American Girl Grey Lady

I didn't get to this pattern last year, but it is one of my favorites. It works up quickly and has some cute accessories. The skirt and top are connected to form a single dress piece. The stitches used in the top create a lovely textured sweater look and the skirt is pleated. The link to purchase it at has switched since I posted about this pattern last. You can now buy it here.

Some notes for myself Bernat Super Value is my favorite grey. It isn't the cheapest worsted, but for what ever reason I love their grey. I love their other colors too, but I just prefer their grey above all others and can deal with Red Heart or Caron Pounders for everything else. I went on a purge to finish off all the grey in the house this year, so by next year I may need more, thus the note to self.

For my crazy gauge I need to use a G hook for the skirt and an H for the top. The panels for the poncho are sewn to each other. This should be obvious but I got distracted this year and sewed the big panel together thinking the other was joined at the end of that joining. No clear idea why this would be a thing and ended up making a new large panel. The big panel is sewed directly to the small panel. Sometimes I have to spell things out directly for myself.

Valentine Bunny Lovey

I've been continuing with my holiday packages for my relative's little girl. I wanted a Valentine Lovey and couldn't quite find what I wanted in one pattern, so like with the Santa Lovey I had to be a bit creative. The patterns are all free and available on Ravelry. The first pattern is the Bunny Lovey pattern and it is available here. I couldn't find a Valentine Lovey pattern with a heart so as I said I put one together. For what ever reason I had a block making a heart. I'm not sure what was not registering about how they were made, but I finally found a free pattern here that comes in 3 sizes and it clicked for me. Last the bow comes from a Hello Kitty pattern I've made frequently found here.

This is the second holiday lovey I've had to find a work around for so my reminder to myself is that it can be done with a little patience. DH purchased a St. Patrick's Day pattern for me and I think I have a free Easter pattern which just leaves me with something of a Patriotic nature to cover Memorial Day/July 4th and the year of holiday lovey's will be complete. Next year it will just be ami's I think unless she's lost some of them in her move. It's been a fun step outside my comfort zone. I've never tried anything like these before, but they've been fun.

Another plus to this project was it was a great way to use up yarn. The only "new" yarn was the white. I'd depleted my supply of basic Red Heart white. However, this let me use up the left over yarn from the baby doll carrier and several baby and 18" doll projects from last years donation. I love making projects that help me decrease my on hand stash rather than needing to buy more yarn.

Crochet Chicken Drumsticks

I've made crochet food on and off for the nieces, but a few years ago I participated in Crochetville's Olympic Challenge and made a bag full of crochet food for the toy donation. It was a huge hit. In fact I understand the staff couldn't stop assembling the amigurumi hamburger while the stuff was in the office waiting for the students to pick it all up. I've always told myself I'd get back to adding food to the donation, but this year, I couldn't resist the urge to start making some.

I've collected quite a few free patterns, paid patterns, books, and out of print leaflets over the years in my quest to come up with new things to make. However, for this project I returned to the one book I think is the most complete for toy food Tasty Crochet: A Pantry Full of Patterns for 33 Tasty Treats.This is one of my favorites because it has a broad range of foods to make and they easily adapt to cheap worsted weight yarn regardless of the yarns listed. I can make snacks, meals, and desserts all from the same book. It is a great place to start any food project while I assemble my other patterns.

As always I try to make notes to myself on my projects. I've a pile of yarn given to me by a friend when his Mom and sister passed and it has been a great blessing in completing my donation projects. However, one note to myself. This particular white worsted is stretchy which is often a plus with my doll clothes when they might be in need of a little give. However, stretch is not a plus in yarn when making amis. Regardless of my wish to finally finish off this yarn, I should not use it in any future food projects this year. It should be restricted only to clothes.

I loved the green beans. These were simple to make and a great way to add some veggies to the meal. They work up quickly and clearly can be switched between meals once the food is donated to the child. I've packaged it together just for storage/donation purposes. These are a great project to do when I need a project where I can't completely focus on the project. Something to think about when planning when to make these.