Little Gifts

Over the last few years, I've built up quite a repertoire of little handmade toys and gifts for small children. I'm blessed with so many of them in my life, and creating for them is pure joy, as they truly appreciate handmade, heart-full presents. These projects are, on the whole, very simple. I rarely undertake anything complex, as my skill set, impatience, and tendency toward procrastination are prohibitive. A few examples:

Wool felt fairy horses from a pattern in Feltcraft.

Knitted food for the play kitchen from these free patterns.

A knot doll of my own design and a felt ball, also from a Feltcraft pattern.

A little more involved are the Ottobre mice
and the donkey from Toymaking with Children.
And, of course, little wool hats from my two favorite patterns. The purple Gnome's Hat is adapted from a pattern in The Children's Year, and the pink earflap hat and the cherry red hat that is currently on my needles are this Peace Fleece infant/child's hat pattern.

A dear friend's daughter was visiting last week, and I realized the too-small doll sling she was cramming her favorite baby into was the one I gave her for her second birthday, four years ago! I know what next week's instant gratification project will be, and I know the larger sling will be well-loved.