Coraline Crochet Doll WIP

After finishing up the blue crochet doll for the ultimate prize-box, I started my attempt at a Crocheted Coraline doll. She came about because of the kids. They urged me to turn the other doll into Coraline because I was using blue yarn for the hair. Naturally it had to be Coraline! I almost succumbed before I came to my senses and stuck with the original plan, but I did promise them I would make the Coraline doll.

So here goes:

I wasn’t sure if I wanted crocheted, embroidered, or button eyes. I tried crocheted and embroidered and hated both, so I went with buttons (it was the only real option but I had to try the others).

The mouth was another question mark. Some illustrations looked creepy but I wanted to keep the flavor of it so I went with this. I thought it still looked cute. Some of the kids said it was too creepy and others loved it. I think it’s just the right amount of creepy. 🙂

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Crochet Charizard

I’ve  been pretty crochet lazy around the house. I haven’t crocheted much of anything at home, but I’ve made a few things at work for the kids. Before Christmas, a student wanted me to make a Charizard for him. He had made it to our Ultimate prize-box and I told him I would try but that there was no guaranteed time frame. He ended up picking something else and I thought the need to make the toy had passed.

However, his little brother, who is an adorable little transitional Kinder, kept asking (pestering) me to still make it. I told him I’d try. Eventually, he wore me down, so I pulled out some orange and yellow yarn. I had it in my work bag but I didn’t start right away, even though he asked me about it every time I turned around. I told him I was thinking about how to start and that I needed time. Yep, I was bargaining with a four-year-old about needing more think time.

Did I want to make an applique, a simple amigurumi, or something a little more complicated? How did I want to actually go about making it? I ditched the applique idea. I looked at many pictures and finally gave it a go… and hated the results. I had the head done and half the body when I decided to frog it back. My little kinder was on me again about where it went. I explained I was going to try again. He sure is tenacious for a four year old. I’m always surprised that he is so focused on my crochet. It probably didn’t help that he thought Charizard was for him, even though I kept telling him it was for the prize-box.

I took more time to rethink my strategy and started again. I finished the head and was happier with it.

GRRRR

I took a new direction with the body as well. My first attempt was working it in the round and this second time around, I worked it in panels. Then I put it down for a long time. I wasn’t sure I was happy with this new direction.

Languishing away!

I left it in this state for a loooong time. The kids, and especially the kinder who started it all, were super excited about it. I was worried it didn’t look like a Charizard but they seemed to recognize it. I was close to ripping it back again but left it alone instead. I worked on other things while I waited for inspiration.

Duly inspired,  I got this far.

Don’t frog me back! I look like Charizard!

Then I dumped him again. Another student made it to Ultimate prize-box and he wanted an emoji puppet. I should have made him wait but I didn’t need much of an excuse to put the Charizard down again. A parent that probably doesn’t know I crochet saw this guy sticking out of my bag and exclaimed, “Is that Charizard?!” I was super happy he was recognized without any introduction so I guess he’s coming out fine.

I’m still finishing up the puppet but once I’m done, there will be no more deviations. This guy is going to get finished!

Crochet Goals For July

July is here and I can’t believe I’m halfway through the summer already. That means I only have one more month to finish all the goals I had for the summer before I go back to work. Having said that, I did accomplish a lot so far, crochet and otherwise. I have ticked off a bunch of tasks off my summer list (like getting the leaky outdoor water faucet fixed), so I’m very proud of myself.

Now, I just have to get the house painted, get a new fence installed (our backyard fence is literally breaking apart and is on the verge of tipping over!), re-organizing our garage, getting our sprinklers repaired and getting some plumbing issues taken care of. I think that’s all of it! Wait, I need to clean up my desktop and back up everything. That’s actually a monumental task. Oh, and lose 15 pounds. Nah, I’ll leave that for when I go back to work.

On the crochet front, I want to finish the first level of the certification course this week and have it sent off by Saturday. I’ve finished the last project in lesson five. I needed to find or design a beginner project to go with the three lesson plans I have to turn in. I was going to make some slippers but slippers don’t quite reflect my personality. Instead, I wanted to make a toy. I decided one of my square rag dolls would fit the bill.

He’s ready to go!

There’s quite a bit of sewing, so hopefully that doesn’t disqualify it as a ‘beginner’ project. It’s nothing but single crochet squares and rectangles. If I pass the course, I’d like to sign up for level two and maybe finish that off before I go back to work in August, but I’m not holding my breath on that one.

I finally started the mermaid puppet while in San Diego last week.

This might be a project I do for level two of the certification course.

Freebie Friday – Crochet Puppets

I assume not everyone has a need for a crochet puppet, but since I was entrenched in puppets, I thought I’d share how I make them. I plan on making a video for a puppet or puppets soon, so if this post looks too wordy (I know it does to me), you can just wait for that. It will eventually happen, but if you want to get started right away, read on!

The Process

The body

I start with a tube that fits around a hand. Sometimes it comes out a little tighter and sometimes a little looser than I like, but it doesn’t really matter as long as it goes over your hand.

The tube can be made up of any color and any kind of yarn. This will be the shirt (or top part of a dress) and can be made out of any stitch or color combination. I’ve only made three puppets so far and they were made for my students so I kept the tube portion simple. I’m all about simple. I used single crochet in the round for two of them. For the third one (red and black puppet), I made a rectangle of single crochet rows and then sewed up the side to make a tube. You could even make two squares and sew up on two sides. I haven’t tried this yet.

I’m just a tube (in the round).

Nothing but a tube.

Last Crochet Puppet For Students

I’ve been trying to finish the girl crochet puppet for my clever 5th grader. I only have until tomorrow to finish it so I’m cutting it close! Most of it is done, but I still have to do the face and hair.

I can’t see anything!

I’m taking it back to work today where I will finish if off with the student’s input.

The head came out a little smaller than I would like but hopefully she’ll look better once she has a face and hair. My student wanted her to have a tongue so I made sure the inside of the mouth had some pink. I’m getting better at making the inside of the mouth. This third attempt is my favorite.

 

Forget the Top Hat

I basked in the glow of student adulation over the Jeffy puppet for about one whole day. Then it was back to business as usual. Back to reality and the typical way my students act when it comes to my crochet.

So, coming off my Jeffy high, came the low of being taken for granted. I finished off the emoji purse for my third grade girl and she happily accepted it and was on her way. No problem there. Seeing her happy with her purse was thanks enough (really😁).

Then, it was time for the top hat for my 2nd grade boy…but he changed his mind. He didn’t want the top hat anymore, he wanted a puppet. Well, of course he did. After hearing how much the 5th graders loved the Jeffy, he wanted his own puppet, one that looked like him, no less.

I explained that time was running out and there was no way I could finish a complicated puppet like Jeffy. It would have to be something much simpler. He said that was fine. And typical, it didn’t take him long to start asking if I was finished. I mean, he immediately started asking if I was done! By the end of the same day that he made the request, he asked if I was done. I know they think I have a magic crochet wand (hook) that I can just wave around and abracadabra, there’s a completed item. I chuckled and let him know that I hadn’t had time to even start it yet.

The next few days were like going on a trip with a child in the back seat who keeps asking if we’re there yet. I kept hearing, “Are you finished yet, are you finished yet, are you finished yet?”

Headless Crochet Jeffy the Puppet

I had to share what happened with the headless Jeffy puppet. I took the unfinished puppet to work to finish up the head. I had the WIP in my crochet bag. When the older kids got out of school, my fifth grader who requested the puppet walked in. The first thing he asked me was if I had started the puppet. I told him to go look in my crochet bag, hoping he would like what I had so far. I was dispensing snacks so I became distracted. Next thing I knew, he was playing with the headless puppet! I guess he liked it! LOL He even tried to make him a thingamajig with a pipe cleaner so he could move the arms. I helped him make a better one with a wooden dowel I had in our craft closet.

It always feels good when you make something for someone and they truly love it. Meeting someone else’s expectations can be daunting, even if it’s a fifth grade boy’s expectations, especially if it’s a fifth grade boy’s expectations! Let’s see what happens when the head is done.

Life Size Crochet Doll WIP

What to do when I have a half-finished doll the kids are salivating to get their hands on? I let them play with it of course! Not sure if this was prudent, but it sure was fun. I’ve allowed the kids to play with her because I wasn’t sure I could finish her before the end of the school year. I’m glad I did  because they’ve been having so much fun with her. Especially the hair, they can’t stop messing with the hair! They even put this cute flower in it that came from a cupcake we had for snack.

The flower made all the difference!

One little girl shared her headband 🙂

Life Size Crochet Doll Progress

Picture it, three small children, smitten with half of a life size doll. I finally attached arms to my doll and three of my Kindergarten students couldn’t stop hugging her and dare I mention, one of them couldn’t stop kissing her. The doll is a bit heavy because I stuffed her body with rags but that didn’t stop them from picking her up and squeezing her (and kissing her).

Progress on Life Size Doll

Progress on the creepy life-sized doll is slow going. The body is done but I haven’t really had a chance to work on anything else but I did get started on the hands and am hopeful I can get the arms done by the end of the month.

 

That’s a kindergartner hand. Pretty close.

Once the arms get done, I can give her a shirt and finally give her some hair. Once she gets hair, she won’t be quite so creepy. I threw a small work shirt on her so the kids could stop worrying about her state of nakedness. Although, I might let her keep the shirt. 🙂

The kids are super excited now. One of my second graders was in her last week with us before a move to another state and she used the ‘moving’ card on me.  I wasn’t letting any of them play with the doll. It was weird  to me she wanted to play with something that looked like a bowling pin  but how could I say no to my student when she looked at me all sad and telling me she won’t get to see it finished. I handed it to her and the kids all squealed with delight. Honestly, I didn’t understand how they could have so much excitement over a half finished doll that looked creepy to boot. Must be a kid thing.