Well, it has been two months since I started my new crochet blog, and this weekend I finally got around to taking photos of some items I have crocheted since then. The first, a thread crochet baby dress from the Annie's Attic booklet "Frilly Frocks", I had actually crocheted late last year but had not photographed.
Fittingly, the name of the above gown in the booklet was "Blue Bliss". I used #10 Opera thread in Atlantis. I don't often crochet items in the same color shown in the pattern; this one just worked out that way. Though I was pleased with it, it took quite some time to make -- and even though I went up a couple of sizes on the hook than what was specified, it still basically came out newborn size. So I decided to sell the pattern booklet on eBay rather than try any of the other four dresses, and seek another source for a thread baby dress. I decided to try a pattern from an old issue of Crochet World magazine and quickly found it was poorly written. I often had to stop and figure out what the designer meant, and made many notations on the pattern itself. However, I was thrilled with the final result:
This dress is a 6-month size (according to my friend Dianne; it's hard for me to judge, never having had babies) and I used #10 Cebelia thread in #210 Lavender. I liked it so much that I decided to make another in burgundy (#10 Cebelia in #815 Garnet):
The blue and lavender dresses are presently on consignment at Dianne's daughter-in-law's new craft store, and hopefully they will sell. The burgundy dress will join them there, next time I see Dianne. At some point in the future, I will try making this little dress in a larger size. Now that I have figured out the errors in the pattern, it seems like it should lend itself well to my increasing the number of stitches to adjust the size.
After I made the burgundy dress, I took advantage of JoAnn Fabrics' recent coupon offer of $5 off any regular priced item costing $5 or more. I looooove their Sensations "Angel Hair" yarn for scarves and hats, but at $5.99 each, I only buy it on sale. I was gradually able to obtain 4 at this great price, just enough to make my favorite 6-foot scarf and cuffed hat in the Mayfair stitch (this set will also go on consignment). This color is just called "blue", but as you can see, it is much more than just a basic blue!
And now for the most recent creation I finished just yesterday! As some of you may know, I love crocheting doll gowns and have most of a glass cabinet full of Barbies I have created thread gowns for. You will see a few of them in the Dec. entries of this blog and many others in the 5-page crochet section of evergreenrefuge.org. I also have four 16 to 18-inch girl dolls and have crocheted worsted weight yarn gowns in the past couple years for three of them. I had never gotten around to crocheting a gown for Samantha, partly because I did like the peach dress and hat that she came with. But Sammi was feeling left out, not having a special handmade gown like her "sisters". So I felt I would eventually make one for her. I decided the time would be this month.
I initially chose a thread gown in a booklet for 18" dolls and started crocheting it with #10 Opera thread in peach. But I realized early in the process that this pattern was not going to work out. So now what? I again looked through my patterns, but for her size, they were yarn patterns and I didn't have peach yarn on hand and didn't want to buy any. I then looked through my booklet of five Victorian gowns for 15" dolls (which included the teal and rose gown I made for the doll I gave Dianne for Christmas, posted earlier in this blog). I really liked these gowns and knew I could adjust the size slightly to fit Sammi. But what yarn? It didn't HAVE to be peach. What other color would look good on a redhead? I looked through the other colors I had on hand when.....DING! Light bulb moment! Dianne had given me some yarn during her recent process of sorting her huge stash for her move. Among this yarn was Impeccable worsted weight in Forest (medium sage) and Sage Butter Ombre (a pretty variegated sage, tan and white). I sensed these would be PERFECT for the gown called "Abigail" in this booklet -- and I was right! Here, resplendent in her new outfit, is the beautiful Sammi!
The next project I plan to start is matching ruffled gowns (in dark rose with cream and black trim) from a leaflet called "Miss Holly" -- one for a Barbie and the matching gown for a 7-inch Stacie doll. (The booklet also contains the same dress sized for a 9 to 10-inch Skipper doll -- I MAY do that also, depending on how the first two go!) Thanks for viewing my latest creations!
