Easter Pig

I participated in two swaps this month. One was specifically ami themed, but the other seemed appropriate to include amis.

This project was made by adapting the free Red Heart pattern Little Crochet Piggy found here. I made the skirt a little fancier and I added sleeves. I also adapted a Barbie pattern to add an Easter hat. The Easter basket was made by adapting a free Barbie pattern for an Easter basket found here.

I love finding ways to use my doll clothes patterns to add more to my amis.

One great find that was helpful for this and the elephant project were tiny Easter Eggs at Michaels. In the past, I've found them at JoAnn's or Christmas Tree Shops, but this year no luck. They had larger eggs, but no eggs that would fit inside mini Easter baskets. While at Michaels to get something else I was rather surprised to find they had the tiny eggs.


If you arrived here looking for free patterns you may be interested in the following blog 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.

Leprechaun Dishcloth

I don't do as many swaps as I'd like but I did participate in two this month at Crochetville. This first was a KISS (Keep it Simple) Dishcloth swap.

I asked for a holiday dishcloth and as you can see, I got a beautiful Leprechaun Dishcloth from my partner. I believe you can find the free pattern here. I am thrilled. I love holiday dishcloths and this one is adorable. I love the facial details. I always find those items intimidating when I make something where the back shows. On an ami, everything is hidden inside. The back of this is beautiful.

Free Dishcloth and Holiday Patterns Available on the Following Blog Pages:

Free Crochet and Knit Dishcloths Patterns

Valentines

St. Patrick's Day

Easter

Graduation

Patriotic

Halloween Page

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Pictures may not be used without written permission.

My Ami Swap Package Arrived

I have been posting pictures of the ami's I sent for the Crochetville Ami swap, but my package arrived and it was wonderful. I love holiday ami's, but I am generally too busy making them to send to get any finished for our house. When I have the chance to request one, I always ask for holiday themed ones. The only holiday I exclude is Christmas. I have inherited and acquired so much Christmas stuff that I am actually reaching the point I may need to decrease. I want the ami's to get the maximum attention. This witch will have a prominent place in my Halloween decorations.



My partner also sent some wonderful extras. She sent two beautiful dishcloths. I got a bag of buttons for my doll making. A box of cinnamon stick tea and three bags of flavored cocoa were a great added bonus. My dish cloth cotton is running low so I was thrilled with the 4 skeins of crochet cotton. I also received a pattern holder and three crochet leaflets. She sent Fashion Doll Tooth Fairies, Annie's Ultimate Book of Pot Holders, Old Timey Scrap Afghans.

KISS Dishcloth Swap

I recently participated in a dishcloth swap at Crochetville and mine arrived Friday. In the rush of Easter boxes I forgot to take a picture of the one I sent. However, I did get a beautiful one in return.

When Sales and Coupons Align

I am doing another swap on Crochetville and was out shopping for it over the long weekend. Swaps present unique shopping challenges. When I shop for craft items for myself, I can wait until I get the right combination of sale or coupons to get the price I want. The time limits of swaps create a challenge of getting the items I want for my swap partner at the best price I can find in the time allotted. With this challenge, I often find I have coupons for items that are sale items, thus making the coupons useless, or a previous sale has often cleaned out the items I wanted to use my coupons for leaving me with limited options. Sometimes I think the companies do plan for this when they issue their best coupons. They place certain items off limits or have them, as sale items for a price that is higher than a coupon would have made it if used. When I have time to shop, this is not an issue because I can usually find the deal and wait until I get it before purchasing. The challenge with a deadline is to find the deal in a short time allotted for the swap.

This week was different. I must have been out of their shopping cycle because I managed to get sales on some of the lower end items I needed and was able to use my 50% coupons for the higher priced items on my list, which at one point brought me to getting two items for the price of one. This means more items for my swap partner. My husband picked up one item on my list that was the last one on the shelf. I have heard that it can be challenging to find at this store so I was thrilled when he told me he found it as they have the best non-sale price for the item.

I also got lucky finding Lily Sugar & Cream brown cotton yarn at AC Moore. I had planned to order it online because I have never been able to find brown locally. Sure enough, I checked at Joann’s and Michaels while we were out and they had no brown. I am hoping because I cleaned out their supply that AC Moore will order more due to demand.

Even online, I hit sales at Knitting Warehouse and was able to use online coupons at Joann’s. It does not often happen this way, so it is important to celebrate when it does.

My Swap Crochet Kit Arrived

I was one spoiled swapper in this round of Crochetville Kit Swapping. I got two kits not one. I know how the materials to make the Pilgrim Turkey and the Woodland Creatures patterns.

She sent me two doll crochet books. Dress-Up Fashions for 18 Inch Dolls and a Barbie Fashion Doll book that I did not have in my collection that uses baby finger yarn, not thread.

These were the two pretty bags she made for me.

There was a huge pile of yarn to complete the projects.

She even sent treats to put in the Halloween box to be mailed and to give to my relative who will be visiting us this weekend. It was a very thoughtful and generous package and I am very grateful to my swap partner.