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. ;)

Babies and Small Things

Some small things were finished and some small things were started.  Yay!  Crafting on a regular basis energizes the spirit, invigorates creativity, and gives a sense of purpose.  And finishing small projects provides a break from bigger projects as well as enough motivation to push ahead on those bigger projects (I'm looking at you, Rainbow Bedspread.  Someday you will be finished).

Meanwhile, I can derive satisfaction from these simple, but pretty, baby items.  This free basic beanie pattern can be found here on Ravelry.  And truly it is a good basic pattern.

Basic Beanie

Sadly the final item seemed rather small--as in freakin' wee!  The above photo doesn't really give a sense of its size until you compare it to something else--like a doll.

Above is my 18" American Girl/Maplea wanna-be and the beanie fits her melon perfectly. Me thinks this is proof that the beanie is too small for a baby--although it might fit a preemie--and I used the 0-3 month size (Worth noting that since my SIL is well into her 8th month, the baby should have a bigger head circumference). To be fair, the pattern included instructions for bigger sizes up to adult size, so I would have found the right size.  Instead I tried my hand at something else.

This second beanie pattern came from Baby Crochet by Lois Daykin.  It was the same book from which came the rainbow baby bib.  Unlike the bib, these instructions were easy to follow and I had no issues with it, other than minor modifications.  Since the original pattern called for yarn thinner than worsted, my mods included:
1) using a 50 st chain instead of the 60 st chain called for in the pattern.  Thankfully this mod did not mess up the decrease rows.
2) using five 30-st chains for the tassel instead of the twenty 30-st chains called for in the pattern (although I need to trim my ends on the tassels a little more).

I also started some booties.  It's a free pattern from Bernat (aka Yarnspirations--whose website is currently being "updated" so I used the Rav link above.  It will take you to the appropriate link at Yarnspirations--once their website is up and running again).  Since the pattern is one I've made before (see here and also here.  Or you can check out my meager notes on Ravelry), I know two things: the directions are easy to follow and the final item is of acceptable size and dimensions.  It's win-win. ;)

With variegated yarn, there's always the danger of bad pooling, but it's not too bad--at least on the side visible in the photo above.  

Whatcha think?  What's in your project bag?

Names and Dolls

Catalogues for Maplelea and American Girl

So in pursuit of my interest in doll clothes, I decided to try a bigger doll--something in the 18" size.  There are some lovely dolls out there, in particular the Maplelea and American Girl dolls.  Love them!! The price, however, is way outta my budget.

My new 18" doll

Happily I found an adequate substitute that satisfies my need to make and clothe without breaking the family budget: My-Life-As Dolls from Walmart.  For about $35 (Canadian), I have something that looks similar.  She's not as posable as the more expensive versions, but she'll do.

New wire-rimmed eyeglasses

I could only find the blonde (I was hoping to get the brunette with glasses).  So as a compromise, I made some wire-rimmed glasses out of craft wire.  It took a few tries, but I made something adequate.  Watcha think?  I'm still experimenting with how to keep the glasses better attached to her head.

A how-to book for making doll clothes

On my bookshelf, I even found a great collection of patterns for 18" dolls (pictured above).  Its for dressing antique dolls, but the patterns can be modified for more simple designs.  The book even has a few knit patterns.  

More contemporary clothing styles

This book, combined with free patterns online, should keep me busy for a long while . . . 

By the way, I'm no longer Acrylic-Girl.  I had been thinking about changing my name for a long time.  When I was blogging for Bernat, I had chosen the moniker DinaPurls.  I like that name so much better than Acrylic-Girl (And who's kidding who?  I haven't been a "girl" in a long, long time).  So I made the necessary changes here on the blog as well as on Ravelry.  I feel like a new me!