Knit 18 Inch Doll Donations

I've been busy this summer and sadly fallen behind on my posting. Thankfully, the donation work continues and others continue the work too. These knit dresses were sent by my mom at the beginning of the month for the donation.

People often ask me if I mind getting stuff early. Absolutely not. It lets me know ahead of time what I have for the donation and it avoids complications we can all face in our lives where we think we'll have time to send stuff out and then it just doesn't happen.

I don't have the pattern information for these donations. However I suspect the coat at least is found in Fun Fashions: Contemporary Outfits to Knit for 18” Dolls

Down on the Farm

I've made this pattern for years from an out of print copy Annie's Attic pattern I picked up at a used crochet pattern site. However, I was thrilled this year to discover Annie's Attic has released the pattern as a digital pattern on their website here.

I like having the farm be a carrying bag because it makes it convenient to store, put in a diaper bag, or leave at a house the child visits frequently as a toy that can be played with there that doesn't take up too much room.

This was part of a birthday package we delivered a few weekends ago and the animals and bag were a big hit. People seemed amazed at how many animals fit in the bag as the child kept pulling animals out of the bag.

This project works up pretty quickly. The ami directions are clear and the animals easily assembled. As a companion project I'm thinking about working on Bizzy Crochet's free Barnyard bag pattern found here as a Christmas present. It would add a farmer and more animals. I also have an additional pattern for a farmer's wife that would fill out the set. I'm still looking for a sheep dog pattern to fill out this set.

Pig and her Pancake

Laura Numeroff's If You Give series have been huge hits in various branches of my family for many years. I was looking to make something for a summer birthday coming up and I turned first to If You Give a Pig a Pancake which I'd had success with completing an ami from previously.

The pattern is a free one but from a blogger who has since deleted her blog. It reappeared at one point but has since been deleted again. It is available here but there is no way of knowing how long it will stay available, so if you think at some point you might wish to make the pattern my suggestion is download it and print or save it as it could disappear permanently at any time.

When possible I love giving toys inspired by books as I think it creates even more interest for children in reading. This one is a quick and easy project.

Now for my notes to myself. I used a g hook instead of the e for the body of the pig. I didn't find it necessary to use the smaller hook. I also used some peach yarn similar to Caron Simply soft for the pig. I know it isn't Caron but it has that feel. I ended up using a c hook to get the sweater to fit and I used Knit Picks cotton yarn. It was just too big when I attempted to use worsted weight yarn. The pancake worked up well with worsted weight yarn and a g hook.

Holiday Itty Bitties

My Mom sent me holiday Itty Bitties for my birthday. I love the putting out the little costumed dolls for the holidays. I found myself two dolls short, so I'll need to buy two more dolls to fill out the Christmas costumes she made, but just putting these together when I opened the box put a smile on my face. I have the July 4th ones out now that she made me a while back and I look forward to more of these dolls to display through the seasons.

I love the cape on the one on the end. It has a very old world look to it. For those of you who are interested these are kit kits available from Mary Maxim, which is why I end up having Mom make them as I am no knitter. I was pleased to see they did issue a Crochet Christmas kit recently though so it isn't impossible for me to take on the task.