Monthly Archives: December 2017

What a Diva!

What a Diva!

I can hear her singing Mariah Carey, can’t you?

This bodacious boa is an easy knit. The yarn is Lion Brand Fun Fur in red. Cast on 100 stitches on size 1 needles. Garter stitch for 4cm. Cast off, and fluff with your fingers! It’s that easy. The original instructions are from  Sticka till Barbie, #752 by Margaret Smith.

My own pattern!

My own pattern!

Remember this old girl, Fashion Queen Barbie? She came in an Egyptian-looking bathing suit with a head scarf and 3 wigs! Only this blond one has survived at my house.


She’s my latest model since Hispanic Barbie is visiting with Vivien. I was looking for a simple knitted dress pattern, but the one I found was not simple at all. So, I came up with my own. It needs some tweaking before I share it. 

I’ll try again, after I have a go at the “rainbow dress” Vivi has requested. I’m also going to try a Fun Fur wrap!

A Green One, too!

A Green One, too!

Barbie might get invited to two parties, so I knit her a green sparkly outfit. I didn’t follow the pattern, this time, either. This is a K2P2 rib on the skirt and the yoke of the top.

This yarn is nubbier than the red and harder to  work with. I’m happy with it, but my eyes hurt. I feel very fluish, anyway.

Barb’s New Outfit! 

Barb’s New Outfit! 

Barbies’s all set for a Christmas party in her new sweater and skirt!

It’s knit from the same Lions Brand Bon Bon Yarn in red. The pattern became my own. I started with the skirt and messed up on the second row. The whole skirt was supposed to be knit in K1P1 rib, but I knit in my purls and purled in my knits. That makes a seed stitch. Instead of ripping it out and starting over, I kept going, at least for about 6 rows. I’m not crazy about seed stitch, so I changed to stockinette. I knit the length of the skirt and finished it with a few toes of seed stitch. The top called for stockinette, but I finished it in matching seed stitch, too!

I haven’t sewn the back of the top yet. I’m afraid I won’t be able to get it back on the Doll. I may opt for hooks or snaps. I don’t like the Velcro used on most doll clothes, today.

The sweater set is based on number 39 from www.stickatillbarbie.se. Barbie has a new outfit and I’m afraid I may have a new obsession.

New Soap Mold!

New Soap Mold!

I tried out one of the new soap molds I found on sale, today. The detail is hard to see, but I love to combine translucent glycerine soap with just an ounce of coco butter soap to give a carved alabaster look.


This is an Asian design with a magnolia in the center, and that’s what fragrance I used.

I guess if it was peach or pink, it could be a camellia or a peony. I’m pretty sure I have some peony fragrance. It was a dear departed friend of mine’s favorite. I’ll have to try that next time.

Friends who have used this kind of soap can attest that it is great stuff for shaving your legs. This cake is mine, but I’ll make more!

Project of the (2) Week(s)

Project of the (2) Week(s)

Our mailbox was shabby, with NO chic. I sprayed it with bleach cleaner to kill mold and algae. I scraped it to remove peeling paint. Then I used primer and spray paint from previous projects, here and at Mama’s. It took 2 weeks, off and on, and many coats of white, but only cost $1.04! I was out of black for the numbers!

The stocking ornament was a gift from a student in 1990.