I've been crocheting now for 76 years, ever since I was four years old. I adored my grandmother and she crocheted so I wanted to...so she taught me. Well, with that much experience, I can pretty well crochet just about anything you might think up....right? I'd certainly hope so.
Some of my projects include baby blankets....I've made about a gazillion....every time there's a new baby anywhere, someone asks me to make a blanket....which I do so happily to welcome the little new life. Then there are my grandchildren. They are always wanting blankets or something or other. I've even sent a few to Chile becausel one of my DILs is from there.
One on-going project of mine is my Christmas decorations. Each year I make Christmas tree decorations for my surrogate family. It all began way back in 1988 when I made a box of Oreo cookies. Everyone wanted one so I got the idea of making Christmas tree decorations for everyone every year. I've tried to quit on occasion but get too much uproar and static from them all....so I just go on. The list includes my children and their spouses, my grandchildren and their spouses, my great grandchildren, the nieces and nephews of my SIL and my two DILs and a few very special friends. My family and my list grew....and grew...and grew and now in 2012 I made 41 of them. Some tell me they wouldn't have any decorations on their Christmas trees at all without the ones I've sent them. They know it is a reminder of how I love each and every one of them. These are displayed on the page called Christmas Decorations.
I was so thrilled when I became a Great Grandmother...I got three great grandbabies in the first year...that I made amigurumi for them every month. A problem that emerged from this was that the mothers wouldn't let the babies play with them very much because they were afraid they'd ruin them. And they wouldn't let anybody else's kids even see them!! Well, it's great for them to appreciate and value what I've made for them, but I really just wanted them to have something to play with to remember my love for them...oh well!! I've also given little amigurumi to the neighbor kids for Christmas sometimes. Some of them are on the page called Amigurumi Animals. Sometimes, however, I made little dolls in appropriate costumes like soccer and baseball uniforms or favorite characters in movies and on TV. These are on the page called Amigurumi Dolls.
One on-going project of mine is my Christmas decorations. Each year I make Christmas tree decorations for my surrogate family. It all began way back in 1988 when I made a box of Oreo cookies. Everyone wanted one so I got the idea of making Christmas tree decorations for everyone every year. I've tried to quit on occasion but get too much uproar and static from them all....so I just go on. The list includes my children and their spouses, my grandchildren and their spouses, my great grandchildren, the nieces and nephews of my SIL and my two DILs and a few very special friends. My family and my list grew....and grew...and grew and now in 2012 I made 41 of them. Some tell me they wouldn't have any decorations on their Christmas trees at all without the ones I've sent them. They know it is a reminder of how I love each and every one of them. These are displayed on the page called Christmas Decorations.
I was so thrilled when I became a Great Grandmother...I got three great grandbabies in the first year...that I made amigurumi for them every month. A problem that emerged from this was that the mothers wouldn't let the babies play with them very much because they were afraid they'd ruin them. And they wouldn't let anybody else's kids even see them!! Well, it's great for them to appreciate and value what I've made for them, but I really just wanted them to have something to play with to remember my love for them...oh well!! I've also given little amigurumi to the neighbor kids for Christmas sometimes. Some of them are on the page called Amigurumi Animals. Sometimes, however, I made little dolls in appropriate costumes like soccer and baseball uniforms or favorite characters in movies and on TV. These are on the page called Amigurumi Dolls.
But with all of this crocheting, the thing I like doing best is dolls.
I went through a stage of making outfits for Barbie, all of which my youngest granddaughter got. These pictures are on the Barbie page. They were a lot of fun, shaping them to fit the tiny little figure and imagining different designs. But, alas, one tires of the same thing after awhile.
Last Christmas I made baby life-sized dolls for my great-granddaughters....layouts and all. For my great grandson I made a sailor doll, same size but a little more masculine. My picture-taking skills are really bad but you can see some of them on the page called GwommyDolls.
My DIL is crazy about Precious Moments. I've given her so many of the figurines over the years that I was really losing interest and besides her cabinet is overflowing. So two or three years ago I decided to go a different direction....just to keep my own interest peaked. I had an old PM crochet book with a doll pattern so I made it and then made an outfit for each month of the year. She keeps it sitting on the table in her entryway, appropriately dressed, of course, for each month. You can see pictures of each of them on the PM page. The original September outfit was a cheerleader for the Pittsburgh Steelers, her favorite team. But then when October rolled around, she wouldn't let me undress it....wanted to keep it on her mantle all year round. So I made another doll and then we were all set. I just finished the new September design, soon to be added to the photo array.
Recently my youngest granddaughter, aged 6, was here and was totally crazy about the PM doll. Well, of course, I made her one. Now she is also totally enamoured with Disney Princesses....of course, that's what I've made for her....all 16 of them. I included Alice and Dorothy and Mary Poppins, because although they are not actually princesses, they are Disney or special to little girls. Her older sister, in college now, wanted Rapunzel because she dresses in a Rapunzel costume when she does her little girl birthday parties. But since she has always been enraptured with The Wizard of Oz, I also made her a Dorothy....and an Alice in Wonderland because her name is Allison. These will be on the Disney Princesses page when I get them photographed.
Well, I'm having the time of my life making this new set. The dresses weren't any trouble to copy but the wigs are taking a bit of time for me to learn how to get just the right look. I thought I'd share some of the problems and solutions that I've come up with for others so maybe I could be helpful to some young dollmaker or wigmaker. This will all be on the page called Doll Wigs.
