Morristown National Historic Park

Morristown National Historic Park

Originally uploaded by PaperDollyGirl.

Here’s my obligatory Beautiful Fall post. These photos were taken during the string of gorgeous weather last week. 70 degree days, lovely sunshine giving way to swirling clouds, and beautiful trees. I went for a walk in Morristown National Historic Park, the site of the winter camp of 1777 and the Hard Winter of 1779-1780 for Washington’s soldiers during the Revolutionary War. I learned a lot about what the soldiers went through during that winter, saw recreations of the soldiers’ huts. The whole set of photos is here. There are about 27 miles of hiking trails in the park, and some places for biking and horseback riding.

Ten cable hat

Ten cable hat

Originally uploaded by PaperDollyGirl.

Ravelry Project Page
This quick pattern is my first knit for my soon-to-arrive niece. The yarn is Valley Yarns Sugarloaf – a machine washable, merino-acrylic blend. Really soft, kind of splitty but it didn’t bother me any. It’s supposedly a newborn size – I think it’s a little deep, but could always be rolled up. The free pattern is offered by Julie Hentz. I knit it up in just a couple hours while watching the baseball playoffs. I’m very pleased with the results and would definitely use the yarn and pattern again. I really liked how the cable crossing occurs on different rows, making a kind of movement through the hat.

Felted Ballerina Slippers

Felted Ballerina Slippers

Originally uploaded by PaperDollyGirl.

Fall is definitely here! My beloved Chaco flipflops were finally just too cold to wear around the house. I needed slippers. Enter the Fiber Trends Felt Ballerina Slippers pattern and some yarn I had bought years ago – Lamb’s Pride Bulky in Victorian Pink and Old Sage.

Ravelry Project Page

I have made this pattern twice before, and both times the slippers came out absolutely huge. This time I followed the instructions for a child’s large, added an additional short row and two rows around for a deeper shoe with more coverage on top. I also picked up stitches around the edge for a wide band, also providing more warmth. I sewed the band down, and added two decorative buttons. The heart pin is by Jon Carling. I love the snug fit, how soft and warm they are, and that I didn’t have to buy anything new to make them. I would like to get a suede sole to put on the outside, but that will have to wait. If you haven’t seen the magic of felting before, check out the before and after photos. Notice how much the size changes, relative to the quilting pattern in the background.

Set of Fabric Balls

Set of Fabric Balls

Originally uploaded by PaperDollyGirl.

My nephew recently turned one! Can’t believe a whole year has gone by already. I really wanted to make him something fun that he was actually big enough to play with. So I dug out this fabulous tutorial fabric beach balls from the Purl Bee. I ultimately chose to not worry about an invisible seam. And though this photo doesn’t show it, I did sew little felt discs to each end to add a little more strength. I tried to use fun fabrics instead of my usual somewhat overly sweet motifs.

The side view shows one of my favorite parts. I used fabric markers to write birthday greetings on the sides, so when they are lined up they spell it out. I also embroidered around the “happy” on the machine to help it stand out and give it a little textural interest. The large ball contains empty plastic diaper wipe dispensers so that when the ball is seriously smooshed it makes a crinkly noise. The middle ball has a plastic Easter egg in the center filled with about a tablespoon of unpopped popcorn kernels. The smallest ball has a jingle bell cat toy in the center. I have it on good authority that the middle ball was a quick favorite.

Ophelia Vest

Ophelia Vest

Originally uploaded by PaperDollyGirl.

Pattern: Ophelia by A Mingled Yarn
Needles: Size 6
Size: Medium
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton
Ravelry Project Page

This vest is so soft and comfortable. The front panels are so big, I could unroll them and add buttons to make a full-coverage cardigan. I rolled them up (the edges want to curl anyway – the crochet trim and knit in garter edge don’t help too much) and I can definitely wear this, and I think it looks nice. The only real problem is that the yarn miser in me is looking at the half skein remaining of the fantastic cotton and thinking “If each side of the front were 3 inches more narrow, I’d have enough leftover cotton to actually do something with.”

I really like the lace and the lace rib. It’s dressy, but the cotton keeps it casual enough to wear over t-shirts. I will definitely get lots of use out of it this fall. And a special thank you to my dad for being the guest photographer!