Kirsten's back and a Prayer Shawl

This is Kirsten. She is a 23 year old American Girls Doll. She belongs to our younger daughter, Anna. Well, as a wonderful aunt, Anna decided to share her dolls with her nieces. She had 4 of them, Kirsten, Molly, Felicity and Addy. Two of the dolls live with my granddaughters at their home and the other two are here at my house.

As can be expected, while in storage the 23 year old doll had a problem. Her leg came undone from her body. Eventually, I decided to send her away to get her fixed. So, we put her and her leg, in a plastic bag and then in a box. The UPS Store guy took her and shipped her to the hospital.

She came back last week and what a treat! She was in a clean box and looks beautiful.



Here she is all healthy and fixed, wearing her hospital gown and hospital bracelet. She even has been refreshed(cleaned) and had her hair done!




Here are the happy, and loving, granddaughters. You know, they loved her unconditionally. It didn't matter to them that Kirsten's leg was broken. They played with her carefully and loved her all the more.



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When a loved one passes quickly, it is very difficult for those of us left behind. We had that happen in our family just a few weeks ago, when a cousin of mine passed away. I couldn't be there, but wanted to send some love to his widow, so I decided to make her a prayer shawl. I used one of my own patterns, the Column Shawl, and then added a ruffle to each short end.

I used a worsted weight cotton for this shawl.

Cupholder

OK so, I just had to show you a great product, that I found, for use on a spinning wheel.

Cup holders! I can be clumsy at times and I have spilled my coffee and water, that I place on the floor next to my spinning wheel. I have also gotten wool fiber dropped into my cup on the floor, next to my wheel. Have you?? This cupholder helps eliminate these issues.




This is actually the second cup holder that I have purchased. The first one fits my Ashford Kiwi. I loved that one so much, I decided I needed one for the Joy. Recently, I have been taking the Joy to my spinning group and missed having my cup holder. This model has a slit cut out of the side, so you can use a mug in it too.



If I don't want to use a mug, I can use my favorite travelling drink cup. You know, they make these for almost every spinning wheel, too. Several gals in my spinning group have them also.

If you are interested, here is the link for FBN Plastics on etsy. By the way, they make them in New Hampshire, USA. :)

Summer Scarf and Bert with Sheep

Accessorising in the summer in Texas, or any state I guess, can be hard. It gets so hot, that you don't want to put on anything heavy or warm. Cool and staying cool is the goal. So, I have been thinking that a summer scarf would be a great idea. I came up with and idea and tried it. It has been so popular, when I showed it to others, that I decided it needed to be a pattern. So, here are some pictures of the summer scarf. Pattern should be out soon.



Each scarf has a different cast on and that gives the bottom look a different look on each, when compared.



All of these are made from a lightweight cotton yarn.

So then today, my younger daughter, Anna found this cute Sesame Street you-tube and I thought it sooo cute, that I wanted to share it with you. Every spinner, knitter, crocheter needs to see this. :)

How Great Thou Art

One of my favorite hymns is "How Great Thou Art!" Here is a beautiful performance by Carrie Underwood.

Lazy Katy Finished

I have finished my Lazy Katy. Actually, I finished it last week, but it has taken until today to get it blocked. Here it is blocking. I love how it looks blocking. To me it looks very dramatic.



I don't have blocking boards, yet, so I am using two old bath towels on the floor. I place the pins through the towels and into the carpet. :) Of course, if you have small children, you wouldn't want to do this in a room where they have access. But, I don't have little ones here, so I can get away with doing this in my studio.

The directions for the pattern say you can use either size 8 US or size 9 US needles with the fingering/sock weight yarn. I used size 8 US. I did have just a bit of yarn left over, for which I am glad. Several knitters on Ravelry ran out and that wouldn't have been fun. But, I did have a second skein of the same dye lot, so I would have been OK. It took me just under 420 yards of yarn. Below is the left over yarn.

The Lazy Katy

Several members of our local handspinners' group decided to have a KAL using the Lazy Katy pattern by Birgit Freyer. It is a pretty quick knit. The wrap is knitted assymetrically, and then has a wonderful lace border on the edge.

I am using NORO Kuryeon sock yarn. The pattern is supposed to use between 416 and 437 yards of yarn, which is one ball. I am working it on size 8 US needles.




Here we are about a week after the last picture. I have placed stitch markers on the needle, to help me keep the lace repeats in order.

I made the stitch markers out of a worsted weight yarn, so they are lightweight and big enough so they won't slip under the yarn overs in the lace pattern.

Firefighter Sets

So, when you have a new baby and his daddy is an EMT in the local fire department, what should you make for him? Hmmm, well his mom had a great idea. A firefighter outfit. :) So, here is my version of a firefighter outfit. This is a preemie outfit. The suspenders are removable. I asked for his head and waist measurents, as well as, the bottom of his feet. The brim on the back of the hat is longer than the front and the hat does have realistic ribs in it. Here is a newborn size outfit. So, he can grow into it. Should handle about 8 or 9 lbs. I hope!

You know, I took these photo's yesterday and I didn't check the quality. The outfits were shipped today and I cannot retake the pictures. The red is Fire red, the yellow is a bright yellow and the black is black.

And this shot is for perspective.