Fox stole and Barbie shirt

Well, I finally finished my daughter's Fox Stole. I haven't been in the mood to knit if you can believe that. 

With the garden and other outdoor activities to keep me busy it was a struggle to finish it up. We really do like how it came out, so there will be more foxes in the future. We're already playing with the colors and sizes.

I made this shirt a couple of days ago. I asked my daughter what she thought about it. "It looks like a Barbie shirt", she answered. 

I have a collection of Barbie and Dawn Dolls and their clothes. I especially go for the mod era.  Maybe she connects it with the first Barbie's black and white striped bathing suit. Her comment made me wonder if this shirt really did come from all the doll clothes embedded deep in my psyche.

My New Black Tee Shirt

A black tee shirt goes with everything, right? It's cozy and comfortable. The only problem is that I don't like to wear t-shirts anymore. Maybe I'm getting too old for them. I like something a bit more crisp, more like 'real' clothes (Whatever that means!).  I still want to FEEL like I am just wearing a t-shirt though. Here's what I came up with. It's made from jersey that looks like black denim. I cut out a regular ladies t-shirt body and then I began to play around. I made a few different neckbands before I came up to this nifty thing. Kind of jaunty and sailor-ish. For the sleeves I ended up with something quite short and wide, so it's a bit flouncy. I really like it. The bad thing is that there is no pattern and I want more! Unfortunately, I will have to trace it off to make a pattern. This always happens when I "wing it". The best things happen when you are just playing around. With sewing and with food. I know when my kids really like something I've cooked. They ask with trepidation, "Is there a recipe for this?". They groan when I say "no". I know how they feel now because I really wish I had the 'recipe' for this one.