March 10, 2005
All Dolled Up
The baby surprise jacket is finished, except for one shoulder seam and buttons and weaving in ends-- but I had to save something for the knit-in at Mary B's on the 19th!
I made this doll when I lived in Colorado, and she had a beautiful little Victorian dress that was, apparently, loved more than the doll. It looks like I may have to make her her very own jacket.
I can certainly see using up odds and ends of spinning or dyeing samples to create one of these. The problem is, I kept thinking just a little more and I'm done and pushed myself more than I should have. There are probably marathon runners out there who just snorted coffee up their noses at the thought of knitters pushing themselves, but you know what I mean, don't you? Your neck gets stiff and your wrist starts throbbing, but you just keep on, knowing that soon, very soon, a little baby will have a new jacket and you can move on to something else. I can't be the only one in the universe that does this... right?
Kelsey Creek is on hold until I get more of a Certain Blue which I have not yet identified because I can't find my color card. I wonder if Ann at She Ewe Knits would laugh if I sent in yarn ends and asked for "one of this, two of this" etc.?! It would be so cool if I could just go into a yarn store and present a sample of my yarn as if it were a paint chip at the hardware store. They would reach back behind the counter for a plain white skein of shetland 2-ply, stick it into a magic box, push some buttons for a formula and three minutes later, voila! you have your skein of custom-matched yarn.
Tomorrow is set aside for more dyeing with Kit and Diane. This time I might do yarn insted of roving. Or I might dye small amounts of roving with a solid color and spin them together. Who knows where the Muse might lead?
Thank you for your wonderful blog. It's become my favorite, the first thing I look at in the morning when I open my store. Where can I find the Baby Surprise Jacket pattern? I'd love to try it, but the yarn store in my town doesn't have it. Thanks.
Posted by: Carol on March 10, 2005 09:17 AMCarol, I used the one in Knitting Workshop, the book by Elizabeth Zimmerman, but I think it's also in other publications put out by Schoolhouse Press. You can often find a copy of this book at the library, or you could call Meg at Schoolhouse Press to find out which other pubs have it, and/or order it from her. It's such a delight to knit. It really makes you think about how things are constructed.
Posted by: Sheila on March 10, 2005 09:40 AMThe doll is adorable, as is her new jacket. Her face is so sweet. I canNOT do that kind of detail with paint!
Posted by: Deb on March 10, 2005 11:26 AMI can't either, Deb! Her eyes are three layers of felt-- white on bottom, blue circle for iris and black circle for pupil, with a dab of white paint in the upper left of the "pupil" as a highlight and radiating lines drawn on the iris with a black Sharpie. Her nose and mouth are embroidered.
Posted by: Sheila on March 10, 2005 11:34 AMNo, you're not the only one who has knit past pain.
Way back, I made a deal with my massage therapist/accupuncturist that I would stop knitting when my wrists felt full (i.e., the tendons had swelled). And, surprizingly, I haven't really had a problem in the last few years.
did i take all your skeinikins, so now you can't match the colors? gah. hope we get photos of the dyeing :-)
Posted by: vanessa on March 10, 2005 05:33 PMI just need to find the color card, or take my yarn to Weaving Works and figure it out. You enjoy those skeinikins now, ya here?
Patience, maybe I'll learn to be wiser about those tendons myself :-) It's just so hard to put it down when you're so close to the end (or so you think).
Posted by: Sheila on March 11, 2005 07:51 AMduh, I can right english, write? I meant "ya hear?"
Posted by: Sheila on March 11, 2005 10:37 AMHow thoughtful of you to say where to find the pattern before I even asked. Lovely jacket, and thanks for continuing your life-story!
Posted by: LauraJ on March 12, 2005 05:39 AM