Doll's pyjamas

When I was five and a half, my Mum made me a new set of sheets for my doll's cradle. It was very beautiful, and my friend Marija and I admired them. I took my doll, her cradle and new sheets with me to stay with Marija and her family for a couple of weeks. I was spoilt rotten there, with cute little notes in my lunch box and a friend to play with every day after school. One day the telephone rang with the news that I had a baby sister and she had black hair. I can still remember standing in the dining room in Tahunanui, hearing that news. Mum had new baby kit and so did I...

This memory came back to me tonight when my daughter asked about pyjamas for her doll. Next week we have to travel to Christchurch to see a medical specialist about her foot and surgery, whether next week or at a later date, is very likely. I recall there is a doll's clothes pattern in the half price rack at our local Bernina shop and have promised we can go and look tomorrow. I'm aiming to make some pyjamas for her doll (or some approximation of pjs) before we travel to Christchurch. Perhaps her doll will have a sore foot and need to come to hospital to get better like my daughter.

Now that the never ending purple cardigan project has finally finished, I am casting around for a new project. I'm keen that this one takes less than 12 months and uses wool already in my drawers. In 2009 a friend gave me a jersey, hoping I could put it to better use than he had. His mother and her friends had spun the wool from sheep on his parents' farm and then knitted it up into a beautiful white ribbed jersey which was rather impractical. Once I had also established how impractical a white jersey is, I enlisted the help of the lovely Megan to dye it for me. Now it is blue and I have undone and rewound about half of it. I'm playing around with making my own poncho pattern, using this wool to make a poncho for the same friend's daughter. Her birthday is not until June so there is some window. There is something called a fan stitch in my (Mum's) copy of Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlecraft which I am about to make a sample of. I would like to knit it in the round but I am still trying to work out how to get the increases right before I start.

Off to bed to read The Culture of Sewing some more. I'm reading about theorising home sewing by Cheryl Buckley at the moment and it is brilliant. Way way better than it might sound and I truly admire her ability at putting real lived experience of women she knows together with some pretty sophisticated gender studies theory.

Comments

Joe said…
You did know you were getting another sibling didn't you? Please tell me I wasn't a complete shock!

Do you remember that book about getting your tonsils out? I think Audrey got it for you. Maybe there is a more generic one about going to the hospital..
Sandra said…
Yes I did know. But not what day or sex.

I do remember that book - twas before you were born, surely? I've been looking in the library today following your very good suggestion. All out so far, but I am going to look at The Children's Bookshop online and may go there when we are in Chch.
Sandra said…
p.s. when are you going to start blogging again?
Joe said…
I just got something for both of the kids sent, should arrive on Tuesday. So maybe don't order anything online yet..

Not sure about blogging, my head feels pretty full with the new job and I am not making any headway so far with my masters study. What I like doing most is lounging around reading books and drinking coffee.
Heather said…
This is off-topic, but I read this and thought of you. I hope you enjoy it!

--Heather :-)

http://lookupatthesky.wordpress.com/2011/02/18/who-was-maud-blacklidge/

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