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Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Susie Sad Eyes

Susie Sad Eyes is new to our house. Vintage 1972, this little darlin' has had her toes chewed by some pet (or maybe a child) in her former life. Must have been well loved! Think her name will be Nibbles.Standing at 8", she is thicker of body than Blythe, and a bit shorter in the torso, but some of my Blythe items will fit her well. That's good; means a bit of tweaking of patterns here and there, but will be relatively easy to outfit the Susie Sad Eyes dolls for listing in ssmartraggs.etsy.com.


Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Argyle Sweater for Kelly doll

Just a little something I knit up for Kelly doll on 4/0 needles and lace weight misty alpaca. Traditional argyle would have separate balls of yarn for the blocks, which I did; but I stranded the background blue and then backstitched the XXXs across the blocks.. not authentic, but easier to do!

Monday, August 15, 2011

Knitting for adults is such a treat for a change! I came across this super simple design in Ravelry by Martina Behm for a little scarflette that called out to be knitted up for fall wearing. The scalloped edge was a bit tricky at first, but after watching the video (link is in the pattern) and completing one or two scallops it was a piece of cake!

So, on a road trip I knitted up the solid teal 22.5 Degree wrap using 3 balls of vintage yarn from my stash... it's a bit heavier, being a sport weight, but a yummy texture using size 9 circular needles. 50% Kid Mohair/ 50% Wool blend.
The wrap is knitted from the top down; the last two rows are the knitted shell and bind off.


The designer calls it "22.5" Degrees as it is just that! Not the normal 45 Degree scarf, or shawl, which hangs long in the back, but, rather, it is intended to sit on the shoulders, wrap around the neck and be tied or draped. Perfect to add just a bit of warmth.

If you follow the pattern using sock yarn, you will end up with a width of 165 cm (65 inches), and a depth of 35 cm (14 inches). My first effort is using Ty-Dy sock yarn, which patterns beautifully and has a wonderful soft drape knitted up on US size 3 circular needles. I used up the ball and now the project is sitting aside as a WIP until I get to the local yarn shop for another ball.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Hanging out at Ceder Camp, listening to NPR on the radio.... Clair never goes anywhere without her Pookie bear.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Unfinished Object now Finished

This was a good day for getting to an unfinished project. My mom stitched the animals years ago. She used to stitch directly onto shirts for my brothers, but she's not here anymore.. so this is what I did so that they would have new shirts with "old stitching".


I ironed "heat N bond light" to the back of each stitched piece; then cut them to the desired shape. Basically, this means simply cutting around the design, leaving about 1/2 inch all around.

Note: Use "light" rather than heavy duty Heat N Bond.... the heavy duty will gum up onto the needle later when you stitch the design in place. Very annoying!

After the piece has cooled peel the paper backing off. Position the piece right side up on the center back of the shirt. I folded the shirt and gave it a slight crease to insure that the design would be placed in the center, and straight.
Then, iron again. I ironed from the front, then turned the shirt over and ironed from the back to insure a good bond.
Note: Ironing from the back of the shirt raises the stitching slightly giving it a bit of dimension.
Once the shirt with bonded on stitching has cooled you can move to the sewing machine. Set the machine for a 3.5 mm zigzag stitch with a buttonhole stitch length. On my machine, that's about #1. I put a buttonhole presser foot on the machine, mostly so that I would have a good visual of where I was stitching. Also you will want a size 12 or 14 needle in your machine.

Begin stitching at the bottom... keep stitching around the edge till you come back to where you began. Then, stitch over it a second round for better coverage. Trim threads, and Done!!
Voila!!
I used new shirts that my brother brought to me, and he selected which animal print for each shirt.... come to think of it... I have 4 brothers, and only 3 completed shirts! Did I agree to get the 4th shirt? Guess I'm not finished with this project after all!

The shirt with iron-on can be washed and dried by machine. Because it is stitched, it will not come off, in the way that it might if you simply ironed the design onto the shirt without the zigzag stitching. The stitching will probably outlast the life of the shirt. This could be a good thing!
When ironing the shirt (if you must), be sure to iron the stitched area from the back as your final step. Just turn the shirt over on the ironing board and give it a good steam/press.



Monday, May 30, 2011

Dipping into my stash of vintage hankies, I found this wonderful blue with red rose border. It cried out to be used as the skirt portion on a sundress, so here it is! The bodice is cotton with beading at the neck edge; neck trim wraps to the back as straps. The sundress has a snap back closure. The skirt has a white underskirt with heirloom quality lace at the hem; the skirt wraps in front... matching scarf is super long and beaded at both ends. Great as a scarf, wrap, belt or headband!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Newest Sundress... I made several of these; expect to see more at my table at BlytheCon 2011 in Portland. The artist "manni" is added here to show the backless back with snap closure. Huge red star button accents the front. The bodice is made from a wonderful cotton with textured stripes. I don't think you can see them in the photo, but the stripe is bordered by a metallic thread for a bit of sparkle. Subtle!

I make my bias trim for the neckline /straps from quilting cotton. Easy peasey! Cut strips 1.25" wide on the bias; iron to crease in half lengthwise, then open, crease again on each 1/2 of the strip; finally, close the strip and iron one more time!
Have I said before that the iron is the most useful tool in the sewing room other than the sewing machines of course! ??

Friday, May 13, 2011


A day at the beach; Pt St George... perfect weather and Lola (dog) is wet and sandy. She will need a dip in the river on the way home. Actually... she got a bath, so she smells good too!

New sundress uses Milktooth fabric for the bodice; Seasick Sailor... in blue and cream. The sundress is my current favorite to make; it looks so cute with a wrap!
I made up several of this sundress; one has already been purchased and shipped with a blue wrap. I may have a few at BlytheCon 2011 in Portland... see you there!

Monday, May 9, 2011


Tshirt dressing for Momoko; this dress was actually made for Blythe, but fits Momoko to a "T". The nautical fabric has tiny ships wheels in an all-over print. The scarf is red plaid chiffon.
Dress has back snap closure, bataux neck, and raglan sleeves. The sleeves are 3/4 length on Momoko, full length on Blythe.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

It's a wrap! I'm having so much fun with knitting these little dolly wraps! They're perfect for wearing with sundresses, and great as a hair band too! The yellow sundress has already gone to a customer, but I will be making more.
The bandana print sundress is one of my favorites at this moment.
Who knew that the Blythe doll and the artist doll would be the same size? Blythe dresses fit them perfectly, so I am using them to model, although Clair is a bit nervous about their tiny heads.
More wraps in the colors of summer.. this yarn shades from reds to blues.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

New Design for Blythe


Thinking about the sunshine when it is still rainy is a bit "off" for me, but yesterday I worked out the details for this little number for Blythe. It only took three tries to get the bodice shaped just so for a perfect fit...
Love the bias trim that wraps to the back as straps! And, even more that the sundress only required one snap for the closure! Yay!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

BlytheCon 2011 in Portland, Or

Sweet little sailboat print dress with ribbon trimmed detached sailor collar, button accent, comes complete with a white eyelet underskirt. The dress has back snap closure.


I pre-registered for the Portland BlytheCon 2011 and scored a vendor table! Yay!


Uhhhhmmm, now what? The event will be June 20th; with a nautical theme.. guess that means red/white/blue with ... hmmmmm... I'm thinking, I'm thinking...


I have a stash of African cotton fabrics in red/white and blue/white. The cotton is heavier than quilting cotton, so lends itself well for a crisp garment. This is the first set made up in one of the red/white prints. Both will go to the event in advance as prizes. The sailor blouse fits both Blythe and Momoko dolls, as does the pleated dress.

White cotton twill was used for the sailor hat for Momoko; it actually is a perfect fit for Petite Blythe, so I will be taking some with me!

I made the Blythe Kozy Kape shopping bag; a few of which will go for prizes, and I will have more at my table. Made of the same twill as the sailor hat, and features Clair in her Kozy Kape earmuff. I hear there will be lots of Kosies there!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011




Now THIS was fun! I was foolin' around with sock yarn and a doll in front of me... A pretty new Italian sock yarn to work with that shades from greenss to browns. Shown on Clair in the redwood forest out my kitchen door. I love how the colors blend into the forest!
I hate weaving in yarn ends and even more so to sew up seams once the knitting of a piece is finished, so I am forever experimenting with my patterns to eliminate seams and minimize ends to weave in.
This set is a versatile one.
The hat is shown worn 2 ways: tied under the chin, and tied under the hair in back.
The sweater is shown worn 4 ways: frontwards, backwards, and upside down both frontwards and backwards!
Awesome super big cowl neck "happens" when the sweater is upside down; and it fits as a middie, or tummy baring top.
I only put 2 buttons/snaps on it because I didn't want to interfere with the drape of the collar when worn upside down. The waist is shaped by eliminating some stitches for 4 rows, then adding them back.

The head wrap/scarflette is shaped by means of short rows so that it hugs the head no matter how it is tied.
I initially designed this hat for Momoko dolls; much, much, much smaller of course.


Monday, January 31, 2011







Sewing for Clair and the newest member of the doll family, a Momoko, who is as yet un-named.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Jenny and Momoko having a cup of tea ....

It has been interesting to see which of my patterns can work "as is" for Momoko dolls. The hat that Jenny is wearing was too big for the new girl; she has such a delicate face! So, I modified it a bit resulting in a perfect fit for Momoko. The hearts are in anticipation of Valentines Day.

The Blythe wrap skirt is a perfect fit; shorter than on Blythe of course, but not too short!

The sweater is a pattern I wrote for a Blythe tunic sweater; perfect!

This Blythe outfit works well for her too. The sunhat ties at the back under the hair; the halter top ties at the back waist.... I had considered changing this pattern to have a snap at the back instead of the ties, but the ties make it more versatile for other 1/6 scale dolls.
I need to make more of these in other colors to list in etsy.... so many fun things to do!

Saturday, January 22, 2011


The doll family is growing by leaps and bounds! Seems like I keep adding them, rationalizing that I need the variety of sizing for my knitting and sewing designs for etsy. (ha ha)
This photo includes Clair, my Blythe doll, as well as a new strawberry shortcake, a LPS petite Blythe, the twins aka: what's her face dolls, and the bodiless head I use for adult hats.
All the girls seem to be eager to get the new kid out of the box!