Making Tigger

Man, this bugger's tail took SO long to make! Seriously, had I been able to finish it in one go, I would have the whole darn doll made by now. But, alas, it took me at LEAST three tries to get it correct.

The thing about Tigger is that he's going to be the best doll yet. And I think the silly doll is a perfect analogy for my life as a parent. I say this with chagrin. Awareness of my mistakes. And sorrow over them. Hope that I might, somehow not perpetuate the wrongness with my daughters, but fear that what has been done cannot be undone.

I made an Eyeore for Ria. A Pooh Bear for Kat. And now, Tea gets Tigger.

Eyeore. For the most part, people who see him know what the doll is meant to be. I think. But there are a few problems - very obvious to me. What's wrong with Eyeore: His legs don't fit on his body just right. He is still lacking eyes because I didn't finish them 5 years ago. His mouth looks wrong because I'm still not sure about how to get it on his face! There's no bow on his tail (I think I just forgot that part). And he's all the wrong colors. Oh, and his mane is SUPER thick, but I'm pretty sure it descends down his back only part of the way it was supposed to. To the everyday observer he looks like a good Eyeore doll. At least, that's what they tell me. I don't contradict, but I see the mistakes every time I look at it. And I feel sad that my skill was not, then, what it is now.

Pooh is a lot better. My stiches were more consistent. They were tighter, so there's less stuffing visible. Okay, so he's better. Except that I didn't understand marking the RIGHT side versus the inside. So somehow because I didn't seem the wrongness of the pattern Pooh's ears are inside. Also, because I use yarn instead of the thread the pattern calls for (this is something I do on purpose now, but wasn't initially - with Eyeore!) I didn't have a way to know how much of the yellow/tan color to buy for Pooh's body! So, his body is made of two different dye lots. Also his ears and muzzle are of the first. Thankfully his red shirt mostly covers up the change from one to another, but you can still see the difference in his face. Oh, and his shirt is another story! See, I still don't quite understand the whole process of gauge in crocheting. I know what it enables you to do, but I'm not exactly sure HOW to do it. So, the first shirt I made for Pooh was a bit small. Jess thought it looked funny, so I made another one. It was significantly larger because I relaxed my stiches (as anyone really familiar with crochet would know without me saying so - so sorry if you already knew that). I put that one on Pooh and Jess thought it looked worse than the other one. So I put the original back on and Jess said it looked just right. *sigh*

Tigger isn't completely put together yet, but so far his bits are just right. The outsides are facing OUT. The stiches are marked according to instructions (with Eyeore I didn't know the import of that step... thus the misfitting legs to body!). The tail curles appropriately. The stripes are almost all according to instructions. I did mess one up, but it didn't mess up the overall pattern. That is, thus far, my main mistake with this Tigger... Oh, except for the mismatched yarns. The yellow of the face, belly, and ears is a thicker yarn than the orange and black of the rest of the bugger. I already had it at home when I made the purchase of the orange and black. So, it kinda puts the whole thing off just a little. That mistake was unavoidable under the circumstances. You see, I couldn't run out and get the correct yellow because #1 the van is not at my daily disposal AND #2 we didn't have the money for it. *sigh* Oh, and the black stripes are supposed to be brown. When I bought black I was thining of the Tigger in my head, not the one that is in the cartoon, apparently.

Can you see how this relates to parenting? My parenting, in particular? If not, stay tuned! heeheehee ^_^