Fall Birthday Presents

I set this post up to add things as I was making them for the birthday and then I found out the birthday girl was moving very close to her birthday. So I'm waiting until they are settled in to their new home to give the birthday gifts. I still thought I'd share this post because I know when I look back to remember what I made the previous year, I'll be looking during this time period for a reference. I still have one monkey to make and depending on when I finish it will determine if the monkeys end up a late birthady or early Christmas present.

The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin

As soon as the Orca was finished for the Summer birthday box I had to begin work on both the Fall Birthday Box and the Halloween box.

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher

The Tale of Samuel Whiskers

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.

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.

Squirrel Nutkin

I made Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit for the Easter box. I wanted to continue with the series and next up is The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin which appeared in the supplement of Simply Crochet issue 110. You can purchase a digital copy of the magazine that includes the supplement patterns at Ravelry here. The supplement includes four Beatrix Potter patterns Squirrel Nutkin, Jeremy Fisher, Tom Kitten, and Samuel Whiskers.

While the pattern calls for a UK brand of DK yarn I chose to use Vanna's Choice Rust and a D hook as I am determined to use up as much yarn on hand as possible for my projects. It took almost a complete skein to finish this project.

As this is a UK magazine the terms are UK crochet. However, since the stitches don't change, I didn't have to write down any changes. I was able to easily remember the dc was the US sc. I tend to get more confused when the pattern moves between stitches and I need to keep converting as I'm working through a pattern.

Mrs. Cottontail

I finished a second character from The Tale of Peter Rabbit for my Easter box. I found a free pattern for Peter's mother here.

For this project I used Knit Picks Brava Worsted and I found it was a lighter weight worsted than some. For those of you familiar with Planet June's designs and writing she's actually collecting yarn samples on her Ravelry group here to do a write up comparing the various products to document and demonstrate the variances in worsted weight brand yarns so we have an understanding of what we are working with when we start a project. I know I often have to combine brands to get the colors I want for a project and sometimes the size variances don't make a huge difference depending on where I'm using the color, but in locations a size change can throw off a project and that can be frustrating. I look forward to her results when she publishes them.

The challenge I had with using a lighter weight yarn for the body was I needed to change the yarn I intended to use for the clothes. One of the reasons this didn't post Monday was I had the dress almost finished using Joann's Big Twist yarn and it was just too heavy for the bunny. I pulled out an old skein of Red Heart Comfort Sport Blue and Bernat Baby Big Ball Sport Yarn, Baby Yellow and the fit was better.

Notes:

I used an e hook for the bunny. The white is baby yarn to match the lighter worsted yarn, the other white worsted I had was too heavy with the Brava worsted. If I make this pattern again, I'd go with the feet I used for Peter rather than the small feet used in this pattern. I think you get better overall balance.

With the exception of the bonnet I used a C hook with the baby yarn. The bonnet was made with Caron One Pound , White and an e hook.

While this bunny is made to be played with so the clothes can be removed, if I make this bunny again I wouldn't add the white tummy again, it makes it harder to fit the dress. I added the tail after the dress was done to make sure the hole lined up in the back.

My mailing deadline is coming quickly. I'd hopes for more projects, but first I really need to finish the finger puppet family. After that we will see if there is any time left. If not it is on to the summer birthday and more doll donations.

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.