Took a little break from knitting...

...to do some sewing... Here's Princess in her halloween costume(sans petticoat, because I've misplaced the fabric I intended to use to make it). She's going as "Felicity" from the American Girl Series. She looks a lot older than almost-five, don't you think?

...in motion...

...curtseying...

This pattern was really a lot simpler than it looked. And I love the Colonial style; very pretty and feminine. I did most of the sewing with my machine, but did the blue trim on the front, and the hem, by hand. That was a lot of hand-sewing, though; the circumference of the skirt at the bottom edge is somewhere around 10 feet. It's a very full skirt, which makes Princess very happy. ☺

From The Top...

Here's a sneak peek at my latest project, a top-down yoke-style sweater for Angel. This picture was taken last week, so now it's a lot further-along. I've joined the front and back sections and set aside the sleeves.
I love knitting in-the-round, and from the top-down. One of the biggest benefits is being able to try on your project while it's still on the needles. Of course, Angel won't be trying this on before Christmas, but I can have Princess try it on, as she's not much smaller than Angel. I also love knitting seamlessly, as my seaming skills leave something to be desired. Someday I'll focus on learning that skill properly...when I find a pattern that I love enough to make it worth my time to learn it. This sweater is a basic seamless style. By starting at the neck, knitting down to where the front and back sections are joined, then continuing in-the-round on the body, and lastly picking up the sleeve stitches and knitting them in-the-round, I will have no finishing except weaving in tails at the end. And blocking, of course. The only drawback is that I have to limit my time working on this to when Angel is not around, because it would be obvious what I'm making. She knows I'm making something pink, but that's all she knows. ☺

♥

I've made some progress on Princess's poncho, but it's getting to the point where I'm wishing I had a longer circular needle. I may need to find one... I still need to knit it about 3 inches longer, with 8 increases every other row... 5 rows per inch... that means another 50-60 stitches by the time I'm done. Yikes.

♥

I still haven't started on Princess's purse; I need to find a pattern or come up with my own idea...

Another finished project!

Here's the shrug I made for Princess for Christmas! I'm thinking I'll make a little purse to match, since this is a smaller project than the cape and mitts I made for Dolly, and the sweater I'm making for Angel.

Again, this is my own design, and I'm working on additional sizes before being ready to publish the pattern. It's a seamless raglan with elbow-length sleeves. I used one skein of Naturally Caron Spa, in "Rose Bisque" and a little tiny bit of the same yarn in "Misty Taupe" for the crochet trim around the edges and ends of the sleeves. I think that "Misty Taupe" would be better named: silver. Okay, it's not as creative a name, but that's what color it is. When I think of taupe, I think beige. This is a very shiny, silky silver. But anyway, that's not really important. What is important is that I absolutely LOVE Spa. This yarn is so silky and soft; it's a real joy to work with. I'm glad this project only used one skein; that means I have five skeins left for Angel's sweater. ☺ And Angel already told me that she wants a matching shrug(but not for Christmas, because it wouldn't be a surprise). But I'm going to do hers all in the silver, because she has several long, navy blue, sleeveless dresses, and I think the silver and navy blue will look really classy together. And, doing it all in one color makes it more versatile; it'll be able to go with her other dresses as well.

♥

I've restarted on Angel's sweater, doing it exactly how I'd done it before. I had thought it wasn't shaping up well, but that's just because it was on such a short circular that I couldn't straighten it out and get a real feel for how I liked it. When I took it off the needle to frog it, I thought it didn't look so bad after all, but I frogged it anyway... and now, after thinking about it for a few days, I like it. So I started it again. I need to trust my original idea....I think it'll turn out pretty well.

♥

Only 80 days left until Christmas!

A finished project!

I've finished Dolly's Christmas cape and mitts! I'll have to wait until Christmas to get a picture of her wearing it. I'm in the process of writing down the pattern, but I'll have to do some calculating to come up with other sizes.
Okay, the vital stats on this project: I used two skeins of Paton's Decor in "chocolate taupe" for the cape, and a little bit of a third for the mitts, and less than one skein of Lion Brand Fun Fur in "soft pink" for the trim. It's a little difficult to see in this picture, but there's a border of lace diamonds all around the cape, and three diamonds, lined up, on each mitt. I'll make sure to get a picture in the sunshine on or after Christmas. Hopefully, the weather will be cool enough by then. ☺
Now I'm working on Angel's sweater...well, actually, getting ready to start over on her sweater. I'm knitting it from the top-down, and started with the turtleneck collar. I cast-on enough stitches for it to fit easily over her head, and then realized, even with ribbing it'll be too big around for her slender little neck. So I'm going to start over with fewer stitches, and hope that it will stretch enough to fit her head through. Wish me luck!