T is for..

Time Warp.

Wherein I blog about something I missed the first time around, or finished before the blog existed. Such entries are usually made on Tuesday, but whatever, I need to catch up.

I always have such grand plans to make stuff for my dolls, but it's frustratingly rare that I ever do. I was stuck home sick one day, though, and the AG group on Ravelry was having a contest, so I whipped out my crochet hook and actually made something!

The pattern is called Off to Bath, and it's to match a girl-sized capelet of the same name. Both are from "Austentatious Crochet".

The shells are made up of elongated double crochet stitches that are a bit of a nuisance, but it's just three rows and then the collar and ties and you're done. I used Red Heart Soft, which is a decent acrylic, more substantial than Caron Simply Soft.

There isn't much to the piece, but I like how it goes with the red velvet dress.

Patterns I love that start with T:

TARDIS Tissue Box Cover (free!)
Tea Time Colonial Dress for American Girl - speaking of doll clothes...
The Teddy Bear that Saved Me - the designer knit these to sell while he was homeless
Theodóra - Icelandic doll knit from Icelandic yarn
Through the Woods... - cabled neckwarmer with hood
Travelling Gnome (free!)
Tudor Rose - ruffled, beaded cuffs
Twinkle Twinkle Baby Blanket

Falalalalala

Merry Christmas!  If you're Catholic, anyway!  Merry belated-Christmas to everyone else!


Lip service to Chanukah, which was way at the beginning of December this year!  I made a valiant attempt at latkes that was MUCH more successful than last year's, and even more so when I made them again a few days later (grating the onions instead of chopping them helped immensely, as did upping the salt, but I should have listened to my mother and used one egg instead of two; it's always one egg).

 I've also discovered that using enough oil to fry them in is essential.  Try as I might, a tablespoon or two just isn't enough.  There has to be some depth.  Anyway, we make latkes BECAUSE they're fried in oil (and apparently also to honor Judith, who has nothing to do with Chanukah, but latkes used to be made with cream cheese, and Judith tricked the enemy leader into getting drunk by feeding him lots of salty cheese and offering wine to wash it down, and then she beheaded him - it's in the Catholic Bible, apocrypha ahoy!)

I'm a little hyped up on a espresso.

We didn't do much for Chanukah besides eating latkes and doughnuts and lighting the candles, mainly because by 'we' I mean Silas and I, since Ryan was working most nights, and eight-month-olds, while appreciative of spinning tops, don't really play a  mean game of dreidel.  I did tell him the Chanukah story, but again, eight-month-old (incidently, you can also find  the events leading up to the Chanukah story in, drumroll, please, the Catholic Bible; Protestants, we are missing out).  Ryan had me watch the Rugrats Chanukah special, which was very cute, though I'm not a fan at all of the cartoon.  The voices, the animation, the character design, the music . . . it all gives me a feeling of repulsion, though I do find some of the jokes pretty clever.

As deeply as we value our Hebrew roots (well, mine anyhow), Christmas will pretty much always take top billing around here.  For one thing, there just isn't much call for Chanukah ornaments.  I'm told the Chanukah bush is a real thing in a lot of families, but not ours.  My mom barely tolerated the Christmas tree's tenuous tradition, given that Jesus probably never even saw a pine tree in all His days on Earth (we should have argued that He created them), but we put our tree up almost every year, and there's certainly no point to a Chanukah bush when you've got the real deal.  A few years ago, I decided I wanted to make at least one new ornament each Christmas, and I usually end up making several.

This year, I tried Romanian Point Lace.

Fascinating, fussy technique.  The end result is undeniably beautiful and very impressive, but it's going to be a while before I try it again.  That being said, I've already queued up this year's RPL ornament, because I enjoy subjecting myself challenges.

I also made a wee knit mousie.

 I can't begin to tell you how greatly he tickles my fancy, with his wee pink nose, beady eyes, little red hood with a green bauble, tiny bobble paws . . .

There is something deliciously satisfying about making ornaments from thread and/or fingering weight yarns.  The end result is so much more 'finished.'  I joined an ornament swap on Ravelry just to draw the feeling out, and while I was originally going to send the RPL holly, when I realized how much labor was going into it, I was unwilling to part with it.  In a fit of insanity, I made a Feegle instead.

He's made from the brilliant Beth Ann Webber's Mini Free Spirit pattern, on a much smaller scale - I used crochet thread instead of worsted yarn, because my partner was allergic to wool and acrylic.  Can we say pain in the neck?  Crocheting this with thread, not my partner's allergies!  But he turned out so feisty!  The hair was a pain, too - if I make another one down the road I'll probably give in and do a wig cap instead of latch-hooking all those little threads directly into his scalp.  I call him Wee-er-than-Wee-Jock-Jock.  I had grand plans to make him a genuine great kilt on tiny scale, but the best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley, and I found it couldn't be done on the minute amount of patience I had left after making the doll, so he has a wee little skirt and a wee little sash, and the ittiest-bittiest little sporran, and looks for all the world like a dangerously mischievous blue girl scout with a beard.  My partner knew just what he was supposed to be, though, and was very pleased with him.  I drew up a little Christmas card that showed (roughly) a tree full of Feegles, stealing the ornaments and the gifts, and brawling with the angel. I thought it was pretty darn funny.  You can see her photo of it here; it also shows the teensy bit of holly I crocheted to ornament Jock's hanger, to make it more Christmas-y, modeled here on Silas's knee.  The berries are beads.

I received in turn an adorable little crocheted Christmas tree from Finland.  I love it!  It's made from some kind of popcorn stitch, I think, and it has a lovely heft to it.  I think the garland looks like icing, and the bitty star on top is too adorable.  I couldn't stop smiling when I opened the package.

A little research reveals that she used this pattern from Planet June.  Very pretty.  I love the idea of a seed bead garland, and I'm really curious about the bobbley stitch the tree is made of.

I also started an elf and an angel, but in the flurry of gift-knitting (and crocheting, of course), they were sadly set aside to be finished later for 2013's tree

Friday at last!

 I accomplished things today.  I went grocery shopping, paid my insurance, set up an installment plan for those pesky hospital bills, fixed an issue on Silas's coverage, and set up an appointment to meet with a possible daycare provider.

As for finished objects for the week, you've seen the bag:

And the bookmark:

Both of which leave me giddy with feelings of fulfillment.  I need to put my beloved kindle aside for a while and read a real book so that I can put the bookmark to use.

Other than that, I have only finished these:

I'm torn between naming her Wilhelmina and calling her Billie for Billie Piper, or naming her Elizabeth and calling her one of the 30 odd nicknames that would provide.  Anyway, real quick dress and shrug pattern so that she's no longer running around naked, made from more leftovers of the Great Knitted Thing of 2006.  The shrug came out a little odd and doesn't fit her at all well, but shrugs are like that anyway, in my opinion.  While crocheting it I watched the first few episodes of the second season of Dark Shadows.  Soap operas were different in the 60's, weren't they?

Something to squee about

I feel like I had a productive weekend.  Stuff got done.  Not the vitally important stuff, of course, but stuff.  Laundry, shopping, pumping.  Stuff.

I finally bought some doll eyes so that I can continue working on the Basic Amigurumi doll.

Why not brown, after all?

While I was a it, I bought a doll stand!

Now Mirasol, who I am debating on renaming Marigold, can stand up, in a head-lolling kind of way.

And to her left, you can see my last squee purchase.  In my quest to provide Ravelry with as many pictures for its pattern database as possible, I came across several Barbie patterns and was charmed by the idea.  However, I haven't owned any Barbies since I reluctantly donated my collection before going to college.  I really adored those dolls, silly as it may seem, and I can't wait to have a daughter some day so I can start buying them again.  These patterns, so desperately in need of pictures, gave me an excuse.  After all, Barbie can be a valid craft project, and I am a crafter.  And it's garage sale season.  My husband can not object to one Barbie, bought for a quarter, with no clothing or accessories.  She hardly takes up any room.

Here she is, yet unnamed (perhaps Ella?), clothed in the latest from MS Paint, because apparently I'm a bit prudish about doll nudity.

I'm absurdly pleased to have her, because evidently I'm five years old at heart.  You know what?  I'm okay with that.  I just love dolls.

FO Friday

Time to roll out the projects I've finished in the last week.  I can't imagine that this will be a terribly regular feature - I'm not so fast a knitter as to warrant even one FO every week, and once I go back to work I'll be lucky to get a blog post per week.

Of course there was the dishcloth.  I really haven't subscribed to the dishcloth madness that seems to have all of knittingdom in its clutches.  I don't quite 'get' it, though I understand why so many others flock to them.  The more decorative ones I don't mind making, though.  These star-shaped ones (and matching coasters) I made a couple years ago were fun.

They make TERRIBLE dishcloths, in my opinion.  Or maybe it's just the way that after I've used them to scrub the dishes (or the baby) and throw them in the washer, they come out looking dingy, misshapen, and a little ratty.  It really kills their appeal, considering I originally made them more as something pretty to put a hot plate on, and only used them for cleaning because all of my real dishcloths were in the wash.

It was a bit of a lark, but when I discovered that this pattern for barefoot baby sandals didn't have an action shot on Ravelry, I whipped one up quickly and put it on Silas's unsuspecting foot to remedy the problem.  As another Raveler put it, "Without the baby foot in them it’s kind of like a photo game of “Guess What This Is."  They're just about the cutest things ever.  I might just get it in my head to devise some sort of masculine version, though it will be a shame to lose the pretty little pink flowers.  There must be some kind of adorable boy-friendly appliques out there!  Little bear faces, perhaps.

The little hat that I made for Silas was such a hit that my cousin-in-law's wife asked me to make one for her son.  I thought Henry was a year old this month, but apparently I'm dazed and confused, because he's only nine months.  My fears that the hat was turning out too large were allayed when I saw the size of the kid's noggin, but I won't rest completely easy until I see a picture of it on his head.  For now, here's a picture of it on a large ball of yarn balancing on a custard cup

Finally, another photo-adoption - a doll-sized Christmas hat for the much-neglected Heather.  I'd had all these aspirations of creating an entire wardrobe for her that I would one day be able to share with a daughter, but so far, this is it.

I have several sewing, knitting, and crochet patterns stockpiled, but somehow I just never get around to it.  Maybe if I do have a daughter in a few years, I'll be better motivated.  Ah well.  For a supposedly Christmas hat, it came out awfully strawberry-like.  It does make me want to find more doll clothes in need of photos; unfortunately most of them are for Barbies.  I have a dangerous inclination to go buy a Barbie . . .

I frogged the pink glove, may it rest in peace.  I have the yarn for a second attempt lined up in front of me on the desk, but I'm leery of being burned again.  I might have to do a gauge swatch.  And math.

Boo.

The knitting stops here, so those not on board with crazy ramblings should depart.  Of course, I say knitting when everything pictured is crocheted...

If there was one thing I needed to worry about (like I didn't have enough red flags as it was), it's probably this - that an outside party would express an interest, and like Katniss Everdeen the world would suddenly find her desirable.  The world is one man, and it really isn't fair.  I ask you, when weighed against progeny, how does the damsel in distress measure up?  

WIP Wednesday

Next on the agenda is Works in Progress, wherein I'm supposed to talk about what I'm working on at the moment.  Whee!

I started the Belle Ruffle fingerless gloves, found them to be very engaging and uniquely constructed, and slowly  came to the realization that they were just going to be too darn small, and I don't have enough of the yarn I'm using to make them bigger.  OF COURSE it's a discontinued colorway.  I just don't have the heart right now to rip them out, nor to continue and keep them to give as a gift for someone with more femininely-sized hands.  At the moment I'm holding a tiny little grudge against all women with tiny little hands.

Someday, when I'm feeling less emotional about it, I'll try again with a different yarn.  Maybe.  They'll probably just make my arms look fat.

Bitter?  Me?

The ruffles were so much fun to make, too.

I have two more projects in process for my volunteer editing on Rav - the first being a lady-bug inspired doll dress.  I'm using scraps of Caron Simply Soft and Vanna's Choice instead of Red Heart yarn, and a smaller hook, so it should fit Heather pretty well even though it's designed for the chunkier American Girl dolls.  I just now realized that the first bits of red yarn I used were from the Scarlet colorway that I used for Ryan's Rooster Hat, and the rest is from the remnants of Laura's hat and scarf (still haven't sent them to her, need to get on that . . . ), which is Cranberry and a couple shades darker.  So for no reason at all the dress will have a bright red waistband.

The pattern doesn't give any clues as to how the back is supposed to be fastened.  I may just improvise some kind of button and loop.  Heather has enough hair that it won't make any real difference.

The other photo-adoption is Beth Ann Webber's Basic Amigurumi Doll.  So far we have the head, torso, and whites of the eyes.

I have no idea where this yarn came from or what it is, but it's probably some variety of Red Heart.  The doll is smaller than I thought, but that's okay because I'm not confident about the yarn holding out.  I went to Ben Franklin's to buy the animals eyes so I can finally finish the head, but I entirely forgot to check what size I needed, and as it turns out they only have them available in orange or brown.  I'd prefer green or blue (or purple or hazel), and while orange or brown wouldn't be terrible, I would then be stuck with two more sets of orange or brown eyes and no intention of ever using them.  I'll have to see if I have some plain black shank buttons instead.  The pattern calls for #8 perle cotton, which I'd never heard of before, and which Ben Franklin doesn't carry.  They have #5 and #3, but not 8.  A bit of googling suggested that it would be equivalent to #20 crochet thread, but as I don't care for this doll to have ecru eye whites, I just crocheted very tightly with #10.  She'll have big eyes.

And finally, a bit of fun stash-busting - the beginnings of a cat bed.  8 strands of yarn, one giant hook.  It's a bit of a pain, but the idea is so much fun that I don't mind.

Fortunately cats are color-blind.

On the non-knitting side of things, I actually got out of the house and accomplished some things today, so my self-esteem is a few notches higher.  Adding to that is the fact that I managed to shower for the first time in nearly a week.  Once I got into the shower, I wanted to stay for the rest of the day, too.  Ryan wouldn't have appreciated that much, though since I actually have some milk frozen now, he would have survived for a few hours.  

I've been very lazy about pumping.  It's a messy, mind-numbingly boring, uncomfortable business.  But if I plan on going back to work, or going anywhere without Silas, there must be milk for him.  It takes some of the convenience and affordability out of nursing, I tell you.

We're counting down the days until we have the go ahead to resume our favorite extracurricular activity.  That should improve my mood vastly.

Where to begin?

He's here.

Silas Robert was born on April 2nd, after a mere eight or so hours of labor.  He weighed 9 lbs, 2 oz, is 20" long, has the chubbiest, most nommable cheeks, and the most beautiful lusty cry.

Admittedly, since bringing him home we're a wee bit less overjoyed with that cry at times, but we're still thankful, so very thankful, for this little miracle.

Also when he wears himself out crying, he starts making the cutest little crooning noise which my husband spells out as "Woooo Ooooh Oooo!"

I was surprised to find that even in the hospital, cuddling him and counting those perfect little fingers, I still found time to miss Gabriel.  I whispered to Silas that he had a brother in Heaven watching over him.  I wonder if that's true.  I really don't know one way or the other.  Are those who have died already in the kingdom, or are they sleeping, waiting for the Day of Judgement?  Not that Gabriel has anything to stand before God to atone for.  He passed silently from this world, from the embrace of my womb to the embrace of God, I hope.  Maybe there's a Purgatory or a Limbo, but I hope for him the transition was instant, and I wonder if he's at all concerned with this world, or if in the glory of His Presence he can see nothing else.  Does he remember his mother?  The sound of my heartbeat when it was the entirety of his world?  Do the dead in Christ watch us with the angels?

Will I still care when it's my turn?  Will the relationships we treasured on earth mean anything in Heaven, or will our only thought be of God?

On that note, back to the yarn!

I made him a hat.

I have another crocheted hat started for him which is much slower going because it requires making, like, ten pieces and slip-stitching them together, and I lose patience for that kind of thing pretty quickly.

Case in point:

Neither of these projects will be finished before Silas graduates from high school.  I'm not optimistic about the hat, either.

I had a spurt of energy weeks ago that realistically should have been spent on the nursery, but instead inspired me to work on that resolution I had about finishing my unfinished projects.  Ergo, Mirasol has finally had all of her ends woven in (half a year later . . .), and I did something relatively tidy with her hair (should probably be trimmed, too, but eh), and even wove in the ends on her dress.

She needs shoes.

I frogged a couple things that were going nowhere, and worked a few more rows on Andy's cabled scarf.  Then I had a baby and it all came to a screeching halt.  At least Miri looks pretty good.

One more:

On the upswing

I'm sorry that my last blog was so bleak.  I am full to the brim with turbulent emotion and letting it spill out is the only thing that keeps me sane sometimes.  It makes room for more.

Here is some good news.

My brother is officially back from Afghanistan for good!

He's my closest brother both in terms of age and being my best friend, and it's a major relief and joy to have him home.  Now he can find new dangerous things to do, like learning to ride a motorcycle and dating.

Susan sent me home with a bag full of yarn and books and magazines.  On the one hand, this violates my yarn diet, on the other hand, I didn't spend any money on them, which is what I was really concerned about.  

Ravelry is amazing.  It is the most comprehensive and exhaustively indexed pattern database I've ever encountered, and I love the inventory tools.  It is very cool to be able to type in a yarn that I have and see what other people have made with it, or see the finished objects they've made of patterns that I want to try.  It's like a social network for knitters/crocheters, but so much more than that.  It's my new favorite website.

I'm almost finished with Mirasol, my Free Spirit doll (pattern by Beth Webber)

Just a few more ends to weave in.  I placed her eyes too far apart, I think, but it gives her a unique look.  She's modeling next to my practice charts for Ryan's mittens.  The name Mirasol is an accidental jumbling of the name Marisol, which I also like, but Mirasol stuck.  I like that in rough Spanish it could mean, "She looks at the sun."  You know, if you smushed "mira al sol" together, dropped a couple letters, and understood that the subject of the sentence was implicit.  As I said, rough Spanish, not good Spanish.

This is a really fun pattern to crochet, very clearly and understandably written.  All of the dolls at By Hook, By Hand look like they're pure joy to make, and I look forward to working up more of them.  After all, once she's finished, Mirasol will need lots of clothes and friends!