The dollhouse has mold!

So, waking up, the morning after ripping off all of the siding, it was really hard to breathe--like I slept in a house full of cats. On the sides near the bottom there was some white mold. Lolly said if the mold is white or green you are fine, but “if it’s black take it back!” She said to wear gloves and a mask, make a solution of 1 part bleach to 3 parts water and scrub/wipe the entire house with it and then set it in the sun. At least I know that the dolls that used to live there didn’t have a tiny little meth lab in the basement!

The big switcheroo of '09

Dearest fans--all 3 of you :)--you've been with me through thick yarn and sport weight, but I've moved on to a new craft. Dollhouse miniatures! On Craigslist I found a woman whose mother had a dollhouse custom built for her in Chicago 35 years ago. It was one of those that you are meant to finish--paint the siding, put in the stair rails, install the chimney, etc. She was never really into it, so it sat around for 3 decades.

As you can see it is a fixer upper, but it's a HUGE Colonial with spacious interior and so much potential. I figured it was a good place to start instead of trying to build one from scratch. Of course, after ripping off the siding and removing the hot glue from it for hours I'm questioning that decision. Also the "builder" did a number of things unevenly so they will have to be evened up. Above was a look at the furniture that came with it. A number of good pieces and some items that could use a revamp.

Note half eaten dark chocolate bar in bottom right corner. For emergencies only. Siding in pretty bad shape. Lower right window unable to be saved. TONS of hot glue that had to be scraped off so I can reuse the siding. Voila! Siding-free house ready for work.

The last of the knitting

Been terrible about posting :(
Love my fingerless mittens so much I needed a couple more pairs. Same pattern as the previous brown ones.

Autumn knits

Lacy Cap Sleeve. I started this at the top using the Barbara Walker method. As I went down I increased by doing a YO near the neck edge every other row (so you get the lacy edge and a nicely shaped neckline). Did some darts at the waist. Loved using the Elsbeth Lavold yarn. My big mistake on this was using a lace pattern for the hem that was written to be knit as a long strip and then to be sewn to the bottom of the tank. Mess! The strip of lace was easy to make; attaching it was the nightmare. It took 3 full times to get the right ratio of pick ups so that it didn’t constrict around the hip area. I want things to hang freely in that area – not hug crazily! I finally got it.

Pattern - my own

Yarn - Elsbeth Lavold Silky Tweed

Needle - size 6

Knit Café book skirt. This is a good pattern - I have no idea why it wasn’t written in the round. I knit it in the round – no lumpy seams on the sides, no extra work when the knitting is done. Oh, I question why someone would write a skirt pattern using 100% cotton yarn – it’s like people don’t think about the fact that you actually have to wear it after knitting. Since I didn’t want the butt to look baggy after sitting, I used a blend with nylon that has an elastic quality. Really enjoyed using this yarn!

Pattern - Knit Cafe

Yarn - Berroco Zen

Needle: size 8 for lace, then 7 for bottom half, then 6 around butt and above

Sparse Summer Knitting

Pattern: Sahara from StitchDiva Studio
Yarn: Berroco Suede and Zen
Needles: size 7

Just a few cute items have made it off the needles this summer. Sahara, knit in the round with Berroco Suede – very fun, easy pattern. Looks good on, except the back of the neck rolls over …hmm. Not sure what to do, except not wear my hair up on Sahara days.

Made a gift for Jackie on her 2nd birthday – Hello Kitty. A very quick knit. I didn’t follow the pattern because it was flat; did it in the round instead. I didn’t want a seam in the back.
Pattern: from generatordesing.com - can't find the site now, email me for it
Yarn: Lion Brand Micro Spun Needles: size 4

Another gift: a Bubar for Grace. He is a distant cousin of the original Bubar; he’s half the size because I used smaller yarn and needles.

Pattern: Kate from Knitty.com

Yarn: KnitPicks Andean Treasure
Needles: size 4

After I gave him to Grace we realized he might have a problem.I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he’s just a social drinker.

Mother's Day

My mom brought me a pic of a flowy low cut cardigan and asked me to make one like it. We went to the A Mano sale and got a bag of Heirloom Breeze in pink – so cute. I did the Barbara Walker method using the Picovoli darts (Grumperina knows her darts!). I didn’t do any increasing on the way down the front (besides the darts). Then I did 2 lace panels that decreased as they got up around the neck line and finishes everything off with a single crochet edge in Crystal Palace Pink. The above pic is at our favorite place for Sunday brunch - Zabies on Ocean Park on Mother's Day. She loved it. She was leaving the next day to model on Alaskan Cruislines and she took it as one of her “favorite pieces”. They actually took photos of her in it on deck, so my sweater might be in a Cruiseline catalogue. Keep your eyes peeled!

Pattern: my own (based on the Barbara Walker info)
Yarn: Heirloom Breeze (12 balls)
Needle: Size 6 (then after increasing with darts I switched to size 7, then 8 around the bottom)

I did another one of those ribbed beanies (in my free pattern section). This time I used Lion Brand Cotton Ease in Charcoal. Flower pin found elsewhere.
Pattern: my own (in my free pattern section)
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease
Needle: size 8

Silk! I went to Sandy, Utah with Tim on a business trip and spent most of the time at an adorable Yarn shop called The Naked Sheep. I bought 2 skeins of Debbie Bliss Pure Silk and made a beret. I had a whole skein left. Then I found the random “Lacy Thong” pattern in the Interweave free patterns online. I was over making practical things. It took me 2 days!
Pattern: http://www.interweaveknits.com/freepatterns/lingerie.asp
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Pure Silk
Needle: Size 5

And here's the "matching" beret. These items are not meant to be worn as an ensemble :)
Pattern: Interweave Knits (Winter 2006)
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Pure Silk
Needle: Size 5

Tax Season is Over

This hat is quick and easy (just like the boy modeling it). The hat is for my husband, but we decided that our mocha-skinned friend, Baracuda, should model it. This is the park where my work friends and I eat lunch every weekday. Funny story: my friend Marc is obsessed with the long grass at the edges of this park. I said that he talks about the grass too much, to which he countered with the deadly “you talk about knitting too much.” That is when he threatened to start a blog about the grass, which, as boring as that sounds, is now in existence at http://onethingalways.blogspot.com/

Pattern: Mine - I would share it with you, but can't find the darn thing
Yarn: Lion Brand Micro Spun
Needle: CO w/ size 7, K w/size 4 dpns

My 2nd job as a tax preparer for H&R Block didn't leave much time for knitting this year. But I made it through and somehow eeked this sweater and the above hat. The sweater pattern is my own- seamless, from the top down- culled from the Barbara Walker book. The yarn is Malabrigo, which has needed a few shaves so far with a Bic razor - but I believe won't need many in the future. I did some ribbing on the outside of the sleeve and on the sides of the body - I thought it was a nice tie-in for the ribbed shawl collar. I did 5 hook and eye closures. The only thing I would do differently is to add in some darts in the way that Grumperina did for the Picovoli Tee - that's my new favorite dart method.

Pattern: My own form the Barbara Walker Top Down parameters
Yarn: Malabrigo
Needle: Body uses size 7 Denise, all edgings use size 9 Denise (arms with dpns)

Felted Tote

Yae! This took me no time at all. I designed it using my present everyday bag as my muse. My friend Marc got me the Cascade 220 yarn for Xmas - and the purse feet. My only issue was losing the purse feet in my washing machine - 2 of them fell out while felting. My dh took the middle of the washer out and there they were. I felted my gauge swatch so the size came out perfect.

Pattern: mine - soon to be posted in my free pattern section

Yarn: Cascade 220 (I'll list the exact colors tomorrow)

Needles: size 8

Purse Form: I bought some plastic mesh in the cross stich section of JoAnns for 89 cents and sewed one row to the next row over to shape it.

Lining: Did a lining with pockets for cell phone, blue tooth and my lip liner!

Handles: Bought a length of suede, cut it into 2 sections of 21 inches and took it to the shoe guy in my building to sew the handles on - making sure he knew to grab the purse form in his stitching - I don't want anything stretching out over time.

The winter of socks

Socks! A number of family members got socks this winter. They're so easy to carry in my bag and they could be worked on during tax class.
Pattern: Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick
Yarn: KnitPicks Andean Treasure in Granite
Needle: size 4 dpns

Pattern: http://www.knittingpureandsimple.com/socks.html
Yarn: Online (thats the company name) from http://www.littleknits.com/
Needles: size 2 dpnsPattern: http://www.knittingpureandsimple.com/socks.html

Yarn: Lion Brand Magic Stripes

Needles: size 2 dpns

Fast, Easy Felted Hat

Pattern: http://www.straw.com/cpy/patterns/iceland-splash-feltedhat.html - without the novelty yarn. Cast on a few extra stitches and decreased them evenly for bigger brim.

Yarn: Knit Picks Sierra in Pool

Needles: size 10 round and dpns

This hat was , once again, a joy to make. I made it for my sister, Candice, for her birthday. This time I was more vigilant during the felting; looking at it in 2 minute intervals. So there was no crazy stretching to do when it came out, just a little shaping. I think the bow was a cute addition - its blowing in the wind - how wintery of it!