Like Mother, Like Daughter

Thanks for the sweet comments on the clothes I’ve created for the girls’ dolls. They really made me smile.

I have another project to share with you. Jessica found a book I bought several years ago and then tucked away with the grand intention of making some clothes for the girls’ Barbie dolls for Christmas that year. Um, that never happened and I kind of even forgot I bought the book. Here is a link I found for a paperback version on Amazon. I actually have the hardback copy. So, anyway, Jessica found the book and immediately started looking through it. Next thing I knew, she had sticky noted several projects. She asked me to work on one of these projects rather than another 18 inch doll outfit, because the Barbie projects would take less time since they are smaller. I guess you can’t argue with her logic. And she was pretty well right. Here’s the first effort from the book:

The reason behind the title of this post, if you are interested, is this. My mom made some clothes for my Barbie dolls and my Ken doll. Some she sewed and some she knit. They have been passed on to the girls. And the stand out project I remember that she made for me is a Fisherman Knit sweater for my Ken doll. I don’t know where it is at the moment, but I really liked that sweater. Maybe in part for it’s ability to hold my Ken doll’s head on. One of my brothers cracked the neck and in those days you didn’t get another one, you made do with the one you had. ;) I remember being in awe of the little stitches and feeling very special that she made something just for my dolls.

When I saw the sweater in this book, I knew immediately what my first project was going to be. Jessica originally wanted it in pink, but that sock yarn is hard to find in solid pink, so she okayed using the Heart and Sole sock yarn from Red Heart as a distant second choice. She is very happy with the final result, so it’s all good.

And I got to do for my daughter something my mom did for me. And that is a very good thing in my mind.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a great start to your week.

Still Crocheting...

Wanna see the latest projects? LOL

I just finished this bathrobe this morning. It took a few days to make the body part. It's 7 1/2 inches long/tall. It took a bit of time (and I had to rest my wrist a couple of times) to get enough rows crocheted to reach that amount. The rest of it went fairly quickly.

And, yep, there was a pattern for slippers! Jessica picked the colors and specifically asked for the slippers to be made first. LOL

This is not a great shot of Jessica's swim suit cover-up. I haven't pressed it at all yet and you can tell. The girls also asked for a tote bag and a beach ball.

The tote bag was fun, but I couldn't find the beach ball anywhere when I was taking pictures. I used a variagated thread (that you can see on the handle & top row of the tote bag) to crochet the beach ball. If I find it, I'll share if you want.

We took Grandpa with us for swim lessons and lunch this morning.

He was quite impressed with both girls' abilities.

After lunch we headed back over to Adventure Golf because the girls wanted to play another round. We didn't bring the camera this time. It turned out to be good that we didn't, because 1/2 way through the course we were caught in a thunderstorm and got a good soaking for about 10 minutes!(there really wasn't any place to get shelter and the camera would have gotten pretty wet) We continued to play since we weren't going to melt...LOL The sun came back out before we finished the last hole. We tried a different course this time and weren't overly thrilled with it. It was a tougher one, full of obstacles. The girls were a smidge frustrated, but soldiered on very well. It was still a lot of fun and we've got the story of getting caught in a rainstorm! Oh and Amy got a hole in one for the first time! Yay, Amy!

That's it from me today. We'll be taking Grandpa to the airport in the morning so he can continue on to Minnesota. He's going to visit his mom, who is turning 98 later this week! She lives in International Falls, and that's where my dad grew up.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Til next time...

Swim Suit Cover-Up and Schtuff...

Hello Friends!

Thanks so much for your supportive comments about my "move" back out to the garage. For those who are new to my blog, when I was a CTMH consultant I was all set up out there and held classes there. Then I thought it'd be nice to move into the house to have better access to the potty and to not have to heat up the space in the winter before I could work out there. My girls share a bedroom, so we have an extra room. Unfortunately, hubby wasn't as keen on the idea as I was, but agreed I could use the corner of this extra bedroom. It also houses a twin bed, a computer desk and a love seat. While it was super nice to be across the hall from the potty, I couldn't bring in all my goodies and what I did bring in soon overwhelmed that little corner. All of a sudden last weekend I felt the urge to spread out more and so began the transition back out to the garage room.

As much as I wanted to finish up out there and start creating, my house looked like a wreck (as it tends to do after the weekend) and with my dad's impending visit (he arrives on Wednesday), I had to be responsible and get the house in shape first and get the laundry done. LOL My dad lives in CA (in the house I grew up in) and visits for about a week each summer. The girls are WAY excited for his arrival and have been counting the days several times each day. LOL

Remember when I said I was going to start working on Amy's one piece swim suit the other day? Well, at the last minute she changed her mind and asked for a cover-up for the swim suit instead. All righty then! She picked the colors and I set to work. Her Barbie is currently nekkid, so I used Jessica's as the model. (and yes, Amy wants the one piece now and Jessica wants a cover-up, it's so hard keeping up with their requests...at least I know they appreciate my efforts)

So here's the cover up...which was pretty easy to make, except the getting the scallops lined up right... that took the better part of an evening because I had to keep making adjustments.

Thanks so much for the visit! Who knows...I may be back later with Jessica's cover-up...all I have to do is get the scallops stitched. LOL

Have an awesome day. I'm hoping to surprise the girls with a visit to a "new to us" swimming pool, one with stuff to play on I hear. Shhhh....they don't know yet!

Busy Week and A Barbie One Piece This Time...

Happy Friday to you! I hope you have had a good week and didn't miss me too much. No, I haven't fallen into some black hole in cyberspace. More like keeping busy with the kiddos.

We've done a lot of swimming. We had our usual swim lessons, but I surprised the girls earlier in the week and asked if they wanted to go to the pool just to swim. They had a hard time wrapping their heads around that at first...you mean not to take a lesson? LOL Nope, you can just play and swim. Oh yes, was the excited reply. They had a blast and have wanted to go back every day since. LOL We played with friends on playdates one day, gone to the library for the Summer Reading program and saw a very entertaining magician as well as checked out new books. And then today I took them back to the pool, where they again had a blast. I haven't felt like swimming and it's SO nice to side on the side lines and watch them have a ball. I am finding that I am really enjoying the time with the girls this summer. They are independent enough to not need me every second and I can just watch and enjoy their fun if I want. It's been great.

While I have not been in my little corner at all this week, you know that doesn't mean I've completely neglected crafting of some type. Jessica's latest request was the one piece swim suit out of the same booklet I've been using. I finished it the other night and just got the chance to take a couple of shots to share with you. Amy requested the same one (of course) but in light pink. I'm starting that one tonight.

So that's the quick recap of our week. Hope yours has been good to you as well.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I sure do appreciate your visits.

Itsy Bitsy Pink Bikini and Fantabulous Flip Flops!

Hi again!

In case you were wondering, yes, I did get Jessica's doll's bikini and towel completed. Same colors I used on Amy's, just in a different order.

Jessica really wanted to take a picture for you, so here you go!

My shot. Not much different from hers, I guess. LOL

And when a free pattern showed up in my inbox earlier this week from Lion Brand yarn, I KNEW I wanted to try it! Check out these fantabulous flip flops! If you want the pattern for yourself, the number is 60032. You have to be registered (it's free) to access the pattern.

So fun! I used Lion Brand's Microfiber yarn (found at Joann's) and a size H hook. Basically, it's just single crochets around the thong part and some flowers. The pattern said to glue the flowers on, but I finagled it to "sew" the flowers onto the thong part, hoping they will stay a bit better. This pair is for Jessica and I'm working on a pair for Amy. I have some pink flip flops and some variagated yarn (of a different brand) that I want to try.

So, that's what I have been up to the last couple of days. Hopefully I will find some time to wander into my little corner today.

Have an awesome Sunday!

She Wore An Itsy Bitsy, Teeny Weeny Yellow Bikini...

Without polka dots. LOL No, the song doesn't go that way, but it's the song that was running through my head as I made Barbie's yellow bikini and towel.

I got a good giggle over Kathi's comment on the Ripple Suit, thinking she was going to see a swim suit, as I immediately set to work on this as soon as the Ripple Suit was complete.
I'm slowly working my way through this pattern booklet! There are a lot of outfits packed into this little gem (which was published in 1986).

I also got a giggle over Sharli's comment that she didn't know there were different sized Barbies. I probably shouldn't use just the Barbie name when posting. Barbie has sisters and friends. Some are younger than she is (and thus, not as fully developed). The doll that fits the Ripple Suit skirt is the teenage sister/friend named Malibu Francie. Egads, she listed in the VINTAGE section of the site. Does that mean I'm now VINTAGE? Sigh....She was my favorite "Barbie" doll as I was growing up. I also had Skipper, but she doesn't look as familiar to me as Francie. I do remember cutting Skipper's hair into a "shag," the popular hair style at the time (and so cannot get too mad at Amy for cutting Francie's hair, right). I was scrolling through the website I linked and still have some outfits that you can find there...like this and this and this. There are more that I owned, but I won't bore you with additonal links. I just took a stroll down Memory Lane while checking out that "vintage" doll section. Wow!

Steve had yesterday and also has today off, so I should be able to play a bit more than I thought. I did make a card, which I will share in another post.

Thanks for stopping by! I'm currently working on a pink version of this suit for Jessica's dolls. Just have to get some snaps on and maybe make a towel, then I can work on another project I just found a pattern for (not Barbie clothes, but still fun, I hope).

Barbie's New Ripple Suit...

Happy Wednesday to you! I hope you are enjoying the day. It's a short work week this week, with the approach of Independence Day on July 4th. Got any fun plans

? We don't, at least that I know of, but it's sure to include finding a spot to watch fireworks.

Jessica has been requesting that I make this particular outfit for Barbie for several months and I'm happy to say I was finally able to complete the project last night. No, it didn't take me months to make it, just months to get started on it. LOL She is quite happy with the suit, as am I, because I've never attempted anything like making a jacket before. It was very interesting and fun and challenging all at the same time.

Forgive this Barbie's bad hair day/life. This is the one I owned when I was a kid and Amy took a pair of scissors to her hair when she was younger, believing as all youngsters tend to do at some point, that the doll's hair will grow back after they cut it. Jessica tells me the skirt will only fit on this particular doll because she isn't a "hippy" as the other dolls. Guess I didn't work the gauge quite right. LOL

I also just wanted to mention that you may notice I'm not commenting quite as frequently on blog posts these days or it's coming in spurts. I've had to adjust the amount of time I spend on the computer during the day for the remainder of the summer. Please know I am not ignoring you, I'm still looking, but not always able to comment. Thanks for understanding and know that I'm as big a fan as ever, just trying to use the time I have to the best advantage.

With that, thank you so much for your visit! I truly appreciate your taking the time to stop by and I hope to have more to share soon. *Ü*

Shortie Pajamas for Barbie

Hello again!

I was able to finish up the latest outfit request for Barbie...shortie pajamas. Jessica is quite pleased.
 

I lifted up the top so you could see the shorts that go with the pjs. Jessica chose the hot pink polka dot ribbon.

Her next request is the bathrobe and slippers, while Amy is asking for the skating dress and tam. Me, I'd like to work on my knitted owl! We'll see what ends up being made next...

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great evening.

Jeanne