Fluff Project and some swaps

I haven't had many finishes to show off here lately.  I share in progress pics of things on instagram.  I also haven't done any swaps in so long but I just did three right in a row so now I finally have something to show off.

Swaps first!

First one was for a Junker Jane style doll.

While you're allowed to make whatever you want, this swap did ask folks to mention if the preferred "creepy" or "cute".  My partner was cool with either one so I did my best to lean on the creepy side.

And this happened:

It may be a bit too subtle, but I had a definite intention with this doll.  Since I was aiming for "creepy" I grabbed the low hanging fruit that is T***p (yes, I'm editing that word because I don't even like to think it let alone type it or say it. . .vulgar word that it is).  This doll is a cross between T***p and that racist frog cartoon (P**e, again, censoring the word because I don't want to be associated with it in any way).  But I did want it to be subtle, too, since I don't know the person it was going to and didn't want to get them all riled up should they be a T supporter.  I'm very pleased with how it turned out.  I think it's creepy without being repulsive and it's just a wee bit whimsical (I won't say "cute" since I know what I was going for and I'd never use "cute" to describe that waste of human flesh or that cartoon character).

Orange skin frog shaped creature in a blue suit, forked lying tongue hanging out of its creepy slit of a mouth.  Dead, black eyes, narrowed in a hateful glare, surrounded by large white circles.  Head of unruly fake looking hair.

Yup, I think I nailed it.

And as if that's not enough, after you handle the doll a bit you just want to wash your hands.  The blue dye on the fabric does come off on your hands (that wasn't part of my original plan, but I did appreciate the irony after the fact).

I was tempted to make the hands super tiny but instead I went a tiny bit more subtle with:

Gold cape.  I mean, come on.  You know if he could get away with wearing a gold cape (a la the wrestling foolishness he used to participate in) he totally would.  And, I could make the cape without having to do a damn thing.  The piece of fabric was already cut in a cape like shape so I just had to sew it to the shoulders.  Doing minimal work, that fits with the theme too!  Go me!

I haven't been rated for the junker jane doll yet so I'm hoping it's just a matter of the recipient being busy and not that they got my joke and were all butthurt over it.  Honestly, too fucking bad if they are.  I made a damn cool junker jane style doll and sent it on time so. . .

Now, a palate cleanser (not that I despise that JJ doll. . .I love it and kind of wanted to keep it but it really does need to go out into the world).

Ok, palate cleanser.

This swap was for either a doll in a costume or an animal in clothing.  I went with animal in clothing.

Polar bear in a tutu and crown, to be specific.

I really wanted to put her in a bikini but after she was all sewn up it just wouldn't work.  There wasn't enough room on the chest for a decent looking bra top and this bear has some serious booty.  So tutu it was.

(side note, the minute I started working with the tulle Gene was up in my grill trying to eat it.  That cat is obsessed with tulle.  Not exaggerating, I couldn't even turn my back on the tulle or he as leaning in trying to bite it).  The wee crown is removable (but not the tutu, that sucker is tied to her waist).

I had the same partner for the tutu bear and another swap for amigurumi fruit/veggie.  So this was the full swap package:

I went super lazy and just gave her one of my sweet pickles.  I managed to get 21 pickles out of the piece of fabric I bought just to make them, so it seemed like it was meant to be.  Then I was left with 10 for fluff and 10 for mirabel.

Speaking of fluff and pickles:

I mailed the bag of 10 to Kristy at the same time I was mailing the swaps.

I also sent her a second bag of goodies:

5 spiders, 2 crabs, 1 chameleon, and 3 zip pouches.

So, 21 more items mailed off to fluff.

As of this post, I have mailed off 41 items to Fluff for 2016.

Waiting to be mailed I have:  5 cats, 5 puppies, 5 ghosts, 4 mama/baby sets, 2 pigs

Still being sewn I have:  3 rabbits, 6 deer

So, if my math is correct, after I get everything in progress done, I'll have 71 items for Fluff (for 2016)

Fluff had to take a short back seat for some Christmas sewing I'm doing.  I'm about half done with that so I'll finish up Fluff sewing right after that.

The Mirabel total might be slightly smaller than that only because I pull 5 for Fluff first for each item I mass produce.  I try to make 10 of each item but sometimes I don't have fabrics that work to make 10 total.  That happened with the Ewoks (I pulled a few of those to give as a gift, so I ended up with less than 10) and the crabs.  Occasionally Mirabel will get more of an item than Fluff, too.  With the crabs, I think Mirabel got more because I was trying to round out the 3 pouches (so added 2 crabs to it to make 5 items, since I still think in "5/month" when it comes to making and didn't feel like making more pouches).

Man, I have to get those damn deer finished.  It's not that I don't want to make them, it's just that more interesting projects came along.  I still need to do faces on them, baste limbs, turn and baste ears/antlers, and then assemble (I might have to put tails on, too, but I think I got that done).  It's just so many steps with that pattern (not hard, just kind of boring).

I'll have all Fluff and Mirabel items mailed out by Mirabel's deadline.  Then I'm going to focus on making sure I get each month done during the actual month so I can have some time for sewing things just for me (I have some quilts I want to make!).

Fluff Project and Softies for Mirabel UPDATE

I've been cranking out the stuffies lately.  See, that's what happens when I get behind on my monthly goal for Fluff and I'm anxiously awaiting the "send by" date for the Softies for Mirabel collection via Spoonflower.

So, I sew.

This is the batch I finished a few weeks back (I showed them off as "in progress" in the previous post).  There are 12 puppies, 11 cats, 2 pigs, and 1 deer.

So that means the puppies and cats are totally DONE for both Fluff and Mirabel.

The deer was just a test run on the pattern.  I usually do that, make one all the way through to get a feel for it then start assembly line production of them (ok, I tend to cut everything then make one all the way through then go back and assembly line).

The pigs are from the pattern I got in the mystery bundle.  All the fabric (except the felt bits) were in that bundle, too.  I'll do a "what the bundle made" post to show all the items I made from that purchase once I'm done with all the items.  I have three more animals of this style (bunnies, not pigs) from that same pattern that are cut but I haven't go to sewing on them just yet.

After that massive finish, I got another mess of items done (just in the past few days).  They include:

Four more deer.
(there are 5-7 more of these in progress, I forget now if I cut 10 total or 12, I think it was 12)

Eight mama animals with babies.
These were from a pair of cut and sew panels I bought as a treat.  Sometimes it's just nice to have a simple and fast project like a cut and sew panel.  These ones were a decent deal, too.  Missouri Quilt Co had free shipping (no minimum) so I decided I needed these.  You get four sets per panel, so that means each set came out to be only a few dollars each.  Totally doable.  (you know I'll be watching to snag more of these if they go on sale anywhere. . .this is a really new fabric line, so it might be a while before they go on sale).

Ten ghosts.
That's all I could get out of that remnant of fabric.  It was a little annoying to work with (kind of slippery and stretchy) but they turned out SO cute and just a tiny bit fluffy, silky.  Totally worth the tiny bit of annoyance.  (and shout out to Joann fabric's remnant bin. . .I love it so much!)

Four spiders.
Actually, I finished six but two of them weren't for Fluff/Mirabel so I didn't include them in this post.  I have five more of these to finish (in fact, I just sewed up a pair of them yesterday and they're in the "get stuffed" basket with four crabs and a chameleon).

Let's end this with one final pic.  This is NOT an up to date Mirabel snap.  I didn't include any of the ghosts, spiders, deer, or the mama/baby sets.

That there is:

6 cats
5 weiner dogs
5 chameleons
5 ponies
2 ewoks
6 puppies (I think only 5 are pictured but there are a dozen of those so there should be six for each project)
TOTAL
29

Add to that:
5 ghosts
4 mama/baby sets
(and)
5 spiders (in progress)
6 deer (in progress)

GRAND TOTAL (so far)
49!!!

That's JUST the Mirabel count.  And I have fabrics pulled to make seahorses (hopefully 10 total) and I want to make pickles again (but have to find the dimpled minky at a good price)

What about Fluff?

Well, they got:

5 chameleon
5 ponies
5 weiner dogs
5 ewoks
5 cats
6 puppies
5 ghosts
4 mama/baby sets
(and in progress)
5 spider
6 deer
5 mystery bundle pattern (2 pigs, 3 bunnies)

That's 56 items!  (oh and two pouches)

Holy crap, I'm almost to my yearly goal for Fluff!  I only need to make one more item (after finishing the in progress ones) and I'm GOOD!

BUT. . .2015 I made 68 items for Fluff, so I'd like to at least match that goal.

BUT. . .BUT. . .2015 I only had 35 Mirabel items and I've crushed that already so. . .I think I'm still good.

But I would like to beat 2015's Fluff total if I could.  So, new goal.  70 items for Fluff (for 2016) and 60 items for Mirabel (for 2016).

SO. . .I need (after I finish all in progress items):

11 more for Mirabel
12 more for Fluff

TOTALLY doable.

2016 Fluff Project: 20 items done (and mailed!)

Long time, no post.  I've been sewing away on Fluff items and FINALLY got around to sending some out.

20 items officially mailed:

5 chameleons

5 ponies

5 dachsunds

5 ewoks

My goal for 2016 is 60 items (that's 5 per month).  So, that means I have to make a minimum of 40 more items in the next 3 months.  CHOP CHOP!

Not to worry, I do have a lot of items in progress.  In fact, my "get stuffed!" basket is pretty full with:

Cats.  11 to be exact

 Puppies (at least 10 of them, there might be a few more, I forget the exact count now)

Pigs!  I'll have a separate post on this pattern and a mini side project/challenge.  Short version is I got a mystery pack from Pink Castle Fabrics when they had a special "personalized mystery pack" deal.  In the pack I got a stuffed toy pattern and a mess of fabric, so I'm trying to see how many items from that pattern (and others) I can make with just the fabric from the pack.  These two pigs are the first "finished" (in quotes because they aren't stuffed, closed, tails attached yet).  I also cut one random chameleon from the green fabric pictured.  I'm hoping to get 3-5 more items from the pattern (it's one pattern that modifies to five different animals) and then use the scraps to make other patterns (if possible).

But that's not all I have in the works!

Deer!  This is the first one that's at the final stage ("get stuffed!").  I have four others that are ready for final assembly and 6 (or so) that are all cut and ready for the next steps (limb/face assembly, then final assembly, then stuff and close).

AND. . .I'm going to make some more of THESE:

Shpiders!  (aka shpidoos).  I got to do pattern testing for Sweet Briar Sisters.  This pattern is quick and easy with great results (I might do a full post on it later) so I'm aiming to make 4-9 more of these as well.

OH, and I have some spare zipper pouches (that I'll round out to 5 total)

SO. . .let's crunch the numbers again:

20 items sent
5 cats
5 puppies
5 pigs (or from that pattern)
5 deer
5 spider
5 pouches

Total:  50 items

So that leaves me needing 10 more items.

I'm not sure what I'll do for those.

But, for anyone reading or doing the math, I'm making 10 of most items.  Where are those extras going?  They're ear marked for Spoonflower's Softies for Mirabel collection.  I emailed them asking if they're doing a collection this year and they said they are and will have more info mid-October.  So I'm trying to stock as many items as possible to send to them.  If for some reason there is no collection, Fluff Project can have all those, too.

So I'm in sewing high gear and I'm really liking it.  Tonight I'll try and get the "final assembly" deer put together to add them to the "get stuffed!' bin.  Then I'll spend some quality time in front of the t.v. working on stuffing.  Some new Netflix arrived so it will be perfect (ok, first I have to finish watching a subtitled movie I started last night, so I won't stuff during it. . .it's too hard to read and stuff at the same time).

Fluff Project UPDATE (finally got some stuff finished!)

I know, right?!

I've been so half assed with Fluff sewing this year.  I go in these crazy stops and starts but get very few completions under my belt.

Well, I finally got something done (over this past week. . .just took a bit to get it documented here).  Speaking of documenting things here I totally forgot to document the wiener dogs and ponies I finished for Fluff. . .more on that after I show off this patch of finished items.

Bowl of legs.  Mmmm.

I like this pattern because it's easy-ish.  Easy in that the actual sewing is straight forward.  Ish because there's a lot to do for each item (totally worth the work but still a lot of little things).  The body is pretty straight forward (the only "ish" part is dripping a bit of fray stop at two spots. . .totally not a big deal).  The bodies even stuff up fast, which is nice.  The legs aren't hard to do (they sew up easy and even turn/stuff well. . .nice "in front of the t.v." project).  The "ish" is with the buttons.  I sew them on before attaching the legs to the bodies.  Just a quick stitch (kind of like basting) but it's a time eater (not hard, just a time eater).  TOTALLY worth the effort, though.  Trying to attach the legs with loose buttons is a super pain in the butt.  Do. Not. Do. It.  Attaching the legs isn't hard either, just "ish".  Once I get the hang of it (usually takes two or three) it goes really smooth but those first few are annoying.

All that said, I don't want to make it sound like this pattern isn't worth it.  It's a GREAT pattern.  Hell, I wouldn't make it all the time if I hated it.  But if you're going to go to the "ish" of this pattern, you're better off to make a bunch of these at once so you can get the flow of the "ish" steps so they aren't as annoying.  (oh and I almost forgot to give everyone nostrils. . the whole time I felt like I was forgetting something and then I was looking at the pattern and BOOM, nostrils, duh!).

That there is a pyramid of TEN chameleons.  That's what I mean when I say do yourself a favor and just make a mess of these at once.  It's also fun because you get to pick out a mess of different fabrics which breaks up the monotony a bit.

This batch is ready for their closeups.

ROLL CALL!

A pair of neon green twins.  This fabric was begging to be made into chameleons.  They aren't identical twins, though.  They have different buttons.  Similar, but different.  One has slightly lighter buttons but both have lighter colored base with darker stripes.

One orange batik and one funky geometric print.  Batik has a very basic button since she's so fabulous she doesn't need a flashy button.  Geometric (which I think is a cotton+steel print, if memory serves) has some fancier buttons.  They were kind of heavy, too.

Two more pairs.  Floral and fireworks.  The florals have different buttons.  One has a flower shaped button (so cute!) and the other has a light gray button.

Mugging for the camera!  The fireworks chameleons have different buttons, too.  One has a very basic semi-clear button and the other has a red rimmed button.  (and yes, they have nostrils you just can't see them)

Last but not least, the lone blue chameleon (I think that's a hand dyed fabric) with blue buttons and a very rare celery chameleon.  He has green legs because I didn't have enough celery fabric to make the legs.  I think it works but I'm not sold on mis-matched legs for every chameleon.  Bright yellow buttons for that fancy fellow.

What's next?

Well, I have two other patterns in progress right now.  First will be the cats.

I have ten of these (in different fabrics) about half done.  They are ready to have the limbs/tails turned and stuffed.  Then basted to the front body and the whole thing assembled.  Then turn and stuff the body (and close).  So I'd say that is about half done.

Then I have ten dogs that are a few steps behind that (they need faces added, then they'll be ready for final assembly, turning, stuffing, and closing.

THEN, I have a deer pattern picked out for the next item.  No steps have been done on them yet (just some preliminary fabric selections).

So what's the yearly count for Fluff?

5 Ewoks (documented here)
5 chameleons (documented here)
5 wiener dogs (need to share here)
5 ponies (need to share here)
Total:  20 items
Goal:  60 items

Time to get going.

But first I need to pause to finish a quilt I want to get done for the Pets on Quilts show.  Hoping to get that ready for final hand stitching on the binding before I go on vacation (next week).  That's a lofty goal but the show isn't until August (in the teens) so I still have time.  The top is done, the backing fabric selected (just have to piece it together, it's not wide enough) and then get my sandwich on.  The quilting will be straight line so it should go quickly.  Then I need to make the binding and put it on.  Ok, so when I see how much I still have to do I feel extra lazy for not even looking at it this weekend.  The heat had me just melted on my couch, snoozing away.  SO LAZY!!

2016 Fluff Project: Goals and January's offerings.

Holy crap, y'all.  It's 2016 which means it's time to set new charity sewing goals (and generic creative goals but that might be a separate post, not sure yet).

But first, let's do the 2015 Grand total.

The goal was 5 items per month (sometimes not exactly completed in the exact month but the average needed to be 5/month).

SO, the goal was 60 items for the year.

MY GRAND TOTAL FOR 2015:  68!

WOOT!  I came in OVER goal.

Ok, not by a ton but still over.

And I also managed to give 35 items to Mirabel.  So that makes my total charity stuffed toy contribution for 2015:

103 stuffies

HOLY CRAP, I made over 100 stuffed toys for charity in 2015.

*takes a bow*

Yeah, I'm totally bragging that up a bit.

Ok, bragging is over.  Time to focus on 2016.

Once again I'm going to aim for a minimum of 5 Fluff items/month.  But I'm also going to sew for Mirabel as much as possible (in hopes Spoonflower does a collection again, if not then those can go to Fluff, so I'm not out anything).  For Mirabel I'd like to do 40 items total (or more).  So I need to get sewing!

Check it out, I'm AHEAD on my Fluff goals.  I have January technically done with these:

EWOKS!

Pause for one moment.

Not all of these are for charity.  Three went to my hubby's nephew, aka The Bratling.  But that leaves 7 for charity (so 5 for Fluff and 2 for Mirabel!).

I don't remember what three went to The Bratling but I'm fairly sure they were all ones with safety eyes (I find them cuter and thought he would like them better).

Close up time!

The stitched face ones are still cute but those safety eyes. . .yeah, I don't think I'll be making stitched eye ones ever again.  The only reason where were stitched eye ones this time was I forgot to put safety eyes on a few of them before I sewed them together and putting eyes on them after that is just too much fuss.  So they got stitched faces.

The gray and dark brown are flannel, the light brown is corduroy.  I love using corduroy for these.  All the cowls are all wool blend felt with blanket stitching.

Want the pattern?  Get it here.

What's next?  Well, I have the whole month of January to get more items made and I have some in progress gingerbread men so I guess I should get them done (those will be for Fluff most likely, though there is a pair so I could split them up).

First I need to get the rest of my christmas sewing done.  We didn't end up meeting with the in-laws so I didn't need to get all the assorted things for the kiddos done, so I got lazy.  I have a kitty (for The She-Brat) and a super baby friendly pony for the Wee Brat (that's the infant brother of The Bratling).  They're all cut and ready to assemble.