First shoulder is done!

Phone is in the charger, so no picture for the moment, but I am ridiculously pleased with how it looks.

I also stopped by Hobby Lobby after dinner and picked up three small ceramic knobs that will become the feet of a footstool or ottoman. Hoping that that will be a one-day project. I have two small slabs of upholstery foam which were swaddled around the legs of Celeste's chair while in transit, and heaven knows I have plenty of quilt batting. The trick will be finding a scrap of upholstery-weight fabric that tones nicely with the feet and the lidless round wooden box which will become the base. I'm hoping for a MacKenzie-Childs-on-Prozac look: boho chic but not overdone.

Kitchenered!

This awkward shot is of the underarm, neatly Kitchener-stitched together. I did this at my Dallas knit night when I discovered that the color I wanted for the next colored band had not made it into my knitting bag (or had possibly been kidnapped by aliens; I lose a lot of needles in the car that way).

Here is a better shot of the sleeve and the yoke. My brain wanted to move on to the next pattern, and my body said NOPE!

So everything is tucked neatly into the knitting bag for tomorrow, and I'm heading off to bed almost an hour and a half sooner than the past two nights.

It all adds up.

Chair.

Chair again.

Back of the chair.

Chair + girl.

Chair + girl + harp

I am over the moon. And I need to email the artisan, let her know that the chair arrived safely, and show her the last picture.

After which I am going to refuel and get back to work on Avery's sweater.

No pics today.

We were at the dentist's long enough that I couldn't get back to my office before it closed. So tomorrow I will get to open the box with Celeste's new chair in it, and tomorrow night there will be pictures.

Unless you want a shot of the pint of ice cream I just emptied to (A) celebrate happy teeth and (B) console myself for no new doll chair chez nous.

Heading back to my room to work on Avery's sweater.

Knitting progress

Eight rows of pattern on one half of the yoke.

The chair for Celeste is supposed to arrive at work tomorrow. I'm hoping it does before I leave to get the kids and head out to our dental appointments.

Brain is saying, Hey, we've made some good progress on the yoke of Avery's sweater. Let's stay up until it's done! Body is saying, Are you NUTS? We have a job, remember? That place with the nice people and the great deli on the parking level? The place that gives us money for electricity and hot water and Nutella and yarn? Nope. We can do one more row, and then it's lights out. Capisce?

(Thanks to my friend Tan for the spelling lesson.)

Over and out.

Side chair ordered. And silk charmeuse added to the stash.

We went back to Fabrique this morning. I bought 3/8 yard each of a rich peach, a warm caramel, and a dark chocolate, plus seven spools of thread. Pictures ~ maybe ~ later, as my phone is updating, and I've tried to upload the picture to Blogger. Twice. With no success. (Right now my phone is updating FB, and we're 97% there.)

Side chair is coming from an Etsy shop and should be here sometime next week, as this is an in-stock chair and not a custom order. It will be Celeste's perch when she plays the harp. I am so jazzed to have found it.

I also scored that pier glass at JoAnn at 50% off when I dashed in to get ergonomic seam rippers for Middlest and me. Probably more MSD scale than SD. Right now it is hanging out on the dresser with Blessing and her alchemy shop, but that space will eventually be claimed by an armchair, once I find one I like at a price I'm willing to pay. Or a tutorial to make my own.

Did I mention that on Wednesday we found a gorgeous piece of handmade paper at Asel Art Supply which I think I will be using as wallpaper for Blessing's area? I'm thinking of getting an oversized piece of foamboard and creating a wall with a chair rail. Largest size I've seen is 40"x60" at Office Depot.

Note to self: research traditional heights for chair rails and/or wainscoting. I would like to make this suitable for both SD and MSD scale. The scraps could go for Yo-SD size, maybe?

En garde

Here is Justice in her new eyes, with her crossbow, keeping watch over the dining room table while Celeste takes a nap.

I love love love those eyes.

This is the yarn that came home with us last night: Juniper Moon Findley in colors that match the fabric which followed us home on Saturday; three hanks of Malabrigo Lace (the one on the left is for Fourthborn, who was delighted to discover that she isn't allergic to it, and the two on the right are for the Adamelli twins); and Malabrigo Merino (lace) for Harmony, because it tones with her hair

Hoping for more progress on Avery's sweater before I call it a night.

We've got eyes! They're multiplyin'!

The new green eyes from Mint on Card were in my mailbox shortly after I got to the office this morning. I wasn't expecting them until this afternoon, but apparently they arrived on Saturday.

And here's a picture of Celeste with the aforementioned shades, channeling Melody Gardot.

There's been minimal progress on Avery's sleeve today, but I intend to do something about that before bedtime.

Middlest does not expect to have time to put Justice's new eyes in until sometime on Wednesday, and I'm fine with that. It gives me time to pick up a box to store spare eyes. Because I have a feeling that I will be accumulating quite a few of them over the next few months as I swap out acrylic eyes for glass ones.

A little crafting, with a side order of anarchy.

I cannibalized a placemat which I'd bought to make into needle rolls when I lived in Fort Worth and my needle stash (particularly in the smallest sizes) was growing almost every payday. I've been wanting to make Blessing's corner on the top of my tallest dresser a little more Boho/gypsy/faerie in style. (The placemat which has been serving as her area rug for the past month or so certainly helps.)

I've also been wanting to make a sign for the clipboard I bought several months ago. My printer is having opinions, and I'm not in the mood to figure out what's wrong, so I finally settled on a grey background and black type, printed in greyscale with no drama, thank you very much.

Here is blessing sitting on her new cushion. Her breakfast tray has been set alongside the wall, where it might not be noticed by inspectors from the Bureau of Alchemy on their semiannual rounds. Yes, she eats in her lab. (Yes, I eat at my desk at work.) I've made an alternate sign: Do not feed the librarian. Because sometimes it's not so much about turning things into other things as it is reveling in the sight, smell, and sound of books.

In knitting news, I got all of those pesky ends woven in on the sleeve of Avery's sweater, and I made significant progress while at church today. I plan to do a little more knitting before going to bed tonight.

Still life with feathers.

Several years ago, when I only had one or two dolls, Fourthborn and I explored an upscale fabric shop on the service road along the PGBT (the Bush) named Fabrique. It had bought the stock of Kay Fabrics when they closed up shop. I bought some Dior grey silk duppioni to make trousers of some sort for Faith. (Ahem: still yet to be made.)

Today I took in the Louisa Harding Sari Ribbon (above) in the muddy green colorway that I bought after knit night on Thursday.

I came home with a yard each of muddy green silk dippioni (which reads as bronze or gold in these pictures) and iridescent cotton voile, plus several yards of lace and trim, and one yard of amazing stuff from trimmed-down feathers. I'm not sure how I'll use the latter, but it called my name. (Trust me, this all tones wonderfully, regardless of what you're seeing on your monitor.)

Middlest and Fourthborn helped me get some patterns printed in the right scale from freebie PDFs posted on DeviantArt. Lots and lots of trial and error.

I had a deliciously long nap this afternoon, so there's time to work on Avery's sweater before going to bed for the night. Although there's time to try out a pattern for thigh high stockings if I have thread in the right size.

Progress. Really.

About every inch or so, I turn the sleeve inside out and weave in the ends. As you can see, I got halfway there when lunch was over. As soon as all but the last (yellow) end is woven in, I'll turn this right side out again and knit some more.

I just thought any knitting muggles might be interested to see what the inside of a Fair Isle sleeve looks like, in contrast with the delicate patterning that appears on the outside.

Justice's new eyes are scheduled to arrive at work on Monday. While we're seeing which (if either) of the new pairs suit her better, I'm going to have Middlest adjust Harmony's right eye. She's gone a little cross-eyed sometime in the past couple of weeks, and I just noticed it last night.

I hope to have more progress for you tomorrow night.

Restrung and ready for adventure!

I never figured her for a blonde with chin length hair, but she likes this wig. And long hair might tangled get up in her crossbow. She didn't want her old eyes. So she's borrowing a pair from Middlest until the order I just placed with Mint on Card arrives. I don't know that she'll like them any better, but they'll fit somebody.

I love how much softer her features are, now that she's gently washed and restrung and clothed. Her outfit is also on loan from Middlest. I think her style will be a pared-down Boho/gypsy look for dress-up and overalls or leggings and boots for when she's working.

Personality read: intelligent, tender-hearted, innocent but not naive, determined. While all of those qualities would suit someone named Mercy, I think this one is Justice. We think she's claimed the crossbow, et al, that arrived in yesterday's mail, with the same polite firmness in which Celeste claimed the harp.

I need to grab the sunglasses that were mistakenly sent along with Honor's glasses, and see if they're supposed to be this one's ... nope. They swam on her face, but they fit Celeste perfectly; she looks as if she were channeling Melody Gardot.

I've since found Justice's brother, Mercy. And the name of Harmony's brother: Valor; he's the one I put on layaway Friday night.

I'd been looking around my room, trying to remember where I put the knitting bag with my Alice Starmore book of Fair Isle patterns. Yesterday I came out here into the living room and asked Fourthborn, "Is there a grey knitting bag on the floor by your chair?" There was. Which means that after dinner I can bring the third sleeve on Avery's sweater to the point where I stopped on the second sleeve (I'm almost there) and figure out where we go from here.

When the arsenal arrives, the doll will show up.

A crossbow, a quiver, and a waterskin walked into a bar. Said ouch. Dollar for scale.

I've ordered Egon the Elf Knight from Withdoll. He'll be here in several to many months. Steadfast will be glad to no longer be outnumbered fifteen to one.

I'm home at ridiculous o'clock after watching Wonder Woman. Loved it.

Going to bed now.

Blessing's little corner of the world.

It's expanding. I found an old picture of Beloved in his prime and Squishy as an adolescent, and I hung it on the wall when Middlest and Fourthborn were out of the house, so the banging would not exacerbate Middlest's migraine. I also took the ribbon off the Moroni replica that I bought in the gift shop in Nauvoo last summer. If I remember correctly, the first Moroni atop the original Nauvoo temple was more like a weather-vane, unlike the standing angel which graces most modern temples.

Eventually I will find another spot for my alarm clock, white noise machine, etc. But for now doll-scale items are peacefully coexisting with human-scale items. It might be visually jarring, but it's expedient and practical.

I made more progress on the third sleeve of Avery's sweater at Knit Night. I'm done with the pale green lattice pattern and ready to do the next one. But not tonight. I just took my evening meds and enjoyed a mug of buttermilk and a handful of ginger cookies. After dinner I had what I suspect was some wicked reflux. I wish there were a way to carry a flask of buttermilk for times like that. It settles things down like nobody's business.

Grist for the mill.

So to speak. When we picked up this month's quilt block kit, the shop had a bin of unclaimed kits from two of last year's series quilts. I bought eight of them because I was drawn to the green. There are two of each kit in the top row.

Apparently somebody wants a green something. I have a few ideas rattling around in my head. I'm going to let them marinate awhile, maybe do a couple of sketches, and see what happens.

The prints which are too large-scale for the dolls will probably end up as accent pillows or elements in a watercolor-style quilt.

I clicked on some of the links to patterns on our local doll group's Facebook page and found a wonderful pair of soft leather booties in SD scale, but I cannot figure out how to print them in a useful size. I have enough Ultrasuede in a warm caramel brown to make boots for Justice and/or Mercy, once I know which one E-An is supposed to be.

When good girls come unstrung

This is what the Texas heat does to dolls' elastic. Almost quicker'n a Noo Yawk minute.

The elastic came to my office today. Middlest will restring E-An when convenient, and I will have sixteen functional dolls. Although at the moment it's a case of "sixteen beautiful dolls, fifteen beautiful outfits". I'm not sure that I have anything that will fit her, that is sufficiently modest. But once she's put back together, I want to try Blessing's first wig on her and see if it suits her. I'm not sure who she wants to be. I think her coloring and personality are going to be too strong for Mercy, but she might be perfect for Justice.

I'll just have to see if she gravitates toward the crossbow when it gets here.