A very special cardigan for a very special doll

Looks like the knitting bug has hit a couple of us bloggers, as Xanadu and I have both been hard at work.  For Xanadu knitting makes sense, as winter is not too far off where she lives (Australia) and her dolls must be warm.  I, however, reside in the U.S. and it's getting rather warm outside (and inside).  So I'm doing what I did a few summers back when it was ridiculously hot, and I'm spending my days with a lapful of stuff to make me even hotter.  Why?  Because clothes for my newest doll are ridiculously expensive!  My new doll is a Sasha doll, whom y'all will see at the end of the post, and she's clad in a white dress, or as I like to call it, a blank slate.  Since Sasha is a nice doll I want the cardigan that she'll be wearing to be a little more special than the items I've made in the past.  Normally I'd buy my needles and a ball of yarn at Hobby Lobby and be done with it, but this time I wanted to get some hand-dyed stuff instead of something mass-produced.  So after a brief search on Etsy I bought this stuff.

This came from the shop AJHCWools, and it's the color "Invidia" from the Mythical Gods collection.  They're small balls, so I ended up getting two.

It was hard to pick a color, y'all!  The doll in question is a redhead, and I love green on redheads, but I also love yellow, purple, and dark blue on redheads.  Since green is my favorite color I went with that.  The fun thing about the Mythical Gods yarn is that all of it is speckled to some extent.

Speckled yarns tend to look a little rustic, and I love that.  The speckling was a little more pronounced on the Zeus and Poseidon yarns, but...well, they were blue, not green.  I love blue, but I want this doll to wear green during the colder months.  By the way, the shop named two shades of yellow after two sun gods (Ra and Helios).  That's clever enough, but it turns out that my yarn was named wisely too, as Invidia was the Greek goddess of envy.  I'd never heard of Invidia before, LOL.

Right then, here's how this went.  I used this pattern, which calls for size 0 needles (size 14 if one lives abroad, or 2 mm, if one utilizes the metric system). 

DAY 1, 5/19/20

Day 1 has been a little rough, as I couldn't find the end of the yarn, and as I'd forgotten how to "make one."  LOL, it's seriously been that long since I've knitted!  The pattern says to "make one" (make one stitch) before and after each stitch marker (I used paper clips for my markers, LOL), so I just knitted into the front and back of each stitch.  I'm not sure if that's the correct way to get the job done, but so far all is well.  I have to keep doing that until I reach 132 stitches, and I'm currently at...<pauses to count>...92 stitches.  So I've got a ways to go yet.  I've also encountered a small but slightly worrisome health concern:  my left hand rapidly grows weak as I knit.  This is a recent development, as the entire left side of my body grows weak after I exert myself for any length of time.  Originally this only happened if I REALLY exerted myself, but now it's growing more noticeable.  I've chalked it up to being overweight and sleeping too much on my left side.  As to the project itself, I didn't like not being able to find the end of the yarn (probably my own dumb fault), but it makes a nice, smooth stockinette stitch.  Not to brag, but despite a few hiccups I think I'm off to a good start.

DAY 2, 5/20/20

I spoke to my doctor today (by chance, as I ran out of my anxiety pills and needed to get a refill), and since she's not a specialist she couldn't tell me much about my weakness.  She wants to send me to a neurologist, but I can't afford that without insurance so I'm just going to watch my weight and see what happens.  The doctor did say that whatever I have is very mild, or else it would trouble me 100% of the time.  I will note that I slept on my back last night and had no trouble knitting or walking for most of the day.  In knitting news I reached the 132-stitch count that I needed to reach, and I tried the work on my doll.  I have some concerns that it may be too tight across the shoulders for her, in which case I'll have to go up a needle size...or a yarn size...or both.  Time will tell!  Tomorrow I put in the sleeves.  I would've done it today, but my left hand has started crapping out so I'm giving it a rest.  Note that the subtle speckles and color variations are becoming obvious now.  They weren't so much on Day 1.

DAY 3, 5/21/20

The sleeves are now in, which necessitated two stitch holders to hold live stitches.  I don't know where on Earth my stitch holders are, so I used two of the paper clips.  Now that the sleeves are in I just have to knit for three inches to make sure the cardigan is long enough.  I managed to get 1.25 inches done today, so maybe...just maybe I'll have this done by the end of the week???  I've got plenty of free time this weekend though, so if I don't get it done before Saturday, no biggie.

DAY 4, 5/22/20

Today is my pastor's birthday, and my maternal grandparents' wedding anniversary, and the ninth anniversary of the Joplin tornado.  Shudder...has it been nine years already?  I bet it feels like it was just yesterday for some of those folks who went through it.  Anyway, I figured out today that I definitely WON'T have this cardigan done this weekend, because the sleeves have to be knitted on double-pointed needles (my circular needles are too long for the job) and while I do have double-pointed needles they're the wrong size for the job I need to complete.  Since I'm ordering the needles during Memorial Day weekend it may be awhile before I can complete the sleeves.  But I still am not done with the body yet, so that'll buy me a bit of time.  I like a quarter of an inch yet, plus four rows of ribbing.  Easy.

DAY 5, 5/23/20

Today will be short and sweet, since I only had such a short way to go anyway.  I got the final quarter-inch and the ribbing band done, and now I just need to wait for the double-pointed needles to come.  The bottom ribbing band is wanting to curl, much to my chagrin, but that's nothing a good blocking won't cure.

DAY 6, 6/2/20

Yes, it seriously took that long to get double-pointed needles, thanks in part to this coronavirus crap.  Today I desperately needed something to relax, as the day started off early and terrifying.  I gave my dogs oral flea medicine over the weekend, and this morning Bella (the tan one) had one hell of a seizure.  I've never seen a dog have a seizure before, and all I could do was hold her and comfort her until it was over.  I don't recommend Credelio for small dogs; both Bella and Sonic have been sick, but Sonic didn't have seizures.  Anyway, putting in the sleeves means picking up stitches, which I've never been good at, so once again this part got off to a rocky start.  During the span of Day 6 I got the whole right sleeve done, but I think I may not have picked up enough stitches at the beginning because the armhole is quite tight.  I know I can bamboozle it over Sasha's sizeable hands, but I'll need to count carefully when I pick up stitches for the next sleeve.

DAY 7, 6/3/2020

All was well on the animal front today, thank God.  After losing Bentley, Callie, and Arya in such a short timeframe I don't think I could've stood losing Bella too.  But Bella has had no more seizures, and the vet said that she may never have another one.  Still, I will remain cautious of Credelio in the future.  As to the cardigan, except for darning in some loose ends it's all but finished.  I hate darning in ends.

DAY 8, 6/5/2020

No more ends!  Darning ends in is not a hard process, but if there are a lot of ends it can be a tedious job.  Now that the ends are gone and the cardigan is complete, time for a last little flourish.  The pattern shows buttons on one of the finished cardigans, but mine has no buttonholes.  Buttonholes are not hard to add to knitwear, but this time the buttons will be just for decoration.  I chose these buttons, from MoniqueLula.

THEY GLOW IN THE DARK!!!  LOL, y'all may remember that I love stuff that glows in the dark.  A lot of MoniqueLula's wares glow in the dark, so I may be returning to her shop in the near future.  She has a set of buttons that are little hearts, which would look great with a cardigan knitted out of some of AJHC's pink yarn...maybe Aphrodite or Venus (both goddesses of love, fitting names for pink yarn).  When I showed these buttons to Mama I joked that maybe I should make matching cardigans for my doll and me, and she didn't seem too opposed to the idea...so maybe I will!  And maybe I won't, LOL.  I've already got the makings for a second cardigan for Sasha, and I haven't even shown Sasha in her first one!  Here's my doll modelling the green cardigan (I haven't put the buttons on yet because I don't have a needle fine enough to do the job).

Yeah, I know I said Sasha came in a white dress, but I've put her in something a bit more summery for the warm weather ahead.  I initially had no worries about how the green cardigan looks with her new jumpsuit, but now that the cardigan is actually complete I think the overall look is too monochromatic.  Also, the armholes are too tight (I was afraid of that), so much so that when I pulled the sleeves off of her it pulled the tag off Sasha's wrist.  All Sasha dolls have tags on their wrists, right?  Well, the string came loose.

I can find a way to salvage that and make it into a necklace or something, but I preferred it on her wrist, dang it!  So long story short, I was able to get the cardigan on Sasha (after a brief battle), and it looks alright on her, so I'm calling this a tentative success.  HOWEVER...if I'd been making this as a gift for someone else's Sasha I would have declared it a failure since not everyone would have the hand strength to jam those tight cuffs over Sasha's sizeable mitts.  Thus, if anyone has a Sasha doll and wants to try this pattern, I recommend going up a needle size...and I also recommend swatching to test the gauge of  your stitches!  I never do that, and as a result I end up often knitting something in the wrong size.  WHEN WILL I LEARN???

Much love,
RagingMoon1987

Necessity is the mother of invention, part two

I wasn't expecting to make a second post like this, but my stupid anxiety problem reared its head again, and when I get antsy, I get crafty.  After visiting Ravelry (per a reader's very smart suggestion) I found patterns for some of the other dolls that I've got.  The last time I talked about Monster High dolls, so this post is going to be for the Bratz.  Yeah, I know that the relaunch brought some new clothing packs with it, but get this:  the new Bratz don't have the same body as the old ones do.  Based on what I've read, the new clothes don't fit the old dolls well.

The first pattern I attempted is a Sticka till Barbie pattern.  Sticka till Barbie has knitting patterns for Barbie, Bratz, and...Monchichi???  I thought Monchichi was furry enough to go around nekkid!  Anywho, this is Bratz pattern #31.  Model is Style It! Tessa.

The pattern calls for "yarn suitable for 2 mm knitting needles," so I chose this sherbet-colored wool blend, the name of which has unsurprisingly escaped my mind.  The finished product does not have a lot of stretch or drape to it, and that's proven to be a bit of a detriment because I made the dress too small.  It fits Tessa like a babydoll dress, and I think it's supposed to fall lower on her waist.  Sasha can wear it better due to her older body, but it's still a struggle to get it on her.

If I try this pattern again it will probably be with baby yarn.

This next dress is from Sticka till Barbie as well, though I can't remember which pattern it was.  Model is Style It! Maci.

The pattern called for fine-gauge yarn on size one needles, so I used Aunt Lydia's Crochet Cotton.  The results came out fine except for one slight problem:  the pattern was a Barbie pattern, not a Bratz pattern.  Apparently Aunt Lydia's stuff is a little TOO fine-gauge to suit this pattern.  So I adjusted the placement of the dress's snaps a bit and made it fit a Bratz body.  It's just a tiny bit too big on Maci, but it's hard to tell.

Next pattern is from Appletree art n crafts group knits.  Sultana Vafeiadou drafted this one.  Model is first-wave Jade.

I used sock yarn again, Red Heart Heart and Sole in "Bayou" on size one needles.  I got the gauge too tight again, not ridiculously so, but enough that it's a pain in the butt to get this on Jade.  If you knit a bit on the tight side, I recommend a size two knitting needles instead of a size one.

Fourth dress comes from Nina's At My House.  I used size four needles and I Love This Cotton! in "Sock Monkey."  Model is a budget Meygan, the one whose hair I had to cut.

This pattern is extremely easy; the only stitches required are the knit stitch and the purl stitch.  Therfore, this is an excellent pattern for a beginning knitter.  I modified the pattern to make the skirt a little fuller, and as a result this dress fits the best.  I didn't have to take in the back or bend Meygan 's arms to get the dress on.

With Monster High and Bratz out of the way, that leaves the Lalaloopsy Girls and the Equestria Girls.  My search for Lalaloopsy Girl patterns has so far been fruitless, but I did find some things to make for the Equestria Girls.  Stay tuned for a third installment of this series! 

Best wishes,

RagingMoon1987 

Necessity is the mother of invention

Or in this case, necessity is the mother of ingenuity.  I've got Monster High dolls that need duds, but Mattel is too focused on Barbie to make new MH threads, and the proprietor of my former favorite Etsy shop is now damnatio memoriae, so what's a girl to do?  As y'all undoubtedly know, I like to knit, and much of my knitting focuses on duds for dolls that can't get clothing elsewhere.  Unfortunately, free online patterns are few and far between  when it comes to Monster High clothes.  Luckily I've been able to find a few.

Enter This Joy, a blog that has superb knitting patterns for Monster High dolls.  This Mad Science Lagoona Blue came to me sans clothes (and part of one arm), and thus she is my innocent victim model.

All you need are small needles and sock yarn, and I happen to have both, so I went to town.  Lagoona's dress is made from this post, her cape came from here, and her hat is this pattern.  I wanted some continuity in this outfit, so the hat and cape are knitted from a ball of Premier Yarns Wool-Free Sock.  This yarn is wove together in an unusual way, so that a strand of it somewhat resembles a spring.  Thus it has a nice stretch to it.  This particular color is aproprately called "Grapes."  I used the same yarn to make a dress for Ju-hwang last summer.

See how Lagoona and Ju-hwang coordinate!

I've also used this type of yarn in a different dress for Ju-hwang, but it's a more earthy color called "Grand Canyon."

Unfortunately I made the Grand Canyon dress too short.  Ju-hwang will need some leggings before she can wear this one again.

Lagoona's new dress is...well, I had the band once, but it's disappeared into my collection of yarn bands.  I think it's another sock yarn, Red Heart Heart and Sole in "Green Envy."  I also used this yarn last summer, in another dress for Ju-hwang.

Why I wanted to spend last summer knitting, I'll never know.  Our air conditioner died and it was too hot to even think about knitted goods, let alone want to make or wear them.  Yet somehow Ju-hwang ended up with more dresses than I care to count.  Anywho, Lagoona and Ju-hwang again coordinate nicely.

There's also a blue dress that I've been tinkering around with, though it's far from done.  The pattern is a lolita-style pattern from Modern Monstrosities, and the yarn I used is a mecurized cotton called Omega Sinfonia.  The color I used is "Azul Rey," but any of the other colors will do.  It's nice to see a fine-gauge yarn in a bold, solid color, particularly when most of Hobby Lobby's fine yarns are either striped, white, or pastel in color.  Anyway, when I finish the dress I'll share it here!  As an aside, Lagoona's green dress fits the slim bodies of La Dee Da dolls with aplomb.  I'll have to test out the blue dress when it's complete and see if it will fit.

I bought a couple more balls of sock yarn over the weekend, so there will be other dresses in the making.  Stay tuned!

Yours truly,
RagingMoon1987

A Christmas post already???

Yep, even though we haven't gotten far into November, I'm already wanting to post about Christmas.  No disrespect meant towards Thanksgiving, of course; I love most of my family, and I love turkey.  But since I've got some presents completed I thought I'd share them.  I have a cousin...well, actually she's my third cousin, but family is family, right?  Anywho, this child got a new American Girl, so I've been slaving over my needles for the past two months to make doll dresses.  I've got three completed, and I may make one more.  Depends on my mood.  Anywho, here's Dress #1.

I've already made one of these for myself; it can be seen in my My Twinn post.  I had plenty of yarn left over, and some buttons as well, so I duplicated the dress.  The yarn is Red Heart Boutique Unforgetable, 100% acrylic and oh so soft to the touch.  This particular color is called "Stained Glass," but other colors are available.  I even found a ball of it in a solid shade of deep purple, one color that doesn't show up online!  The pattern can be found here; copyright belongs to a lady named Elaine Baker.

Dress #2:

This too can be seen on the My Twinn post, but in a different color.  The dress I made for Denise is made out of mint green baby yarn and pink Red Heart Super Saver.  This dress is made out of the same baby yarn, without the Super Saver trim.  Since I now have pink baby yarn I didn't need Super Saver!  I think the baby yarn is Baby Bee Sweet Delights (60% acrylic, 40% polyamide), but I'll have to dig out the band to make sure.  If so then the baby yarn for Denise's dress is likely "Mint Charm," while this dress is made up of "Sugarplum (main color)" and "Bashful (accent color)."  "Bashful" looks orange online, but in real life it's pink with a very slight orange tint, rather like poached salmon.  It's wonderful yarn.  It makes soft, smooth stockinette patterns and springy, buoyant garter stitch patterns.  It's also good for Barbie doll clothes if any of you like to knit small dresses.  The pattern is from ABC Knitting Patterns.  I'm not sure who owns the copyright, but the website says these patterns are from a woman named Elaine Phillips, so I assume she holds the copyright.

Dress #3:

This came from another ABC pattern that I'd never tried before, but as it turned out I needn't have worried about how it would come out.  My biggest problem with this was finding circular needles in a size 7, which was a surprisingly difficult task, mainly due to my own inattentiveness.  Needless to say I did find the needles I wanted.  The pattern calls for Wool of the Andes, but rather than try to obtain that I settled for Yarn Bee Effervesce, 80% acrylic and 20% polyamide, which turned out to be a suitable substitute.  The main color is "Orchid Haze," and the accent color is "Morning Glow."  Hobby Lobby's website has "Morning Glow" listed as "Morning Glory," but they appear to be the same color so don't allow yourself to get confused if you want to find this yarn.

If I decide to make the fourth dress it will likely be this pattern, made out of I Love This Yarn Super Soft in Soft Blue.  Baby yarn also works for this particular pattern; I've made one in yellow for Xenia.  The eyelet panel shows a little bit of fabric torso underneath, but not so much that it's distracting.  In short, I've worked hard on these dresses and I desperately hope my little cousin will like them.  All three (possibly four) of these dresses involve the use of small buttons, so I'm a bit concerned that her fingers will be too little to get the backs fastened.  I may have to modify those button holes to make them easier to see.

So that's my cousin taken care of.  Believe it or not, I also have something doll-related for my grandmother!  Grandma has kept me in dolls for most of my life; Barbie, American Girl, porcelain, you name it.  It turns out that when she was a child she owned a Shirley Temple doll and a Madame Alexander doll, both of whom she cherished.  One day she came home from school and the dolls were GONE!!!  It turned out that her mother (my great-grandmother) had given them away to a destitute family whose daughter did not have a doll to play with.  Great-Grandma was a sap for children, and she hated to see one go without.  Unfortunately that meant her own daughter had to do without for awhile!  Grandma bears no resentment towards her mother for this stunt, but she still pines for her Shirley Temple doll.

Surprise, Grandma.  Look what we've got!

This Shirley is eighteen inches tall with her original wig.  I'm not sure if the clothes are original or not, but they suit her.  She's composition like the Creepy Babies are, and she has a few cracks and dings here and there.  I doubt Grandma will mind the cracks and dings; what concerns me is the size.  Grandma's Shirley was likely small, as most of the vintage Shirleys I've seen are.  This doll is tall enough to fit in with my larger girls.  In fact, she's a smidge taller than Ana Ming!

Positive, negative, or neutral, I'll share her reaction when we give Shirley to her.  We also shopped around for a replacement Madame Alexander doll; Grandma swears up and down that her doll was Jeannie Walker, though I doubt it since the dates don't match up.  Jeannie Walker was made in 1941, and Grandma was a young teenager by then.  McGuffey Ana might be a more likely choice, but what the heck do I know?  Jeannie was the one Grandma connected with when we went through some of my magazines, so I'm going to try to find a Jeannie for her.  Too bad those little gals are worth a pretty penny.  But then again, so is a decent McGuffey Ana!  I'll just have to keep my eyes peeled.

Best wishes,
RagingMoon1987