Well, believe it or not, we’re not settled yet. We just finished a visit with my parents (where they still rely on … dial-up…) and we’re not through with the relatives yet. In only a few short days, though, we’ll be headed to Arizona!

While we were staying with my parents we kicked my little sister out of her room, and one night while I was looking for an extra blanket I ran across something delightful:

Now what, you may ask, makes a vacant-eyed doll in an ill-fitting crocheted dress delightful? Well, I made it, that’s what. Probably – although I cannot remember for sure – more than a decade ago. You see, I wasn’t always the brilliant pattern designer I am now. (Wink wink, nudge nudge.) When I first started making my little crocheted creations for 4-H, my mother – the only crochet instructor I had – told me how to make the shapes I needed. If you need it wider, add more stitches. If you need it narrower, skip some stitches. And, if you want ruffles – just keep adding more and more and more stitches. I credit my mother’s instruction for my ability to design; after all, it’s what I spent my first crocheting years doing!

Anyway, when I left home to attend college I gave this doll (along with a sizable and stylish wardrobe) to my little sister, who has kept it all these years. Awww.