Monday, October 24, 2011

Crochet Bags

I have been gifted or picked up several books from this series, so I decided to preview Crochet Bags!: 15 Hip Projects for Carrying Your Stuff when I realized it was available at the library. I have been participating in more swaps lately and bags seem to be a standard project.

I liked the introductions. I have been working with free patterns that assume some level of experience with bag making. Mine is all trial and mostly error. This book fills in some of the huge holes that exist for me. It introduces linings and some tips on adding details. It would have been nice to have a tutorial on working with handles since they did do such a detailed introduction to all the crochet stitches.

What I liked about the patterns were the boxed instructions. I found them easy to read and follow. I like this formatting style for patterns.

What I did not find were the bags I was seeking. While there were a couple of cute patterns, they would not work for the projects I needed. I still need to find a good tote bag book.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

American Girl Doll Mrs. Claus




Last year I posted about the Santa dress, but I must say after thinking about it the outfit seems more like a Mrs. Claus outfit. The dress is based on Darski’s free Pilgrim outfit found on Crochetville. This has become my go to pattern for American Girl Dolls as I can change it around for different looks and still work it up quickly when I need something that I know I can complete. The dress is made using Caron One Pound yarn. I do not know what brand the white trim is because I keep picking it up at Church sales. I have never had to buy any at the stores.

The Santa hat was also made from free Santa Hat pattern that I have used several times now. The person who asked for the outfit requested that I use red Bernat Happy Holidays yarn instead of the matching Caron for the hat.

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

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Turkey


I finished the turkey from Crochet Village's Fall Visitors pattern. The turkey was made using Red Heart Super Saver for the body and legs, Bernat Super Value for the hat and bow tie and a variety of scraps for the feathers. I used the colored saftey eyes that I found for the first time at Joann Fabrics. So far I have only been able to get the brown eyes. I am hoping they expand the offerings to other colored eyes in the future.

I am working another turkey pattern. I have hit a snag with the wings. I may just create a solution as I love the rest of the pattern and the wings are not the make or break item for the turkey. I have a couple of Pilgrim items to make and a considerable number of doll clothes to finish this package. I am hoping to have this package ready to mail around Halloween.

If you arrived here looking for free 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.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Sunset Throw




I finished my third Christmas afghan. This is the Sunset Throw pattern found in Crochet World August 2011. I fell in love with the colors and started to hunt down Red Heart's Melonberry every time I had a coupon or I found Red Heart Super Saver on sale. I have enough left over, that I am hoping to make a doll blanket in matching colors for the child's 18" doll. No guarantees that the doll blanket will not end up a birthday instead of a Christmas present, as I still need to make one more Christmas full sized afghan.

Check out the Holiday Blogs and Special Event Blogs for More Patterns:

Afghan Patterns

Baby Blankets

Christmas

Halloween

Patriotic

Toy Themed Afghans

Valentines

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Friday, October 14, 2011

I Love Yarn Day

Come join the members of Crochetville for I Love Yarn Day.


Since I finished the turkey from the Fall Visitors pattern at Crochet Village last night I needed a new project for I Love Yarn Day. So, today I will be working on Chester the Turkey Boy and finishing up a Mrs. Claus dress for the 18" doll during I Love Yarn Day. I plan to check in on the fun at Crochetville during the day, too.

If you arrived here looking for free 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.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Turkey Amigurumi


I finished another project for my Thanksgiving project. Gobble Gobble is a free pattern available from the Bitter Sweet Blog.

This pattern had an interesting pattern for the wings that I had not seen before. I used Red Heart Super Saver yarn for the body and Caron One Pound and some scraps for the wings and details.

I started the Turkey from the Fall Visitor’s Pattern from Crochet Village. I like the body of this turkey better than the first one I made. This might be the basis for the combo turkey I want to make.

If you arrived here looking for free 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.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Turkey Finger Puppet


This is the final in my set of finger puppets for Thanksgiving unless I find some new patterns or end up needing to make more. This turkey also comes from Almost Unschoolers. While these are being mailed, I love having child friendly toys and decorations when we are having children over for the holidays or we are visiting others with kids. Holiday toys can always be packed away with the decorations and bring back fond memories when the toys come out again the next year.

I altered this pattern slightly by making the finger slightly larger and using plastic saftey eyes since the head ended up separated from the rest of the puppet. The body is made with Red Heart Super Saver and the details were made from scraps of Caron One Pound.

If you arrived here looking for free 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.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Pilgrim Female Finger Puppet





















Thanks to the generosity and hard work done by the homeschool Mom at Almost Unschoolers in designing and offering her patterns for free I have a set of three Thanksgiving finger puppets to put in my Thanksgiving box. I posted about the Pilgrim Man last week and will be posting about the Turkey soon. The pattern for the Pilgrim Female can be found here. While I buy quite a few patterns, I also do depend on the generosity of those who donate their designs and I try to remember to thank them for their gift. This allows me to make and do more.

If you have experience with amigurumi you can use these patterns as a base and play with them. I adapted the hands and as mentioned made the bases a bit larger. I used Caron Simply Soft for the face and hands. I used Caron One Pound for the dress and Lustersheen for the eyes and mouth. While the pattern did not require it I used Red Heart Sport yarn for the hat and apron as I thought worsted weight would be too heavy for the size of the puppet.

This couple makes a great quick project if you are looking to have some fun toys around for Thanksgiving.

If you arrived here looking for free 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.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Pilgrim Man Finger Puppet






















I needed a break from my 18" doll projects so I decided I would work on something small for my Thanksgiving box. I opened my holiday binder and found some free Thanksgiving finger puppets. You can find the Pilgrim Man Finger Puppet at Almost Unschoolers.

I used Caron Simply Soft for his face and hands. The black was Caron One Pound and the white was Red Heart Sports yarn. The details sewn with Red Heart Lustersheen.

When my Mom used to host large Thanksgiving feasts, my younger sister and I used to try to find activities to keep the large number of younger relatives busy. The turkey balloon races are still spoken of among family members. I only wish I had known how to crochet back then, as these types of toys would have been great to have to entertain the children with each year.

If you arrived here looking for free 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.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

American Girl Doll Pilgrim




















I finished one of the doll dresses I needed for my doll project this weekend. My Aunt took it home with her so I only need to finish two more.


This pattern is adapted from a free pattern you can find the link for on the Thanksgiving page. I used Red Heart Super Saver grey heather for the dress and I liked the texture and the color it provided. I used Caron One Pound yarn for the cap and apron. The worsted weight was too heavy for the cuffs so I used Red Heart Sport yarn. I changed the original pattern by adding cuffs, found in the free Barbie pattern on the Thanksgiving page and altering the collar.

While I made this one in the traditional colors people expect for Thanksgiving, I also want to make the dress in colors that are more authentic. Pilgrims did not just wear black, grey, and brown. The colors people often associate with Pilgrims were considered formal colors for Church. Pilgrims did dress in colors including red.

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

Additional Doll Patterns also Available on the Holiday Blogs:

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Valentines

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

The Benefits of Other's House Cleaning

My Aunt and I have been working on 18" doll projects. She recently started cleaning out some craft bins looking for patterns she has not used since her granddaughter outgrew the dolls. Sunday I received a baggie full of 18" crochet patterns that she no longer can use.

In the late 1990's Fibre Craft published a series of 18" doll patterns for the Springfield doll. I had seen some of these patterns listed on various vintage sites, but never purchased them because many of the sites do not list the Springfield portion of the description, just Fibre Craft as the publisher. With the number of dolls they produce, I am never sure if these patterns are produced specifically for the 18" dolls. Now I know. They make the Springfield doll and in the late 1990's they actually printed a series of patterns for the dolls. I guess it worked out for the best. Had I know I would have purchased them and now I would have duplicates. My lack of knowledge resulted in a windfall of new free patterns to make clothes for family and donations.

The booklets I was given from the Springfield Collection are:

Sweet Dreams FCM486
Sunday Best FCM479
Sweater Trio FCM494
The Weekender FCM493
Crochet Matching Hats and Purses FCM492

Red Heart:
Dolly and Me Book 1436

Bernat:
Best Friends 530112

I love passing patterns on to my Mom and Aunt. This was an unexpected treat in return.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

We Have a Winner


The Fashion Doll Leaflet Giveaway has ended and Mary Whitney has won. Congratulations to our winner. I hope she enjoys making the Barbie clothes.

I contacted her by email and I hope to hear from her soon so I can mail her the prize. Thanks to everyone who entered and worked through the challenges of Rafflecopter with me.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Thanksgiving Lovey


After the success with the Halloween Lovey, I decided to adapt the pattern from September/October 2011 Crochet Today to make a Thanksgiving version.


I could not find colors I liked in cotton so I used up Red Heart Super Saver, Bernat Super Value, Caron One Pounder, and some unidentified scraps I picked up at Church sales.

The Pilgrim hat and turkey patterns are free Ken doll patterns, the links for them are located on the Thanksgiving page. I have a variety of options for my Christmas Lovey. I am not sure what patterns I will use for the objects. I have Christmas cotton so that should not be an issue.

If you arrived here looking for free 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.

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