And then There Were None

We plant parsley to share with the Swallowtail butterflies. As caterpillars they don't share very well due to their large appetites.

Earlier this season we had two caterpillars which didn't do too much damage. Recently we had a second batch which consisted of at least 8. Here are some in their immature phase.

After a while they started to disappear. I am not sure where they went. I did see one fall victim to one of those squishy jumpy spiders. The spider snapped up the little caterpillar with its mandibles. No picture because he jumped under cover when I stuck the camera in his space.

Here they are reaching maturity. You can see four caterpillars.

A few days later there were only three. Food was getting scarce so the littlest one struck out on his own. Here he is leaving the pot, but we don't know where he went.

Later the largest had found the last leaf. He is on the left and the middle sized one is on the right.

Then the middle one took off. He did a couple of laps on the rim of the basil and disappeared.

Checking on them later, we discovered the big one was gone. Sorry state this parsley is in, put certainly easier to weed.

A week later the parsley has made a comeback. We don't know where our caterpillars are hiding. Yesterday we saw two dancing around, but I don't think they are ours since they need 2 weeks to pupate.

Perfect Fit

The girls love their dresses.

Little C wanted to know how to sew fabric sew so it is stretchy, aka why the pleated fabric has give.

It is wonderful to be dressed, surrounded by a rainbow, loving everything you see!

Color Mood

When working on my current projects I notice they are following a similar color theme...

The next quilt...

 Socks to knit at hockey...

A new dress..

It must be summer time.

Pink Pansy and Fioretti in the Mail

Pink Pansy and Fioretti are completed and in the hands of the USPS with expected delivery on Monday. Yippee!, if they arrive on time since I did the mailing via self service kisok at the post office.

Here they are:

I am worried that Pink Pansy is going to be too big, and then when she grows it to fit it, it will be too short. This is just me worrying because if she loves the dress she won't care that it isn't perfect. 

The sleeves set very nicely and the contrasting piping looks nice. The buttons are the same fabric, but it is hard to as the contrast in the photo is is poor.

The hot pink piping is just perfect for Fioretti. 'V' is petite. It should fit.

   I like my dresses to look as good on the inside as the outside. Fioretti wasn't designed with a lining to cover the smocking so you see those messy knots. Pink Pansy has a nice lining. I think the lace edging is a nice touch. None of the dresses I made for Big 'R' suggested this finishing.

Messy

Neat

Knitting Socks

Last Fall I needed a small carry with you project while waiting around the hockey rink fir Little "I". I decided to learn to knit socks. I bought sock yarn and followed the instructions on the inside of label. The yarn is dyed so stripes form naturally as you knit.After I finished the first sock I found out it was too big. I started the second one for more practice, but I could not find end to pull the yarn from the inside. After spending 15 frustrating minutes I gave and knitted it from the outside of the skein, hence the stripes are in reverse. I decided it didn't really matter since they are too big on me and I just wear them around the house.

I did some research on the internet and found great write up on adjusting a pattern to fit your foot. It turns out I need 60 stitches on a size 1 needle instead of 64 on a size 2 needle. I made a purple pair from the same brand of yarn. They fit much better. This time I knitted from the outside of the skein and did my best to start at same spot in the dye pattern. They are almost a perfect match.





The socks are not knitted the same way. The blue socks are knitted from the cuff down and have a heel flap. The purple socks are knitted from the toe up and have short row heel. I definitely like the toe up style and simple heel of purple ones.

At the book store I found "Socks a la Carte 2 Toes up!" by Jonelle Raffino and Katherine Cade. It is a great book with flip page to design your own socks with different style foot, body and cuff patterns. All the patterns are for 64 stitches so I'll need to make some adjustments. I have picked out a lacy pattern and some interesting yarn. I didn't want striped yarn,but JoAnn's didn't have any solids. Four more weeks of hockey until hockey summer break. Maybe I'll finish a sock or two.

 

Dress Construction

Little C's Pink Pansy is well underway. The mini piping has been sewn. The fagoting added to the collar. The sleeves are waiting. The dress is a dress. It needs in its sleeves, buttons and a generous hem.

Pink Pansy has a little rest while I made Big R a dress, Simplicity 1897, for her National Society induction ceremony. It is rather dull looking on the hanger. She is tall and a turquoises belt and matching sandals it was stunning.

Here is Fioretti for Little V. Smocked and ready for construction. More mini piping in hot pink on the way.

Pink Pansy

My niece, Little 'C', is starting school in the fall. Such a momentous occasion deserves a good dress. Especially for a little girl who loves dresses. I have chosen Gail Doane's "Sky Blue" from her book "So Cute Couture". It has a full smocked bodice with embroidered flowers at the waist. I have a pale pink fabric with purple pansies.

 

The embroidery is a combination of cast-stitch bows and flowers and bouillon roses. The cast-stitch was rather frustrating since it keep twisting, even though I keep straightening the thread. I needed to hand tack the bow down so it would lay straight. Bouillons are so much easier.

 

 

Next step: make contrasting piping and smock little sister's dress. You can't give one girl a new dress and not the other. :)