Simple But Charming: Bria's night elf doll and amigurumi parrot pal

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Christmas is coming, and my nephews are expecting a boatload of flashy and suitably noisy toys under the tree. But sometimes with toys, less is definitely more. Take, for example, the charming night elf pictured above, a gift to a friend from crafter Bria, author of the blog Titchystitches. Not only is the doll adorably understated and cuddly-soft, she comes with her own out-of-game companion, a Hyacinth Macaw to fly at her side.

Given the quality of craftsmanship with both the doll and the parrot, I was absolutely shocked to head that this was Bria's first attempt at a doll, at embroidering faces, and at making amigurumi critters. I'm no slouch with a sewing machine, but I expect any doll making on my end would end with wrinkled fabric and copious amounts of foul language directed at my machine. Happily, Bria agreed to give us a quick interview about her work and WoW.

World of WarCrafts: Thanks for chatting with us, Bria! When did you start playing WoW?

Bria: I started playing after moving to England from California almost four years ago. My husband played and kept bugging me to make a character of my own but I wasn't interested. Finally, I made a hunter -- Padula, on the Terenas server (EU-A), and that was it ... I was hooked! Now I spend most of my time on an alt when I get a chance to play. We have a toddler, so I don't have time to play as much as I used to, but I still have a soft spot for my first toon.

So how did you come up with the idea for the toys?

A few months ago, my friend and guild leader asked me to make a rag doll for her in exchange for a drawing. She ended up making me an awesome hand-painted sketchbook for all of my crafting ideas! I could have made any sort of doll but something based on her main, Amyrlin, seemed fitting. Also, my friend is an avid pet collector who spent a lot of time farming for the Hyacinth Macaw, so I figured her doll wouldn't be complete without one too.

How did you design them? Did you have a pattern, or did you make your own?

I would have loved to design both dolls myself, but I'm fairly new to crochet and relearning how to sew, so I had to rely on ready-made patterns. The doll pattern was from Bit of Whimsy, and I used a the free amigurumi parrot pattern from Lion Brand for the the Hyacinth Macaw.

What kind of materials did you use for the doll? It's adorable!

I knew that I couldn't really make Amyrlin's actual armor, so I aimed to find "druid-like" fabric instead. Otherwise, I just tried to make the doll look as much like Amyrlin as I could, with pink cotton for her face and arms and white felt for her hair. I would definitely like to add more detail when I make dolls in the future, though!

Did you have any particular challenges making them both, or was it a pretty easy job?

I honestly hadn't used a sewing machine in years, so the night elf was quite a challenge for me ... especially her little arms and legs. Embroidering the face was a little nerve-wracking as well, since I didn't want the facial marking to make her look like a clown. The Hyacinth Macaw, on the other hand, was much easier (and quicker) to make than I thought it would be.

Are you thinking about ideas for future doll projects?

I'm planning to create my own pattern for any future Warcraft-inspired dolls I make. The next one will probably be based on my warlock or my husband's mage so I can try making a different race and/or class. I'm also planning on making more amigurumi pets to go with my friend's Amyrlin doll, and I might even crochet a tree form for her!

Thanks for sending in the submission, Bria, and thanks for chatting with us, too. If you finish that tree form, we'd certainly love to see it!

Do you have any Warcraft-themed projects or crafts that you'd like to share? Send them in -- we'd love to hear from you!

World of WarCrafts spotlights art and creativity by WoW players, including arts and crafts, fan art, WoW-themed recipes, comics, cosplay, music and fan fiction. Show us how you express yourself by emailing anne@wowinsider.com with your not-for-profit, WoW-inspired creations.