Finished Object Friday (a few hours late)

I'm done with the Rainbow Purse and my hook/needle/scissor case:

There was no pattern for The Case With No Name.*  It was a make-it-up-as-I-go thing**, but for those who want to try, it was more or less this:

1 oz assorted scrap yarns, J hook, 7/8 inch button.

Chain 32, hdc in 3rd chain from hook and in each chain to the end - 30 hdc.  I stitched back loop only, but it will work just as well through both loops.  Make as many rows as you wish, changing colors as you wish.  Fasten off, weave in ends, and sew seams when you're done.

The flap is 15 hdc across.  The button loop is 3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc in the center stitch of the row.  If you're using a larger button, adjust your center chain size.  The flap finishes with sc in each stitch across, 2 sc in chain space.

I'm not a professional pattern designer - I'm sure there are errors but at least you're pointed in the right direction.***


* I really need to work on my naming skills, don't I?

** The Husband says I need to work on my adjective skills, too.

*** Who am I kidding?  I coffee, lots of it, before trying to write a pattern!

Eureka!

I found what I need to finish No-Name Girl:

The pattern is Crochet Dynamite's Wonder Woman Tiara.  I may need to make one for myself before making one for No-Name Girl.  And I may need to make her a red tee shirt and blue shorts; I'm not so sure she's going to stay in her original clothes.

I also need to figure out how to make doll-sized Chucks... she's begging for them.

WIP it! WIP it good!

We went off on vacation, and this is what I started:

The bag is an altered version of Vendulka's Rainbow Purse.  I didn't have sport weight, wanted to use up some scrap yarn, and had printed the pattern out in too-small font instead of copying it to my Kindle Fire HD - so when I couldn't read it, I looked at the photos and improvised.  It's done except for the ties to close it - and I haven't decided whether to make an i-cord or dig through my ribbon box upstairs.  Weaving in all those ends - especially in the mesh parts where I had to join additional yarn once or twice - was a PAIN. I think I'd finish more of my crochet projects if I didn't have to weave in all those ends!

I had planned to line it but realized I would lose all the lovely stretchiness if I did, so it is going to be my new WIP bag to tote around to appointments and such.  Worsted weight scraps from the "ought to make more grannies" bag, about 2 oz total according to my postage scale.

The stripey thing is going to be a hook and scissors case, since I realized that hooks and scissors would fall right through the holes in the bag.  Perhaps I should just give the bag to one of my nieces, but then I'd have to make more so they could each have one, and while I love the bag I'm ready to move on to something new.

I stalled out on No-Name Girl when I couldn't find my buttonhole foot for my sewing machine and had to order a new one.  Oh, how I miss being able to just hop in the car and drive myself to the fabric store or  Walmart!  The foot has arrived, so I can get back to work on her overalls and get her dressed decently again... and then I need to decide what to do about this mess:

This is the stack of dolls I started about 8 years ago - about the time Dad died and I fell into the first of an epic series of depressive episodes.  You can see they're threatening to drown No-Name Girl... They just need clothes, and haircuts.  The MerGrrrl needs some embroidery and a hanger.  But I look at them and just feel "meh".  I'm not happy with the faces on the bigger raggedies.  I'm not happy with the face on the elf-girl, and the way her head flops unless I put a chopstick up her butt.  The only one I feel even remotely interested in working on is the MerGrrrl.  Even though I want to make crayola-colored raggedies, I don't want to finish THESE.

*sigh*

I think it's the association my mind has made between the dolls and the loss and depression.  I wonder if I shouldn't just pack them up - along with the clothes already cut out for them - and send them off to someone else who will see them as just a fun way to pass a few hours.  Finish No-Name Girl (and finally NAME her!), and then make a clean start with projects that will make me happy.

Itty Bits of Progress

I'm moving slowly this week.  I *am* making progress, but much of it is the boring prep work: 30 yards of broadcloth pre-washed, a pattern or two cut out, my workspace reorganized so that I have room for my sewing machine and the ability to find my tools with a minimum of frustration.  Okay, you can stop laughing now...

There was some frustration when I realized that I do NOT have enough yarn for the rectangle granny - so while I'm waiting for the rest of the yarn to be delivered, I have ripped it out and have decided it will be an afghan made with an assortment of Scrap Savers Hexagon Motifs:

It's going to be made with Red Heart Super Saver in Tea Leaf, Turqua, Lemon and Pinata - and if anyone has any Pinata in their stash they're willing to sell or trade, let me know!  I have enough to make borders for the motifs, but would like to actually make some motifs with it as well.  It's apparently a retired colorway, and while I found lots of it at Ravelry, no-one's selling.

I did a teensy bit of work on No-Name Girl*:

Who now has her Wonder Woman tattoo.  I'd planned on embroidering it, but *hate* embroidering on dolls after they've been stuffed.  I think the paint works better anyway.  

Finally, I've decided on the first two garment makeovers:

My hand to my heart, they both looked MUCH better online - and were on clearance for such a low price that it just wasn't worth the postage to return them.  I think I can make something much cuter out of them *knock wood*.

*fercryinoutloud, why did her picture post sideways, and why is there no edit option to fix that???

More No-Name Girl

Slow slow going.  She's a cheeky little thing though!

Climbing Mount Laundry:

"Helping" me:

Accomplished this weekend:  disreputable panties repaired.  I also took my keyboard completely apart to clean it; there was so much pet hair and spilled coffee I'm surprised it worked at all. I'm not done putting it back together (waiting for the top and keys to dry after a run through the dishwasher) - hopefully it will still work when I do! Completed 3 rounds on The Random Rectangle of Randomness Granny Blanket:

but then I decided I didn't like the way the ends were distorting, ripped it back to the foundation row, then started over again.

I also played enough Star Wars: The Old Republic to give myself a sensory overload migraine, which might explain why I didn't accomplish more.

To Do this week:

• embroider a wonder woman logo on her chest.  No hearts for THIS grrrl!
• fix her arms so they bend a bit
• trim hair
• find cool buttons for her overalls

I think she needs shoes, too, but haven't decided whether to make sandals or sneakers.

That was my weekend - how did YOU Create?

No-Name Girl

She's been bothering me.  She's been sitting on top of my grandmother's piano ever since it came home to live with me.  She's an unfinished project from my 20's - one of several dolls I made that my mother "bought" from me when I needed money but was too proud to ask.  And when my mother died, she came back to live with me.  I'm not sure where the others went.

No name, not finished.  Filthy from decades of living in that house with all the dust and smoke and nicotene. Today, she decided enough is enough.

to be continued...