Elsy

This is Elsy.  I just can't have one boy elf without making a girl to go with him and the name Elsy just seemed to work for her!  I used the same pattern as Eli and did different colors.

I used to have long hair when I was little & I often wore it in two braids.  So I wanted a girl elf with soft, long, dark brown braids.  I used Simply Soft Caron Chocolate yarn.  Love that yarn!  It took me a few tries (days) of experimenting to figure out how to crochet long strands into a hair piece.  Once that was accomplished, I found I needed a "part" down the center back of her hair to complete the braids.  It's a good thing I sewed her hat on her head so that you can't see the mistakes and struggles I had.  But in the end, it all came together!  I think I need to add ribbon bows to each end of her braids, though.   Elsy's hair was the most challenging AND my favorite part of making her.

I wanted all of the trimming of her shoes, arms, and hat to be different than the main color.  So to help brighten her up I chose white.   I thought it would be fun to add bells to her shoes, too!  I crochet so tight that I decided to make her buttons bigger than Eli's.   Then I found scrap Christmas varigated  yarn to make her hat pom-pom.  It too, is bigger than Eli's.  Next time I'll make it smaller.  With Elsy's head of hair, she tends to be a bit more "top heavy".

Eli and Elsy

Eli the Elf

This is Eddie Eli the Elf.

Why the name change?  When I was first thinking of a name for him, I wanted to call him Eli.  I love that name!  But in the end I decided not to.  I should have.  His story is almost complete and because it begins in Jerusalem, he cannot reasonably have an American name.  By the way, Eddie means, "wealthy guardian".  It just doesn't work for the story!  In the Hebrew language, Eli means, "the Lord is my God".  Which, for his story, is absolutely perfect!

Eddie Eli sits at about 13 inches tall, excluding the hat.  His legs are about 14 inches long, including the shoes.  When his hat is straight, it measures just under 12 inches.  That includes the pom-pom I made & sewed on to the end.  The hat was a bit boring without one.  His only non-yarn accessory is his eyes.  They are supposed to be stitched on.  Hand stitching is NOT my forte.  It took me 5 tries to get his mouth halfway decent!  His hair was fun to learn how to make.  It only took me a couple of tries.  I know how to make a toupee now!  My favorite thing about Eddie Eli is his ears.  LOVE them!

Eddie Eli is a special elf.  He loves to serve others.  He wants to share his story with you.  He's currently writing it all down and making it just right for the holiday.  So stay tuned!

Meet Tommy's Wife....

Betsy!

Man was not meant to be alone.  Tommy just seemed so lonely sitting up there on my stereo, that I was persuaded to make him a wife.  I had fun making her, too!  But, then again, I have too much fun when it comes to crocheting.  These are Pilgrim Turkey's, & I wanted to make her look like a female pilgrim as much as my limited expertise would allow.   I actually had to think a bit on my own, though.  It was only mildly painful & my ears were blowing steam, but I'm happy with the results!

For the bonnet, I used the pattern from the yellow chick I made a couple of months ago.    To add a bit of detail, I hand tied a black ribbon bow & stitched it off center.  I left off the strings used to tie the bonnet under the chin.  It looked too busy with all of the feathers & collar.  

I made eyelashes for her and chose more feminine feather colors.  It wasn't until after I'd sewn on her feathers that I compared her to Tommy.  That's when I noticed that I had chosen 3 colors that were the same as his.  I had even placed them in the same places!  Funny, I think.  'Course, I'm easily amused.

Betsy's beak is slightly smaller (I don't really like the size of Tommy's) and I changed the wattle stitching for a different look.  I like it better.  It's the same one that I used on the turkey door hanger. 

The collar is where I had to just experiment for a few days to see what I liked.  I ended up using half double crochet stitches to make the shells. Then I needed something for her to "cover up" with.  Tommy has a vest.  I looked at girl pilgrim pictures and decided to do a shirt front.  So again, I experimented for a few days.  I ended up making armholes for her wings.  This way it doesn't look like something's just hanging in front.  I wanted to do a white front so that I could add black ribbon for embellishment.  Two hand tied bows did the trick!  I sewed the shirt on between her feathers & the back of her wings.  The collar is tied to the shirt front at the end shells.  So nothing will freely fall off.  I added the same stitches as her collar, to the bottom of the shirt.


Tommy is very happy with Betsy.  And do you know what?  Betsy knows that she's the luckiest turkey in the world!  

And they lived happily ever after!

   

Quiet Door Decor

I have a few Christmas Door Hangers that are made from wood.  They're very cute & I love hanging them on our doors.  But by the time Christmas comes, I'm glad to take them off because I am annoyed at how much the bang around every time the door is opened or closed.   So when I saw this Turkey Door Hanger to crochet, I wanted to try it.  And guess what?  

SSHHHHHHHHHHHHH...... It's Quiet!!

Since making a few holiday decorations, I decided to try a couple more book marks.

The Cherry book mark was a PAIN.  It looks very festive, though.  It reminds me more of mistletoe than cherries.  The cherries made me swear in my head more times than I can count.  Let's just say it's a one timer unless someone pays me to make them one:)

The Sunflower bookmark was quite easy.  I finished it in about an hour and a half.  I learned a couple new stitches.  So next time I should be able to whip it out in a half hour.  The colors are more pale than I was looking for.  But it just gives it a softer look.   It's one of my favorites!

Pretty Pictures

Brynn has been making her own paintings on cardboard.

Here's a couple that she's finished:

Beautiful job, Brynn!

Happy Halloween!

Kara & Emma

Olivia

Brynn

HAPPY HALLOWEEN SQUIRRELS!