A Poppet for a Friend

Hunting around for a birthday gift for a Sonar-friend, I found reference to something called a Poppet, on the Craftster forums.  I am a Craftster novice, and had never heard of such a thing as a Poppet.  Apparently I’ve been missing out because the Ghilie’s Poppet pattern has been something of a Craftster phenomenon since 2007.  At any rate, it’s a great pattern, for a doll with cat-ears and tail, as well as movable arms and legs.  The pattern reminded me of the book Cat Kid: I’m No Fraidy Cat by Brian James and illustrated by Ned Woodman and I decided I had to make one.  

The Cat Kid of book fame is a bit more grey and pinkish, but Sonar X6 decided we should make a red one. The body is made from a fabric store remnant of nubby bathrobe fabric.  Her hair is wefted from bits of the yarn I used to make the Partner sweater last summer, with some white angora for highlights. Her eyes are chibi-style and made with layers of craft felt and bits of embroidery.  All of her clothing is made from scraps of other projects.  The patterns for the clothing were all inspired by Craftewoman’s awesome Poppet clothing patterns, modified to fit this particular poppet. 

I haven’t made very many dolls, and this was by far the most complicated, but it was also a lot of fun.  I hope the birthday kid likes it. And many thanks to Ghilie and Craftewoman for sharing their patterns.  

 

  

Evidence of Craft

Two grocery bags, one Zipper Organizer from My Spare Time, one Buttercup Bag designed by Made by Rae.  Love that little bag pattern.  These are all end-of-year teacher gifts for the kindergartener’s teacher and her daughter. The fabric came from a neighbor’s stash-clearing and has also provided for a wrap skirt.  The furry animal prints came from Goodwill.  

The inside of the growly Buttercup Bag. Tame on the inside.  I actually made two of these, so that the teacher and her daughter could share. 

A light-weight denim Buttercup Bag for me, and a plain vanilla grey sock for Sonar X8. Denim from the stash. Patons Kroy 4-ply from a Christmas gift.

Some dollar-a-yard fabric that will be perhaps a bag or book cover, and the in-progress Checkerboard Lace Scarf from The Purl Bee in KnitPicks Gloss lace in Celery. Love these colors.  

Mother’s Day plaster of Paris handprints of the family, with two for Dad so he can send one to his mom.

 Lego Love for Mother’s Day, courtesy of Sonar X8.

I have wanted a rolling desk chair for a while.  Here is what we came up with.  I saved the green metal desk chair from a neighbor’s trash. The wood for the platform was scrap from the garage. Partner purchased only the casters from the local hardware store. Now I can roll from the desk to the sewing machine and back again.  When we have extra dinner company, the chair lifts off the platform to visit the table. The platform can also be used to roll down the hallway pushed rapidly by siblings.  

More grocery bags from neighbor’s de-stashed fabric (the pale green).  A pair of them take less than an hour to make and make great hostess or teacher or thank you gifts.  The hint of orange is an old pillowcase that I use for my sewing machine cover.  The red is the couch with a woven wool Mexican blanket draped over the back. 

Coming soon: Wrap skirt, more zipper bags, and an idea for a book cover/travel log kit.

Kilt Hose!

They were cast on October 1, 2008.  You saw the first one when it could still stand, here and here.  You saw the first one when it could no longer stand, here.  Apparently, though, I did not show you the first one finished.  Mainly because I didn’t take a picture of that.  I did take a picture of it almost finished.  

(A photo of Kilt Sock 1, almost finished, back at Thanksgiving.  Please also note the very cool crocheted feet my mother-in-law has made for her chairs.)

I wish I could tell you that the construction of the second sock was uneventful, but it wasn’t. Disaster One involved some weirdness at the change between two needles.   

 (A photo of Kilt Sock 2, when I laddered two stitches about twelve rows, to correct two errors.)

Knitters might want to sit down for the next one.  It may turn your stomach.  

As I admired my repair skills after putting the first mess back together, I noticed a new problem.  This one was waaaaaay back near the beginning.

(A photo of Kilt Sock 2 when I laddered [gasp] an entire five-stitch cable eighty-five rows to fix an incorrect twist that had resulted in a palpable knot.  I still get shaky thinking about it.)

I pulled out those eight-five rows and re-knit those columns bit by bit over a few days, redoing not just the knits and purls, but the cable crosses as well.  I wanted a medal for that one. 

But the disasters are over and the Kilt Socks have been conquered.  I sealed up the second toe on January 30, 2009.  After weaving in the ends, I gave them a good bath.

(A photo of Kilt Hose in a tub of sudsy water.)

When they were dry, Partner put them on so we could get a good look at them.  He’s getting good at this sock modeling thing. 

(A poorly-lit photo of two big feet sporting creamy, cabled knee-socks—er, I mean, Kilt Hose.)

I tried to take a picture of them in bright light.  The wind did its best to blow them away, or at least cover them with the towel.  I think the Ugliest Towel in Our House really sets off the creamy cables, don’t you?  

(A photo of a purple towel, embossed with cabbage roses and a pair of cream-colored socks—one featured from the front, one featured in profile.)

I’m so glad they’re finished.  Signed, sealed, and in the mail.  They were certainly an adventure.  I learned a lot and I think they are probably the most beautiful socks I’ve ever made.  But by the end I was so sick of them and now I am so glad they’re gone.  

My first impulse was to tell you that I never want to see them again, but that’s not entirely true.  I do hope to see them on the feet of their intended recipient, accompanied by kilt and all the falderal expected therein.  That would be the picture to complete the gallery.  

On the needles now: the second flame sock (it’s sock-finishing time), a lacy scarf, Mystery Stole 4, and a brown square.  In the queue, Clapotis.  

The Christmas Eve Post

I have some cool friends.  I mean, how many people would immortalize my family in Matryoshka???  Right down to actual clothing that we wear, and though you cannot see it in this particular picture, my silver nose ring.  Super.

Thank you so much, Kippy.    

Recent Lessons

Lesson 1: Occam’s Sewing Razor

When the squeak on the sewing machine becomes so maddening, and the top thread is breaking every five minutes, before I stick my head into the partially dismantled, Running sewing machine, I should consider making sure that the needle is installed in the correct orientation.  That didn’t solve the squeak.  Still had to stick my head in the machine to find that.  But now I Know.  

Lesson 2:  My eyes are bigger than my hands

I am enamored of the art of much knitting.  Sometimes I see a really incredible design and I must try it.  Often it’s about Trying a particular technique, a particular decrease, a clever little design element.  Lately (i.e. for the past several months), the projects I have fallen in love with have been either large or complicated (or in two cases, both).  This all by itself slowed down the knitting considerably.  On top of that, I got myself into a sort finger/hand/wrist/arm/shoulder spiral that is difficult to get myself out of.  This brought the knitting to a screaming halt.  So there are three lovely, but oh so far from finished, big and/or complicated projects staring at me, begging to be finished, but I can knit no more than a few minutes a day, if that, without bringing about the need for icepacks and narcotics.  

This is not fun.  This is not right.  It has also led to more sewing than knitting this Christmas season.  

Also, these projects are also intended for other people.  Other people who know about them and hope to actually hold them in their hands someday.  I feel an obligation to finish them, which makes the knitting feel more like Work than like this cool hobby that I do because I get a little thrill from taking a long piece of string and knotting it just so over and over (and over and over) and Voila! Clever, three-dimensional, useful object!

So I have learned that I really do prefer simple designs that I can hold in my hands, carry in my wee bag.  That aren’t huge.  This is what I really really prefer.  Now, if I can just get through the big complicated things, so I can get to some small simple things.  

Lesson 3: Should vs. Could, a lesson from Billy Jean King

I saw some round-table discussion on You Tube or something.  Oh, I remember, it was from Oprah, and O was chatting with Billy Jean King, Maria Shriver, and Gloria Steinem.  I forget what they were talking about, but Ms. King said that one of the ways she overcomes stress and guilt and all such self-defeating sorts of thinking is to replace “should” with “could” when it pops up in her head.  I.e. I should scrub the fingerprints off of the lightswitch plate in the kitchen.  vs.  I could scrub the fingerprints….  “Should” is a do it or feel bad about it kind of word, whereas “could” is a word of potential and, more importantly, choice.  As in, I could choose to do it or not.  

I was thinking that the holidays should be happy.  Ding ding ding.  The holidays ‘could’ be happy.  Which is a weird one, because either one suggests that the holidays aren’t actually happy, when really they sort of are, but they’re also sort of stressful.  But the source of that stress may be trying to live up to some idealized fantasy of what it ‘should’ be.  If we consider the idealized fantasy as something that ‘could’ be if we had infinite time and resources and and and, it becomes much easier to let that ideal go and still be satisfied with what the holidays actually are.  Which in my case, is a time when I get together with at least some of the people that I dearly love, or at least touch base with many of the important people in my life.  

More people ‘could’ choose to not worry about whether they have the most perfectly decorated tree, or the most Christmas lights on the block, or the perfect gift, and just look around and breathe in what is already around them.  More people could.  Yes, indeedy.  

*smooch*