A look back at 2010

2010 is drawing to a close.  I hope it has brought more happiness than sorrow to all of you.  There have been some bumps along the way, but for me and my family, 2010 ends with comfort and joy.

I made a lot of dolls, and had the opportunity to share my creations with you.  I did a little gardening (until it got too hot!), and had the opportunity to talk to a real American hero: an astronaut!  Larry and I did a lot of biking, and as always enjoyed each other's company more than doing anything else.

May 2011 bring hope and joy to all of you.  If we're all a little kinder to one another, it is sure to be a better year than the year before.

Keep your hands warm!

We keep our house pretty cool in the winter, around 66F during the day.  My hands get cold, and its tough to hold a crochet hook when your hands are freezing :-)  So today I whipped up a pair of fingerless mitts to try to keep warm.  They work pretty good, so if you'd like to make a pair for yourself, the pattern is here:

Fingerless Mittens

This is a very simple pattern, and can be adapted to any size hand.  Adjust the number of cuff rows you make to fit, snug, around your wrist.  When working the palm, make it as long as you like.  I wanted my fingers well exposed so I can crochet.

These were made with Lionbrand WoolEase worsted weight yarn and a size G crochet hook.  Less than one skein made one pair.

Stay warm, and enjoy the crochet!

Images of Christmas, 2010

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Comfort and Joy; The Spirits of Christmas

May glad tidings of Comfort and Joy be yours this Christmas season,

And may the Spirit of Christmas remain in your heart all the year long!

 

Comfort (on the left) and Joy are all dressed up in their Holiday dresses, and ready for Santa to fill their stockings :-)

Their dresses have 'mock' smocking on the bodice, a crochet technique that uses Front Post Triple Crochet stitches to create a smocked look.  I love the look of smocking, and wanted to try to replicate it in crochet.  The post stitches can be a little fiddly if you've never tried them, so you might want to practice the stitch pattern with a larger yarn to get the hang of it.  The pattern for the dress is here:

Mock Smocking Dress Pattern

The stocking hat is crocheted in sportweight yarn (I used Lustersheen), and pattern is here:

Pocket Spirit Christmas hat

The Pocket Stockings are also crocheted in sportweight yarn.  They would make fun Christmas ornaments for a small tree, or the perfect stocking for your little dolls:

Pocket Stockings

Merry Christmas, my friends!  Have a happy Holy Day season, and a blessed New Year :-)

Easy last minute Christmas gifts

If you find yourself needing a simple, handmade gift and you are running out of time, this wonderful afghan from Lionbrand Yarn, or these scrappy scarves, might be just the ticket.

The afghan is made from Wool Ease Thick and Quick and a 'P' hook.  I loved the colors, it worked up quick, and the yarn was a joy to crochet with.  There was in fact enough yarn left over to make the two scarves here.

My most favorite thing to make for gifts is scarves from yarns in my stash.  I like to use bulky weight yarns and mix up the textures and fibers.  For these scarves, with an 'N' hook and bulky weight yarn, just chain 100, then work six to nine rows of half-double-crochet.  This will give you a scarf from four to five feet long and 4.5 to 6 inches wide.   Use different colors, or similar colors with different yarns, or use up whatever you have on hand.  What better than a warm and loving hug around the neck for your friends and family?

Hobbit Children

I first read The Lord of the Rings during a summer semester at college.   Since then I've probably re-read the trilogy 20 times, not including reading The Silmarillion,  The Hobbit, Lost Tales, and JRR Tolkien's letters.  It is my favorite book of literature; a story of courage, friendship, and ordinary people achieving the extraordinary. 

So when my latest Pocket Spirit got a curly hair style from some mohair boucle yarn I have, she told me in no uncertain terms that she was a Hobbit, and by jove, she was indeed :-)

So here meet Violet Willowdown and Rose Fernbrake, two dear Hobbit children.  I used the camisole pattern for the bodice of their dresses, and made their skirts from some lovely fabric that was a gift to me from Stepheny at Katie What Can You Do.  Stepheny has a delightful blog, and is a very dear person of great insight.

And this is Ivy Heathertoes, wearing another sweet combination of crochet and fabric.  The pattern for the bodice and dress is here:

Link Bodice and Dress

The fabric for Ivy's dress was another gift, this from the very talented dollmaker Kate Erbach.  If you'd like to see some of her amazing dolls, you can find them here at My Sister Kate

Violet, Ivy, and Rose say 'Have a lovely day!'

Thanksgiving, 2010

The good thing about growing older is realizing how much you have to be thankful for.

I hope all of you take time to pause for a moment and count the blessings in your life.  There is grief and joy in every life; may we have the strength to endure the grief, and the gratitude to acknowledge the joy.

Victorian Pocket Spirits

The works-in-progress from a couple weeks ago are now clad in their Victorian finery.  The pattern for all of these delightful little dresses is an Annie Potter Presents leaflet entitled "Victorian Darlings."   To fit the Pocket Spirits I used size 20 crochet cotton or size 8 perle cotton and a size 7 crochet hook for the dresses.  The sweet little boots were crocheted just as the pattern called for, with size 10 crochet cotton.  This pattern book is out of print, but if you do a Google search, you may come up with some used copies that are available.

Abby and Meghan

Felicia

Catherine and Bearable

Rebekah

Felicia in her nightgown

I did work out a couple of patterns specifically for the Pocket Spirits.  The nightgown above is one of them; you can download the pattern here:

Victorian Nightgown

Felicia in camisole and pantaloons

And also a pattern for a Victorian camisole and pantaloons.  I'm sure these patterns look familiar to you, but the instructions are now specifically for the Pocket Spirit size dolls.  

Pocket Spirit Camisole

These dresses also fit the 16cm BJD dolls, such as Lati Yellow and Fairyland Puki Fee.  For the long sleeved dresses you might want to crochet the sleeves a bit longer than the pattern calls for.  

Rebekah says "Have a lovely day!"

Images of late fall

Bicycling in our old home town of Columbus, Indiana over the weekend.  It was mild and breezy, with that touch of melancholy that comes with late fall. 

Winter may be with us soon...but the sun was shining on this day.