New Pattern in the Works

I have been thinking for some time of trying to come up with a little doll and wardrobe. After some experimenting I have designed a doll only seven and one half inches tall. Big enough for little fingers to hold on to but small enough to go anywhere.

She is knit in the round using DP needles. The only sewing is attaching the legs and wig as the arms are jointed. Clothes are next.

I will post when the pattern is available, but I am also working on a wedding afghan for a great-granddaughter so it may be awhile. This afghan is one of those projects that never seems to get any bigger no matter how long you've been working on it.

Yarn Convert

Now that the flu is over, cancer scare resolved, and all the holiday chaos is over it looks like life in our household has returned to normal letting me get back to designing, knitting and, of course, blogging

Had a pleasant surprise the other day. I have tried to get my kids interested in sewing, knitting and crocheting, but to no avail. Hadn't brought it up in years when out of the blue a daughter calls to tell me she is crocheting. She has been making scarves and beanies and is getting raves from friends. She starts a pattern and if she runs into something she doesn't know how to do she goes to You Tube and watches a video until she gets it. Hooray for technology. I, of course, have an endless supply of yarn leftover from other projects which I am now getting rid of, thank goodness.

I knit a beanie for the daughter of our doctor's receptionist. Her mom couldn't find what she wanted. My daughter loved it but doesn't knit so I came up with something very similar in crochet. Here is a picture. The pattern is now listed in the free pattern menu.

As I posted earlier, we had a lovely Christmas and are now looking forward to a healthy and happy New Year.

Christmas

Well, Murphy's law continued to rule. After the flu I discovered a lump on the back of my neck. Doctor ordered tests including a CT scan. All showed nothing. No one knows what it is, but apparently it is not cancer. All was made up for by an early Christmas at our daughter and son-in-law's house. Among all the family we had a chance to see was our first great-great grandchild. What a darling. It has been sixteen years since we had a new baby in the family so to say he was the hit of the day is putting it mildly.

We had a lovely dinner and gift exchange after which my husband and I beat it for home. All those healthy young people can tire the old folks very quickly.

May you have a wonderful Christmas filled with the blessings of the season.

Murphy's Law

For those of you unfamiliar with Murphy's Law it says that everything that can go wrong will go wrong.

I had a plan. I was behind in my Christmas knitting so decided I would put everything else aside and concentrate on getting it done, no blogging, no new pattern designs, no forum crawling or posting, just knit, knit, knit. Well, I did just that and finished a gift for everyone on my list. I sat back feeling rather smug and self righteous. Now I could explore my ideas for a new pattern and maybe get some knitting done for charity. Now there was time to blog, check the forums and all that good stuff for which we use our computers. Wrong!! I ran into Murphy's Law. No more had I finished the last project when both my husband and I got the flu. Now, for those that are thinking,"Why didn't they get the shot?", we did. However, it takes two weeks for the shot to become fully effective, and sometime during that period we were infected. We have been sick for over a week and while slowly getting better, apparently will continue to be sick for who knows how long.

So that is the the story behind why you haven't seen anything new here for weeks. I have some ideas for things I think might interest the reader, but that will have to wait until I feel better. In the meantime, stay healthy and enjoy a great Thanksgiving with your family.

Gift Knitting

I have mentioned before in earlier blogs that I spend a good part of my knitting time trying to get ready for Christmas. Over the years my family has come to expect our gift to be something made by me. The last couple of days I have been knitting the Cherry Twist hat designed by Theresa Grant. While this is not the best picture I have ever taken, I think it will give you the idea.

Despite what appears to be an involved stitch pattern, this project was quick and easy. The pattern gives you the different lengths needed for a beanie, toque or slouch hat. Theresa's user name on Ravelry is needlenhook. You might want to take a look. I know the granddaughter getting this is going to love it.

Diapering 101

Boy, have I had an education the past couple of weeks. Ravelry has been running a thread about soakers which then developed into a discussion of diapers and diapering in general. My youngest is in her forties. What did I know? Of course I knew that disposables diapers filled landfills and took hundreds of years to decompose . I did not know that in response to that many responsible young mothers had gone back to cloth diapers and were crocheting or knitting soakers to keep clothes and bedding dry. I am afraid I had to be told what prefold diapers are.

In the "old days" we bought Curity or Birdseye diapers because that was all that was available They were not prefolded. You folded them before pinning them on baby. When used you put them in the diaper pail with water and a disinfectent. Each day you washed them in the washing machine. (Trust me. You didn't want them to sit around too long.) Then you hung them on the line where sunlight and fresh air did the rest of the work for you. As far as soakers, while I had patterns for them I never made any. We considered plastic pants a blessing.

Not everyone is prepared or able to go to the extra work cloth diapers require, but for those that do, on behalf of future generations, thank you.

Three Little Bears

This is my latest pattern. The bears are knit in the round and are only five inches tall. You can find the pattern and a complete description here

Other than working on bears I have been knitting Christmas gifts. Alot of cap and fingerless mitten sets, slippers and scarves. Nothing big but time consuming. Just about made it through my list then on to a new doll I have in mind.