A Christmas Chrysalis

 

Nightgown and Victorian Undies for Emma and her friends

 

I am still having a lot of fun playing with this new doll design, Emma.  She is 11 inches tall, with very simple jointed arms and legs.  You can find the pattern for the doll on this blog, a couple posts back.  She is developing a nice wardrobe; today's addition is a nightgown and some Victorian underwear...my favorite to make!

Emma's Nightgown and Victorian Undies

As always, enjoy the crochet!

Accessories for Emma, Zoe, and Jennie

 

On a pattern role with this doll.  She now has some new shoe selections, a cloche cap, and a sweater than can be made as a vest, cardigan, or hoodie!

Accessories for Emma

Enjoy the Crochet!

Tops and Bottoms for Emma and her Friends

 Emma's friends, Jennie and Zoe, have new outfits to wear.  Two different styles of tops, that can be adapted to dresses, and cargo shorts and blue jeans.  The patterns are freely available here to download.

Tops and Bottoms for Emma

As always, enjoy the crochet!

New outfit for Emma

 A new outfit for Emma, which includes a strapped skirt, underwear, Mary Jane shoes and a sunhat

Emma's New Outfit

Emma

 

I got a bee in my bonnet to make a doll with simple joints.  Joints at the elbows, wrist, knees, and ankles.  A doll that did not require lots and lots of stitches to make up.  A simple doll.  So here is Emma, crocheted with worsted weight yarn and a D hook.  Her clothing is sportweight yarn.  She is 11 inches tall and easy to dress.  Her wig cap is simple, and for more wig ideas, please see Sandy Nordwall Eggers pattern on Ravelry:  Cute Hair Styles for Dolls

Emma, A Simple Jointed Doll

Enjoy Emma, and enjoy the crochet!

Sauron defeated...and yet...

 

Sauron defeated…and yet…

What of this Middle Earth we claim as home

Where fires burn where no dragons roam.

Where coasts are drowned as surely as Westernesse

And the Wise have sailed; sailed to the West.

Orcs breed, but not in Misty Mountains cold;

In City Canyons built on gold;

In Empty places where fear and hate

Are allowed to stew and percolate.

Dark Lords reign in Corporate Towers

And promise pain to those that cower

Among the wreckage of Middle Earth

That greed and corruption now devours.

For Men above all desire Power.

Beth Webber 8/25/2022

Another outfit for Hitty!

 DK weight yarn on the left; size 10 crochet cotton on the right

One more outfit for crochet Hitty, done in both DK weight cotton (1.75oz/140yds) and size 10 crochet cotton.

Full skirted dress in size 10 crochet cotton

Apron Pinafore in size 10 crochet cotton

Full skirted dress and apron pinafore in DK weight cotton

Enjoy the crochet!

Revisiting Crochet Hitty and her clothing

 Having updated Joyce's crochet Hitty pattern, I thought an update on her wardrobe would be a good idea too.  Size 10 crochet cotton was a favorite medium of mine for making small doll clothing, but as my hands get a bit older, and my eyes a bit dimmer, manipulating and seeing the stitches has become less than fun.  And honestly, crochet has to be fun!

Above is an example of crochet Hitty's camisole and petticoat.  On the left, they are worked in DK weight cotton yarn; on the right, size 10 crochet cotton.  There is more detail and better drape with size 10 cotton, but I am happy with the way the DK cotton outfit turned out.  One thing that occured to me as I was making the DK weight outfit:  crochet the petticoat to the last round of the camisole, and reduce the bulkiness at the waistline!

Here are links to both of the patterns:

Camisole and Petticoat in size 10 crochet cotton

Camisole and Petticoat in DK weight cotton

Crochet Hitty also has a tee shirt and overalls in DK weight yarn:

And here is a link:

Overalls and Tee Shirt in DK weight cotton

Coming soon...a full skirted dress and apron pinafore in DK weight cotton.  And if you are wondering what DK weight cotton is, look for cotton yarn that is 50 grams (1.75 ounces) and 125-130m (135-140 yds).  Sportweight falls in this catagory as well.

Enjoy the crochet!

Looking back

 

Five years ago, my friend Joyce  created a pattern to make a Hitty from crochet.  Between the two of us, we made dozens of dolls, with wardrobes and accessories and keepsake boxes.  It was great doll fun.

Fast forward.  A few days ago someone asked me for these patterns, and she was directed to the blog posts that contained them.  As I scrolled through the posts, I was reminded of all these wonderful dolls, our enjoyment, and also of so much  that  both Joyce and I have learned in the way of dollmaking techniques since this pattern was first created.

So I went back to the pattern, and tweaked it with some updates, added options for leg and arm attachment; made the torso and head as one piece, with a stabilized head that won't wobble and isn't made in two pieces.  

I changed the yarn from fingering to dk weight (a concession to my ageing eyes).  So here she is, all of six inches tall,  along with a simple outfit made of cotton dk yarn.  If you are not a carver, now you can crochet your own Hitty!

Swing and Jointed Leg Hitty pattern

Undies, A-line dress, and Sunhat

Enjoy the crochet!

Pro Life?

 To verify the attribution:  https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/pastor-dave-barnhart-unborn/

Pro unborn is not pro-life.

Never. Ending. Carnage.

 The shooter shot  his Grandmother in the face first, with weapons he bought on his 18th birthday.  

The Dream

 

The Dream

Alone I am walking the Pleasant Run trail,

Just under the Raymond Street bridge, heading toward Shelby.

A person is walking, slowly, ahead of me,

And my steps bring me even with his stride.

We walk in silence together. He is middle height, middle age, brown eyes and hair.

Sweatshirt, jeans, and sandals. It is Winter.

Half a mile on, we stop. To the left, along the creek bank, is a homeless camp.

Tent, tarp, and trash, and one person; man or woman impossible to tell.

“What do you see?” the man beside me asks

“An assault to my senses, to the earth, nothing but trash defiling the trail,” comes my immediate answer.

“What do You see?” I ask the man. Quietly…

“Hopelessness. Hopelessness and suffering on the edge of despair” the man with the brown eyes says.

I look again, at the tent, and the tarp and the trash, and the despair.

I look back at the man, but he is gone.

I walk on, alone.

Beth Webber 4-2-2022

Circle of Love

A Circle of Love.  Tiny dolls that fit snuggly in the palm of your hand.  Someone to tell your hopes and fears to.  This circle of love was made with one skein of Red Heart Super Saver Retro Stripes and all the different Lionbrand Skein Tones yarns.  Twelve skin colors in all.

Doll Pattern by Nelly Lopez:  BHD doll pattern

For the wig caps, you can use the hat pattern that comes with Nelly's doll pattern, just work it to 36 stitches and check the fit, then work without increasing.  To embelish, you can use one of these two patterns to create all kinds of hair styles, or make up your own!

Wig Patterns:  Cute Hairstyles for Dolls, by Sandy Nordwarll Eggers.  Available on Ravelry.

Wig Patterns:  WeeBee Book of Hair, Volume 1 by Laura Tegg.  Avaliable on Etsy.

And if you want to dress your dolls   you can use my free outfit pattern.

Outfits for Nelly's BHD doll:  Outfits, by Beth Webber.

Have a lovely day, and enjoy the crochet!

After the storm

I look to the hills,

But where will my help come from?

Not from the mountains

High and remote.

Not from the oceans

Cold and deep.

Not from the desert

Parched and barren.

Not from the storm

Bent on destruction.

I look to the sky

But where will my strength come from?

From God, who is above me.

From God, who is below me.

From God, who is within me.

Let the mountains of indifference despise me,

Let the oceans of hypocrisy wash over me,

Let the desert of hate burn me,

Let the storm of war destroy me.

God is my help and my strength forever.

Psalm 121, with a dash of Psalm 146 and my own musings.

Beth Webber 3-26-2022

Nelly Lopez's BHD pattern, and some clothing for her

 

I found this adorable doll pattern on a Facebook Group callede Nutshell Lane Studio.  The doll pattern is free, on Nelly Lopez blog.  But I wantede to make her a wardrobe, and it is also free and I will post it here:

Nelly Lopez BHD pattern  links to the doll pattern.  You can use the hat pattern as a wig cap and make all sorts of hair styles.  This doll is Nelly Lopez design.

Outfits for Nelly Lopez BHD doll links to the above clothing.  The clothing are my own designs.

I made my Nelly Lopez dolls with Red Heart Super Saver and a size E crochet hook.  The clothing is made with Paintbox DK weight yarn and a D hook.  The clothing fits up over the feet of the doll and requires no closure, as I used the Foundation Single Crochet to begin each neckline.  This is a very stretchy stitch, and if you are not family with it, you can find many videos by doing a Google search.

My two girls, Onyx and Pearl

Overalls and bibbed jumper

Pinafore dresses

Basic dress, rompers, and sweater

Additional options to basic dress.

Nelly has a lot of other free doll designs on her blog, and outfits for the dolls.  Check it out, and enjoy the crochet!

Ukraine

 To honor the people of Ukraine, I created a small crochet flag and sunflower.  Did you know that  Ukraine exports more sunflower seeds than any other country?

The free pattern is available at this link: Flag and Sunflower.

While you make this flag, and sunflower, say a prayer for the people of Ukraine.

Be Still

 

Be Still

The stillness of the snow at night;

The stillness of the gentle rain.

The stillness of the owl in flight;

The stillness of a silent pain.

The stillness of the leaves that glide;

The stillness of the twilight moon.

The stillness of the tears that slide;

The stillness of the graveyard’s gloom.

The stillness of the morning glow;

The stillness of the path beyond.

The stillness of:  be still and know

That I am God.

Earth Teach Me

 

Earth teach me Faith

As the sun also rises.

Earth teach me Hope

To meet a new tomorrow.

Earth teach me Love

As you’ve cradled us from birth to death.

Earth teach me Humility

In the face of all eternity.