Bye bye 2013....

2013 has been a great year for me. A lot of great things had happened, new memories, a lot of laughs and new challenges .... and of course, great friends (and a  husband!) .

Here's what 2013 has been craft-wise:

I just  ask for 2014 to be at least as good as 2013 has been  in my personal life and creativity. I'd wish for will to try and learn new things (like knitting). And also that my cat Trufa would leave alone at last my yarn and theads!

Happy New Year to everybody ! May you have love, health and work this year... if goverments lets us.

Frodo

This is the Frodo I made for Paco as a wedding favor. It is also one of the dolls I'm more proud of how they turned out. Paco is a huge Tolkien's  books and world fan and it was easy to choose which character was going to crochet for him.

My Frodo  has big blue eyes (just like Elijah Wood's), big pointy ears and ultra curly hair. It actually took a while to give him that look.

He's wearing a red felt vest over his white shirt  and a maroon jacket.
You may recognize the green elvish cape. It's made of green  felt and it's removable. He's also wearing the ring around his neck, ready to be brought to its destiny.

The only detail missing in his outfit is the leaf brooch... but if I had made him one, the cape wouldn't have been removable and it would have belittled  the ring in his neck.

Another important detail was the feet. The had to be big and hairy as hobbits' feet are.

The person who received it like it very much. I had a great time making Frodo and all his little details, so I'm sure I will make him again in the future.

PD: To all who ask themselves why crafty people keep and almost hoard things  even if we don't have a immediate use for it.... The Ring was made from a broken earring  that I kept just in case. It was the perfect color, shape and size for this purpose. Who would have known that a broken piece of an old earring  was going to become such a key piece in my work!

Do you like him? please let me know what you think!

The Bride from Kill Bill

"I am gonna kill Bill."

Today's bride is no blushing bride. She's not wearing a white gown and instead of a flower bouquet she  carries an exclusive katana by Hattoni Hanzo. You have maybe recognized her from the  Kill Bill movies: she's  The Bride/ Beatrix Kiddo .

I made this doll as a wedding favor for my friend Elena. She was one of the first characters I made since I have a really clear idea of what to make for Elena. She's a great fan of Uma and Tarantino so I thought it could be appropiate... not much as wedding related though, lol.

I made her with the famous yellow suit, Tarantino's own homage to Bruce Lee's yellow suit.

The truth is that for a merciless assassin in search of revenge the doll has a really sweet and cute face...doesn't she?

I made her legs and body with a smaller number of stitcher per round as I'm used to to simulate Uma's thin body. I used a light color of yellow yarn to make the hair as similar as hers as possible. 

You would see that I'm no Hanzo making katanas. Mine has wire for her to grab it, though.

 Here you have some more pics... Please mind that she's having a bad hair day,  but you'd had it  too after fighting the Crazy 88. Please forgive that ;)

Nurse Natalia

Nurse Natalia...

I made this doll with all my love to someone I know and who I deeply admire. She is one of these who not only know how to dream big, she also fights for that dream.

When I met her, we were both very different of what we are now. We change for the best together and I own her so much for that encouragement she gave me back in 2007. She tought me to be brave enough, a dreamer and a fighter.

Now she is living her dream of becoming a nurse (in London no less!). She left her computer realated studies to a fresh start in a nursing career, And after hard work and complete commitement that included severe sleep sacrifice, now she is finally a nurse. So this doll was for her.

She used to have this nurse Nancy doll in her facebook profile pic so I made a similar one in crochet, but customized to her looks. Natalia has blue eyes and straight blond hair. She dyed her hair black just before the wedding, but she recognized herself right away! 

To customize the doll I simulated the shaved temple hairstyle and the rasta in the nape.

The cape is made out of felt and it is removable. I also embroidered  a red cross in it.

Here there are some more pics :

Thank you for everything, Natalia. I'm glad you liked the doll. Good luck in your new life and i wish you all the happiness in the world!

Rapunzel

  And I last I see the light....

Everyone who knows me a little may know how much I love Tangled.

 I've lost count of the times I've seen it, probably a zillion times more than what it is normal for an adult to have seen any movie that they had already seen. But... what can I say? I love the characters, the story, the music, the colors... everything. I laugh and cry every single time I see it and it reminds me whtn I was little and I love to watch the Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast over and over getting as much excited as if it were the first time you see it. You know, the Disney magic :)

I have somebody who shares the same love for the movie: my friend Lara (and of course, her niece, little Lara!) So I thought that I could crochet a Rapunzel as her doll as a gift .

First with her untamed hair:

Her skirt has different shades of purple and lilac and I tried to put as much detailed as I could. The pics are not very good, but I've tried to replicate the  details of her dres, like in the bodice or the soft color of the lace in the  sleeves.

Now when I see her face I regret not have given her huge eyelashes and eyebrows to give her eyes more expression, just like those of  Rapunzel in the movie.

Such a great hair, huh?

 If you have seen this movie, some village little girls help Rapunzel to braid her hair o she can move around the kingdom easily. And even though I liked her with her hair down, I ended up braiding her hair too:

As I said, pics are not very good, but the  braid has also mini braids and flowes in between the strands:

The poor thing tends to look up since the considerable hair weight.  Anyway, she could see the floating lights better this way! :P

And if you don't know what I'm talking about, you shoud see this film. The floating lights scene is my favorite in the whole film, I just love it.

Actually, we used this song as our wedding song.... . <3

I hope you like it!