Last rose, berries and first dolls

Today, sunny and cool, I got a walk in, not very far, hip tiring quickly and I forgot to bring Carol Cane, but it was lovely anyway, interesting local sights. The colors are still beautiful, berries and some leaves still on the trees.

Then home to make a quick pasta with red sauce, dessert of chocolate cherries.

And a whole lot of work on the dolls. Here's where baffled people see how these dolls are constructed.

Stitch the body like a tube, seam at the back, stuff with batting, run a thread round the neck, draw up to form the head, do likewise to draw closed the feet.

Then stitch right through the body to form arms and legs -- I like how they seem to have their hands in their pockets.  It's a kind of simple soft sculpture. Then stitch facial features,  simpler the better. And suddenly -- people!

I have two more to go, then I'll send them off.

It's definitely calming to have this kind of work on hand, and to know it's going into good (little) hands. 

Happy day everyone, find whatever helps you get or stay calm and strong, might be any number of things. If you've found a good idea, would you share it here? Thank you.

The equality flag needs to be seen in here regularly now, in view of the new threats. 

Dolls ahoy!

Five doll bodies awaiting stitching and stuffing. 

I think Monday is s and s day. You'll understand all about how the process works when I post on Tuesday. Which will also be Misfits day on account of the holiday which falls on my usual delivery day. 

Thanksgiving will be declared chez Boud on Saturday. Just a simple nice day, shared cooking. I'll do my cranberry sauce and some corn and peas. Handsome Son will bring garlic potatoes and probably sliced turkey.  There will be cheese and crackers to start, ginger ale to accompany and pie to finish. At least that's the plan.

Sunday I gassed the car, which I hate because of the titanic struggle to reach and pull the release for the gas cap, the lever being right where I can't bend far enough to get my hand in it. 

I always have to open the door to see what I'm doing, and struggle about while the attendant keeps asking what I want and I can't hear because my head's under the dash.

Good thing I have high mpg and don't drive much. While I was at it, I returned Cranford and Timothy Snyder to the library in the town where the gas station is. No gas station in my town.

So all's well. Happy day everyone, keep your spirits and resistance all gassed up.

Looking ahead bravely!

 This is a word display where you just pick what jumps out at you. I think there's a kind of unconscious preparation to see certain words first. I won't tell you mine yet, because you need to do it without cues. 

Friday was wintry, sleety rain, cold, and I was glad to get home after dropping off my bag o' knitting for the library display. 

While I was there I thought it was ages since I looked at the puzzle shelves, so I found one in my preferred size I hadn't done 

500 pieces suits me best because the pieces are big enough for me to handle. The 1,000 are just a fraction too small and I spend a lot of time and goodwill on scrabbling to pick them up only to have them fly through the air.

And here's doll two

Teal and orange with a dusky face. The orange is much more pronounced in real life.

And just the start of doll three 

And later, the doll ready for stitching and stuffing 

I'm aiming for six dolls before I go back to other projects. I'm giving them priority because they'll be needed soon.

Current reading is

Which I think I chose from a list of indigenous people-related stories. I've barely begun, but I like the main character so far, an old indigenous lady, container gardening against all advice in a retirement apartment.

Happy day everyone, no knitting group today, anyway I was already cold and wet from delivering the craft pieces.  Glad to get home, pot of tea, slice of cake and the rest of Cranford.

I think winter has started. The rain has given the earth a great drink, washed down my car and made my hair curl back up and my skin relax. That period of dry days was hard on people like me, with papery dry skin. Much better now.

Dolls, Misfits and artworks

Written on Thursday.

This morning I decided to start the comfort dolls I plan to send to Navajo children, and got out the doings 

And a while later here's the first doll. 

Black boots, matching pink pants and hat, white sweater, dusky face.  You'll see how it works when I stitch and stuff it.  It's such a treat to have all these colors to choose outfits from.

Then Haleem arrived with my Misfits box, picked up last week's packaging 

And left this beautiful supply 

 

of organic fruit and vegetables. good food is how I stay well, I'm sure.

And see the beauty of these ruby red onions, and the architecture of them 

The more I cook Asian food, the more I notice how it favors red onions. They do say use yellow if that's what you have, but I think red is probably better if it's preferred.

All the skins are now bagged and in the freezer for future dyeing, because they give a pink dye I love.

Coffee because I've switched to one strong cup for breakfast, dripped Melitta style through a cone. The water passes through the grounds once, making a wonderful strong but mellow flavor. Tea happens in the afternoon.

It's a while since I bought ginger, but my ginger dice in the freezer are almost finished. The smell of this root is so fresh. I may snap a bit off to plant. I've done it before and got a little harvest.

I'll probably add a handful of spinach into the current lentil soup, to cook briefly.

When I survey this counter of food I really feel my privilege. It's my fuel for the good fight! 

This afternoon will be Cranford and a pot of tea while my hands rest from knitting and chopping. It's raining steadily, such a welcome sound. The earth's just soaking it right in, so dry and needy. 

Happy day everyone, enjoy whatever's there. Take care of your feelings.  And let's be safe hands for each other.

Success! Yarn appears!

Yesterday, after I received several kind offers of yarn from generous freecycling people too far away to warrant the trip, another response arrived in my email box. This was from a freecycler five minutes' drive away, really interesting woman, great to meet. 

She had a bag of bright colored yarn left from a marvelous mitred-square Afghan, which she showed me, and she searched around a bit , coming up with a skein of possible face-color brown, yay.  We had a convo about kits, helpful cats, and I left so pleased, to get going right away winding the brown yarn, and knitting up a bright color on the current doll.

The brown yarn was translated by my camera into grey, who knows why.

Seen here three dolls in search of faces and hats. The new colors are so cheerful to work with, I think kids will like them. You'll see soon how these flat bits of work become dolls.

I was just reading  in Aeon about what constitutes being an adult, with various criteria, such as self supporting, marriage, parenthood, and wondered if an old lady getting all excited about colored yarn to play with can possibly qualify!

Happy day, everyone, do you consider yourself adult? Is it a desirable state? How to classify it.. I don't think much of the marriage and parenthood bits. It seems very possible to be a fully fledged adult, I know quite a few, to whom those  don't apply. I wonder if there are other better criteria.

The ceasefire is extended a bit more. I'll take it, if it means a bit more relief all around, to the Gazan  civilians and the hostages.  

Photo AC

who probably had no idea how much mileage I'd get from this little light photo when he gave me permission to use it.

White Rabbits and other serious matters, including Izzy Dolls

 Since today is the start of my natal month, I decided to take my own advice to other people: celebrate yourself for the whole month.  And I thought, ha, here's a good start, after the White Rabbits ceremony, that is.

What I'd really like any or all blogistas to do, if you are interested in taking part in the Birthday Caper, is to consider making a few comfort dolls, the kind I made years ago and sent to Willie at ICROSS Canada.  It would be a gift to me, just to know it's happening. 

Here's a blurry, old pic, ancient camera long ago, of a few of the ones I made and sent to ICROSS Canada

 
 They are simple enough that beginning knitters can make them -- the shaping all happens after you've knitted and stuffed the doll -- and they are great fun to make, just a few inches high, right size for a little kid in need of a comfy doll to hold. using small amounts of yarn.   I like to make the faces a range of colors, too, to include all the groups of children we can.

Right now Canada is getting ready for an influx of child refugees from Syria, and the comfort doll is one thing that would be nice for kids tossed all over by political struggles they have no part in, to have on arrival.  

Or you can make and send to Willie at ICROSS. Or to the parent people in Canada, info in one of the links below.  And it doesn't have to be international shipping: you might find a local cause that might like them -- some police departments like to give these to kids they come across in crime situations. And even teens are not above liking them.

Whatever you feel like doing, please do that, singing Happy Birthday to Liiiiiz as you knit...or maybe not.  But here are the links you need to get under way:


http://www.hpicanada.ca/izzy-dolls/knitting-pattern


http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/african-comfort-doll


Either or both links will give you enough to be going on with.  And it was a Raveler who reminded me of this little doll, also known as the Izzy doll, and I will credit her if I can find her name anywhere. Any other raveler who knows, chime in, and I'll update!

And thank you all!   Hippo Birdies to the Great Me!