Magic
(11 in/28 cm)
This doll was originally going to have hair made of the yarn that I ultimately used in the Blue UniYarn Scrumble Doll. I started picking a few blues and greens from that yarn, and the I just couldn't stop picking blues and greens. By the time I was done selecting my yarns it was evident that that yarn would look awful as hair on a doll with all those colors, but I really liked the blues and greens, so I tucked away the "hair yarn" and got to work. I think that the colors were inspired by one of the fish in the children's book Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle. This doll clearly needed hair of one color and I found a sparkly, fuzzy green that I really like!
I made this doll using a magic ball. I have used this technique before on my dolls Sumatra and Party Girl. This time, though, when I knotted the yarns together I left long tails (8 inches or so). After crocheting the main yarn I surface crocheted with the tails. As a result the crochet on this doll has a fairly different look from that of the aforementioned dolls. Like some of my other dolls, I decided not to give this one arms; not sure why; I guess it just seemed to suit her, though it does seem kind of cruel.
This doll originally had simple button eyes and no other facial features. Feedback I received indicated that the focus was on the face rather than on the crochet work, where I wanted it to be. I decided to try a crocheted face. I like the result; it looks quite different and more subtle in person than it does in the photos. I've included a picture with the original face for comparison.
I started this doll in February 2005 and while working on the body it was my "mobile project" -- easy to carry along and work on in short chunks of time because you can just stop anywhere without feeling like you're in the middle of a motif or something. I finished the second face in July 2005
