Anyhoo. In January learned to crochet. I saw this unbelievably cute thing (okay, fine-- it was an Ewok) on a website (http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=130572.0). The woman had made it by crocheting, and I thought, "How hard can it be?"
Um. Well.
As it turns out, it's not "hard," just "occasionally maddening." In any case, I signed up for this class in January. (It was supposed to be three classes, but I found the teacher so irritating that I didn't return. Long story -- let me just tell you that if you're trying to teach someone to crochet, and if they have a question, it's not very helpful to come over and literally TAKE the yarn and hook OUT of the student's hands, without asking or anything. I'm guessing I wasn't the only one who bailed after the first night.) But that one class was enough to learn the one stitch (the single crochet) I needed to get started. I made about four inches of a dishrag, then I made Karyn a scarf, and then I made this Bob the Builder doll, which took about three weeks of all my TV time. Asher had really gotten into Bob the Builder since an excursion to the Children's Museum, which was hosting a BtheB exhibit.
Um. Well.
As it turns out, it's not "hard," just "occasionally maddening." In any case, I signed up for this class in January. (It was supposed to be three classes, but I found the teacher so irritating that I didn't return. Long story -- let me just tell you that if you're trying to teach someone to crochet, and if they have a question, it's not very helpful to come over and literally TAKE the yarn and hook OUT of the student's hands, without asking or anything. I'm guessing I wasn't the only one who bailed after the first night.) But that one class was enough to learn the one stitch (the single crochet) I needed to get started. I made about four inches of a dishrag, then I made Karyn a scarf, and then I made this Bob the Builder doll, which took about three weeks of all my TV time. Asher had really gotten into Bob the Builder since an excursion to the Children's Museum, which was hosting a BtheB exhibit.
Asher really likes stuffed animals and is adorably cuddly with dolls, but it's impossible to find a nice Bob doll. I did find one online, but half of it was hard plastic, and it had a built-in nightlight. Not what I was looking for. I didn't have a pattern for this doll, but I found some helpful examples online of how to increase and decrease (which creates curves) and how to change colors (which -- and I counted -- I did incorrectly 15 of 20 times). It was all trial and error, and if I didn't like how something turned out, I just ripped it out and started again. (Which is heartbreaking -- it takes 30 seconds to undo an hour of crocheting.) So I ended up making 1 1/2 heads, 2 torsos, 3 arms, 3 legs, and 5 shoes. I also eventually figured out that a straight line on a curve IS a curve -- which is why the straps on the overalls turned out so wonky. Oh well. I started at the head and worked down, and it just kept getting bigger and bigger. I realized this morning that it would have been smart to make like a crime scene chalk outline of what I hoped it would look like, and then I could just lay the emerging doll down on the outline. That would have been brilliant. As it was, I just kept reminding myself of what Woody says to Buzz in Toy Story: "YOU are a CHILD'S PLAYTHING!" I figured it didn't have to be _good_ ; it was just good _practice_.
I used a yarn needle to embroider on the eyes, hair, mouth, and belt buckle, which are all just yarn. The tools in the belt are buttons that I found at Michaels. I know, I shouldn't put buttons on something for a child under three, but I've taken Infant CPR and have great confidence in my Heimlich technique.
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