Snowman

I'd hoped to finish more of the Christmas themed ami's from the Christmas Ami's set. I finished the penguin and the snowman this year. There is always next year. You can purchase the set here.

This was the last project that made it into the Christmas box. I realized as I looked at the calendar I had to ship to have any hope of getting the package there before Christmas.

Iggy the Penguin

Iggy has taken to hanging out in the window of the room my DH is using to work from home. He's trying to provide a little holiday cheer to the working day. Over the years I've made various holiday ami's for my husband to decorate his actual work cube but since he's working from home these days it seemed like a good time for a new companion. Since DH was kind enough to buy the Christmas Mini's patterns to help me complete my set of holiday patterns from this designer it seemed only fair he get his favorite pattern from the bunch. You can purchase the pattern set here.

I was introduced to this designer through her Halloween patterns and I quickly picked up all her holiday patterns and preordered her Mini Kingdom: Crochet 36 Tiny Amigurumi Royals! and can't wait to begin making the patterns.

I had hoped to get more of these finished for my Christmas box but first I need to finish the presents that go with the books I'm sending. Then we will see what Christmas ami's I can send as well.

Reindeer Christmas Ornament

I had a second Christmas package to send out and it too needed a Christmas ornament. Do to the time crunch I was looking for something that would work up quickly.

I'm a bit of a pattern collector and this was one of those patterns Michaels used to have hanging up in the yarn aisles. It is dated in 2012. I looked on their website but these patterns don't seem to be available online any longer. It was a Loops & Threads pattern if that helps you find it.

This was another great stash busting project. This is all left over yarn from previous projects.

Mrs. Claus Pig

This is the last of the holiday pigs. I could have gone the Santa route, but Mrs. Claus deserves some recognition of her hard work during the holidays, too. As with the previous pigs, this was an adjustment of Little Crochet Piggy found here. Her hat is adapted from Gourmet Crochet's Happy Holidays Crochet Amigurumi.

If you arrived here looking for free patterns you may be interested in the following blog pages:

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food

Hello Kitty

Crochet and Knit Puppets

Crochet Amigurumi Animals and Stuffed Animal Free Patterns

Knit Amigurumi and Stuffed Toys

Crochet and Knit Amigurumi and Other Dolls

Knit and Crochet Toys

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Pictures may not be used without permission.

Santa Elephant

I ran across Redheart's free Elenora Elephant Ornament pattern while working on their free Safari pattern last year. I didn't see myself needing an elephant ornament, but I kept it in the back of my mind for future reference. Looking at Elenora, I thought she could easily be transformed into a Santa elephant without much effort.

To change the legs and the arms it was a matter of changing colors and yarns to get the Santa look. The jacket required a little more shaping and it wasn't quite what I wanted. I think to work in this size, I'd probably have to go to thread to get it to be what I really wanted. The hat came from an old Barbie pattern.

If you arrived here looking for free patterns you may be interested in the following blog pages:

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food

Hello Kitty

Crochet and Knit Puppets

Crochet Amigurumi Animals and Stuffed Animal Free Patterns

Knit Amigurumi and Stuffed Toys

Crochet and Knit Amigurumi and Other Dolls

Knit and Crochet Toys

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Pictures may not be used without permission.

Mr. and Mrs. Claus Set Two

Yes, I made another Mr. and Mrs. Claus set. However, with multiple children to send toys to in the Christmas box, multiple sets are required. When possible, I like to find different patterns, as I am not a fan of repeating patterns too close together.

This is another pattern from Gourmet Crochet's Happy Holiday Amigurumi and the couple works up quickly for those who need a quick ami project. I ended up misreading the directions for Mrs. Claus the first time and ended up with a cute Christmas ornament that I did not photograph, because of the mistake. I love the details that are included for her, the hat, the apron, and her collar. It just adds some special touches to the toy.

These make great Christmas ami's or ornaments.

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food

Hello Kitty

Crochet and Knit Puppets

Crochet Amigurumi Animals and Stuffed Animal Free Patterns

Knit Amigurumi and Stuffed Toys

Crochet and Knit Amigurumi and Other Dolls

Knit and Crochet Toys

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Pictures may not be used without permission.

Mr. & Mrs. Claus

The Christmas box I mail and the Christmas donations I make have to be done by the beginning of December. Most of the time I have no interest in making Christmas projects after I send these items off, however this year I continued crocheting holiday themed items almost up until Christmas and I have a nice start on next year's Christmas ami's.

This first set of Mr. and Mrs. Claus comes from a pattern my DH purchased for me from NeedleNoodles here. These are a perfect size for my nephews who are going through a Fisher Price Little People stage. The only issue I had with the pattern set is there is no stitch count at the end of the rows and the increase, decrease language was different then what I was used to from standard amigurumi patterns. The language difference would not have been an issue with a stitch count. If you have done a few of these you can generally figure out how to get to X number of stitches, even if the wording is different than that which you are normally used to reading. That one addition would make a dramatic difference as the rest of the pattern set has amazing pictures, hints, instructions, and suggestions for making the items in the set.

I finished the Snowman and will be posting him soon. The elves are on my list of projects to work on when I resume my Christmas ami projects.

If you arrived here looking for free patterns you may be interested in the following blog pages:

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food

Hello Kitty

Crochet and Knit Puppets

Crochet Amigurumi Animals and Stuffed Animal Free Patterns

Knit Amigurumi and Stuffed Toys

Crochet and Knit Amigurumi and Other Dolls

Knit and Crochet Toys

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Pictures may not be used without permission.

Roebuck the Reindeer

I try to add a little crochet cheer to DH's office when I get the chance. With all my holiday projects for 2012 completed, I had time to add one for his office. The crochet pattern for Roebuck is available for purchase at Crochet Village. I am thinking of using the pattern for the lights for another project next year.

I finished a Pokémon ami for a Christmas present I forgot I needed to make and am continuing to work on storing up Christmas themed ami's for next year's box. After Christmas, I have the spring holiday boxes to work on and I do have to get started on the donation doll and food projects for next Christmas. It takes a while to build up a large supply to donate.

If you arrived here looking for free patterns you may be interested in the following blog pages:

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food

Hello Kitty

Crochet and Knit Puppets

Crochet Amigurumi Animals and Stuffed Animal Free Patterns

Knit Amigurumi and Stuffed Toys

Crochet and Knit Amigurumi and Other Dolls

Knit and Crochet Toys

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Pictures may not be used without permission.

Reindeer

I am finally getting started on my Christmas projects again. This reindeer was made using Crochet Village's North Pole Resident's pattern set. The project worked up quickly and I already have the head and body made on the Polar Bear from the same set.

I stopped work on that project to get started on a Nursery Rhyme project from an old Annie's Attic pattern. I'm working on making the Old Woman in the Shoe. So far it is coming along pretty well. I will have to see once it is assembled how well it works. There is a Humpty Dumpty pattern that would go well with my Nursery Rhyme theme in the same set. As always time is an issue. I will have to see how much I can get done before the boxes need to be packed for shipping.

If you arrived here looking for free holiday or toy patterns please see the following pages:

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food

Hello Kitty

Crochet and Knit Puppets

Crochet Amigurumi Animals and Stuffed Animal Free Patterns

Knit Amigurumi and Stuffed Toys

Crochet and Knit Amigurumi and Other Dolls

Knit and Crochet Toys

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Pictures may not be used without permission.

Victorian Boy Snowman Caroler

This is the last family member in the Victorian Snow family made from The Annie Potter Presents The Snowbuddies from Snowville for my last swap. I will post a family photo for Wordless Wednesday next week.

You cannot tell from this picture, but with the addition of snow legs, the boy has a very different format than the previous members of the family. This was a bit more challenging to create than any of the other family members. While it made for an interesting effect, with the balance issues, I might not choose to do it in a second attempt.

I loved the newsboy style hat and may use this for other ami and doll projects.

Free Holiday Patterns Available on the Following Blog Pages:


St. Patrick's Day

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Victorian Girl Snowman Caroler

This is the first child in the snowman family. She also comes from The Annie Potter Presents The Snowbuddies from Snowville and I do not have a pattern number for it.

As time was running out for the swap, I was trying to decide how far I would get with this project. Did I just make Mom and Dad? Would I finish the whole family? After finishing the Mother, there seemed to be time to approach the daughter and I was glad I took on the challenge.

The directions for the little girl varied from the larger snowmen and as you will see later, the boy took an even large design variation on the theme.

While I have boxes of Christmas decorations, I am very tempted to make a set of these for myself. They are very hard to resist.


Free Holiday Patterns Available on the Following Blog Pages:


St. Patrick's Day

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Snowman Boy Crochet

As I have mentioned many times I have been collecting vintage patterns and magazines. This snowman was made from a vintage Annie's Crochet Newsletter Nov-Dec 1986 pattern, Tiny Snow People.

I have had a great deal of fun experimenting with this pattern and have had several requests to make more. The pattern comes with directions for a boy and girl with winter outfits. The boy has a winter hat and scarf, the girl an winter hat and cape. As you will see in later blogs, I opted to do a historical look with the girl while doing the winter look with the boy.

One skill I have never been good with is making good French knots. I have moved to using safety eyes and noses on my amigurumi projects. However, this project called for knots for the "coal buttons." I experimented with safety eyes. One downside is that it was tough to get the crochet holes to line up straight to make the rows look straight. Even looking at the pattern picture, you can see where the French knots have been "adjusted" to account for the holes and even then, they do not line up exactly.

I also changed from worsted weight yarn to cotton dishcloth yarn to make the noses and it worked out well. I had orange left over from some Halloween dishcloths and it made stronger noses for the snowman than the worsted orange I had to use.

Free Holiday Patterns Available on the Following Blog Pages:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Hello Kitty Christmas Caroler

I have been experimenting with Armina Ami-Nals Hello Kitty patterns for a while now. You can find links to her free patterns and others on the Hello Kitty page. Her witch dress pattern has provided endless opportunities to learn and adapt. In combination with Barbie patterns, my selection for Hello Kitty presents has grown remarkably. Eventually I hope to record what I am doing so I can recreate these for myself as well as sharing with others. However, I am going through a very experimental stage in trying to combine how one makes arms for doll's clothes with adding arms to Hello Kitty. I am also using different doll techniques on her outfits. Therefore, each try is not a pattern to be shared by a more of a crochet lab experiment. I hope at some point to be able to find a set pattern to create and be able to share as so many people have generously done to help me get started.

Christmas caroling has always been special to me. In high school, we had two traditions. A friend had a caroling party at her house each year where we did actually go out and entertain the neighbors getting hot cider and cocoa for our efforts. Our high school had a chorus tradition on the last day prior to school ending we would gather in the music room during last period and carol through the halls disrupting classrooms and gathering followers as we went. It was a great tradition, long gone.

My husband's family always sang Christmas carols when we gathered during the Christmas season. We incorporated that tradition into our Christmas Eve celebration. My husband would play his keyboard until we inherited his parent's piano when they moved. Two of my nieces have "helped" their Uncle with the tradition of playing while the family sings. Many visitors have been surprised to find multiple party harmonies visiting our home on Christmas Eve.

This Kitty is headed off to one of the little girls who no longer lives close enough to sit and play the piano with her Uncle. Hopefully the Kitty and the dolls which I will post later will remind her of the special tradition she shared with us.

If you arrived here looking for free toy patterns please see the following pages:

Hello Kitty

Crochet and Knit Puppets

Crochet Amigurumi Animals and Stuffed Animal Free Patterns

Knit Amigurumi and Stuffed Toys

Crochet and Knit Amigurumi and Other Dolls

Knit and Crochet Toys

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food


Pictures may not be used without permission.

Reindeer Amigurumi

As I mentioned in a previous post I have been collecting vintage patterns from books and magazines. This pattern was adapted from Annie's Crochet Newsletter Nov-Dec 1991. The original pattern includes a reindeer with arms and legs. I did crochet a leg and held it up to the reindeer to see how it would look and it did not have the same look as the one on the pattern picture.

However, my husband captured what made this reindeer perfect. He reminded him of the rubber duckie reindeer we had mailed a few Christmas packages earlier. I have a younger relative that loves the rubber duckie creatures and this guy has that look. Another relative is discussing making a sleigh so I suspect there will be a herd of these created before the Christmas season is over.

I of course want at least one like Rudolph here and a couple with black noses as well. In fact I think I may even have a sleigh of my own for them to pull.

For those of you who arrived here looking for free Christmas patterns please feel free to visit the Christmas Knit and Crochet Page or the Christmas Ornament Page for free patterns.

Several people asked me about the toys I was talking about. These are the Rubber Duckie Reindeer Toys I was talking about.




Picture may not be used without written permission.