Dolores!

Back in the summer of 2018, I ordered a special kit from WEBS. Franklin Habit had created a pattern to knit his irrepressible ovine companion in stuffie form. And the world needed more Dolores.

Four balls of yarn, three white and one black, on top of a white drawstring bag. One of the balls of white yarn has purple-tinted eyeglasses on top of it.

The kit consisted of three balls of white yarn, one ball of black yarn, and a snazzy pair of purple-tinted spectacles, all in a nice drawstring bag. The pattern was a download, so I downloaded it, got everything together, and promptly tucked it away as part of my never-ending To Be Knit Queue.

A few weeks ago, Dolores had had quite enough of waiting, thank you very much, and jumped the queue and onto my needles.

A knitted white sheep wearing purple-tinted glasses, a black hat, and a black and white shawl, sitting in a blue office chair

After lounging in my office chair for a bit, she wanted to spend some time sunning herself outside during one of the few non-rainy days of late.

A knitted white sheep wearing purple-tinted glasses, a black hat, and a black and white shawl, sitting on a gray mat, propped against a gray felt bag.

She’s a little wonky, but I quite like her. The shawl is cute, though the “perky pillbox” hat turned into more of a hipster beanie.

Dolores has requested a new hat, because she has decided to accompany me to a certain event coming up very fast on the other side of the country. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Two Days ’til Christmas…

… and the stocking is done!

K's Stocking - Done!

(Yes, I blurred K’s full name.)

Pattern: Candy Cane Santa Stocking by Donna Race
Source: Dimensions Gold Collection kit via Jo-Ann Fabric
Notes: This is the third (and final) family stocking, and it definitely took me the longest. It’s also the only one I actually did the final sewing on. (The first sewing I’ve done since I was 14!) Like the others, I lined the front with the white felt that came in the kit and used red felt to create the back of the stocking. It’s probably a good thing that Santa doesn’t stuff the grown-ups’ stockings in our house, since this one might be just a little bit fragile at the seams.

Science Doll

(Or, Hey, Look, There’s Some Knitting on the Supposed Knitting Blog!)

This is my friend, Sarah:

Well, a toonified representation of her alter ego, Science Doll, anyway. She’s smart as a whip, and you can follow her at her her site or her twitter feed.

I’d wanted to make something for her for quite a while, but I wasn’t sure what to make. And then I heard about the Stitched Selves that went on display in London last summer. How could I not make her her very own Sci Doll doll?

Sci Doll

Project Specs:
Pattern: Stitch Yourself (Knit) by Whodunnknit
Yarn: Cascade 220 in Natural for the body; Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight in Thraven for the shoes, and a bit of some alpaca blend for the hair.
Needles: Size US4 bamboo DPNs for the body, size US1 bamboo DPNs for the shoes

I made her a little skeleton of chenille stems (what we used to call “pipe cleaners” when I was a kid) so the arms and legs are poseable and attach to a spine that keeps the head from just flopping over. Her skirt is made of wide wired Christmas ribbon that I folded in half before bending it into the pleats. It’s sewn in place, right onto the body. The shirt is made of white felt, cut and sewn on. I made the hair by looping a length of yarn around and around a little toy beeper (it was the right size), sewing through the middle, and cutting the loops on either side, then sewing it to the top of the head. Finally, I embroidered the face.

The knitting itself was super quick. The clothing was a little trickier. I would have liked to give her some knee socks, but couldn’t quite get them scaled right.

When I handed it to her, she said, “It’s a little me!” The best reaction I could have asked for, really.

Lil Miss also really liked the doll, so I’m going to have to knit up a mini-Lil-Miss for her.