Today B and yaiAnn decided to take Olive and Archie out for a short tour of the San Francisco waterfront. B and yaiAnn had lunch at Pancho Villa next to the Ferry Building. But, poor Olive and Archie. They didn't get to lunch at all. They just sat there all hot at stuffy in yaiAnn's bag, sniffing all the yummy tacos and burritos everyone was eating. But B and yaiAnn definitely had good intentions by keeping them in her bag, as that particular location of Pancho Villa is notorious for birds coming into the establishment, tormenting all the patrons trying to have a peaceful lunch. yaiAnn and B definitely didn't want to put Olive and Archie in a situation where they'd catch Avian flu, especially before they were delivered to their new home. It was a good thing they stayed in her bag, as an annoying little blackbird flew in and ended up perching itself in a chair at B and yaiAnn's table, hopping around to and fro before it finally flew out. After lunch, B and yaiAnn decided to take Olive and Archie on the F car so they could check out some of the historic trains on the line. After waiting less than a minute, Archie got a little antsy, as many boys do, and started to find other ways to entertain himself. And of course, Olive had to join in on the fun. So they continued to play and play until B and yaiAnn's lunch hour was over. B and yaiAnn reluctantly had to head back to work. So back in yaiAnn's bag they go until they get delivered to their new home.

---

Pattern: wee wonderful make-a-long story, Olive and Archie Fabric: wool blend felt, home decor weight cotton, cotton shirting, cotton and corduroy Notes: I would have definitely been done with both sets of dolls the day after Christmas had I allowed enough time for sewing on the facial features and Archie's collar. I was only able to gift one set that day and had to finish the other later (yesterday to be exact). The sewing is pretty straightforward. The hardest part is "the dreaded step 9", attaching the legs to the body. My advice, go slow. Just use the hand crank for the first time around. Once that initial line of stitching is down, go ahead and zip away using your pedal to reinforce everything. It was just easier for me that way and I was more confident going slowly by using the hand crank and adjusting the doll as you go, especially with all those pins. Also, trust the pattern when it says leave no stuffing at the opening. I don't know how you would be able to sew on the extremities if you didn't do this part. Other than that, I had no major problems with the pattern except for making Olive's bow and collar and making the legs. The pattern tells you to line up the curves of the foot and leg to sew it together. But this made no sense to me no matter how I tried. So I ended up lining up the foot and leg and retraced the legs to add a seam allowance which was the perfect solution. The only bad thing was that when I retraced and cut the legs out for Archie, I had done so with the nap of the corduroy going in the wrong direction! I was so mad at myself because I had deliberately made sure the first time around that the nap was vertical. I didn't realize this til after I sewed the feet on and took them to the ironing board. But at this point in time, I had to just go with it and hope no one noticed. As for Olive's bow, the pattern tells you do to do some flipping in and out and perpendicular and such which also made no sense to me. So just sewed up a rectangle and attached it. Her collar as written is small and will not come out as it does in the pattern photos. I could have drafted one on my own, but for the sake of time, I decided to skip her collar altogether. I think she looks fine without it. Other random tips - you can use regular cotton or shirting cotton for these dolls if you use wool felt for the body. Just interface those pieces so they're as sturdy as the felt. There's no need to purchase home decor or heavier cotton just to match the weight of the wool felt. I'm really really happy with how these turned out. These two sets were gifted to 3-year old Asian girls (Benito's niece and my friends daughter) so I wanted to make sure they looked like them. So I deliberately picked out fabrics that would achieve this, tan/brown skin, brown eyes, and black hair. My dad saw the dolls and told me that Olive looked like me when I was young. So I think that means mission accomplished, wouldn't you? If I were a 3-year old girl, I'd love these dolls to death. Heck, I'm a 30-year old girl and I still love them to death.

It's official. Christmas gift crafting is officially over. The last gift has been completed and I can now concentrate on more important things, such as procrastinating on my Knitting Nature projects that I have yet to tell you about. Pattern: Butterick 4945 View C Fabric: Anna Griffin, Elsie's Kitchen and a coordinating solid purchased at Purl Patchwork in November. Both fabrics are cotton. Notes: The sewing was pretty easy for this pattern. I learned a pretty cool new "trick", understitching. The only part of the pattern I had difficulty on was attatching the bottom border to have the point on the upper part of the "V" lie flat. The material puckers a bit there and I tried to iron it out the best I could. I noticed that this pattern didn't give as much instruction as the other apron I had made earlier this year (which I just realized that I also never blogged about). This could be due to the fact that they're from different companies. The one I knit for Steph was a McCall's pattern. What I love most about this apron has to be the fabric. Everytime I look at it, I can just smells the lemons. Take a whiff! I originally purchased this to make an apron and oven mitt set for myself. But since purl also sells this online, I can always just order some more. What I'd do differently is choose a darker color for the contrast fabric. I love how the yellow looks with the print, but for future aprons like this, I'll try to choose a darker color for the contrast. If you look at the border against light, you can see the seam allowances on the inside as well as the clipped corners. And one more note, if you are under the impression that once you learn how to machine sew, you'll never have to hand sew anything ever again, think again. I had to slipstitch two facings and the WS of the border in order to finish this apron. Torture, I tell you! Pattern: Too hot to handle oven mitts, Denyse Schmidt, "Quilts" Fabric: Fabric: Anna Griffin, Elsie's Kitchen and a coordinating solid purchased at Purl Patchwork in November, cotton batting, cotton canvas and thermal fabric. Notes: These are the 4th and 5th oven mitts I've made from this pattern (obviously, I didn't blog about the others -- I should try not to make this a trend). I pretty much follow the pattern except for a few steps. I don't trace the oven mitt onto the quilt sandwich until after I've finished all the topstiching. (A note on the topstitching: You may think it's a good idea to save time and thread by "zigzagging" the topstitching, i.e. sew one line from top to bottom, then the next line from bottom to top, then next from top to bottom and so forth. But don't do it. Do all your topstitching in one direction, otherwise you'll distort the seam line between the two fabrics. If it doesn't bother you, then do it. But it bothered me so I haven't topstitched like that since.) I also don't hem the bottom of the mitt by turning up the edge. I've found the quilt sandwich too thick to finish in that manner. So I use bias tape to finish the edge instead. Instead of applying the tape after you've sewn the mitt together, I sugesst sewing the bias tape on each side before you sew the mitt together. The stitchlines and bias tape may not line up, but I find this less annoying than trying to get the bias tape to fit perfectly over the shorter rounded edge (the side where I've added the loop). Of course mamaFasu tells me after I've finished that I should have sewn the the mitt together starting at the longer edge, then attach the bias tape, then finish sewing up the mitt. This way, I'd have one perfectly clean edge. There's always next time. The final difference in my version of the oven mitt is that I added a hanging loop. I made the bias tape myself and used the excess for loops. You can't have mitts without a loops to hang it! I have no idea why this important feature was left out of the original pattern. These mitts make great gifts and are quick and easy sewing projects. The only drawback is something that Steph pointed out to me. The pattern is very wasteful. You cut out 9'x12' pieces of fabric, create a quilt sandwich, draw the shape on the sandwich, and then cut away all the excess. I'd love to try the Amy Butler pot holders instead, but I'm a little to budget conscious right now to buy a grommet tool. So think this will be the last any kind of oven mitts for a while.

I'm not one to expect much by way of Christmas gifts, or just gifts in general. I enjoy the holidays for the time I spend with the people I care about placing little or no expectations or importance on what gifts I may receive. I usually don't give reports on gifts and such, but this Christmas came with some very special gifts. The one I must mention first came from a person dressed in red that traveled pretty much across the country to deliver it. Mmmmmm... chocolate. But not just any chocolate, Dagoba! But not just one bar, five! And not just five bars of Dagoba chocolate ... A Korknisse to go with it! Miss Elliphantom came to my neck of the woods over Christmas and so we arranged a meet up of sorts. B and I took her and Thunky to Alamo Square, Twin Peaks and a look out point in the Presidio to fulfill the tourist portion of the meet up. Sadly there was not too much knitting to be had, but we did to go Imagiknit, what I consider the knitting mecca of LYS's in San Francisco. Once you go here, you'll understand why I have such a huge sock yarn stash. After Imagiknit, we spent most of our time in the Mission. After hearing that the best burrito they ever had was at Chipotle, I knew I had to take them out to get a real burrito. We then followed our burrito adventure with a little shopping and then some ice cream. Who could say no to Mitchell's ice cream? I'm glad they didn't. But before we knew it, our time was up and we had to say bye, but at least our Weekender bags got to meet. They didn't nearly have as much fun as we did, being that they sat in the trunk the whole time, but they finally got to see another one of their kind. Some of the other awesome gifts I received included an awesome tape measure tote from B's mom, made from real tape measures. I also got, not one, but TWO cupcake carriers, one from my best friend and the other from B's parents. I haven't blogged much about my cooking and baking endeavors, but I'm pretty obsessed with cupcakes. What I had done in the past is put as many cupcakes that will fit into my cake carrier, usually about a dozen, and then find some other container to transport the rest of them. The major drawback to the cake carrier is that the cupcakes will slide around and into each other. You also run the risk of ruining your frosting as you put the cover on. The cupcake carriers will hold 2 dozen cupcakes. The only drawback is that the lower level is an actual muffin tin. So say goodbye to any perfectly frosted cupcakes you put in the bottom. I'll have to devise some kind of makshift shim or something to insert into the bottom to give the muffin top some clearance from the pan allowing for ease of removal. I'm actually wondering if I'll ever have the need to transport more than two dozen cupcakes at a time. I could return one for a handy dandy cake stand, but I haven't baked a cake in a while. Hmmm, decisions. And lastly, probably one of the best Christmas gifts of all time. This was gifted to me by B in the exact color I wanted. Boys can be very sneaky fellows. I haven't had the time to break it in yet. But I will be soon, and hopefully blogging about the results as well. This officially concludes the last of my Christmas related posts. I'll now return to my regular knitting and crafting content.

I spent part of the weekend hanging out with the girls. It's always nice to go out, have a lot of good eats and just chat about life and crafting. We started again at our favorite bakery in the city where we enjoyed a delicious spread of treats. We can't ever get enough of that bread pudding! But I think each time I go, I have to try something new. This time, I tried the chard quiche. Soooo yummy! And the crossaint, the best I've ever had. I think the rumor may actually be true, the one that says each crossaint is made with 1/2 stick of butter (How can something so evil, not taste so good?)! We also had another siting of the Interweave girl! She must live nearby or knew that we were coming. We then mosied over to a cafe to get some "work" done. There were also pictures to be taken.. And brainstorming to do. We talked about the projects that plague our lives and the solutions to rid us of these darned plagues. For Steph, it's been her Argyle Vest. For me, it's been the Ram's Horn Jacket. I practically have an FO in my hands, people! The sweater is all done, knitted and seamed since before Christmas. The collar has also been knit and blocked since before Christmas. Even after all my Christmas projects have been completed, I still haven't touched the darn thing. There's a certain apprehension I have with this project that has prevented me from finishing it, part of which is the lack of instruction on attaching the collar (thanks goes to the girls for helping me finally decide on a course of action). The other part I can't pinpoint. But what I will tell you is this. This sweater will be finished by the end of the month! There. I said it. Now you have to hold me to it.

Happy New Year! (a bit late, I know, but my Christmas gifts were late, so what do you expect?) Before I start with my new year craft resolutions, let me respond to a meme I got tagged with last month. 6 Weird Things About Me

1. I have a play-doh-phobia. Play-doh grosses me out. I hate the smell. I hate the unnatural and neon colors. I can't be near it. I played with it when I was young, but I absolutely cannot stand it now. As a result of my play-doh-phobia, I can't stand to watch claymation, with an exception of the old school Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer holiday special.
2. I love make-up, but I rarely wear it. I used to buy tons of make-up, and loved doing my friends make-up when we'd go out. My favorite brand was Stila. If you didn't know me, you'd think I was a Stila make-up artist. As a matter of fact, I'd love to trade in my job right now to be a make-up artist. Oh, the dreams we have.
3. I can't wear "street clothes" in bed. If it's the middle of the day and I need to take a nap and it's cold, I won't hop into bed with my "street clothes." "Street clothes" are dirty and the bed is clean. The only clothes allowed in bed are pjs. If I need some warmth, I'll create what I call the "taco" and lie on one side of the bed on top of the covers, reach over to the other side of the bed, grab the edge of the blanket and yank it over me. Voila, instant taco.
4. I love making goofy faces when I take pictures. It's pretty hard to get me to take "normal" pictures. I can take normal pictures when it counts, but I'd much rather make a goofy face if I can. It's so much easier to make a goofy face in a picture and have it come out good, than it is to make a "normal" face and have it come out good. I'm almost 100% guaranteed that everytime I make a goofy face in a picture, it will come out great and give me a good laugh.
5. I rip out all the subscription cards and perfume samples from magazines before I read them. I can't stand those cards falling out while I'm reading, or flipping to a card or perfume sample when I'm trying to find something else. Those are the first things that go before I start reading.
6. I don't shave my legs. Fortunately for me, the hairs on my legs are barely visible. They're there, just hard to see.

---

Now onto the resolutions! First a review of my 2006 goals: Knitting

• Finish one fair isle project - Accomplished (and practically at the last hour -- more proof of this forthcoming)!
• Take a stab at intarsia - Not attempted.
• Design something - Not attempted.

Sewing

• Learn how to cut fabric on the grain - Accomplished. This wasn't as hard as I thought.
• Learn how to straighten/align fabric - Accomplished.
• Sew a garment - Attempted, but not accomplished. I have a 3/4 of a dress draped over a chair next to my sewing machine, and a skirt that needs to be hemmed, covering my sewing machine.
• Make a quilt - Accomplished.

Overall I'm fairly happy with what I accomplished last year. I'm definitely happier with my sewing accomplishments than with my knitting accomplishments. I knit more than I sewed, but all that knitting amounted to was a huge pile of socks (not that it's a bad thing)! But I feel like I pushed myself more with my sewing. Onto the 2007 goals: Knitting

• Knit at least 3 garments - One of these being a sweater that B will wear.
• Design something

Sewing

• Sew a garment - It's so sad for me to admit that I haven't even sewn a garment yet, especially as one of the co-hosts for Sew? I Knit!. I am determined to sew at least one garment this year (and if it's just one, it has to be the shirt that B picked out fabric AND a pattern for).
• Make a bigger quilt

And there you have it. Here's to another year of knitty sewy crafty lessons, success, failures and accomplishments.