Kits for Kids 2026

Last winter when I dropped off the Aztec Wishes donations there was talk of a new service project for kids moving into foster care. The plan was just being discussed and I reached out in March to find out the collection was being closed in April. My focus is clearly going to be for 2027 but I decided I would see if I could complete some small play sets to provide some comfort to kids who could use it.

March 2026

Lots to Love 8 Inch Baby Doll:

Chelsea

Finger Puppets:

If You Give a Pig a Pancake

I've always enjoyed gifting book and ami's together so next up was If You Give a Pig a Pancake for Kits for Kids Donation.

I mentioned previously that it's been a long time since I've made ami's and I smartly read the project notes I made about the mouse and foolishly didn't read the notes I made regarding the pig.

I've never had trouble making the sweater fit for the pig but this time it was a nightmare. After rereading my notes I realized I'd previously used a g hook for the pig not an e thus the various weights and sizes of yarn I was using didn't work. I resorted to size 3 thread but still the fit wasn't all I wanted.

Notes:

You can find the free pattern here.

I used an e for the pig, use a g hook.

This project I used size 3 thread to get the sweater to fit I'd go to some of the light sport cotton I have with a c hook to see if I can get it to fit as written for the one I need for next April.

I have always sewn the sweater on so this I sewed the tail on and as I was making the sweater left pins to indicate the space needed to leave for the tail to come through.

Mouse and Cookie

I heard about another program associated with Aztec Wishes being organized for this year, Kits for Kids when I did the drop off last year. I likely am not going to finish a huge number of projects for 2026 but I am going to get done what I can before the April deadline. I will also get a better idea of what works when I participate in the packing in May for 2027.

I have been hyper focused on the doll donation and finally decided to reach out to find out more about this project and deadlines this month. The deadline is tight for this year but there are some of the smaller items from the Aztec Wishes donation that were put aside to help with this project and I will finish what I can before the deadline.

I've always been a huge fan of combining toys and books. I've made the combo of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie book and Ami a few times now. However, with my focus on dolls and lots of other life stuff happening I haven't made any amis in some time. This was a great project to get myself back into the game. I've since started on finger puppets.

Notes:

This pattern has disappeared several times but I do have a link for the moment here.

I used the suggested e hook with worsted 4 acrylic I had on hand. I did use Herrschner's 3 weight for the chips on the cookie as it was the closest color I could find.

At some point in my last round of Ami adventures I stocked up on pink noses because when I went to look I had a gallon storage bag full. I had used thread to sew the last mouse nose as I couldn't find the safety noses. Clearly I wasn't planning on running out again.

The one part of making ami's I don't love is sewing the pieces together so when possible I adjust. I split the body like I'm making pants for a doll and worked the directions for the mouse legs top down instead of feet up. I would do this again to avoid sewing the legs on. This left the head, ears and the arms to sew.

I used a D hook with pink and followed the ear directions to make an inner ear. I then made a second ear with the main color and the e hook and crocheted them together for the ear. I know fabric is popular with ami's but I've never had luck with it for ears, etc.

Mouse and Her Cookie

As I mentioned in a previous post I've gotten behind in posting. I'd meant to post this right after the Pig and her Pancake, but then I got busy with summer things and Mouse never got posted. The Pig and the Mouse along with their books were also a huge hit at the birthday party. Although the cookie was a huge disappointment when it was bitten into only to discover it wasn't a "real" cookie.

Giving If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (If You Give...) with the mouse and cookie makes a great gift set. This pattern has disappeared and been found several times. If it is something you want I suggest downloading and storing a copy as it seems to pop up and disappear as the owner changes blogs. You can find it here.

Pattern notes for myself:

I used size 10 thread to crochet the nose this time as I've run out of plastic pink noses. The place I used to order the noses from is no longer in business. It is time to locate a new source, but this worked for this project. I crochet an inner lining in pink for the ears and crochet it to the back of the ear rather than using felt.