Doll Carriers

I've done a lousy job of tracking my progress this year, but one of my reasons for blogging is to have a record of what I did to help me decide what to keep doing. So there is nothing wrong with going back to document. I dropped off this year's doll donation and while smaller, it did have some interesting additions this year I want to track and remember to see if I can in fact build on for next year.

First up are the doll carriers. I used the last of the Mary Maxim 15" baby dolls up this year and had to move on to JC Toys, La Baby 16-inch Washable Soft Body Purple Play Doll - For Children 2 Years Or Older, Designed by Berenguer which is actually a nicer doll. It has required adjusting a few of the patterns to fit the slightly larger body, but overall I like the look better.

As for the carriers, these are much nicer than the doll baskets I'd made in previous years using the pattern from Dressing Up Dolly, Leisure Arts 2725. An added advantage to my readers is the carrier pattern is free and available on Ravelry here. These carriers are much more stable and user friendly for little hands. Just a note on what I did for myself and others. I used worsted weight yarn and I didn't make a mattress. The dolls fit fine. I did use the blanket pattern from the Dressing up Dolly booklet, but there are plenty of doll blanket patterns out there to use.

Aztec Wishes Donation 2016

For the first time ever I went with DH to drop off the Aztec Wishes donation at the local tech high school this morning. The coordinator of the toy drive had mentioned she'd like to meet in person, so DH and I scheduled a drop off time. I have no idea where the time has gone this holiday season. I was on track until Thanksgiving and then time seems to have just disappeared. We normally drop off right after Thanksgiving, but this year one thing or another kept coming up and we were literally up against the drop off deadline this morning and we scooted in with drop offs from our Crochetville friends Tampa Doll and Darski.

DH and I were debating if this was equal or larger than last year's donation. With different box sizes it really is hard to compare. However, I will say thanks to Darski and Tampa Doll and all those who answered my wish list requests, it is a sizeable donation to help kids have dolls to play with this Christmas season.

We had 4 18" dolls, 1 8" Baby Doll, 1 12" Baby Doll, and 1 15" Baby doll. All the dolls have clothing, most have blankets, and two of the baby dolls have carriers. We had so many 18" doll clothes they bought more 18" dolls to accommodate our offerings. I normally just send 2, but AC Moore oddly let me use a 55% coupon on a Springfield doll, which I haven't been able to do for years, so a 3rd doll suddenly became doable.

I still have 2 more of my projects to post as it's been a crazy year and Blogging has not been as consistent as I'd like. I will get to posting them though because having a written record helps me remember what I've done and gives me some clues about what to try and what to avoid the next time I pursue the project. I some how seem not to have posted Darski and Tampa Doll's contributions although I did post them on Crochetville. I'm going to include them here again to have a complete record of what has been done to keep this project going.

Tampa Doll sent the Clown doll dressed and the other two outfits as her donation this year. Her work is always so detailed. I especially loved the Dorothy dress done in thread. As someone who always struggles with my thread work, her work always amazes me.

These are Darski's donations which included an 8" baby doll and so many beautiful 18" doll outfits that it is just beyond words to describe.

As always Donna was thrilled with our donations. There was only one student there when we arrived, but on seeing all the boxes he quickly recruited other students in the program to help him bring all the donations back to the room where they are being sorted for distribution.

American Girl Patriotic Dress

My husband is amazing about buying me crochet stuff as long as I tell him what stuff I'm interested in. I came across a pattern set on Amazon Kindle that I had never see sold as a set before. While I'm doing more with my Kindle, I still like paper patterns. I looked on Ravelry where I had seen the patterns offered separately and had them wish listed, but the set wasn't available. Turning to Etsy, I discovered I could get the complete set for $20, which was an amazing savings. By buying the complete set the patterns are almost 50% off. Since I had most of them on my to buy list, it seemed like a great item to put on DH's birthday shopping list. You can find the listing here.

The outfits are adorable. I started on this one because I had wanted to make a holiday outfit for the July 4th holiday for the donation. Since the donation isn't until Christmas being late isn't really an issue and I was in the mood for a Patriotic outfit.

While my gauge is still off, I still adapted the pattern to use worsted weight. When I matched gauge the dress was a bit tight and the designer uses a tie in the back to close the gap. (Her pictures show the dress being a little tight) I chose to make it a little looser using worsted weight (4) and used a button to close the back. It just looked a little more finished.

I've started on the Elsa inspired dress and plan to work my way through the pattern book.

Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Doll Blankets and Pillow Patterns

Baby Doll Patterns:

Baby Doll and Cabbage Patch

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without permission.

American Girl Ballet Dress

I'm finally getting around to posting the ballet dress I mentioned in the baby doll post last week. You can find the free pattern for an 18" doll ballet dress here. The pattern really is a easy pattern and requires no buttons, snaps or ties which makes it easy to assemble and easy for a child to put on and take off the doll.

The original pattern has ribbons for the ballet shoes. I opted not to go that route. However, the directions are there for those who want a fancier outfit. I can say this will likely be on my list of repeats for next year. I like the quick and easy ones.


Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Doll Blankets and Pillow Patterns

Baby Doll Patterns:

Baby Doll and Cabbage Patch

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without permission.

American Girl Super Hero

This has become another yearly favorite. I love this designer and I wish she'd publish more 18" doll patterns. You can purchase this pattern here.

I didn't have any trouble with the dress or the cape this time around, although I'm still adjusting for gauge. I'm not sure why I'm crocheting so tight, but I'm working on it. The boots were more challenging this time around and after I finished I think I may have figured out my problem with the mask. I still hope to get a second costume made for the second doll. We'll see what time allows. I'm still pleased to be getting the outfits done.

Barbie and American Girl Doll Free Patterns are listed on my blog at these locations:

Barbie Crochet and Sewing Page

Barbie Knitting Page

Ken Page

Kelly/Skipper Page

American Girl Doll Crochet and Sewing

American Girl Doll Knitting

Doll Blankets and Pillow Patterns

Baby Doll Patterns:

Baby Doll and Cabbage Patch

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without permission.

Aztec Wishes Dolls Delivered

It seems like forever since I've posted, but I have several projects to get up once I download the pictures. My DH delivered the two baby dolls and the two 18" dolls to the Aztec Wishes toy drive today.

Thanks to my Mom's knitted items we had quite a full bag of 18" donations. I tried my hand at making a threaded outfit this year. That was the last project finished and I'll be posting that project soon. I'm almost finished with my first outfit for 2014, the Pilgrim outfit. She just needs the arms for her dress. Next I hope to make the Mrs Claus dress. I didn't get to do either of these last year. I feel like working in the holiday theme right now, so I'm going with it. I have a holiday dress pattern I haven't made in a while, so perhaps that will be on the list, too.

One of the baby dolls had a pretty full bag. The 15" one suffered when I hit doll burn out in the summer. I have one dress started that I hope to finish for next year's donation.

I am so grateful to my friends at Crochetville who always answer my wishlists for new doll patterns and accessories for the dolls

Aztec Wishes Donation

My husband is going to drop off my donation tomorrow so I was scrambling to pull all the pieces together today. I am very grateful for all the people who helped make this come together. I am very thankful for my fairy godmothers on Crochetville who sent shoes for the dolls and my Mom who sent knitted items. These are going to be some of the best dressed dolls this Christmas.

I am also grateful for the Crochetville Olympics, which inspired me to add a box of crocheted food to the donation. I spoke to the woman who remembered the dolls from last year and was very excited to hear about the food.

Lastly, I am also thankful for the 50% off coupons at AC Moore which made adding a second doll to the donation much more affordable. Using coupons I was able to purchase two dolls for the price of one this year.

I love donating to this program because our local technical high school’s business department runs it. Through the program, the students learn about running a charity and the children and families benefit from the donations. It is a multi-layered program.