I have a new child to crochet for...Lanie the American Girl Doll

My DD got an American Girl doll for Christmas and while she told me she did not want any crochet for her doll, I ignored her and made Lanie some PJs.   I think they are adorable.   Slippers will be coming shortly!

I orignallly tried to noodle through this PJ pattern and was totally stumped by the pants.  Then I found another pattern by the same poster and I think she just did a lot of shorthand on that last pattern, so this one had more detail and made more sense to me.   I missed a row on the pants, so i added the ruffle at the bottom for length and kind of messed up the shirt a bit, because my stitch counts were way off, so I added a row of picot at the top for kicks and giggles.   I used this heart for the applique, but the yarn coloring makes it look kind of like a plum.  Still cute.

Note the huge yarn beast that is my purple yarn.   I can't believe I willingly chose to battle that monster just to make a doll outfit.   Blech.  

Lanie was spending the night at Gramma's house so I was hoping it would fit when she returned this morning.   It does!   It's a bit snug, but my daughter is happy and in the end, that's all that matters.   Score 1 for the mom!

Zoinks!

Sometimes you need to take a break from the crocheted nativity to make a Shaggy.  

I played around with starting and stopping him for awhile before I decided to go with the pedestal for his legs.  This way he stands and will be much more fun to play with.  My 2yr old is a huge Scooby Doo fan, so stay tuned for pics of the rest of Mystery, Inc. now that I finally have a template (in my mind, of course) to work from.  

Look Ma, no pattern!

I'm pretty proud of this guy, even if he does sort of resemble Beaker from the Muppets in a Nutcracker suit.   In an effort to save my wooden Nutcrackers from the destruction of a careless Clara (and her copycat little sister), I looked online for a crochet pattern and did not find anything.   Not even for purchase.

So I set about using techniques I have garnered from other projects to create my own Nutcraker, using one of my wooden dudes as a model.   I think he turned out pretty good.   Especially since I just "wung it" through most of the project.  I may try another (def need to work on the head to clothing transition as well as the Craxxy Eyes) but knowing myself, I'll probably just move onto the next project in my queue.  Or something unfinished waiting around patiently like the gingerbread house or the puppet scarves. 

He even stands if you balance him very carefully.

Close up of his Beaker face...

My Magnum Opus: Stella the Wonder Dog

Sometime this summer, after completing MoJo JoJo for my friend, I decided to make Stella the Wonder Poodle for another friend from the same pattern creator, Delicious Crochet.    I thought it would be a quick and simple little dog that would crochet up fast and easy and I'd present it to my friend at our next book club.

See, this friend has a "sister" named Stella, who is a black standard poodle.  I have never met Stella in person, but I so love the stories, many of which chronicle how her parents love Stella more than her, so I just knew Stella needed to be made.  

Enter the loop stitch.   Whew.   What makes crochet so wonderfully appealing to me is the quickness of the stitch and that I only need to use one hand.   Loop stitch is a pull and a loop around, and pull back and a twist and a jump to the left and bring your knees in tight...oops sorry.  Got carried away.   Suffice it to say, loop stitch is a complete PITA but it makes a damn good poodle fur.

Then add in the fact that this pattern makes a GINORMOUS dog.   And that its 99% in one color.   And for things like legs...you need to make 4(!) of the same thing.   Bleh.  This is called ADHD Crochet because I get bored easily.   So Stella was put down, sometimes for months at a time.  Picked back up.   Put down.   Cursed at.  Locked away in a cabinet.   Picked back up again.

But finally finished.   I love her!    My daughter thinks she will be getting a white poodle soon.   I think I might tell her the pattern got lost in a forest fire or something.   

Here's STEEEELLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

She is supposed to stand, but I don't think I stuffed her legs enough.  So tip to the wise if you attempt this pattern, stuff the legs very well! 

What a cute face!

Funny story about crocheting poodle legs with loop stitching at the ankle.   While happily crocheting a leg in the waiting room at a carwash, one might just happen look down and see what looks very much like an acryllic, black, crocheted model of a male organ. 

Come on...tell me you see it?   I was horrified when I realized that it looked like I was crocheting a sex toy, in public, while my 2 yr old played happily nearby.   (I mean, I usually save *that* kind of crocheting for after bedtime, amiright?)

But through it all, Stella is now done and I can feel less guilt that the poodle is out of the cabinet and now I shall happily move onto the angel, puppet scarves, ornaments, star wars guys, gingerbread house, nativity, scooby doo guys, powerpuff girls v.2 and the nutcracker that are waiting in the queue.