Knitting for Sasha

I've loved and collected dolls nearly from the time I was big enough to hold one. One of my all time favorite dolls is the Sasha doll, designed by Sasha Morganthaler, and manufactured at various times by Gotz, in Germany, and Frido or Trendon, in England. Sadly, these dolls are not in production at this time, but they are still widely available on the secondary market, and have an enthusiastic following on the web.

A large part of my enjoyment of the dolls I collect is derived from clothing them and collecting or making accessories for them. Sewing and knitting for Sasha and her brother, Gregor, is particularly satisfying, as the dolls are both well proportioned and easy to pose. They do not require a stand and are so well balanced, they can even stand on their heads!

Recently, I have been participating in a KAL with the Sasha group on Ravelry, and have just finished this sweater for my latest Gregor, a brunette boy from the 1970 Trendon production. He has had a rough life up until now, and has the scars to prove it. His hands and feet have slight chew marks, there is a dent on his upper right shoulder, and when he arrived, he had several ink and marker "bruises", which have finally faded with repeated applications of Oxy 10. He's apparently been the client of a young barber-in-training at some time or another, and still has a spot of shorter hair at the back of his head as a souvenir of that adventure. He also has a few spots where the hair just wants to stick up, no matter how long I keep his nylon stocking cap on, in an effort to convince it to lay flat. He is still a very handsome boy, though, and I'm happy to have him. He tells me that his name is Harry.

Anyway, getting back to Harry's new sweater, it is made of Telemark wool, from Knit Picks, in a nice shade of blue green, called Fjord Heather. The pattern I used is "Guernsey Fest" from Sirikind.com. I really love this pattern, and think I will be using it a lot. It is fun to knit, has lots of style options, sizes to fit both the Sasha dolls and American Girl dolls, and at the time of this writing, at least, the $5.95 purchase price is being donated to "Room To Read."

I started my sweater on October 5th, and finished it on October 12th. I primarily knit on it during my lunch hours at work, and for the occasional hour or so on the few evenings that I had something I wanted to watch on television. I knit the turtlenecked version. The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the crocheted cast off that was used to finish the turtleneck collar. It does give a nice stretchy edge, but I just don't like the way it looks. In all fairness, it's the first time I've ever done a crocheted cast off, so maybe I'm just not doing it correctly. I'll have to do a search and see if I can find video instructions. In the meantime, Harry thinks it's lovely and warm, and is not as picky about the finishing details as I am!

Originally published on Monday, October 12, 2009

Winter Warmth

Okay, I admit it. Winter has never been my favorite season, and now that I’m older, it’s pretty much lost any attraction it ever held for me. The cold is not invigorating as it once was. Now it just bites unpleasantly. The lack of sufficient sunlight hours leaves me feeling lethargic and reluctant to leave my warm bed in the mornings. Although I still think that snow falling silently to the ground is beautiful to behold, I no longer want to get out and play in it. I’m more than content to watch it from inside the house. Ice is no longer a venue for winter sports, but has instead become the enemy, having dropped me unceremoniously to the frozen ground twice this year...so far. No permanent damage done, but I don't like to tempt fate, so I've ordered a pair of "Yak Trax" for my boots, as insurance against the third time being a charm.

Having said all that, there are some things about winter that I do like. For instance, a nice, long soak in the hot tub will leave you pleasantly warm and toasty just before bed in the winter. In the summer, it will leave you gasping for breath and cranking up the air conditioning. The warmth of a fire in the woodstove is hard to beat at the end of a cold winter’s day. It’s wonderful to be able to pull a rocker up in front of the stove, prop my feet on the hearth, and read or knit away an afternoon or evening, with a mug of tea or hot chocolate and a plate of warm, fresh scones close at hand. Add a cozy afghan and an Ott light, and winter becomes downright inviting!

Speaking of knitting, I’ve been doing quite a bit of it lately. My mother has new hand knit cotton dishcloths made from two different patterns, Grandmother's Favorite Dishcloth, and Home Spun Living's Waffle Knit dishcloth. Many members of my Sasha family are now attired in warm winter woolies. Most recently, I’ve been working on knitted toys for my grandchildren for Easter. The two middle boys are getting knitted Sack Boys from a pattern by Alan Dart and the two youngest are getting knitted animals from patterns by FuzzyMitten.com. My first one, a Chocolate Bunny, is finally finished, and pictured above. The Fuzzy Mitten patterns are so cute, and so much fun to knit, I’m afraid they could easily develop into an addiction!

Another pleasant, but far more dangerous activity for a cold winter’s day is baking. When I have the time, I really love to bake. Lately, cakes, pies, hot rolls, brownies, and multiple batches of fudge have been rolling out of my kitchen with alarming frequency. For the past week, I have been thinking longingly of fresh, hot from the oven cinnamon rolls, and my Mom’s apricot fried pies. Mmmmmm! Fortunately, I know from experience that once it begins to warm up, and stay light longer, the baking gene will go dormant again. I just hope that happens before I have to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe!

In the meantime, I’ll share with you my Mom’s recipe (which came from her Mom,) for her wonderful fried pies. We love the cooked filling, made with dried apricots or apples, but you can actually use any fresh fruit pie filling recipe, or any canned fruit pie filling.

Fried Pies

3 1/2 Cups Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 Cup Crisco shortening
1 1/2 Cups Buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda

Mix flour and salt, cut in Crisco until the consistancy of cornmeal.

Add baking soda to buttermilk. Add a little at a time to flour mixture until a soft dough forms, (you may not need to use all of the buttermilk mixture.) Pinch off pieces of the dough, and roll into saucer sized circles. Spread pie filling onto center of each circle, fold over, wet the outside edge and seal with fingers or a fork. Fry in a small amount of crisco, preferably in an iron skillet, until brown. Turn over and brown other side. Remove to paper towels to drain and serve warm.

Happy Fall!

Fall has hit Central Illinois in full force. The leaves have changed color. The wind howls around the eaves of my cottage, and rattles the windows, as if longing to come in out of the darkness. I love this time of year. I revel in the crisp fall air, the crunch of leaves underfoot, the juicy red apples, and the bright, heartbreakingly beautiful days. 

Here on the farm, the harvest is winding down. One by one, the surrounding fields have given up their bounty of corn and beans. The last cutting of hay is stacked in the barn. From the upstairs windows, I can now see a patchwork of empty fields, stretching endlessly out, like a quilt worked in brown, gray, and beige, broken up here and there with borders of orange, red, and gold leaved trees.

Thoughts of cold winter nights have me washing flannel sheets, checking to make sure all the storm windows are closed, and making myself a note to call "Mr Chimney" to get the wood stove ready for the winter season. Soon I'll be coming home in the dark, and staying there to knit, bake cookies with my grandchildren, or just sit by the wood stove with my feet propped up, looking at seed catalogs, and dreaming of Spring, but I am not quite there, yet. For right now, there are still leaves to be jumped in, hot cider to be sipped, and hot dogs to be roasted, so this weekend, I'll wish my sister a Happy Halloween birthday, and wish all of you a happy fall!

Living a Beautiful Life

I am a voracious reader. I always have been. Some of my favorite gifts through the years have been books. In the late 1980's, a friend gifted me with a book by Alexandra Stoddard, called "Living a Beautiful Life." It was a simple, but inspiring little book, encouraging the reader to make the most of what life has to offer, to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, and to make every day of your life a special event. Furthermore, Alexandra demonstrated that you didn't have to be rich to live beautifully, it was mostly a matter of attitude and imagination. Wow, what a concept!

I've always possessed the ability to find beauty in the world around me, but I was truly inspired by that book, and immediately set about making my life even more beautiful. I took the good china out of the hutch and actually used it to eat off of. I invited my friends over and served them coffee laced with amaretto and real whipped cream in the tall glass irish coffee mugs that my Grandmother had given me one year for Christmas. I hung botanical prints in the bathroom and put the good towels out to be used instead of just admiring how nice they looked in the linen closet. I bought a set of soft, luxurious Egyptian cotton sheets for the bed. (They were on sale...no sense going off the deep end!) In short, I stopped waiting for later, and began enjoying each moment to the best of my ability. Life is much too short to put off doing the things that bring pleasure and happiness to your days.

Although, I actually live in a rather large old farmhouse, I consider this place online my virtual cottage, and plan to fill it with old fashioned charm, all the things that I love, and the various activities which continue to bring me pleasure...knitting, crocheting, cooking, gardening, taking pictures, reading, spending time with my family and friends, and enjoying my doll collection. I hope you'll stop by often for a cup of tea and a little pleasant conversation!