Elsa, More Elsas, and Some Annas

Elsa and Anna ready for a birthday party

Two months later and the Elsa requests just keep coming in.

Back in May I made Elsa for my son after repeated requests. He took her to school (and everywhere else he went) and when he came home it was, “Mommy I need 6 more Elsas and Marshmallow or a troll.” Uh… what? He needed one for all of his Frozen fan friends. Some also wanted Anna. I reminded him I had a day job. He decided we should open a Frozen stand, you know, like a lemonade stand but with Frozen amis. I again reminded him I had a day job. He insisted we would make a lot more money with a Frozen stand than I would at work. He was probably right, but I did not quit my job.

My Son’s Anna

I mentioned all of this to a coworker. Her and her sister put in their requests which totaled 3 more Elsas and Annas for their daughters. I was now up to to 13 Frozen ami requests, which didn’t even include my son’s request for an Anna of his own.

When I went to read to my son’s class one day, one of the girls asked me when I was going to make their Elsas. I really needed to get started. In my head I was going to make all these Elsas before the end of school. As is more my style, I waited until a few days before the last day of school and crocheted feverishly staying up late but finishing only 4 of the requested 6. I made two each of two different patterns. Two had mouths and two did not. The two without mouths quickly acquired mouths when the new owners grabbed highlighters and drew them on (to my son’s dismay). Lesson learned, make sure to include a mouth.  My son came home saying everyone wished their mom could make Frozen people too. I had Frozen superpowers!

More Anna and Elsas for the Party

So here it was 3 weeks after school got out and while I had made a lot of ducks, I had made no more Elsas and my son’s Frozen birthday party was just days away. The Elsaless kids were sure to be there. This time in my head, I was going to be able to make 3 Elsas, 3 Annas, a bunch of trolls and some Olafs. As I sewed together a troll an hour before the party, my Frozen ami count was at all of 5. 2 Elsas, 2 Annas, and 1 troll. Being that I was not quite sure how many people were going I was resigned to knowing this was all that was getting done before the party.

Troll Cliff from Frozen

As it turned out, less kids than I thought ended up at the party, which was good. Who wanted Anna? Only 2 hands went up. Great! I had 2 Annas. Who wanted Elsas? 3 hands went up, so we did a raffle which of course ended up with one very upset boy. Luckily for my guilt, the boy goes to camp with my son, so we struck a deal that he’d get one in a few days. The troll happened to be requested by someone who came to the party so he got his troll. Of course he said he really wanted Marshmallow. I almost tool the troll back.

After a total of 7 Elsas, 3 Annas, and 1 troll being completed, I still have outstanding requests for 4 Elsas and 3 Annas as well as 2 half made Olafs lying around. I almost feel like if I finish them, I’ll just end up with more requests and it will never end. My father, aunt, and husband keep talking about Olaf. Are they dropping hints?

So after a bit of Frozen ami experience with a few different patterns, I will say I have ended up with some favorites. The first Elsa I made for my son was by Ohana Craft. She has patterns for several of the Frozen characters including young and older versions. Her patterns, like several of the Frozen patterns I found, are not cheap. I made her Anna for my son also, and I love how she came out. However, I did get into a fight with a glue gun while making her and I did not win. I think the burns are still healing. Because the Ohana Craft Elsa and Anna were both larger, they took longer, so I chose smaller patterns for mass production. Jana Whitley’s Elsa and Anna patterns were my favorites. They work up very quickly and are super cute. They’re also only $3.00 each. While the Jana Whitley Elsa hair is very clever and quick construction, the hair from Sahrit’s Elsa pattern is absolutely amazing. My favorite Elsa is made following the Jana Whitley pattern but with the Sahrit Elsa hair. My favorite Anna uses the Jana Whitley pattern but I hooked the hair onto the wig cap instead of using a sewing machine. While I’ll be using the Jana Whitley patterns for my 7 remaining requests, I did come across some INCREDIBLE Elsa and Anna patterns last week on Etsy. They were expensive but also super amazing. I bought one of them and it does look like a project that will take quite a while, so it will not make it into my mass production pattern collection. Not to be forgotten, I do love how my troll came out. I only found one pattern for the trolls, but you only need one. The designer of the troll pattern just released Marshmallow the day before my son’s party. If I get a breather between Elsa’s I might give him a shot. Interestingly, I did find that several of the Frozen patterns contained errors. Not a huge deal, but it did make them take longer to make, especially since I didn’t write notes on the patterns the first time around.

Jana Whitley Elsa – Hair from pattern as written

Sahrit Elsa (with mouth)

Sahrit Elsa back view

So, I’m curious to know if you’ve made any Elsas and if so have you been swamped with requests for more and more and more? If you crochet, haven’t made any, and know any 3-9 year olds, what are you waiting for? You too can be a Frozen superhero. All you need is some yarn, a hook, and maybe a pattern or two.

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Little Yellow Ducks Invade NY

For the past 2 weeks I’ve been more than a little obsessed with The Little Yellow Duck Project. I’ve been crocheting little ducks like crazy and my son, husband, and I have now placed 34 ducks in NYC, Long Island, and around Westchester County.

It’s ridiculously fun. Sneaking around. Trying to leave a duck in a super crowded place without being noticed. Eagerly checking The Little Yellow Duck Project’s world map to see if any new ducks have been reported. The rush when we’ve had another duck on the map. The amazement that our ducks were the first ones reported in NY state. The shouts of joy when we realized that the 500th duck reported was one we had left!

Ducks about to hit the streets of NY

My husband’s continued attempts have resulted in 0 of 14 ducks on the map. However, after leaving ducks on his coworker’s desks and discussing the project with them, he learned that one of them is about to donate a kidney in a few days. He didn’t feel it was right to push her to register it. She was doing more than her share for the cause.

So what is the cause? The Little Yellow Duck Project has two goals: to brighten up someone’s day by finding a little duck and to increase awareness and registration for organ, blood, and bone marrow donation. How is that personal? My friend Tania who I mentioned in my last post died earlier this year at the age of 41 while waiting for a heart transplant.

Little Yellow Duck with Tag

So what’s the deal with these ducks? There are a few official free patterns, but you can make any duck you like however you want to make it and stick a tag on it letting people know to take it home and that it’s part of The Little Yellow Duck Project with the website listed. I’ve used both the Just Ducky Lovey pattern and Filbert. Both are free patterns and work up in about an hour. I’ve found that Just Ducky Lovey is better for sticking in places, like slots of a bench if it’s windy. Filbert stands up and works great for flat places like picnic tables or the top of washing machines. The tags are available in multiple languages on the website and even include a place for you to name each duck.

While I’ve crocheted my ducks, there are also patterns for knitted and sewn ducks. People have also made ducks out of pom poms and have made bags with appliqued ducks on them.

This is an international initiative so no matter where you are, no matter what your medium, give it a shot. You just might make it on the map (and help to save a life in the process).

First Group of Ducks for The Little Yellow Duck Project

Filbert! as a Little Yellow Duck

Mallard variations of Just Ducky Lovey