Next came another addition to my personal Barbie/Ken collection which is quite a bit different than the others I have made in fancy gowns. I saw the Barbie, Ken and Skipper western outfits (complete with Skipper's pony) on eBay and decided it would be fun to make this family. It was a different experience from the other doll outfits I've crocheted in recent years, since these consisted mostly of basic single crochet rather than the more advanced shell and lace stitches, etc. I'm pleased with how they turned out (including the pony, which -- believe it or not -- was the first stuffed animal I have crocheted and may be the last!) The first pic is Skipper and her pony, then Barbie and Ken, followed by the whole family. (To achieve the specific color combo I wanted, I used #10 Opera, Cebelia and Aunt Lydia's threads.) For the horsie, I used Vanna's Choice yarn in gray marble and chocolate brown.
Then I decided to take a little break from the dolls. I found a pretty layette pattern, Cloud Soft Layette, which I was anxious to try. I used Sensations Little Treat yarn, a pretty self-striping worsted weight yarn, in yellow, green and white. I love both this yarn and the pattern. Here is the matching jacket, bonnet and booties.
And here is the matching Cloud Soft blankie, which is about 36 inches square. It worked up rather slowly but I really enjoyed making it. I have this same yarn on hand in pink, lavender and white stripes, and may use it for this same layette in the near future.
As I've mentioned before, one of my favorite brands of crochet threads is Coats & Clark's Opera, which was discontinued a few years ago. So I have an ongoing saved search for it on eBay. Earlier this year, I was excited to find a lot of ten balls of #10 baby pink in the same dye lot at a good price and snapped them up. I wanted to use them for a special project. I looked through my files of thread projects and decided on "Amaryllis Tablecloth" by the Japanese designer Mayumi Sato. I will have just the right amount of thread to complete it and it should be about 55" square when completed. It consists of nine 18" squares which need to be blocked so that they retain their shape and size, whipstitched together, then the edging is added. I'm presently working on the fourth square and will post a completed pic next time. For now, here is one of the squares in the process of being blocked.
Thanks for looking! I'll try to update this blog again by the end of the year.
