Blog Tour and Rail Trail

Welcome to this stop on the Blog Tour! I'm thrilled you stopped by to check out some of the fun things I have been working on. See previous posts for my latest works in progress--a series of dioramas inspired by old black and white movies, here, here, and here.

Here are some pictures I took of one of my amigurumi (Japanese-style cute) dolls while walking on the rail trail near my home. I thought the rail trail was the appropriate setting, considering this year's theme.

 The cat is about 5" tall, and has button joints to be fully posable. Want to make an amigurumi of your own? I will email you some free directions at the beginning of April.

 

To receive your pattern, send your email address to: 

Donna (dot) Childs (dot) Crochets (at) gmail (dot) com 

Change what's inside the parentheses to make it a proper email address, and put "2016 blog tour offer" in the subject field. I will never share your email address with any other person or entity. The pattern will arrive in the beginning of April at the end of the blog tour.

Happy Birthday Interweave Crochet Magazine!

Interweave Crochet/Harper Point Photography

The spring issue is awesome--and not just because my birthday cake pattern is in it. The issue features pictures of past patterns, with updates of the same designers' new patterns. There are a few very pretty lacy tops that I want to try for myself.

Speaking to the Guild!

Today I had the honor to be the guest speaker at the Essex County Needlecraft Guild.

I expected a little knitting group, maybe 20 tops. But there must have been about 100 crafters there--knitters, crocheters, quilters, embroiderers, and more. My people! What amazing handiwork! I talked about publishing patterns, and encouraged others to submit their designs. I also got to show off my portfolio of past designs and some of my new work.

Next month I'll be back. You know I've got to join this exciting group!

Diorama: "She's Just About to Close Up the Library"

Here is my diorama (a work in progress) inspired by the movie It's a Wonderful Life. It features my all-time favorite quote, and I'm disappointed it's not very legible in this photo (see below for the whole quote). This was the first time I attempted adding text to my work--I'm going to have to keep experimenting with it. This is part of a series of scenes from black and white movies.

George asks Clarence about Mary--she's depicted as a mouse here (approx. 4" tall). 

Clarence answers: 

"You're not going to like it, George. She became an old maid. She never married. And she's just about to close up the library."

Diorama: "Like Jell-O on Springs!"

Here is another one of my dioramas inspired by old movies. This one is from Some Like it Hot (see below to read the quote in the background. I'm still working on adding text to work, keeping it legible but not overpowering--a work in progress).

In the movie, the men (Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis) are disguised as women--here they are depicted as dogs discussing the differences and mysteries of a cat. I like to figure out what kind of anthropomorphic creature should depict each character. Marilyn Monroe's character is, of course, a sex kitten. The dolls are about 4 inches tall.

Jack Lemmon/ Daphne: "Will you look at that. Look how she moves. It's like Jell-O on springs. Must have some sort of built-in motor or something. I tell you, it's a whole different sex."

This may look like a black and white photo, but I assure you I've used only black, white, and gray yarns. I'm working on a few more in this series, then I will move on to color movies.