Remember this dress I wanted to make for Taylor Barbie? I thought I would have a terrible time finding stripes in a small enough scale for a Barbie.
I looked online and realized there was no way I could figure any of this out without ordering a lot of money's worth material. Then I remembered this quilt. It was the little quilt I made for the last Baby Grand. The collection has stripes. Tiny black and white stripes.
The collection by SusyBee is discontinued but I found people selling parts of it on eBay and now it's here. It's not exact but it's close enough. I think it's going to work.
The Mister went golfing yesterday afternoon and I had a few hours all to myself. I spent them puttering in the sewing room. I had a towel to hem.
It was so nice to be alone in a quiet house. All I could hear was the crew working on the house across the street while I added some blocks to the Color Wash top. It was lovely.
I even spent some time with the Hexie runner. I was tempted to listen to a few chapters of my latest audio book but the quiet was just too good to pass up.
I have half a finish to show off today. One of my handspun socks is finished and the second one has begun. As I cast on the second sock I was admiring the colors and wondered about the origin of this particular yarn so I went investigating.
It seems I dyed this yarn myself which is hard to believe. I usually crank out clown barf but apparently I restrained myself this time around. I had spun the white Corriedale as is and then dyed it which also helps to keep those colors from turning muddy. Well done, me.
Speaking of color, I'm feeling a little bit better about this lavender/gray Cormo I've got on the Ladybug. I just wish the orange had a bit more of a presence.
I've been watching the Vuelta in the morning but the stages are shorter than the TdF so I don't get much done. I did get two drop spindles of that BFL finished.
And...the scariest thing I did all week was to get that lace border started on the Pi Shawl. It took me two tries to figure it out. It helped to put that pattern into a language I could understand and see while I'm working on it. From this point on I think we're good to go but it's going to take forever. 500 plus stitches and you only lose 4 with each lace pattern repeat. Yikes.
The latest towel is off the loom. It had an early departure because it became a chore to work on. I had loose ends, uneven tension and a wobbly loom to deal with so enough was enough. It was a good day to cut her loose because there was a slight fall chill in the air. The Mister even pulled out a fall puzzle to work on.
I'm not ready to start anything new yet. I'm going to get The Mister to help me tighten up all the joins on the old girl before I think about another project but I did begin warping some sock yarn in hopes of another scarf.
Kathy B had gifted me two balls of this yarn ages ago and I think it would make a very nice scarf for The Mister. I'm not telling him anything yet because my last try was a big fail and he seemed a bit disappointed.
While digging around in the stash for that Zauberball, I found these beauties. They're going next on the needles so I better get moving on all those socks I'm working on now so Spooky Season doesn't pass me by. It has a habit of coming and going awfully quickly.
The Summer of Socks is going out with a bang. I've got a ridiculous amount on the needles at the moment. There's been some work on all of my two-at-a-timers but it wasn't a great week for big needles either. Too much cleaning.
Those Static man socks were almost the end of me. After all that finagling to get them to match, it was wrong. I was about this far into them when I realized it so off to the frog pond they went for more finagling.
The sock tubes are now finished and awaiting their afterthought heels. I need to be in the right mind for this adventure so they may be waiting for a bit.
The first of the Cozy Quilt socks is finished and surprise, surprise it fits. I usually have to turn colorwork socks into mitts because they won't stretch over my foot. These do. I give all the credit to that little 10 inch circular needle. It makes all the difference. They look a little rough here because they haven't been blocked. I hope a good soak straightens them out.
And...yes, I saw Taylor's engagement dress so now I feel obligated to make Taylor Barbie one like it. The search for stripes in the right scale has been a challenge but I'll keep looking. The original is Ralph Lauren-$485 (!) btw.
This was not a good week for the tiny needles but I did manage to turn the corner on the Garden yesterday while The Mister was out golfing. I have that last edge to go and that will be it.
I didn't even pick up the needlepoint project but I did get some wool for it that I thought would work to make up for what I had pulled out. It didn't. It seems tapestry wool is not the same as the 3 ply in the kit. I don't regret buying it though because look how cute those little skeins are. I'm not sure what to do with them but I want all the colors.
I'm getting those border pieces appliqued down on the Patchwork of the Crosses top. It's the one thing I always seem to get around to everyday which is a good thing because it's still going to take forever.
And....Dear Jane block E3 is finished. I still have to add the lattices before I can throw it in the box with all the others but the hard part is done.
I spent three whole days deep cleaning every nook and cranny of my house in order to have the Big and Little Grands and their folks over for crabs. It never makes any sense because within minutes the place always looks like a hurricane hit it. Crab shells everywhere.
The Big Grands were a big help making smash burgers. They know their way around the grill.
They were also good at entertaining the Littles.
We even had the Baby Grand with us down in the art room for some watercoloring and stenciling while the Big People ate their crabs. I've got some major floor cleaning to do today but other than that I'm not getting up off the couch. I've got the Vuelta in the morning and some serious sock knitting in the afternoon to whatever old movies TCM has on. I don't even have to cook. We've got enough crabs left to keep The Mister happy for a couple of days.
I wasn't kidding when I said Taylor Barbie was getting a sparkly orange gown. All I had to do was locate the materials and it looks like I did.
Today the riders take off for the Tour of Spain which means I'll get a bit more dedicated spinning time in the next three weeks as I watch the Spanish countryside fly by. I've got that Cormo/Silk on the Ladybug and I have to say I'm underwhelmed by the color. Dull.
Since my handspun cubby in the spinning corner still looks like this from the TdF, I'll not be focusing so much on adding to it.
I'll be using that time to finish up some handspun knitting projects like EZ's Pi Shawl. I just have a couple more rounds of the dark red and then I'm starting the border which will be the same one I used on my first Pi Shawl.
This one minus the Gull Lace that precedes it. It's the Willow Border from Victorian Lace Today.
I've also got some handspun socks that need attention. I'm about a half inch from starting the toe and then I have the second one to knit, of course. This is why I usually knit socks in tandem. Second Sock Syndrome is real ya'll.
You don't see that very often when you check the weather. Erin seemed too close for comfort. The wind had me up at 4 am because....trees.
I was sitting in the sewing room with the window open listening for any limbs coming down when this big truck pulled up. Remember that house across the street that had a tree go through it in February? Six whole months ago? They are just NOW starting to repair it. That's just crazy.
I was in the sewing room because I was trying to wind up some manly sock yarn. It didn't go well. In order to get matching balls of an old Static colorway, I had to wind it all over the dining room to find where the color pattern repeats. After all that I never did get them cast on but at least now I know where to start.
We had some errands to run and a pup to walk so off to the beach we went to see how it was making out in this wind. It was wild. It was a "hold on to your hat" kind of day. Those strong winds from the north were actually chilly. My kind of weather.
The only thing on the beach were the seagulls. They had more sense than to try and fly in this weather. The town beach crew were looking pretty bored. Between all the rain and now the hurricane's glancing blow, they didn't have much to do.
Thanks to three days of rain, I was able to get to some things that usually get neglected. The latest towel is almost done. It's been a nightmare. My repair job somehow pulled it all cockeyed so every shuttle pass requires me to adjust the reed to get it to look straight. One more block of white and I'm throwing in the towel....ahem.
Poor Spiral Chicken has been abandoned for the time being. I just couldn't find the right gray. I've picked up Hearts and Flowers until I do.
I've been punching the mug rug. This is the back. You work from the back.
Here's a peek at the front. It's hard to photograph because of the frame.
The vegetables are being punched also. Again, this is the back. The part I see.
And the front. In all honesty, this punching thing is just silly. Nothing useful is going to come from any of it but it scratches an itch in my brain.
I've also been adding pieces to my little Colorwash quilt. I feel like I've been making these for ages but I don't seem to be getting very far.
Two more pairs went into the gift box this week. I've got some man socks on the left. Man socks are in short supply in the box. I need to get on that.
When I went stash diving, I intended for the Regia on the right to be more man socks but forgot about it when I cast them on.
Now I have two more pair of lady socks on the needles. I have pulled out several skeins of yarn in man sock colorways. I just need to get winding.
I'm slowly marching across the bottom and right side of the border adding those little flowers. I do a couple a day. Any more and my head would explode.
I've replaced all the orange background dots that I had to pull out and I'm glad I went to all the trouble because this looks much better.
Dear Jane block E3 is slowly coming together. This one is such a big relief after those first two blocks.
And....now that all the paper piecing is done I have started appliqueing the pieces down on the outside border. I'm still not sure what the corners will look like. I'll have to figure that out when I get there.
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