Weekend Crafting

Hello new blog followers! 

I saw over the weekend that I gained a few new friends :) I am happy to have you and hope to get to know each of you better. Making new connections is what I love most about this place! 

Once again it seems that this weekend has flown by. I recently reached out and asked for some more help with my kids as the baby approaches. There are some cleaning and chores that I'd like to get done before the baby arrives that I just can't do well with the kids around, or are too loud to do while they nap. I also need more rest so I am just not getting as much done. My hope it that the things that need a good scrub, can get scrubbed now, so that later on it won't be as much work to clean (just a quick wipe down and sweep). 

So on Saturday my sweet mother-in-law (I call her Mom because she is like a mother to me- but on the blog I'll refer to her as MomK), took the kids for the morning. In the meantime I was able to run errands and clean my entire upstairs, and I mean CLEAN. I also purged of some junk that was still lying around from our move. 

The productivity payback however was great, since my body afterwards started having contractions and I felt like a someone shoved a wedge in between my pubic bone (I suffer from pubic symphysis diastasis). So at any rate, thus begins my prodromal labor. It started at this point with Jonas, so I am not the least bit surprised... just uncomfortable. This time however I know that I need to rest, embrace, and relax- with him I did not know that. 

So since for the rest of the day I was literally couch ridden (rest is the best thing for me when I feel this way) I worked on my second Waldorf doll and wig for my daughter. 

I am happy to say that I am done. All I need to do is sew the wig on, trim it, make some clothes, and embroider the face. This dolly will make her debut in my daughter's Easter basket. It will be so hard to wait since I know she want's one so bad. She has been stealing Jonas' little buddy a lot! 

I also got started on my Easter Egg swap that I am participating in with Julie over at This Cosy Life. I am about 1/3 done already and I am happy with my eggs. Once I finish, I will share them with you! 

So here is to a great weekend, minus the prodromal labor part! What have you been working on? 

Always, Nicole 

Little Friend Doll Sweater Tutorial

I am joining Ginny from Small Things this Wednesday for a Yarn Along. Hop over there if you want to join in too! 

A while back we purchased this doll for Deirdre from Nova Natural. She was our first Waldorf doll and is quite well loved. So well loved that her arms began to fall off and she went out of commission for awhile. Amid my hyperemesis this Fall and a move this Summer, poor Vera stayed in my mending basket for far too long. When Christmas rolled around I was determined to mend her and also make her some new clothes. 

I adore Waldorf doll clothes. They are so cute and well made. However as much as I love them, I am not willing to pay $20-$30 for one outfit plus shipping. I have had a hard time sewing clothes for dolls as well so I decided I would try to knit some. 

Then enters this dolly sweater. I am by no means a talented knitter. I'd describe myself as passable, mainly because I am self-taught. I have lots to learn still and little time and patience...haha... so I need to work with what I got. 

So I devised a super simple, super easy pull over sweater for Vera. The head  and arm openings are extra wide so children can put the sweater on themselves. I also knitted with large needles and bulky yarn so that the sweater would give a little (again to make it easier for my daughter to pull it on). 

Vera is 11 inches tall. The pattern is designed for her and other "Little Friend" dolls or 11-12 inch Waldorf dolls. If you have a larger or smaller doll and want to make one for them as well, message me and I can do the math on how to adjust this pattern to fit your doll. 

Supplies:

-Size 10 Needles

-Bulky Yarn that knits up to 4=14 stitches on size 10 needles (I used alpine wool)

-Yarn Needle

1. Cast on 30 stitches 

2. Knit 10 rows 

3. Cast off 7 stitches

4. Knit 16 stitches

5. Cast off 7 stitches 

(At this point you should have 16 stitches in the middle still on your needle)

6. Knit another 20 rows. 

7. Bind off loosely at the end. 

8. Then knit another identical piece following the same steps from above. 

Once you have your two pieces...

1. Sew up your seams along the outside of the sweater, except for the bottom, the ends of the sleeves, and the neck portion. Make sure to leave the neck portion wide. (See photo below)

2. Turn your sweater inside out and weave in any loose ends. 

3. Viola, you should be done and ready to put the sweater on your Little Friend! 

Enjoy! And please let me know how it goes if you knit one ;) 

Daily Verse or Quote: 

Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance— for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.

– Proverbs 1:5-6 (NIV)