Yarn to Dye For

Yarn to Dye For A yarn store in an old funeral home, in Chrisman, Illinois. Yarn & Yak Tuesdays 6 pm - 8 pm and Saturdays, Noon - 8 pm

Doll bed paint job done (except for a not-too-shiny clearcoat). The revised paint color matches the bedspread much bette...
08/30/2026

Doll bed paint job done (except for a not-too-shiny clearcoat). The revised paint color matches the bedspread much better. The bedding is finished, *and* I even ironed everything. So let‘s make Delphine Marie‘s bed!

Mattress, a mattress pad, and then the bottom sheet. I didn’t do elastic, so I cheated and pinned things in place on the underside. Top sheet and plaid blanket, and finally the bedspread and pillows.

I hadn‘t originally planned lace on the pillowcases, but I made them a bit short, so the lace helps. I debated lace on the top sheet, but I decided not to (and I can add it if I change my mind).

Painting almost done! The original pale green wasn‘t a good match for the bedspread fabric, so I got a more gray-green. ...
08/27/2026

Painting almost done! The original pale green wasn‘t a good match for the bedspread fabric, so I got a more gray-green. I cut it with white to get the light green, which I painted yesterday (I mixed more than enough). Today I bit the bullet and did the darker base green on the posts and X-beams. It was a pain, but I like it better with the darker accents. I do need to come back and touch up the lighter green, but not today.

And now Kaiju is perched on my foot offering polite opeepions.

Today I finished Delphine Marie‘s nightgown, and gave her hair. Yay, no more bald nekkid doll! Will probably braid and/o...
08/24/2026

Today I finished Delphine Marie‘s nightgown, and gave her hair. Yay, no more bald nekkid doll! Will probably braid and/or trim her hair, or maybe not.

Also sewed her bed pillows pillows shut. Next things to work on will be finishing off the mattress and other bits of bedding while I wait for more paint for the bed.

Today I got the first coat of paint on my doll‘s bed, assembled the mattress I cutnout a couple days ago, and made a fla...
08/22/2026

Today I got the first coat of paint on my doll‘s bed, assembled the mattress I cutnout a couple days ago, and made a flat sheet and two pillows.

Another coat or two pf paint will be needed, and the mattress and pillows still need to be sewn shut. Also need pillowcases, another sheet, blanket, and bedspread.

Squee! My Fat Quarter Shop order arrived early! Squee!First up, we have solids in "Maple" for the doll herself, and "San...
08/18/2026

Squee! My Fat Quarter Shop order arrived early! Squee!

First up, we have solids in "Maple" for the doll herself, and "Sand Dollar" for bedding and possibly clothing trim - I didn't want screamingly bright white, but didn't want too far off-white, either.

For clothing we have:
A very small green & white gingham, and a solid, both called "Alpine", but from different product lines. If you get right up to them they don't quite match, but they look good from a couple feet away. Probably an everyday-ish outfit.

slightly larger diagonal "Cherry" red & red gingham, with "Washed Black" solid. Another everyday-ish pairing, I think.

Small floral in "Light Denim", and solid "Denim Blue", which I think is going to be a party or dress-up outfit.

Not shown from my stash are a shirting weight white with blue pinstripes that the blue should go with; a solid brighter white (my brain is saying Kona cotton), and a larger red to almost-burgundy dark floral on black that the washed black should go with.

And finally, the useful bits of my receipt, in case you neeeeeeed one of these fabrics yourself. 🙂

I assembled the doll bed last night, as you can see from the pictures.I glued up the posts first, making sure I got the ...
08/18/2026

I assembled the doll bed last night, as you can see from the pictures.

I glued up the posts first, making sure I got the front posts correct - they're mirror images of each other. The collars on the posts were to help keep them square while the glue set. Then I glued the panel layers together. I decided the glue was set enough, and assembled the ends, once again ensuring I had a left and right to allow for the smaller front panel. Those also went together nicely.

I had to do a little trimming to the front panel lugs, and the back panel sockets needed a little sanding; but overall not a big deal. Putting the front and back panels into one end was fine. At that point it was standing on that end, so it could be capped off with the second end. Not being an ambidextrous octopus, I needed Ron's help for that.

Finally, I flipped it upside-down and added the bottom panel. I'll be adding a center leg or two because the bottom panel is only a single layer of 3mm plywood, and more importantly: 𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙨. In 20-20 hindsight The X-bars could/should have been a little wider, but I'm not displeased.

The holes in the bottom panel making it look slatted are not just cosmetic, 10 of the 16 post pieces were cut out of them. The post caps and temporary collars were cut out of the square windows in the ends and back.

If I get time today I'll work on glue cleanup (there's always some squeeze-out), center support legs, and *maybe* get an undercoat layer of paint on. I won't pick a final color until I have the runner to match it to, but I can start with a coat of good-enough green.

Part 2 of Doll Sewing NatterSaturday morning I found this 1923 child's room (1st image). The crib on the left side is go...
08/17/2026

Part 2 of Doll Sewing Natter

Saturday morning I found this 1923 child's room (1st image). The crib on the left side is good - has some interest, but not too formal. I drafted a daybed out, and then poked at it some more yesterday. This morning Ron checked dimensions, and started cutting. We had some excitement (need a new primary air filter for the laser), but work proceeds, and every so often Ron appears with a batch of parts. 3rd image is one of the short ends, which is made up of two layers of 3mm plywood, allowing fun with depth.

I have ticking-stripe fabric on the way for a mattress and cushions, and a solid slightly off-white for sheets; and a light version of the William Morris "Strawberry Thief" design as a table runner (2nd image), which will be a bedspread and cushion covers. 100% polyester, but finding William Morris fabric that's not an arm and a leg in price can be tricky, so I'll take it. It satisfies my desire for Arts & Crafts style, but is light enough for a girl's room. My plan is to paint the bed a pale green to coordinate. I'm resisting some darker trim, not sure I'll succeed. 😏

I've also ordered fabric for the doll's body (wherever *will* I get yarn for hair???), and some fabric for clothing, as well as shopping the stash for some more pieces I think will work for clothes. If the body fabric is what it looked like on-line (reputable website) the doll should look Metis/First Nations, because who needs another blonde-haired blue-eyed doll? I think her name is going to be Delphine Marie, and her family is doing well, based on the planned daybed and wardrobe.

Yes, I have had resisted American Girl dolls for a very long time. Why do you ask?

I mentioned I was working on a sewing-related project that has been coming along well. I've been tinkering with "The Mar...
08/17/2026

I mentioned I was working on a sewing-related project that has been coming along well. I've been tinkering with "The Mary Frances Sewing Book: Adventures Among the Thimble People", which is a cute 1913 (hand-) sewing instruction book for girls, in which Mary Frances learns to sew by making a wardrobe for her new doll. The instructions are decent and there are enough pictures for my need-a-picture brain. Because I have a possibly-odd interest in making doll clothes. But there are times the story gets in the way; the lessons and projects are kind of jumbled up; and at least in the digital editions, the low-res pattern images can be nowhere near the text.

I've pulled out all the lessons into one document, all the project instructions into another, and I'm working on a third document translating from 1913 to 2026 English. I found a pattern for a nice looking rag doll; and also discovered that Lacis sells the patterns without the rest of the book, and have obtained them.

New doll (still debating name) needs at least one piece of furniture. I was debating a bed or a chair, and decided on a day-bed. Poking around, and I really like the first image, a Stickley Prairie Settle. I got a fair way through drafting a doll-size daybed in Illustrator, and hit a wall. In hindsight, it was my brain telling me the style was Not Right for a tween- or teen-aged doll. Something simpler. Started poking around some more, and on the way tripped over the second image, which is a design for a nursery by Will Bradley. Now, I do love me some Arts & Crafts style, but that room is A LOT.

We're approaching length limits, will post more later.

I'm back! I think. Keeping up with Ron and all the things he couldn't do post-surgery was A Lot. And I'm not as good at ...
08/08/2026

I'm back! I think. Keeping up with Ron and all the things he couldn't do post-surgery was A Lot. And I'm not as good at the taking-care-of-Ron as Ron is of taking care of me. But his knee replacement was a month and a couple days ago, he isn't even using a cane much, doing more around the house and with the dogs, and on Wednesday was cleared to drive. And after a lull, I've had more engineering work to do the last couple weeks.

I have accomplished some English Paper Piecing, tacking papers to fabric with glue, and basting the fabrics around the papers. I need to fire up the laser and cut more papers (1" hexagons. I am insane, yes). Also working on a sewing-related document creation/layout project.

Anyway, one of the things that went by the wayside was sweeping the floors. I started this morning with the front porch. It no longer looks like one or more of the dogs exploded, yay! If anybody tells you short-haired dogs don't shed as much as huskies, they 𝗟𝗜𝗘. They shed just as much, the hair is just shorter.

Here's Kaiju stravaging around the sign and succulent cage, and an outside-birb that I think was flirting with her until I scared them off.

Kaiju is here to say that Yarn to Dye For will be opening late today, Tuesday July 22), should be around 1:30. And the t...
07/22/2026

Kaiju is here to say that Yarn to Dye For will be opening late today, Tuesday July 22), should be around 1:30. And the thread guide on Mamma’s sewing machine is a fun jungle gym!

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602 E. Madison Avenue
Chrisman, IL
61924

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Tuesday 12pm - 9pm
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