Purple Dress Monkey Finger Puppet

I started finger puppets to be given as a gift with Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed back in July.

After finishing the first 4 I paused after making the head when the family moved as I was preparing the October birthday and Halloween boxes.

I postponed the Halloween box a year but decided I'd still deliver the birthday gifts late. As the dates got moved off for delivering the gifts I put the last monkey aside to finish up the doll donations.

Around Thanksgiving I realized I'd forgotten the monkey and started working on pieces of the monkey between doll donation projects. When finished I took pictures but never posted the project. Since this blog has been a great way to keep a record of my projects I decided it was time to get a record up about finishing the project.

I'm very glad I finished the puppets as they were a HUGE hit. You never know what will be "the" item but the monkeys were a good choice. The puppet pattern is available for purchase here.

Samuel Whiskers

I'm continuing my Beatrix Potter birthday crochet project with The Tale of Samuel Whiskers using the pattern found in the Simply Crochet supplement from issue 110. You can purchase a digital copy here.

I made this project using Omega Sinfonia cotton and a B hook. If I make him again I'd think about using acrylic for the coat as it was stiffer than I liked.

I'm still contemplating the patterns for The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck and The Tale of Benjamin Bunny to include either as part of the birthday box or as a Christmas gift. I made a bunch of ducks for Make Way for Ducklings but this one is dressed which makes it unique. Both would also be fun additions for an Easter box. That would also give me more space to work on other projects.

Monkey Finger Puppet Pink Dress

I am so pleased to say I can see the end of the Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed project in sight.

These are not difficult puppets, just time consuming as they are made in thread and thus take me longer to make than the ones I've made with sport cotton or acrylic yarn. I think there is also the repetitive nature of making the same puppet 5 times. There was something nice about getting to make the dress this time instead of the overalls. The dress pattern is a little more fun to make and it also works up more quickly.

For those of you interested you can purchase the pattern here. I used Aunt Lydia Size 10 Cotton, Natural, Fudge Brown, and French Rose for this puppet.

Jeremy Fisher

I'm continuing to add more Beatrix Potter characters and books to the October birthday pile. Up next we have The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher.

This pattern is part of the supplement from Simply Crochet issue 110. You can purchase this edition of the digital magazine here.

I've gotten used to looking for yarn substitutes first because I've been trying to keep my amis smaller than many of the suggested sizes and secondly in this case the UK yarns aren't always readily available here in the US.

It is also a great chance for me to work through my stash rather than buying more yarn. For this project I used a combination of Hobby Lobby's acrylic sport yarn and A.C. Moore's now discontinued house sport brand to get the colors I needed for the project. I used a D hook for all items except the coat. I started with the D but found the coat was too small. The coat had a much better fit when made with the sport yarn and an F hook.

Monkey Finger Puppet Blue Overalls

I finished the second finger puppet to go with the Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed book that will be going out with the October birthday box. You can purchase the pattern here.

I used Aunt Lydia Size 10, Natural, Peackock, and Fudge. Peackock was not a pattern choice but as I mentioned in the previous post I decided I'd use colors on hand for the puppet's clothing.

I had an issue with the straps last time so I made them shorter and I crossed them in the back. This seemed to make it easier to join them.

Hermit Crab

I love to combine children's books and toys in gift packages. Sometimes I look for books that fit the theme and other times I look for patterns to fit books that I want to gift.

In this case when I thought about doing an ocean/sea themed package I thought of both Eric Carle's House for Hermit Crab and Bill Peet's Kermit the Hermit.

One of my disapointments recently with Eric Carle's books is that book sites are only selling altered versions of his original picture books. The hardcover versions and picture books are not the tradtional children's book formats many fondly remember of Eric Carle's books. Most of the paper versions have been converted to "leveled" readers. While many publishers have added board book offerings the current hardcover offerings are not what you expect when you buy a hardcover book.

I've been searching through homeschool sites and other book sites for new copies of the traditional sized picture books and I am pleased to say the Hermit Crab will be heading out with traditional sized copies of both Eric Carle and Bill Peet's books.

If you are interested in the traditional picture book sized copies of Eric Carle's books I suggest you check the book measurements. While one expects a smaller version of the book when ordering a board book, I know I have certain expectations when I order a hardcover picture book that used to be a full sized book.

Some of the newer hard cover publications of Carle's books are closer in size to a Beatrix Potter book than a traditional hardcover picture book. If you want the larger sized books try homeschool sites and other book sellers. Some still have the regular picture book sized books in stock.

The pattern for the Hermit Crab comes from How to Crochet Animals: Ocean.

I didn't have the appropriate sport cotton colors and the lighter acrylic I had didn't hold the shape. Thus I went with wosted acrylic yarn and a D hook to have some control over the size of the crab. I used beads for the eyes that I'd recently purchased for Barbie clothes.

Peter Rabbit

I love sending gifts that combine children's books with toys. For the Easter box The Tale of Peter Rabbit seemed a good choice.

Prior to the pandemic I used to go to Barnes and Noble in pursuit of the UK crochet magazines. On one of my last trips before the shut down I picked up not a magazine but a kit from Simply Crochet sold in the magazine section to make Peter Rabbit and Jemema Puddle Duck.

These patterns along with two others were originally published in Simply Crochet's Issue 95's Supplement Amigurumi The Cutest Toys To Crochet and I'm going to try to pick up a digital copy of the magazine through Ravelry which is supposed to include the supplement so I can complete the Beatrix Potter set for a fall birthday or perhaps Christmas depeding on time. You can find the link here for the magazine.

I am getting better at working with UK crochet terms. In the past I've had to write the US terms on top of the UK terms to keep them straight. It is a bit easier with ami's as they tend to only use sc so unlike clothing I'm rarely switching between stitches. Once my brain starts working I know I'm making sc and it is only the number and location that matters regardless of what they are being called. In this case even the clothing didn't change stitches so it was much easier working with the different terms.

The materials in the kit were good quality and I'd buy another kit if I see another themed one I'm interested in again. I ended up getting a subscription to Simply Crochet when the pandemic hit because the magazine was no longer available here for purchase. It used to be one of my occasional treats.

I love the way the legs are formed to help the bunny stand. The buttons in the kit are so small and reminded me if I do get back into making Barbie's I need to find a new source for buttons. Yes, I did post a while back that I didn't see it happening, but then I started working with thread and new hooks and I pulled out and started organizing my Barbie patterns. I'm looking into picking up some modern dolls as the last kids I made clothing for are in high school and college so I suspect the sizes have changed some. I'm used to having to fit patterns to dolls so this shouldn't be a huge issue, but I need the dolls to fit the items to or I risk sending clothes off with the dolls that don't fit. We'll see how this works out. Barbie might make the 2021 donation or she may be pushed of until 2022. It all depends on what I can complete for the other dolls first.

One adjustment I did make is I used a crochet pom pom technique I learned years ago making an 18" doll Santa Hat for the tail. I have never been good making pom pom's and this technique works for me. It is oddly one of the only changes I made to this pattern. I didn't really make any other adaptations as I went along. The pattern was easy to follow as written.

Lowly Worm

I've long been a Richard Scarry fan I've added three of my favorites to the Christmas box this year GREAT BIG SCHOOLHOUSE, Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever, and Richard Scarry's Best Nursery Tales Ever.I also added two of his Christmas classics Richard Scarry's The Animals' Merry Christmas and Richard Scarry's Christmas Mice.

While there are many reaccuring characters cats, bears and other creatures, my favorite was always Lowly Worm. When I was thinking about a character to include with this package of books, Lowly was the first one that came to mind. This however wasn't the first pattern that came to mind. I'll be writing about that project later. I soon realized as I worked on that project it wasn't going to be practical with Lowly's hat and shoe.

Fortunatley for those of you who want to crochet your own Lowly this pattern is a free pattern available here.

This was a great project to use up some knit picks sport cotton. I was a little nervous about the blue because it was the only blue I had close to the right color and a small left over ball I was hoping would hold out to finish the project. I had just one long strand left when Lowly was done. Always a good feeling to have a little left in case you have an issue. Since I wanted a slightly smaller Lowly I went with a D hook and it worked out well with this yarn.

Fox Hand Puppet

I mentioned when I made the Gingerbread Babypuppet that I still had to make the fox to complete the set. I've been trading off projects doing some small tight ami's like the finger puppets with some that aren't so tight like the fox to give my hands a break. The pattern for this puppet comes from the same out of print leaflet as the Gingerbread Baby,Crochet Storybook Puppets by Sheila Leslie. It was printed by House of White Birches in 1991.

I used Hobby Lobby's Yarn Bee Breath Deep Clay for the Fox main body. As I mentioned previously I've been struggling to find browns and rust colors in worsted weight yarn. This yarn is incredibly soft but I'd honestly trade just a little softeness for a little more body you get from more traditional acrylic yarns to hold the body of the puppet.

It is without a doubt one of the softest puppets I've ever made, but I'd love for it to hold its shape jsut a little more which you get with a Caron Pounder or Red Heart Super Saver. That being said I'm just grateful I was able to find the colors.

I recently found some Vanna's Choice in brown's during a shipping offer from Herrschners. I haven't worked with Vanna's in a while. I remember it being a softer yarn but I thought it had more body than the last yarns I've tried for puppets so far. We shall see. I'm hoping a range of brown shades come back to traditional acrylic brands as I can't be the only one that uses them.

The Ugly Duckling Swan

I guess it is a bit of a spoiler if you haven't read the book but The Ugly Ducklingdoes become a swan. So I needed to make one to finish my set for the book.

The pattern comes from one of my favorite amigurumi series Zoomigurumi 6and I wrote previously about making the cygnet for the book set.

One of the biggest challenges for me with this ami was getting the swans wings to set right as the wings can create balance or set the swan to tilting. They are significantly heavier and harder to balance than any of the duck wings I'd makde previously. Not hard to make but more challenging to attach.

The Ugly Duckling Cygnet

The Ugly Ducklingis the last project I will be working on for this October birthday box. The book I chose is a Caldecott Honor book and the pictures are just beautiful. When I started the Make Way for Ducklings project I wondered if there was another book/story that I could send with it that would make use of the duck/bird theme. When I started looking at books I came across a classic fairy tale and then just had to choose which edition I wanted. There were several options but the illustrations in this edition sold me.

I had originally considered adapting the duckling pattern for the cygnet but then I came across a child/adult swan pattern in Zoomigurumi 6so I went with that set. There are slight differences in construction that actually fit in neatly with the story of what the differences are between a cygnet and a duckling.

At this point I need to make the swan and finish the barn and I'll be done with birthdays for October. I still am working on Halloween and then I'll need to move on to Thanksgiving and Christmas.

For my own notes I used Mary Maxim's Baby's Best Yarn and a D hook for the body and cotton dishcloth yarn for the beak. I don't buy Mary Maxim's yarn that often do to shipping costs but I'll be looking for my next free shipping coupon to buy more of this yarn as I really liked the texture and the way it worked up.

Make Way for Ducklings Mrs. Mallard

We come to the last entry in my Make Way for Ducklings project, Mrs. Mallard. There was no actual Mrs. Mallard pattern I adapted the Mallard pattern found in Zoomigurumi 7using RED HEART Super Saver yarn, Latte Stripeand a D hook for the main part of the body. The beak was made from Joann's Big Twist Varsity Yellow. I mention this because I originally made the beak with the same yarn I made the duckling beaks with and it didn't look right when she was sitting next to Mr. Mallard. I had to go back and replace her beak

I am pleased with how the family came out and honestly thrilled that the project is finished as I still have a few more items to finish for the October birthday and Halloween boxes that need to go out.

I am glad to be sending a playset for one of my favorite classic children's stories. I'm hoping it makes the story even more fun for the little ones who will be playing with it as they enjoy the story.

Make Way For Ducklings Pack and Quack

There was a time when I began to doubt if I would in fact ever find an end to the ducklings for my Make Way for Ducklings project. Then the last wing was sewn on Quack and they were done,all eight of them. I nearly had heart failue when two disappeared, but thankfully I found them and they are now stored together so they won't be lost before mailing.

This means I just need to make Mrs. Mallard and the set will be complete. This will be the most challenging part of the set as there is no specific Mrs. Mallard pattern. I'm going to try to use vareigated yarn and adapt Mr. Mallard's pattern to get even close to her colors.

For those of you who are interested in the patterns for the ducklings and the mallard, they come from the book Zoomigurumi 7a series I've come to really enjoy.

I've one more classic fairy tale to crochet and the Farm Busy Box to finish and then I think my October birthday requirements will be done. I will need to finish Halloween and then it is off to the Thanksgiving box.