Oslo Walk Shawl Debut

The Oslo Walk Shawl has been finished, washed, and blocked for quite some time now but today is the first time I've had it on long enough to get a photograph.

On the whole I quite like it. It's soft, not scratchy, the beads add a nice bit of sparkle, and the non-colour goes well enough with most things, but there is one little detail about the design that I don't care for...

The ends of the shawl end rather bluntly in an unfinished looking way. In these pictures I'm wearing the shawl draped in a way the minimizes that problem, but if I leave the ends of the shawl hanging it is quite obvious. It's an issue that limits the ways I can will wear the shawl so I doubt I'll get much wear from it.

Dolly Pyjamas

The doll clothes are a continuing theme around here, but some of the stuff I've been making won't be shown until my own two dolls arrive. My daughter's new little fellow was here the other day and was good enough to model one of my recent projects, to check for fit. He's a bit embarrassed being photographed wearing pink bloomer style pyjamas and pink slippers, but had them on long enough for me to know that they are a good YoSd size.

In NON-dolly news this is the beginnings of the Oslo Walk Shawl that I'm knitting in my own handspun. More on that when I get it finished and blocked.

Tiniest of the Tiny

Okay, I DO have a limit, and this is it! These super teeny, 100% cashmere slippers are smaller than a peanut, and both fit on a penny with room to spare!

They fit the 1.5mm feet of a Fairyland Pukipuki doll. They would also fit a Kelly doll.

The model is "Clover", my daughter's Pukipuki.

I knit them using cobweb weight cashmere (2/36) and size 1mm needles (US size 00000 - 5/0) and using my pattern for doll slippers. download now

I can't take credit for the awesome little dress. That was my daughter's original creation.

Teeny, Tiny Slippers

These little slippers are only an inch and a half long! (3.8cm) I knit them for the 10" Fairyland LittleFee dolls I have on order.

They are modelled here by a Delilah Noir that has similarly sized feet.


You can download the free pattern in PDF format here:download now

Off and On

When one pair of socks comes off the needles the next immediately goes on. I like to keep a pair of socks going at all times. Except maybe for the turning of the heel, plain socks are a rather mindless project that lends itself well to semi-distracted situations like car travel, watching TV, or chatting.

When I was at the Desert Mesa Spin-In in October I bought the Zwerger Garn Opal Memory yarn for these socks. LOVE the colours! They fit great and will be a welcome addition to my sock drawer.

When those came off the needles I immediately started on these ones (shown sideways here thanks to the interference of my camera's automated functions....grrrr). ONline Supersocke 100 Sierra Color

I really like the colours in this pair too, kind of a deep red-purple with black patterning, but the yarn is noticeably thinner.

LittleFee Christmas Swap

Over at Den of Angels (a forum for those who collect and/or love Asian ball jointed dolls) I participated in my first ever "swap". The owners who participate put their doll's name on the list along with a picture and a bit of a profile describing the "personality" and the "likes and dislikes" of that character. They in turn are given the name of another doll from the list that they then compile a package for.

This particular swap had a theme of Christmas/Winter and I had the good fortune to be collecting for a little elf character named "Mint". It was really fun for me because Mint is brand new (hasn't even arrived yet) and so doesn't have a lot of clothes. . . . . and you know how I love to make doll clothes!

So here is how the package looked just before I mailed it to Ontario.


I didn't need much packaging material because I managed to fit everything into a little gift box. There was not a smidge of room to spare!

And this is what was hidden in all those little wrapped packages.



The candy canes were "mint" flavoured of course, and they were for the doll owner. Almost everything else was part of a one of a kind, head-to-toe outfit, compiled with Mint's specific character in mind.

Mint's profile said that he likes boy-friendly clothing in colours that don't clash with his mint green hair, colours like black, white, and mint or dark green. He also likes dinosaurs and desperately needs shoes.

So here's what I gathered, starting at the top:


I made him a little, felt, RobinHood style hat. Delilah has the same size head so she's my model here.


The next item probably caused me the most angst and took the longest. This is intarsia knitting at 14 stitches to the INCH folks! Lots and lots of little ends to sew in. I found the dinosaur graph on Ravelry.

Like the other little sweaters I've done for my own dolls, this one is from the free DollsWest pattern. It opens down the back for ease in dressing the doll.


Next is a little t-shirt I made using a pattern purchased from Adams-Harris.com. It also opens down the back.



These little black jeans with mint coloured stitching are from the same Adams-Harris pattern that I used to sew the blue jeans for my own dolls.

They have working pockets both front and back! Remember, the dolls are less than 10" tall!


For those bare feet of Mint's, a pair of green sneakers (liberated from my own dolls collection, but with replacements on the way) and a couple of hangers to keep everything tidy.


And one more little thing, a toy in proper scale for Mint. It's a triceratops that I needle felted.



My swap partner really likes the package I sent and says everything fits perfectly. That's so great to hear!

Hair Now

Yesterday it was the eyes, today the LittleFees' hair arrived. Though there are only two dolls ordered I actually purchased 3 wigs because I was having trouble deciding between two different lengths and styles for the brown.

My 16" vinyl doll, Delilah Noir, wears the same wig size so she has been cajoled into modelling the wigs for me.

Here's the first option for "Peanut", the LittleFee Elf Ante. It's a chestnut brown, Monique wig, in the "Lexy" style. I think it looks particularly good on Delilah. It might also look great on Peanut, possibly showing off her lovely, pointed, elf ears.


But there's also this option for Peanut. It's another Monique wig, this time a brown "Doris" bob. I like it, and it looks a lot like the hairstyle I had in mind, but I do think I like the longer one better. When Peanut arrives she will just have to try them both on to help me decide.


Then for "Pumpkin", the blue-eyed LitteFee Leah, I have this carrot red "Lulu" wig, which is also a Monique brand. The colour is perfect, but it's perhaps a bit too full.

I think it will look much better on Pumpkin than it does here on Delilah though. Delilah is a more mature looking sculpt, with a darker skin tone, than Pumpkin will have.

I love the wild froth of curls at the back.

Four Eyes

The eyes I ordered for my Fairyland LittleFee dolls have arrived......before the dolls.....but that's a good thing. When the dolls arrive they will have eyes, but they are "default", chosen at random, and are sometimes red, purple, or some other ghastly, unrealistic colour......ewwww!

The dark, dark brown ones are for the Elf Ante I'm naming "Peanut".

The bright blue ones are for the Leah I'm naming "Pumpkin".

I was surprised that they were shipped rattling around loose, with no cushioning, inside little plastic boxes within a plain manila envelope, not even a bubble envelope. They're fine though and all is well that ends well.

Edited to add: Brrr......I looked out the window and giant snowflakes are coming down. Our first little flurry of the season.

Another, Like the Other

Here's another little short sleeved pullover destined for a Fairyland LittleFee. This one will be for the dark haired, dark eyed LittleFee Elf Ante expected in December.

It should look great paired with the tiny jeans I sewed.

Knit in Knitpicks Shadow laceweight in the "Nocturne Heather" colourway from Dollswest's free YoSD sized pattern.

A Bench For Pipi

Last week, while browsing the local thrift store for interesting bits of fabric for doll clothing, I found this little bench for Pipi, (a Resinsoul Yu).

It seemed sturdily built so, even though it has a poorly done Christmas themed paint job, I snapped it up for the 50 cents they were asking. I'll repaint it some time in the future. In the meantime Pipi is quite happy to sit on the right side obscuring the hideously drawn Santa Claus.

Pumpkin's Pullover

I finished a short sleeved, mock neck pullover for one of the LittleFees today. This is for the red headed one that I have decided to name "Pumpkin".

It's knit with Knitpicks "Shadow" laceweight yarn in "forest heather" on size 1.5mm needles (000 US), at a gauge of 14 stitches per INCH.

For ease in dressing the doll it has a snap closure most of the way down the back. (Thumb included in picture for scale.)

Modelled pictures will have to wait until the dolls are received sometime in late December.

They Shall Be Shod

Look what came in the mail!

Eight little pairs of shoes, each shoe only 4.3 - 4.5 cm long (under 2"), and perfectly made.

These are, of course, intended for the two resin, ball jointed dolls that should be arriving some time around Christmas. If only shopping for my own shoes was this much fun.

Edited to add:
I got these through mintoncard.com
The red "party shoes" and high top runners are by M-Style. The MaryJanes are by YuHao.

Heather Hoodie Vest

I really love this vest! It's the perfect weight and colour for me and it fits well. I wear it all the time. In fact, I've been wearing it so much that I only now took the time to snap a few photos and get a blog post written. It was actually finished on October 14th.








Pattern is "Heather Hoodie Vest", from Knitscene, Fall 2009 issue.
I used Cascade Yarns Ecological Wool.

Line Pricker

Happy Halloween!

Okay, I can't exactly claim much credit for these awesome Jack-o-Lanterns.


My participation was limited to cutting the tops off the pumpkins, gutting one of them, and pin pricking around a printed design for the owl one. My very talented daughter was responsible for all the rest.

Distressed!

I've had so much fun today working on these little doll jeans. When done they looked okay, but they didn't have that lived in look that I wanted. So.....I set to work with a pumice board and the result is the pair you see on the right.



Softer, with more personality, and more of that comfy, loved and lived in look.

While time consuming and not "easy", these little jeans were not horribly difficult either. If they had been I wouldn't already be making plans to make at least two more pairs! I figure the two LittleFees I have on order will, at the very least, want a pair each in black.

I need to find better buttons. Those ones, although the right size, are a poor substitute for the metal buttons found on "real" jeans.

2 Pairs From a Sleeve

I almost got two little pairs of jeans from just one sleeve of a lightweight denim shirt I picked up at a thrift store.

But I noticed later, while reading the directions through thoroughly, that I had to cut a 8" x 1.25" bias piece for each waistband. For that I had to move on to the upper section of one of the front pieces. Still, I estimate that I could likely get at least 6, possibly as many as 8, pairs of teeny, tiny, detailed little jeans from the one shirt.

They Shall Be Clothed

You may remember that I was waiting for a 43cm Asian ball jointed doll, a Narae that I had ordered way back in May. Turns out there was trouble between the artist and the company he was creating the dolls for. I eventually requested and received a full refund. I then took that money and ordered two smaller dolls of an entirely different style.

The two new dolls are Fairyland LittleFee dolls in the Ante Elf, and Leah sculpts. I've ordered them in the "basic" version meaning they will come without clothing or wigs. Just the naked doll with it's face painted (referred to by collectors as a "face-up") and with default eyes (eyes randomly selected by the doll company).

I have a very specific look in mind for each of these dolls so I've gone ahead and ordered wigs and eyes for them. I've also started sewing for them.

Here's their first outfits, matching but not identical. I sewed the little dresses and bloomers from three men's dress shirts I found at a thrift store. The lace and trim on each outfit is different, and I reversed the placement of the solid coloured fabric.

The dolls won't arrive until some time around Christmas, so I'll have to wait until then to photograph the outfits modelled by the resin girls they were made for. I have a pattern for jeans, a casual top, and pyjamas too. Who knows, maybe I'll be able to find patterns for a few knits too.

Haven't been this impatient for Christmas to arrive for years......make that decades.

Desert Mesa Retreat

I spent the October 15/16/17 weekend here;

slept each night in this room;

looked out on this view;

and spun during the day, and into the evening with these friends;

I had such a good time that I'm going back next year.

It's the Desert Mesa Spinning Retreat held every fall in Cache Creek.