Chick in an Egg Sleeping Bag

This is one of Laura Suttcliffe's patterns that can be purchased here that I received for my birthday.

I've collected her patterns over the years as they make delightful small playsets for family. However recently, I've returned to them as she has many that will fit in the Kits for Kids bags and add a little extra to the small stuffed toy. Last year I made the dog with his bed and this year I'm hoping to work through her catalog of playsets to add extras to the bags going out in the Spring.

Notes:

This was made with Big Twist Yellow and Orange and Red Heart Super Saver White. The black is left over Cotton Faire from the finger puppets. The pattern suggests DK but I have a small supply of DK I'm holding on to for doll clothes so I wasn't quite ready to dig into that for my ami projects.

I did decrease the hook size to E as it was too large when I started with a G for the size I need for this donation.

Like the finger puppets I made this in pieces between doll outfits. I've recently started storing the in progress pieces in a plastic baggie until assembly as the small pieces can easily go missing.

I love the way her patterns are laid out in boxes, including the accompanying pictures. I sometimes lose my place in a pattern but these are easy to see just where you are in the pattern.

It was easier for me to assemble body, head and wings. I attached the wings to the body, finished the head and attached the head to the body. This is not the order of the pattern but it made working the pattern easier for me. I finished off by making the tail and adding it.

Other than the order of assembly I followed the directions as written.

Dog and Bed Playset Kits for Kids

I am preposting the week before the weekend before the donation needs to be dropped off. I had hoped last week would have been a more productive finish to the project but a few set backs and I was only able to complete two more items to send off with the donation.

I am hoping to get to the assembly of the outgoing bags in May and that should give me a better idea of what to make for the 2027 donation.

I've made many of this designers playsets for family. The directions are clear and the sets are adorable. DH recently gifted me a mouse royal set I hope to include in next year's donation. You can purchase the dog set here.

I wanted to control the size of this set as it needs to fit in a bag with other items.

I used an e hook with some inherited Zayre brand yarn for the dog. I had no idea this was even in my stash until I started digging for lighter beige/brown colors and came across this one. I have been gifted quite a bit of yarn from people who have lost family members and have no idea what to do with the yarn. I clearly didn't remember the Zayre brand as it was long out of business when I started to crochet. I will say I would have been a regular customer if I'd been crocheting back then even after all these years it worked up well.

I sewed his arms to the body before attaching the head. The ears were attached to the head before sewing on the body.

The pattern sews on the eyes and nose I used safety eyes and noses. I am not a huge fan of having to sew them so when possible I use the safety option.

The blanket is made with Red Heart Super Saver and a G hook. The ball is made with Hobby Lobby Sport Yarn and a D hook.

I ended up working the second to last bowl row in back loops to leave an opening to sew the blue water to the bowl. It looked better than my first try at sewing it to the bowl.

Last note for myself would be more aware of the blanket size. The directions felt too small but my final product is a bit too large. I need to find a happy spot as I'm sure this will be part of next year's donation plan. There is a similiar cat pattern from this designer I have that I'd like to make and add for next year as well.

Island Play Set

I've been writing about this project for a while now. I started it at the beginning of my ocean/sea birthday project. It has been finished but for the paracord for some time. I even had the paracord threaded through but was contimplating the best way to use the paracord locks. I finally decided it was time to push through and finish this project so I could focus on finishing the Ocean Tower that I hope will accompany the play set.

The Island Play Set is a free pattern and you can find it here.

I found paracord at Hobby Lobby. I looked around at different types of cord locks and decided on an oval cord lock that I found at Paracord Planet. I ordered a few as I can't imagine this will be the last set I make.

This play set is a double thick mat. This means does allow it to lay down flat, it holds up the island, and you get to hide all the ends from changing colors and sewing on the island. The downside to this additional bulk is it is harder to close. However, while not being the ultimate bag it still provides storage for the ocean/sea creatures.

The original pattern does come with a selection of creatures for the play set. As I've written about I've been using this as an opportunity to explore a range of books and patterns to create my own selection of amis for the project. As I was putting the creatures back after their photo shoot I noticed the dolphin had avoided the picture taking but he will be headed off with the birthday box. He's already back in the bag.