A Dollhouse Full of Adventure!

This morning the light was good, and I felt inspired to take some pictures of the dollhouse. I had originally intended to take simple pictures of the house, but as I started to play with it, rearranging its furniture, choosing the objects I wanted, I felt Barbie, or I should say Eve,  had to be part of the house. Before I knew it, there was a story...

... The year was 1964, in a London apartment, night had fallen... Eve was getting ready for an evening at the opera. Her make up and perfume sat on her bed ready for her...

Eve was quick, maybe even a little quicker that night because she was nervous. She had chosen dramatic make up, giving depth and mystery to her eyes, she put on her pearl earrings, tied her hair up, and placed the flower comb that M. had given her earlier that day...

All she needed now was the rendez-vous point with James at the opera house... She sat on the satin covered couch waiting for the phone to ring...

The phone rang...

It was James. In his suave voice he said only 3 words: " Intermission, main staircase," and then hung up. She stood up slowly, and leaned against the wall rehearsing one last time. She would be standing at the foot of the stairs, she would readjust her comb, and drop it to the floor. James would walk by at the same time, pick it up and substitute her comb for a similar one. That is all she had to do to transfer the microfilms that were hidden in her comb...

She walked over to the couch and absentmindedly touched the soft fur stole...She found the softness reassuring...

She went back to her room to put on her evening gown, but paused one last time. What if she failed?

After putting on her gown, wrapped in the warmth and comfort of her fur stole, she walked back to the living room, and sat on the couch, waiting for her car...

...

OK, I am done imagining crazy stories for the day! But you know, secretely, I wonder what will happen to Eve. Will she succeed in her mission?!!!

No Dollhouse Yet

I know you must have been hoping that this post would be about the dollhouse and that I would be showing you pictures. I am afraid I have to disappoint you. You see, in order to take the pictures, I have to transport the house to that one corner of the house where the light is just perfect, which means that Little Miss SockPixie would have to relinquish the house to me for a few moments.

She will be out tomorrow, playing with friends... If the light is good, I should be able to take the pictures, which means tomorrow's post should be about the dollhouse!

In the meantime here is a color treat for you, some superwash Merino Venitian Sunset Roving I dyed yesterday.

My heart is beating a little faster just looking at it! I guess that's what color does to me!

Sashiko Embroidery

I am fond of crafts in general, but particularly inspired by Japanese Crafts. I covet the Japanese craft books, and routinely browse Amazon Japan and get inspired by all the beautiful photographs.

A few months ago, I saw the wonderful post on the Purl Bee about Sahiko embroidery,  and immediately felt like trying this type of embroidery. I love embroidering and love the simplicity of the Japanese designs.

I ordered a kit from the Purl Soho site, got it quickly, picked the thread, but as is often the case, unfortunately put it aside, and practically forgot about it, that is until last weekend.

You see, every weekend, Mr SockPixie, the children and I, go to Rockport to visit my parents, and spend the day at the beach. This last Saturday, I was in a hurry, and had no time to prepare my projects to bring with me. I was about to leave empty handed, when in the corner of my eye, I spotted the sahiko kit, all ready to embroider, on the shelf.

I did not think twice. I grabbed it. I am so glad I did! It was a perfect project for the beach, relaxed, and thoughtless, almost magical as a matter of fact. As I sat effortlessly embroidering, the pattern appeared.

I finished it last night. It will be a pillow for my bed as it matched the colors and geometric patterns of the quilt I finished recently so well.

A Final Look at Little Miss SockPixie's Dollhouse

I never told you how Little Miss SockPixie reacted to the dollhouse we created for her birthday.

She indulged us the whole time we were working on it pretending she believed our story of it being a submarine for Young Mr SockPixie. She was so sweet.

When the big day came, she could hardly wait to play with it. The night before she had discretly prepared a box of items that would go into the house.

We brought the house to her room while she was still asleep, and she saw it the moment she woke up. She was so happy, and so were we.

The house is now fully inhabited by Barbie, and Betsy McCall, but also by some unexpected guests. I did not really intend the posh decor for them, but they seem quite comfy...

I am so happy the dollhouse is fully lived in, and to see her so happy to play with it fills me with joy every day. I am so happy I am thinking of another house, a fairy house, but who knows who will move in!

Dyeing Rovings

I had not dyed rovings in a long time, but found my inspiration again. I am fascinated by the process of dyeing already naturally colored rovings. Shetland, Coopworth for example come in a range of browns. The rovings are not uniformely brown, they also have lighter and darker fibers mixed, which means that when you play with dyes, you can get stunning heathered effects.

I have added some heathered rovings to my Etsy store, but I might just have to grab one to do a little bit of spinning tonight...

Tutti Frutti Friday!

I dyed some more yarn for my Etsy store. This time it's Tutti Frutti!

There is some lace yarn, some sport weight, and some Vegan sock Yarn!

 I don't know about you, but these colors make me hungry for some sorbet...

What do mittens and the Cheshire Cat have to do with each other?

What do mittens and the Cheshire Cat have to do with each other? Everything!
The other day I over-dyed some yummy alpaca, in 2 fun whimsical colors, a bright green and a fun orange.

I decided to knit mittens with the yarns. I sat down, and  just let the yarns take me wherever they wanted. Sure enough, stripes appeared. I thought of the Cheshire Cat. Then a row of hearts for the Queen of Hearts magically appeared! I am back on stripes, but who knows, during my adventures in Knittingland, I might come across a rabbit in a hurry, or a mad hatter...