Hello, friends.

My regular work life amped up in the past month, plus we got to Thanksgiving and the beginning of the mega holiday shopping season.

It’s the cray….craziest time….of the year!

Since finishing the Tunisian triangles pillow, I have zipped out an Etsy order here and there, but I’ve also been doubling down on personal projects, seeing things through to completion. I can say after four full years of crocheting, that my speed at making certain things has increased, which is a nice little perk. What used to take me 8-10 hours has decreased by an hour or two, at least.

I also haven’t taken on any very large projects with a deadline like Christmas looming. I’m not currently working on any blankets or any projects that are overly complex, and that helps keep my stress levels down.

But what I have been able to accomplish is a complete trio of amigurumi from one of Lalylala’s 3-in-1 pattern sets — the winter bunch.

In it are patterns for a snowman, a reindeer, and a pine cone (aptly named Woody). I have a real thing for pine cones; in fact, my wedding favors were fire starters, which were pine cones dipped in wax. We had to warn people not to just light them as candles or they’d be in for a surprise.

As you can imagine, I was very excited to try my hand at these. The snowman I whipped up pretty quickly; the time-consuming factor was the hat. For my dolls, I used KnitPicks Brava worsted yarn, with the exception of using a color of Vanna’s Choice for the hat of the snowman, because it’s stiffer. I used a smaller hook so it would properly fit Mr. Snowman’s head.

I also had to make my own carrot nose, because the one I got from the pattern was too small and/or I was unable to make it work. I used some powdered blush on a Q-tip to give him his flushed pink cheeks. Such a cute touch!

I next tackled Woody the pine cone, and I am glad I wasn’t on a deadline for him, because the “leaves” added an extra complicated step that I hadn’t anticipated. Working on him upside down to create all the stitches for a singular “leaf” took far more time than working with a flat piece that hasn’t been stuffed yet. Nevertheless, despite the couple of extra nights I spent on it, I am really pleased with the overall look in the end. Someday, I’m going to do the silver-colored one. It’s just so wintery and festive!

Lastly, I plowed ahead to do the reindeer. I have trouble finding safety eyes in sizes between 6mm and 10mm — so either my eyes are too small or too big. I ended up going for too small for the reindeer, and so my doll looks a tad squinty. Nevertheless, he came out a handsome little guy, and I’m just proud of myself for doing all three from the collection.

This isn’t my very first foray into Lalylala dolls. I started a Sepp the Seahorse doll (which I have probably mentioned somewhere on here) about two years ago, and I finally have a reason to finish him, since he’ll be a gift to someone who has a “sea” theme for their nursery. I’m happy to have a motivating reason to finish him, since he’s been sitting on top of my storage cubbies for far too long. Of course, there was the sailboat that I made over the summer.

If I can keep up my mojo, I might be able to tackle one or two of the Christmas patterns yet, where she has a tree, a candle, and an angel. As of this moment, I have three Etsy orders to fulfill for made-to-order items, so my personal plans may go to the back burner for a bit.

Below are some photos of the finished bunch. They would really brighten up a mantel or other holiday display quite nicely, don’t you think?

What are you working on this holiday season?