My knitting needles have been busy! These are in colors “Blush” and “Cricket” (are they cute color names or what?). I have three more colors to do before a big update on Etsy. Hopefully in a week or two. I really wish I can knit faster, but I would rather produce better-quality garments.

I’m really enjoying the early summer days in Los Angeles. The June gloom is great, I love the cool and cloudy mornings followed by afternoon breeze and sunshine. I’ve been going to the park after work for a nice walk, and I’m thinking of getting a bicycle. Riding the bike around in my neighborhood would be so much fun and great exercise too. Hope you are all having a great summer (and winter for those down South)!

My postman dropped off a special package this afternoon, and lo and behold, it’s Taylor! Aztec Arrival has been one of my dream dollies for so long, so when the opportunity came up to adopt her from a good friend, I jumped at the chance. The last time I saw Taylor in person was probably in 2005? I’m so happy she is now part of my family. 🙂

Taylor tells me she loves animals and is a nature girl. She enjoys baking and veggie-friendly treats like tofu, tempeh and seitan. Hopefully she will inspire me to be more like her! She is so sweet, I think she will get along with the rest of the girls just fine! I have a feeling she will be best friends with my other BL girls, especially Abby and Emma.

Okay, I used to say I didn’t mind if the Post Office worked only five days a week. But oh boy do I love these Saturday deliveries!

I’ve been a big fan of tunic tops for a while, both for me and for my dollies. I love the retro-style silhouette and how comfortable yet stylish they are. There are quite a few sewn/fabric tunic tops that we love on Etsy, but I haven’t been able to find a knitted version that I liked. So it was sort of a “happy accident” that I ended up knitting one after experimenting and lots of trial and error.

Abby looks quite pleased – this one was an experiment so we get to keep it!

Even though it looked okay, I wanted a much cleaner neckline, so I went ahead and made a few more. These are the two that came after. I played with the hem height and also the height of the neckline. I also tried to do teeny puff sleeves (LOVE puff sleeves!).
 

We ended up going with the one on the left. The one on the right is a bit smaller and still looks great on Licca bodies.

Here’s Abby again with the final version. I’m happy with the cleaner neckline and the a-line silhouette. I also realized I can’t be lazy and must block each garment for the yarn to relax and be shaped nicely. Now I am waiting for more yarn to knit more of these tunic tops. I have three green ones completed and am waiting for more yarn in blue, orange, pink and purple. Hopefully these xoxoBlythe knitted tunic tops will be in the Etsy shop real soon – check my Twitter or Facebook for updates! 🙂

After knitting for Blythe for nearly six(!) years, doing cardigans and hats, I finally decided to give dresses a try. Leigh is wearing our first test dress – which is pretty much just a modified hat! 🙂

I knitted in the round from the bottom up in a lace pattern, decreased accordingly, and when it’s almost near the waist line, i knitted straight instead of in the round, going back & forth. When it came to the sleeves, I cast on extra stitches and went up from there, did a few rows of ribbing and then bound off. One thing I love about knitted garments is they have a bit of a stretch, so if you knitted a little too tight or too loose, it’s almost impossible to tell. The bodice didn’t take very long, but the skirt part took forever!

For a first dress, I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out. I really like the yarn I’m using which is Spud and Chloe Fine, a gorgeous wool & silk blend. One skein will probably make 3-4 dresses!

Now that it’s getting warmer here in California, I will most likely switch from knitting people-size to Blythe size. At least I have 25 girls to knit for. 😉