Completions

Ta-da! The dollhouse is done! Well, done with an asterisk, because I still need to paint the stairs and fireplace, both of which are separate pieces. And I think I want to add a bit more blue paint in the upstairs room - minor touches, but otherwise, I am so pleased to have this project complete at last! I've spent months thinking about how badly the house needed a sprucing up, and weeks with it "in progress" in my closet. Now it's back in action, with some new furniture and the whole family moved in again.



Amy's been quite pleased, and I must say she was a model of patience during the renovation, talking so sweetly every time she saw me painting about how nice the house would be for her family when it was all done. She liked to "help" me paint, too, which involved sitting on my lap, commenting on the colors, and bouncing up and down... that made the detail work interesting. I also told her that the manufacturer's name of the purple paint was "purple cow," because I thought that was a funny name for a paint color, and she has since called all the colors pink cow, green cow, etc.



The residents, however, seem to like it. (Have I mentioned how badly I want to take the time to use my beautiful camera on more than just the auto setting? For instance, in this shot, Dad could very easily be in focus too if I just took the time get comfortable with how to change the depth of field... frustration).

Anyway, another project completed that took considerably less time was this teeny tiny nightie for Amy's baby dolls and/or sock monkey. She likes dressing her friends, and I wanted to take a stab at knitting again. This is a modified pattern for a "teddy bear sweater" that is meant as a garment knitting tutorial - increases, decreases, ribbing, etc. Overall I'm pleased with how it came out, (except that one sleeve is somehow longer than the other - pretend you don't notice).



I continue to have mixed feelings about knitting. I can do it reasonably well, and I always love the fine texture and extreme versatility of knitting as opposed to crocheting, but the aggravation factor is awfully high - one mistake and it's all screwed. Crocheting is much more forgiving. But small projects like this are fun and keep my brain nimble.

And for today's parting shot, I give you one very excited girl, dancing around a hotel room in her bathing suit. We had a marvelous overnight stay in National Harbor, complete with a trip to the Smithsonian this morning. I'd make a separate post about it, but really I'd just be saying over and over how fun and refreshing and wonderful it was. So instead I've opted to let the pictures do the talking (over on Facebook) and leave it at that. Hope your weekend has been wonderful as well!