Lovin' It!

After finishing my Keyhole Bow-tie Scarf, I cast-on for another bow-tie type scarf.  With only 109 yards in the one skein of elann.com's Peruvian Alpaca, I needed something small.  Problem: not happy.  The yarn is just lovely, but not loving the curl which is intregal to the pattern.  What now?  Rip out?  What else to make with such a small amount of yarn?  The yardage got me thinking about different types of small projects, which in turn got me thinking about dolls.  That's right: dolls.

Not loving the curl

Flipping through Ravelry's search engine, I found loads of cute patterns for 18" dolls (if you don't already know about Ravelry, get thee to the website post-haste 'cuz it is awesome!!).  Perusing patterns always gets me looking through the stash.  And I found a nice pattern to marry with some DK weight leftovers.

Top/dress in progress

The pattern is a little ensemble (Ravelry link), but I only made the top.  The top length is perfect as a dress, especially as my doll has leggings and pink booties.  Pattern is straight-forward, but I tweaked parts of it because of personal preference and because I couldn't get gauge.

Front view of dress

Back view

What do you think?  Pretty?  I love it, especially the bright colours.  Also love that I used leftovers.  And my doll finally gets a nice outfit.  Think she needs a matching cardigan?  Maybe in green?  I'll keep you posted. ;)

Father's Day of Sorts . . .

Over at my place, all the fellas in our household are sick.  To be fair, it has been a cool June and feels more like autumn than spring.  So I'm playing nurse-maid today, making sure everyone has hot tea, vitamin C, blankets and fluffy pillows.  And of course Netflix is playing non-stop (animated flicks aren't a cure-all, but it sure helps pass the time when you can't do much else).

Sick teddy courtesy of Google.com

So hope you all enjoy happy times with the fathers in your life.  Be well.
Later  ;)

Life Is Like . . .

Fragrant lilacs in bloom

. . . . Knitting.  N'est pas?  Yes, life is very much like knitting.  You think you've found the most wonderful yarn or the best pattern.  Full of enthusiasm, you cast on and soon realize something is amiss.  Gauge?  Dropped stitch?  Wrong size?  Ignoring the nagging doubts, you continue working on the piece until you realize the "mistake" needs addressing.  Your options?  Well, some of us will throw the whole mess in a cupboard and try to forget; others try something entirely different, while others just give up altogether and declare knitting (or crochet) to be too difficult.  Then there are those of us that either tink back or frog the entire thing, but they do not give up.  Maybe you need a different pattern for the yarn or different size needles.  Maybe you modify the pattern.  Maybe you ask for help and continue forth.  Either way, you persevere.

Dainty bleeding hearts in bloom

Life is like that.  Stuff happens that shake you to the core.  You wanna give up.  But you don't.  You persevere.  You find a way.

Detail of pretty lungwort

And truthfully, thank heavens for the knitting (or crochet).  It can ease the stress and give your mind a place to focus when you feel like crumbling into a small ball in the corner.  So while my absence has been much too long, my thoughts and heart were not far.  Complete immersion in all things crafty (and all things garden-wise and plant-like) kept me sane and functional.

Finished keyhole scarf

By the way, I finished that keyhole scarf.  What a lovely quick knit--and satisfying too.  Then I cast-on something else, but before I finished that, I cast on a second project.  Then I had this crazy idea to start making Christmas early . . . but that's for another post.