Busy Baby Box Farm Activity Cube Bottom

Now we come to the last decorated portion of the Leisure Arts Busy Baby BoxesFarm cube. As I've begun working on the finger puppets I am considering adding a pocket to the roof to hold the finger puppets. Not sure how that will work. Another option would be to attach a bag. My one concern is that while the pockets are a fun place for a child to put the puppets while playing, they aren't a storage option. Lost puppets make for a dull toy.

This section is the pig pen and the dark green and lime green both are open for puppets to hang out. The brown circle area is the pig pen. I did end up altering the pattern for the green areas as I couldn't get mine to work out as detailed so I designed ones that worked for me. While I am really glad I put the extra support of plastic canvas in for the walls I will say putting the details in like the lazy daisy stich for the sunflower were not a good deal of fun working through the plastic canvas once the block was put together. It is something to consider if you decide to make you make this project.

Busy Baby Box Farm Activity Cube Side 4

This is the final barn side of Leisure Art's Busy Baby Boxes. The last side is actually the bottom of the barn.

Until I started making the various sides I hadn't realized how many nesting places the birds have in this toy. This side has a basket for the chicks. I ended up making a bigger basket because the chicks are attached by what I'd call saftey lines to the basket and can hang out over the edge and then be stored back inside. The original basket I made was too small to fit all the yarn and the chicks. I decided the best choice was to make the toy child friendly and thus a bigger basket was made that makes it much easier to store the chicks and their safety lines in the basket.

Busy Baby Box Farm Activity Cube Side 3

I'm continuing to work on finishing the Farm Activity Cube found in Leisure Arts Busy Baby Boxesthat I've been writing about for several weeks now.

This side reminds me of several barn projects I've made previously with the hayloft and the hay hanging out of it. I do love the pockets for the various finger puppets. Those are still on my to make list once the sides are made. The remaining sides are the most complicated. I didn't choose to leave it that way. For once I decided to follow the directions. I've been completing the sides in the order suggested by the designer.

Busy Baby Box Farm Activity Cube Side 1

I finally got around to crocheting and sewing on the pieces for the first side of Leisure Arts Busy Baby Boxes Farm.

You may recognize the chicken finger puppet. I made that back in August as a quick project in between other projects. I will likely not get to the rest of the finger puppets prior to finishing the farm. However, the cow will go inside the barn doors in the yellow pocket. I am hoping to post the finger puppets in their new homes as I finish them.

My mailing deadlines are coming up so I do need to get a move on for this birthday box and the Halloween one if I hope to get them there with time to spare.

Busy Baby Box Farm Activity Cube Frame

I made the squares for Farm box found in Leisure Arts Busy Baby Boxes back in the summer but while the pattern doesn't call for it I wanted to back the squares with plastic canvas to make the box a little stronger. This required ordering plastic canvas and that took me longer to get to and thus I finished the frame for the box this week and wanted to post my progress and notes for future reference.

I edged the plastic canvas squares before sewing them to the squares. I learned this trick when making the castle I wrote about earlier. Plastic canvas has a way of edging through crochet sometimes but if it is covered in yarn it isn't an issue. Sewing them on was not an issue from there. I did not line the roof pieces. The roof is the one area of the busy box that doesn't have any attachments. The red loft area does have some windows, but I'm not worried about these needing additional backing. I believe the structure should be solid with the base provided.

The premise of a busy box is that it provides young children with activities on the box to keep them amused. Each side generally has something different for the child to explore. The one exception as I mentioned above for this box is the roof side. Most of the boxes I've seen are flat on all sides. One of the things that drew me to this project was that it was more than a box. The farm theme has been popular and I thought sacrificing one activity side was worth it to continue the farm theme.

After sewing the plastic canvas to the sides I was concerned about assembling the box but that proved to be easier than expected. The directions are clear and used for both boxes in the pattern set.

This leaves me with five sides of the box to decorate and five puppets to make as I made the chicken over the summer. I think this is doable with my deadline. The big hurdle was finishing the box.

My box is not as wide as the box pictured I believe because of the plastic canvas which I preferred. I wasn't crazy about the overstuffed look in the book's pictures.

Chicken Finger Puppet

I started working on Leisure Arts Farm Box from Busy Baby Boxesand I finished all the squares. Looking at the project and seeing some other projects in progress from people who had made the box, I decided I wanted to line the squares I made with plastic canvas before assembling. The only challenge is plastic canvas is not the hobby it once was and therefore stores are not stocking it the way the once were in previous times. Therefore I will need to order it before I can continue on with that part of this October birthday project as I've depleted my supply.

So I moved on to the finger puppets. These are rather unique puppets. For the most part when I've made finger puppets they are made in sc in rounds to form the body casing. I won't give away trade secrets but these are very different and much quicker to assemble. When I finish the farm animals I want to add the princess from the other cube project to the castle I'm making for Christmas.

I used an H hook and worsted weight 4 yarn to complete this project. The trims were made with a combination of worsted and sport weight scraps.

Crochet Barn and Farm Animal Finger Puppets

I needed a project to send out as a Valentine's present for a little one and I really wasn't it the mood for traditional Valentine's toys. Since I'd made the Down on the Farm for her birthday and the Farm Cilo Bag for Christmas I decided to stick with the farm theme.

I actually picked this pattern up in 2 places Best Crochet Animals, Toys & Dolls and the DVD Crochet World Collection. However if you don't happen to have either of those you can buy the single pattern at e-pattern central here. The pattern isn't terribly expensive, but if you get on their mailing list you will find they have amazing sales all the time bringing their patterns down to as little as $1 at times.

Notes for making the barn which I hope to do again.

I lined the entire farm with plastic canvas to help it be more of a play toy for little hands. I did two layers for the short sides and sewed plastic canvas between them. I found I was unable to do a double layer for the long piece which makes the roof and larger sides of the house, so I sewed sections of plastic canvas to each separate area to help the section hold its shape. I found this gave the barn more stability.

While I left a margin around the edges for sewing I'd make it larger next time for the trim and other items required to put the barn together. I added black around the roof after I'd sewn it together, as the original pattern did not account for having two sides of plastic canvas. This made things a little tighter but worth the need to add as the stability was greatly improved with the additional plastic canvas.

I then decided I needed more puppets. I do get carried away with these projects. I found the next set of patterns as a free pattern here. These are slightly bigger but more detailed finger puppets. These were my favorites.

Last I turned to one of my favorite finger puppet sets to find a horse only to find as I wrote this the link had moved to Interweave Crochet. The horse is part of a free set of fairy tale finger puppets and you can find the set here. I have made this set many times over the years. The dragon and the knight have been particularly popular.

Once finished I packed them all in to make sure they'd fit as the box was only designed for the original animals in the pattern.

I'm a huge fan of adding books to presents and for the holiday packages I try to go seasonal.

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.

Annie's Released Down on the Farm as an e-Pattern

Back in 2010 I picked up this pattern from a used pattern site and found out it was rare and hard to find a copy. People have asked me about my posts about it over the years but I don't violate copy rights to patterns to send out copies of stuff. The good news is Annie's is starting to recognize the value of their old patterns and is starting to release some of their older patterns that are incredibly hard to find as e-patterns. I came across this pattern while trying to link to another blog. I just had to post to let people who have wanted this pattern know it is now in reach and without the crazy second hand price costs for original print patterns. I love the old Annie's patterns, but not for the collectible value of them, but for the patterns that I want to make. Hopefully, they will continue to release more of what's in the vault.

It's funny because this is on my list of patterns for the same child that has been getting the holiday packages. It made me so glad to think others can enjoy it too.

Now for the link.You can find the pattern here.

Farm Cilo Crochet

This was one of those projects that as soon as I saw it come up in my Blogger reader I knew I was going to make. Bizzy Crochet had blogged about this over the course of the summer and posted the free pattern in August. Her pattern includes not only the barn cilo, but also the farmer and animals. I already had made animals and a bag from an Annie's Attic pattern but the cilo bag was a great addition to my Christmas gift. I will be making another for the second Christmas farm set I made to give at Easter. I just ran out of Christmas crafting time. The second farm will have to wait for Easter to get a cilo.





I had the bag finished before Thanksgiving, it just needed to be put together. However, I stopped to finish my Thanksgiving toys and then had other Christmas projects to be finished. I finally forced myself to stop and do the final assemble job so this can be mailed with the other toys.

This is a great addition to Bizzy Crochet's Castle Bag that will be going to a different family member in the same box I need to mail out soon.

Cow The Farms are Finished

I feel there should be horns sounding and people cheering, but there is just this post. Both basic farms are finished. I still have a silo to assemble and if time perhaps another silo bag to make, but I am done with the farms for the year. Perhaps another next year, but I can move on to other projects. I have a wooly mammoth to complete and I am on the fence about the pterodactyl. I am not sure if I will be making a second one and then that second set will be complete.



I used different yarn and a smaller hook on this cow so that may have been the issue. It could also have been my attitude. I wanted to work on Hello Kitty Pilgrim and the Pilgrim Bears that I have since started. Whatever the reason, this cow was far more stubborn than the first and it while the main body parts were fine, the detailed finishing pieces were not cooperating. It was determined to have my full attention.

I will be handing this guy off with a few dinosaurs to head to New Hampshire for birthday and Christmas presents. I heard rumors the T-Rex escaped early and has already claimed bedroom space.

If you arrived here looking for free toy patterns please see the following pages:

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

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Hello Kitty

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food


Pictures may not be used without permission.

Crochet Horse: The Last Farm Almost Complete

This was the last of the two farm animals remaining and I will say I am impressed with the ability I have shown in sticking to finishing projects. Even when I have wanted to go off and try new things, not repeat old patterns to make presents I need for upcoming birthdays and Christmas, I have managed to finish these gifts.

I love this pattern set which is an Old Annie’s Attic Pattern Club pattern, 87B54 printed in 1984. I have been blogging about my adventures with this pattern since April. When I finished the first one, I decided to do a second for another family member. I have learned a great deal since the first attempt.





One thing that I am hoping that will help is I purchased a tool that is supposed to help make tassels. My experience so making tail tassels for the animals has not been wonderful and I have ended up just sewing them. Perhaps if I can master the tassel maker I can have nicer tails for the creatures.

In order to make the project more interesting, I decided on a white horse instead of the brown this time. I wanted black, but only having black safety eyes, that did not seem like a viable option and I hate sewing eyes. I still have to find a source for colored eyes. I found one, but they do not sell small colored eyes, just the larger sized ones.

If you arrived here looking for free toy patterns please see the following pages:

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

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Hello Kitty

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food


Pictures may not be used without permission.

Farmer Boy

I started out working on Bizzy Crochet's Farmer Doll as I mentioned in Tuesday's Chicken post. The Farmer pattern is a small doll pattern with legs. As I have discussed I am working on a crochet version of a Fisher Price Farm. My human characters have more features, but I still want them to be able to stand like the Fisher Price characters.




My original intention was to complete the doll pattern as written complete with legs. However, when I finished the torso, I realized I had a doll that was similar to the Farmer Female I had completed earlier. This one was much shorter, so he became a Farmer Boy, and the girl still needs a husband. I am planning to add more stitches to his pants to make the body longer and hopefully will have a Farmer Dad.

The hat pattern is different than the one found on Bizzy Crochet. I wanted the Boy and Dad to look different. I remembered the caps the old Fisher Price characters wore and was aiming for that look. I will use the pattern for the hat on Bizzy Crochet when I make the larger Dad.

If you arrived here looking for free toy patterns please see the following pages:

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

Dinosaurs and Dragons

Hello Kitty

Teddy Bear Patterns and Clothes

Knit and Crochet Food Patterns Great for Play Food


Pictures may not be used without permission.