FO: 18" Doll Tunic

White is a classic, or so I'm told. It goes with everything no matter the season (assuming you're not one of those "old fashioned" ones who think no white after Labor Day). So, my friend always has room in her stash for white doll sweaters. This time she sent me a pair of leggings and asked me to make something to compliment them.

I searched the stash of yarn she'd given me, and my own, and found the perfect match-baby blue mohair. Unfortunately, with my allergies acting up already, I thought it best to pass along the mohair she gave me (ivory, pale pink, and baby blue-six skeins) to someone more fortunate (who doesn't get stuffed up and have migraines when using it). *sigh*

So, the second best option at that point was white acrylic. Ruffled edge, some eyelets, drastic decrease and it is a great sweater over leggings. I know it looks a bit odd laid out this way, but believe me when I tell you it looks great on the doll. Hope my friend agrees. I even loved it enough to iron it before mailing...had to see if it would lay right as I'd thought.

FO: 80s Calling

This doll sweater was another inspired by my friend's "subtle" hints noting she had fabric that is black with hot pink dots. I knit this using a hot pink Bernet Baby yarn and a black suede as the accents. The pullover is my basic pattern but I did a more square neck and crocheted all the edges for a finished look and to further accent with the black.

FO: Seeing Red Doll Ensemble

Finally I was motivated to seam up the sweater I had blocked. I pulled out dozens of pins and read the directions step by step. Then, I sighed as I realized I had set the first sleeve in wrong. It looked good enough, and now I know what I should do next time. Instead of trying to pull it all out I repeated the "mistake" on the other sleeve. I guess I'm not great at reading and understanding directions these days.

I designed, knit, and blocked the hat and the scarf to match. Now, I've got to send my friend the photos and hope she's equally as happy with the finished product. I used Caron Simply Soft yarn which I love for its sheen, softness, and the fact that it is fully washable and dryable.

The sweater pattern can be found in the 18" Doll Sweaters: Collection Three. It is really cute and functional, but seems a lot of effort for a doll. The back has a placket covering hook-and-loop tape which makes it look great, fit great, and is easy for kids to get on and off. The blocking, for me, was too much. However, it would not have looked even remotely like this without the blocking. Maybe I need to become more committed to the process. We'll see.

FO: Fuzzy Doll Sweater for 18" Doll

My friend wrote an email saying she had pink fuzzy boots and could I do something to match. Sure!

I wish the colors in the photo came out better because this is truly cute and the yarn made it striped. I knit this pull over using two strands of Paton's Cha Cha yarn. I think next time I'd use only one as it came out quite thick for a doll item. Still, cute and fuzzy and lots of pink and other pastels.

WIP: Hot Pink 18" Doll Sweater

Fabric that is black with hot pink dots. Hmm...what can I make to go with that?

Well, I cast on and knit the flounce from the other sweater. I'm knitting this in the round as I normally do (on either sz 6 or 7 needles). The yarn is Bernet (I think) baby yarn. The color in the photo doesn't come close to the wonderful vibrant pink.

The plan is to knit a sweater and hat combo.

WIP: Red Sweater for 18" Doll

This red sweater is from a pattern book sent to me by my doll lover friend. I never would've thought it, but after making one and having to frog it (rip it out) I actually thought it was worth the time to block this one as the directions say. This is the very first time I have taken time to seriously wet block anything. It is a foreign concept for me.

Red sweaters tend to sell well. This one has a really cute flounce edge at the hem and sleeve cuffs. I also have a matching scarf made and pinned to block and a hat on the needles.

I'm using Caron Simply Soft on sz 5 needles.

WIP: White 18" Doll Outfit

I've decided it is time to make a serious commitment to blogging about my craft. I love to write and to knit so I may as well merge the two. Also, this will be a way for me to look back and realize what I'm doing and hopefully what I've accomplished.

Here's one WIP (work-in-progress):

White doll sweater for 18-inch doll (on needle at bottom). My loyal customer noted that when she paired my last white sweater, hat, and scarf with leggings and boots that it sold in only three days. White is hot and has sold well every time. So, on the needles (short, straight sz 3) I've got a sweater with picot hemline and a butterfly eyelet pattern. I have matching socks. The yarn is a soft baby yarn (Bernet Softee Baby in White).

So far so good!

Busy Bee, that's me

I guess it's only appropriate, as my name does mean "bee", that I've been buzzing around knitting crazy the past few days. I'm so glad to have finished the cabled skull cap, but I had some of the Simply Soft Eco left and it was too good to pass up. So, I cast on another (88 sts on sz 7 bamboo needles) and came up with this one (Eco for the grey and regular Simply Soft for the black):

(another good photo by my little one)

Then, I started a sweater for my eldest daughter. I'm making it up as I go, so we'll have to see how that turns out. The white was purchased months ago with the intent to make shrugs for the girls to wear on cool summer mornings, with their dresses for church. Silly me...nope, never made it to the needles. So, now I'm looking toward Christmas and toward using some yarn from my stash so I grabbed a skein and cast on. Seeing as it is almost Winter now I thought I'd add some colors to the white to make it more versatile for all seasons. It has a picot detail at the bottom, garter stitch "side seams", stipes of dark and light shades of the same color, and it will be a cardigan of some sort to be thrown on over any t-shirt. So far so good:

Last, but not least, I finished the first gift mitten. The yarn is a blend of wool and soy. Strange sounding to me, but it is remarkably soft and great to work with. The outside of the Patons SWS (soy wool stripes) isn't very soft, but once it is pulled off it unwinds a bit and is much nicer. I hope the person receiving these will think so, too. The yarn is self-striping (subtle in the middle of the mitten). I purchased two skeins (on clearance, I think) without checking how much I'd need. I was worried I would run out, but when I pulled out my reliable two-needle pattern (Many Mittens by Mary Lamb Becker) it showed that I may be able to make the pair with just one skein. Bonus! Maybe I'll get a pair, too. I've modified the pattern just slightly, to make the cuff a half inch longer for any size. I found that if I use the printed measurements the cuff isn't long enough to stay inside a coat sleeve,which in winter here is important. Who wants to play in the snow if you constantly have to adjust the mittens? I love to play in the snow!