Dane Dolls

Elder Dane

I’ve had enough people ask me about baby Kenny’s Uncle Dane Doll, that I thought maybe I’d show you up close. It’s been hidden away behind the “Door” tab with the other “secrets,” that the kids got for Christmas.

When Dane left for a mission to Lithuania in June the twins were only 6 months old. We wanted the babies to know his face so that when he comes home, he’ll be a bit familiar. So, the idea for the Dane doll came about.

Football Dane

The original pattern was for a kitten doll–which I made last year–from the Lion Brand yarn site. It was easy to change the colors and leave off the pointed ears and turn it into a human–in this case–Uncle Dane. I sewed a three stitch brown tie at his neck and a black tag on his shirt. The face was made from June Taylor Colorfast Sew-In Inkjet Fabric Sheets. It was so easy to just pick the face picture from my computer and run the fabric through the printer. I cut it out and sewed it right on to the crocheted doll head.

The babies love them!

Sleepy Baby Lamb

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Sweet Lily-foo is getting the same present as Beckham…only in a different shade of this incredibly soft, perfect for babies, yarn.

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Pretty sure her surprise will be the “Very Berry” or maybe the “Barely Pink.” Hmmm….I’ll let you know…when I know.

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“Very Berry” won the toss. Believe it or not…this is about to become a baby lamb.

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Body and head…

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Feet and ears…

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make this Sleepy Baby Lamb!

Slippers For The Family Feet…

Every year–usually at Christmastime, a few dozen family feet need rewarming with new slippers. I had the kids dig their current sets out from the under the various beds to see if they needed repair, a good scrubbing, or retirement. Only Jillian’s were wounded enough for the mending basket and it wasn’t critical. So, first-it’s Daney boy’s turn for a brand new pair, because before he left, we discovered that one of his slippers was missing. Eaten by dragons, no doubt.

Making new ones is the least I can do for the cause of a cute, cold, boy–who is far, far away. We were told not even to buy a coat for him in America because we don’t have anything warm enough here in the States to help in 30 below weather. Yikes. I picture him strolling the snowy streets of Lithuania wearing a moose hide overcoat and beaver boots. I really hope not. As much as I want him to be warm and well, I tend to frown on all that real fur stuff.

So anyway, the slipper I make is a jimmied version of an old baby bootie pattern I purchased about a billion years ago from Annie’s Attic. It looked so comfortable and most importantly–actually stayed on their feet–that as my babies grew I just made the pattern…ahhh … bigger. Much, much bigger in Rhen’s case. I’ll put the directions on paper someday–if anyone else wants it.

Now, I’m halfway through with a nice cozy pair made from Peaches & Creme 100% cotton (in Shaded Brown) and a ball of “repurposed” wool (yarn that used to be something else, before it became a ball of yarn–in this case, a sweater), in dark chocolate. The idea is to make them soft and warm and sturdy enough to survive a trip to the mailbox…

…and of course to save the life of an innocent beaver.

Candy Corn Baby Hat

So the babies needed hats and it was nearly Halloween. What was I supposed to do? I found this adorable pattern for a crocheted  Candy Corn Baby Hat: I had to wonder if they would turn out as well in real life as they did in the pattern picture. They turned out wonderfully and only took an afternoon/evening. So, yeah…very fast.

Fold the brim up—or leave it down. Either way.

I did increase the size for Beckham (right), because his head is rounder than Lily’s (repeat row 6 twice) but the pattern perfectly fit Lily (left) with no alterations.