Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! I didn't have time to do a proper Valentine story, but I wanted to share a couple of gifts I received from my neighbor. In 2011 I blogged about a Barbie crochet book that I have in my library. You can see that post here. I haven't found the time to learn how to crochet any of the items in the book, so I was trying to find someone who could crochet them for me. I loaned the book and a Barbie doll to my neighbor a couple years ago. She enjoys crocheting afghans. I thought she might be a great candidate to either make the clothes for me, or to teach me how to make them. It took her a long time to get motivated to try the Barbie outfits. After a year of very little progress, I retrieved my book. She ordered her own copy, and finally tried to make the pink and black outfit from the cover of the book. Her gauge was a little big and so was the outfit. Roberta was happy to hear that. She thought it was a perfect Valentine Day church outfit. She didn't think a bright red outfit would be appropriate for someone her age to wear to church.
After my neighbor finished the first outfit, which took forever, she crocheted the sweater, hat, and scarf, below in a matter of days. She's taking a break to crochet some baby gifts, but I think she will be back to making Barbie clothes soon. I'm excited because I finally have someone who will be able to teach me how to read a crochet pattern, so I can make some outfits myself.
Roberta looks very cute. Did her handsome beau accompany her to church? Brandy looks very modern and stylish.
ReplyDeleteAG Lanc - Thanks. Yes, JT went to church with her. Then he took her out for a nice Valentine's day dinner.
DeleteHappy St. Valentine's Day Vanessa, the crocheted dresses are very cute, your neighbour is very good at it, I look forward to see yours someday!
ReplyDeletebilla's dolls - Happy Valentine's Day! I really hope I can get the hang of crocheting a complete outfit.
DeleteVery nice. No way is Roberta to old for bright colors at church or anywhere. Let's face it, it's a suit not a string bikini. She is sized to wear almost anything. Hope you enjoyed your day!!
ReplyDeleteBrenova - Well her red outfit isn't a suit. It's a little more risque. Lol. Hope you enjoyed your day as well.
DeleteI have TRIED to teach myself to crochet, but I am too impatient to count stitches!! I like the grey coat and hat. Did you try the black & white outfit on Dasia? I was thinking she might be able to pull off the larger gauge stitches. In any case, I also look forward to seeing something from you in the future.
ReplyDeleteapril - I liken crocheting to piano playing. Some people can play by ear and some people read notes. I'm a note reader who have always wanted to play by ear. With crocheting, I have done it in the past, but have not figured out how to read those stupid patterns. Lol. I just want to be able to read a pattern from start to finish and have the outfit turn out nice.
DeleteRoberta looks lovely. That sweater jacket and scarf combo is sharp. Happy Valentine's Day!
ReplyDeleteJewell - Thanks. Roberta was all too happy to claim the suit that is too big for the other ladies.
DeleteHi Vanessa!
ReplyDeleteUm...I crochet. I guess if we lived closer together I'd be happy to teach you. What's the name of the book? I might try crocheting some of the outfits. :-)
Cindi - Yes. You crochet well, but you are sooo far away. My neighbor is just next door. lol. The book I have is called Crochet for Barbie. I have the knitting one, too.
DeleteYour neighbor did a great job. Wow!
ReplyDeleteJanainah - Yes, my neighbor did a great job. I am very thankful.
DeleteHappy Valentine's Day!
ReplyDeleteYour neighbour did some fabulous work - I love that long blue coat/sweater in particular.
jSarie - Hope your Valentine's day was a good one. The coat is actually grey with specks of black in it. I really like that one, too.
DeleteThese crocheted outfits are really cute. I do knit, but crocheting has escaped my list of abilities. I agree with you about the pattern instructions. I am pretty sure they are written in a secret code that only a few are privilege to!
ReplyDeletePhyllis - I have knitted and crocheted before. I have the cutest little dress I crocheted over 15 years ago. Seems like a lifetime because I haven't made an outfit since. I think wanting to read patterns has stifled me. I could probably figure out how to make outfits without patterns. I may just do that and forget about reading instructions.
DeleteHello from Spain: Happy Valentine's Day. I love these creations in crochet. A great gifts. Keep in touch
ReplyDeleteMarta - Thanks! I adore crocheted dolly items. Happy to have these new ones in the collection.
DeleteNice gifts! Usually the first project is trial and error with subsequent things turning out much better because previous mistakes are not repeated or "when we know better, we do better." The second outfit looks a lot better gauge wise. It was nice of your neighbor to take the time (even if it was lengthy) to make these for you.
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DBG - She had to redo the first outfit completely because it was way too big at first. We calculated new stitching numbers based on her normal crochet and it was much better.
DeleteHappy Valentine's Day to you. That was nice of your neighbor to create the items for you. Sometime the gauge gets wonkie due to the weight of the yarn, it happens with knitting too.
ReplyDeleteBrini - Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's day. She did everything by the book and was surprised when it didn't turn out perfectly the first time. It was a lesson for me, because I would have thought doing it by the book with the same yarn would be real close to being correct. Those are the things that can really frustrate someone just learning how to crochet. By seeing it happen to a pro like her, I will be aware of this when I start crocheting again.
DeleteI love these looks.
ReplyDeletePenny - Hi dear friend! Thanks for stopping by. I've been thinking about you and almost called you on Valentine's day, but decided not to disturb you and the husband. We will talk real soon.
DeleteYou're so lucky that your neightbor can crochet for you. I wish I had someone to sew doll clothes for me, I've tried to do it myself, but I'm hopeless.
ReplyDeleteCheers
monstercrafts - Awww, don't say you're hopeless. Have you tried taking a local sewing class? There are also tons of free sewing advice on the internet. If it's something you want to do, I'm sure you can make it happen....somehow. I'm going to apply this same motto to me and crocheting a doll outfit. We can do it!
DeleteC'est vraiment magnifique. Bravo à votre amie.
ReplyDeleteShasarignis - Merci. Je suis d'accord. Elle a fait une excellente travail. Au fait, j'attende une reunion des personnes francophones. Je participerai a chaque mois.
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