Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all who visit here as I revisit my Christmas projects for 2020.

Snowman

I'd hoped to finish more of the Christmas themed ami's from the Christmas Ami's set. I finished the penguin and the snowman this year. There is always next year. You can purchase the set here.

This was the last project that made it into the Christmas box. I realized as I looked at the calendar I had to ship to have any hope of getting the package there before Christmas.

Knight Hand Puppet

This is the knight to go with the dragon hand puppet I posted previously. I have a castle theme gift set going out to two little ones this year. One is getting the hand puppets the other the castle with the finger puppets. I hope at a later date to finish the princess and prince but that isn't going to happen for this Christmas box. Time is quickly running out to finish items and ship. You can find the free pattern here.

The only big change I will make when I make the prince which is a variation on the knight puppet is to increase the arm hole chains. I found the arms a little tighter on this puppet than on the dragon and I think it has to do with attaching the arms. Not a huge change but one worth mentioning as I tend to consult these pages for notes for future projects.

You don't have to sew the sword or shield to the puppet's hands. I chose to do both as I doubted either would last long without being lost forever if I didn't. I really liked the shield and sword pattern and could easily see using those on future ami projects.

I can tell it is getting time to mail this box as I am finding myself wanting to make doll clothes again and I haven't made any since summer. Yet around Christmas I always start up again. This year I'm even more eager as I have a few new dolls being added to the donation so I get to experiment with some new ideas.

Still nothing can get started until I finish what needs to be mailed.

Dragon Finger Puppet

This is the final puppet from the free set I started posting about last week. You can find the pattern here.

The Castle Tote will be going out with finger puppets and a copy of The Knight and the Dragon as part of this year's Christmas box. I'm running out of time to get this box finished but I'm getting close.

Worm in an Apple

I mentioned in my Lowly Worm post I started on a different project with Lowly in mind. This is that project. As I worked on the apple it quickly became clear that if I added the hat and the shoe Lowly would never fit through the apple so another plan needed to be created. That being said the apple was almost completed so why not finish the project and make him a friend of Lowly's to send with the package. You can find this pattern in Zoomigurumi 4 a series that has become kind of a go to for my children's book projects.

I made the apple using worsted weight yarn and an e hook. To make the worm fit I went with cotton sport yarn and a b hook. The book suggests you can use the same yarn but I increased the size of the apple and I still found with decreasing the size of the yarn and the hook size it was a tight fit for the worm.

My Christmas mailing deadline is drawing near so I am budily working on finishing up my Christmas box projects so they can head off. Then it will be time to start on doll donations with an eye towards the Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day boxes as they creep up really fast after Christmas.

Lowly Worm

I've long been a Richard Scarry fan I've added three of my favorites to the Christmas box this year GREAT BIG SCHOOLHOUSE, Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever, and Richard Scarry's Best Nursery Tales Ever.I also added two of his Christmas classics Richard Scarry's The Animals' Merry Christmas and Richard Scarry's Christmas Mice.

While there are many reaccuring characters cats, bears and other creatures, my favorite was always Lowly Worm. When I was thinking about a character to include with this package of books, Lowly was the first one that came to mind. This however wasn't the first pattern that came to mind. I'll be writing about that project later. I soon realized as I worked on that project it wasn't going to be practical with Lowly's hat and shoe.

Fortunatley for those of you who want to crochet your own Lowly this pattern is a free pattern available here.

This was a great project to use up some knit picks sport cotton. I was a little nervous about the blue because it was the only blue I had close to the right color and a small left over ball I was hoping would hold out to finish the project. I had just one long strand left when Lowly was done. Always a good feeling to have a little left in case you have an issue. Since I wanted a slightly smaller Lowly I went with a D hook and it worked out well with this yarn.

Fox Hand Puppet

I mentioned when I made the Gingerbread Babypuppet that I still had to make the fox to complete the set. I've been trading off projects doing some small tight ami's like the finger puppets with some that aren't so tight like the fox to give my hands a break. The pattern for this puppet comes from the same out of print leaflet as the Gingerbread Baby,Crochet Storybook Puppets by Sheila Leslie. It was printed by House of White Birches in 1991.

I used Hobby Lobby's Yarn Bee Breath Deep Clay for the Fox main body. As I mentioned previously I've been struggling to find browns and rust colors in worsted weight yarn. This yarn is incredibly soft but I'd honestly trade just a little softeness for a little more body you get from more traditional acrylic yarns to hold the body of the puppet.

It is without a doubt one of the softest puppets I've ever made, but I'd love for it to hold its shape jsut a little more which you get with a Caron Pounder or Red Heart Super Saver. That being said I'm just grateful I was able to find the colors.

I recently found some Vanna's Choice in brown's during a shipping offer from Herrschners. I haven't worked with Vanna's in a while. I remember it being a softer yarn but I thought it had more body than the last yarns I've tried for puppets so far. We shall see. I'm hoping a range of brown shades come back to traditional acrylic brands as I can't be the only one that uses them.