. I also wanted something a little more masculine looking. I decided to do 2 by 2 rib. I winged this one. No pattern involved. Just my brain.



Pattern: I winged it.

Size made: 6 months

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver
Content: 100% Acrylic, Worsted weight
Color: Denim

Yarn: Lion Brand Pound of Love
Content: 100% Acrylic, Worsted weight
Color: Light green

Needles: U.S. size  7 circulars

Started: May 20, 2017
Finished: May 23, 2017

The Booties

Used the same pattern I always use. Just made the cuff 2 by 2 rib instead of what I usually do.



PatternSeamless Garter Tassel Booties by Karen Strauss

Size made: 6 months

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver
Content: 100% Acrylic, Worsted weight
Color: Denim

Yarn: Lion Brand Pound of Love
Content: 100% Acrylic, Worsted weight
Color: Light green

Needles: U.S. size  7 circulars

Started: May 23, 2017
Finished: May 30, 2017



Blanket



Pattern: None

Size made: 30 by 36 inches

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver
Content: 100% Acrylic, Worsted weight
Color: Denim

Yarn: Lion Brand Pound of Love
Content: 100% Acrylic, Worsted weight
Color: Light green

Hook: U.S. size G

Started: June 1, 2017
Finished: June 2, 2017



Close up of edging. It's 2 rows of Sc, Ch 2. One row of Dc in next 2 sts, sk 1 st. Pretty straight forward. I started out doing a Dc in every stitch, but the Supersaver is thicker yarn than the Pound of Love, so it got ruffled. Skipping one stitch fixed that.

I'm thinking about keeping this one to enter in the fair.

Live long and prosper. \\//