Better Late Than Never!

I didn't realize it's been over 5 months since I updated my crochet blog! So without further adieu, let's start with the Barbie I completed in May. This is Miss July 1993 from the Annie's Attic Victorian series.

My next project was the elegant 1876 Debutante Ball Gown from Paradise Publications. I decided to make her gown in two shades of sage with a cream underskirt rather than the lavender and white called for in the pattern. As usual, I used my beloved discontinued Opera #10 thread for this gown and the one above.

Then I felt like going back to making a few baby items. I had a large amount on hand of Herrschner's 2-ply Afghan Yarn in pale sage, so I decided to make a baby ghan. This pattern had a 7-inch border of large hearts done in popcorn stitches, which was beautiful, but I decided it would be too tedious and take too long. So I just did the last few rounds of the border, and still ended up with a pretty blankie suitable for a small baby.

I was working on the above afghan at my friend Dianne's house when I realized I had not brought the pattern with me and had gotten to a point where I needed it. So I looked through her many crochet magazines for something I could work on that evening with the same yarn and found a cute little shell stitch baby jacket. It was cute and easy to make. I borrowed the magazine from her so that I could copy the pattern and use it again.

I still had some of the pale sage yarn left after completing the above two projects, so I made a post stitch baby bonnet and booties.

Though I am winding down on making the fancy Barbie gowns due to lack of display space (and a desire to concentrate more on baby items for charity or possible sale), I still had a few dolls I plan to create outfits for, including two Stacies (Barbie's little sister). I knew the "Teatime Party Dress" would work up quickly compared to the more elaborate gowns, so I made it for one of my Stacies.

In my Sept. 2011 entry on this blog, I posted a picture of a "Sweet Pea" ripple dress I made with the #5 pearl cotton the pattern called for, and mentioned that though the dress was fun to make and pretty, I wanted to try making it in yarn in the future. I decided to do just that using the "Cloudsoft" yarn from Herrschners that I'd used for the bonnet and booties pictured at the end of my last entry in March. I love the way this little dress turned out with the "Cloudsoft" yarn. I love this yarn and plan to stock up next time I order from Herrschners, and will also make more of the "Sweet Pea" dresses in the future.

My latest project was the shell and ripple stitch baby jacket and bonnet pictured below. The DK weight yarn is from an eBay seller in China and is an interesting hand washable blend of 40% cashmere, 30% milk fiber and 30% cotton. Though the yarn is soft and nice to work with, and I like this pattern, I feel the shell and ripple stitches don't show up as well as I'd like with the bright variegated yarn. So I'll try this pattern in a solid pastel next time.

The projects I'm working on now will be possible Christmas presents, so that's all I'll say about those for now. I'll post pictures and descriptions of those in December. Thanks for looking!

Fall 2012/Winter 2013 Projects

Here's my first crochet blog update of 2013! First is a portion of my completed "Amaryllis Tablecloth", which I had posted a photo of one of the squares last time. I have it stored away for future use (one day when I have smaller and less inquisitive dogs -- and when, hopefully, my husband will have cut back on his immense amount of clutter...). I completed it last December.

After completing such a large project, and with it being the holiday season, I made 5 angel doilies for 5 friends and/or coworkers in various colors (though I only got around to photographing this one before giving them away). They worked up fairly quickly and can double as a window or wall hanging or a large tree ornament.

Next, I returned to adding to my collection of fancy Barbies. This one is "Miss July 1992" from Annie's Cotillion Collection. I used Cebelia #745 yellow for the main color of the dress instead of the white she was pictured in. The ruffles were quite a ordeal to individually make and attach -- but worth it.

Next, I created "Miss August" from Annie's Edwardian Lady Collection. I fell in love with this Barbie when I found her on eBay and had been looking forward to creating a special gown for her. I added some brightness with the jade green and purple, as opposed to the neutral colors this gown was pictured in.

Having just completed two Barbie gowns, and having just sorted through my many crochet patterns and finding several small items I want to try, I am taking a short break from the Barbies and currently trying several baby bootie and hat patterns to see which I like best. I finished the set below yesterday (the yarn is "Cloudsoft" from Herrschner's, a soft fingering weight yarn). Though they came out nice, they will likely be one of a kind, since the pattern (from an old "Workbasket" magazine) was poorly written and I had to improvise. So the search continues for great bootie and hat patterns that can actually be created the way they are written!

Thanks for looking! I'll have more baby items to post next time -- and maybe one or two more Barbies.