Knitting, dolls, and writing
Jun. 8th, 2010 01:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tephraI do seem to let these things pile up.
I need to get off my butt about a few things, like publishing the pattern for this hat:
Actually what I need to just decide is if I want to put the instructions for the garter stitch bill into the pattern or leave it as the original version with a crocheted bill. If I don't include the garter stitch version I can publish the pattern right now, it's been test knit and everything. I'd then put out the instructions for the garter brim, which I worked out on several hats and have jotted down as an "any size, any gauge" recipe as well as specific for the 24" version of this hat and for the "fits a doll that wears a 6/7 wig, over the wig" size.
This one in fact. Which didn't go with Namid's spring/summer clothing at all so I had to make something to go with it for her to wear.
I based it off the "Askew" pattern on Knitty but generally made it up as I went along since I wanted to knit it in once piece and make it a bit longer... and then I made it halter back as well.
Then, when it was eighty degrees and humid I knit a winter hat.
The second photo is truer color, but blurry. In my defense, the hat, unlike the knee socks and the wool shawl, didn't have to be in my lap while I knit, making it cooler to work on. I may write up a pattern of this one too, though it seems awfully simple to charge money for so maybe a free pattern? I don't know.
Regarding the socks, I'm above the knee and basically out of yarn. Big Lots hasn't had this color or weight of yarn in months so I'm stuck considering doing the ribbing in a coordinating color. Unless someone reading this has a ball (or half of one!) of Phentex Baby DK (category 3) weight yarn in that denim-y grey-blue color so helpfully labeled as "500". I tried looking online but the eBay seller that has it wants twice retail, in lots of three balls, and then of course shipping charges. Not going to happen. I need to check Big Lots again, they at least still had Phentex yarns, even if they didn't have the same color or DK when I looked last.
And the shawl. I cast on for that two years ago. When I realized that last weekend I decided that I was not starting anything new until I had at least gotten to the edging (which I'm probably going to change, hence the stopping point). I was at just under 35% by area at that time. Today I managed to get to the 50% completed by area point (more than 70% by row count, with the original edging). When I complete this section, in 24 more rows, I'll add another cable to my needle so I can spread it out and get a photo.
Next, dolls. I took Anjeni apart a few days ago. Her elastic has been failing for a while and I just got sick of it. I had planned to do a bunch of things to her when I restrung, like body blushing, but have been held up by not having a good matte sealer to coat her in. So I said screw it and just dove in to do what I could.
Once she was in pieces I gave her a good scrub and while she was drying I made s-hooks out of paper clips for her hands and feet. I had to peel the vinyl off the clips for the hooks in her wrists, the channel of her left arm was too small for a hook with the vinyl on. I'll have to keep an eye out for rust, but I would anyway since the cutting and bending weakened the vinyl coating.
Then, since her joints were all dry and exposed I spent a few hours cutting bits of moleskin and sticking them into the socket parts of her joints. Cutting very tiny bits in the case of her wrists, elbows, and shoulders, slightly larger ones for her ankles, knees, and neck. And almost reasonable ones for her hip sockets and torso joint.
After all that was done I got out my new elastic, which is a bit thicker than her old elastic, and restrung her with her new hooks. I also changed the stringing path a bit. Originally both her leg loop and her arm loop fed up through her neck to the s-hook in her head. This meant when she put her arms up the path for her arm elastic was a W, which was a bit more tension than she really needed. Now the loop runs straight across her torso without going up into her neck, which puts the knot for that loop in her chest rather than her head.
Anjeni, and it turns out, most of the 27cm dolls from her company, have a tendency to head tilt without assistance, which can be kinda creepy when you are sitting there with your doll three feet away and it slowly turns its head and looks at you. Other owners have suggested that moving the knots out of the head and into the chest can stop that (along with suede in the neck). The knots slide to one side or the other of the s-hook and put pressure on the side of the head they fall to and, tada, tilting head.
Anyway, since there are two loops there are two knots so I had to also move the knot from her leg loop into her chest. That required me to basically guess at how long her leg loop needed to be. I strung her up with the ends coming out of her neck and tied the loop there, then slipped her s-hook out to unstring her and reposition the knot. I left her a bit loose so her knee sueding wouldn't be overpowered by her elastic but I may end up tightening her a bit. We'll see.
So why all the changes to the stringing path? While the improved posing is great I really did it so I could take her hands and feet off so she could wear more of the available Liv and Barbie clothing, like the things I already bought her.
The shirt won't close over her hips and butt so unless I shorten it she's not going to be wearing it, but those leggings would not go over her feet.
Ditto with these jeans, which are also Liv. If she were human these would be the jeans she'd have to lay on the bed, exhale completely, and suck in her belly to fasten. She can't sit in them, but they look good don't they? :D
And finally, the writing. I have fourteen character bios written, I just have to decide who the fifteenth character will be and I can get to answering the questions. I'd like more questions, really. Maybe I should post the bios, in an order that is NOT the order of the characters in regard to the numbering for the questions? I don't want to bias questions by having people ask them thinking the fifth bio belongs to character number five, since it won't.
I need to get off my butt about a few things, like publishing the pattern for this hat:
Actually what I need to just decide is if I want to put the instructions for the garter stitch bill into the pattern or leave it as the original version with a crocheted bill. If I don't include the garter stitch version I can publish the pattern right now, it's been test knit and everything. I'd then put out the instructions for the garter brim, which I worked out on several hats and have jotted down as an "any size, any gauge" recipe as well as specific for the 24" version of this hat and for the "fits a doll that wears a 6/7 wig, over the wig" size.
This one in fact. Which didn't go with Namid's spring/summer clothing at all so I had to make something to go with it for her to wear.
I based it off the "Askew" pattern on Knitty but generally made it up as I went along since I wanted to knit it in once piece and make it a bit longer... and then I made it halter back as well.
Then, when it was eighty degrees and humid I knit a winter hat.
The second photo is truer color, but blurry. In my defense, the hat, unlike the knee socks and the wool shawl, didn't have to be in my lap while I knit, making it cooler to work on. I may write up a pattern of this one too, though it seems awfully simple to charge money for so maybe a free pattern? I don't know.
Regarding the socks, I'm above the knee and basically out of yarn. Big Lots hasn't had this color or weight of yarn in months so I'm stuck considering doing the ribbing in a coordinating color. Unless someone reading this has a ball (or half of one!) of Phentex Baby DK (category 3) weight yarn in that denim-y grey-blue color so helpfully labeled as "500". I tried looking online but the eBay seller that has it wants twice retail, in lots of three balls, and then of course shipping charges. Not going to happen. I need to check Big Lots again, they at least still had Phentex yarns, even if they didn't have the same color or DK when I looked last.
And the shawl. I cast on for that two years ago. When I realized that last weekend I decided that I was not starting anything new until I had at least gotten to the edging (which I'm probably going to change, hence the stopping point). I was at just under 35% by area at that time. Today I managed to get to the 50% completed by area point (more than 70% by row count, with the original edging). When I complete this section, in 24 more rows, I'll add another cable to my needle so I can spread it out and get a photo.
Next, dolls. I took Anjeni apart a few days ago. Her elastic has been failing for a while and I just got sick of it. I had planned to do a bunch of things to her when I restrung, like body blushing, but have been held up by not having a good matte sealer to coat her in. So I said screw it and just dove in to do what I could.
Once she was in pieces I gave her a good scrub and while she was drying I made s-hooks out of paper clips for her hands and feet. I had to peel the vinyl off the clips for the hooks in her wrists, the channel of her left arm was too small for a hook with the vinyl on. I'll have to keep an eye out for rust, but I would anyway since the cutting and bending weakened the vinyl coating.
Then, since her joints were all dry and exposed I spent a few hours cutting bits of moleskin and sticking them into the socket parts of her joints. Cutting very tiny bits in the case of her wrists, elbows, and shoulders, slightly larger ones for her ankles, knees, and neck. And almost reasonable ones for her hip sockets and torso joint.
After all that was done I got out my new elastic, which is a bit thicker than her old elastic, and restrung her with her new hooks. I also changed the stringing path a bit. Originally both her leg loop and her arm loop fed up through her neck to the s-hook in her head. This meant when she put her arms up the path for her arm elastic was a W, which was a bit more tension than she really needed. Now the loop runs straight across her torso without going up into her neck, which puts the knot for that loop in her chest rather than her head.
Anjeni, and it turns out, most of the 27cm dolls from her company, have a tendency to head tilt without assistance, which can be kinda creepy when you are sitting there with your doll three feet away and it slowly turns its head and looks at you. Other owners have suggested that moving the knots out of the head and into the chest can stop that (along with suede in the neck). The knots slide to one side or the other of the s-hook and put pressure on the side of the head they fall to and, tada, tilting head.
Anyway, since there are two loops there are two knots so I had to also move the knot from her leg loop into her chest. That required me to basically guess at how long her leg loop needed to be. I strung her up with the ends coming out of her neck and tied the loop there, then slipped her s-hook out to unstring her and reposition the knot. I left her a bit loose so her knee sueding wouldn't be overpowered by her elastic but I may end up tightening her a bit. We'll see.
So why all the changes to the stringing path? While the improved posing is great I really did it so I could take her hands and feet off so she could wear more of the available Liv and Barbie clothing, like the things I already bought her.
The shirt won't close over her hips and butt so unless I shorten it she's not going to be wearing it, but those leggings would not go over her feet.
Ditto with these jeans, which are also Liv. If she were human these would be the jeans she'd have to lay on the bed, exhale completely, and suck in her belly to fasten. She can't sit in them, but they look good don't they? :D
And finally, the writing. I have fourteen character bios written, I just have to decide who the fifteenth character will be and I can get to answering the questions. I'd like more questions, really. Maybe I should post the bios, in an order that is NOT the order of the characters in regard to the numbering for the questions? I don't want to bias questions by having people ask them thinking the fifth bio belongs to character number five, since it won't.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-12 12:33 am (UTC)