FO: Doll Summer Sets

I have a few more WIP photos to share, but am too excited to do that tonight. So, I'll resume the "regularly scheduled" post a bit later in the week.

I have two little girls and last year purchased a ton of fabric and two patterns and was going to make them shorts. Well, a year passed and I was always busy with something else and never got around to doing anything. This year, for whatever reasons (for which I'm very grateful) I was able to cut into a piece of flip-flop fabric. I had planned to make shorts for the girls and a dress or skirt for me, but instead it morphed into shorts for my girls and shorts and tops for their dolls.

Everything around here needs to be done in two's even though my girls are not twins. They are just two years apart and still at an age where dressing alike doesn't bother them. I started with two doll sets then thought how my niece could use one for her doll. Then my eldest asked for one for her friend. Then...well, I ended up cutting six pairs of shorts and, of course, six tops. I sewed three sets today and posted to my Etsy shop. The other three are patiently awaiting their final assignments, as I ran out of elastic and ran out of time.

 

While all this craziness was going on I came upon the thought that a fat quarter would be enough fabric to make these outfits. What a great idea for doll clothes. I measured and the top would be an inch or two less around and I can only cut shorts or capris, not pants. Still...ideas are churning.

So, off to JoAnn Fabrics and for the first time I let my girls loose on the fabric. I showed them the rows of fat quarters and set them off to pick four each. It was so odd to watch their choices and so rewarding to hear their excited giggles and see them carefully put them back to pick a different one. I thought the youngest would pick some very "girly" fabrics but instead she picked some rich tones with small prints. The eldest shocked with a batik that looks kind of like cheetah markings and one that is tiger print.

This is going to be a fun summer if I can keep this crafting mojo going (knock-on-wood).

What's Up?

I'm surrounded by a ton of "should do's" and "have to do's", but I decided to pick the "wanna do" instead. I honestly was a bit relieved to log on and see it has only been a month since my last post. However, it has been one whole month. Darn! I really need to be better about this.

It isn't that I haven't been crafting, or not taking pictures, but I've just not been in the mood to download photos or write. Tonight it hit me to do them, mostly because the "should do" sitting next to me is uninspiring, the "wanna do's" need washing and are too loud for after the girls' bedtime. So...here I go.

What's up in my world? Well, let's see:

I've been spinning

I think this was the picture of my first batch. Since then I've spun and plied and soaked and dried and now have two tiny skeins. I plan to do more and then Kool-Aid dye it all at once. It isn't even but not bad for a first try. I actually saw the skeins the other day and wondered where I'd got them from, before remembering I did it. That, to me, is a good thing if I can't tell it wasn't purchased or given to me from someone I'd respect much more than myself.

I finished my socks. Yes, I actually started a pair just for me. I started mine before the ones for my girls but didn't work on mine to be done in time for Christmas. I got lucky when I was stuck at a routine oil change for three hours instead of the normal time and I knit on the last of the sock. Then I took it on vacation (to Lancaster, PA) and I didn't have to drive. I was actually pleasantly surprised to find I could knit a bit in a moving vehicle without motion sickness. That's a weird first for me, but I was silently celebrating my good luck. It didn't take much longer once I was back home to finish the last bit and cast off. They're beginner socks and I can see the "errors" but I love them nonetheless. I put them in the drawer to save and gave them their test run just last week on one of my fever days (four in a row). I love having cosy handmade items to wrap up in when I'm not feeling well.

Well, I think that's enough for tonight. I hear thunder again and I'm getting sleepy. More to come...works in progress and a completed baby outfit.