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).
Ok, technically I finished them a few days ago (in May) but I'm not going to lose any sleep over that small fact.
For April, I made teddy bears.
Six teddy bears, to be exact.
They're all from the same fabric which was about a yard of brown flannel (with a slight mottling to it) I scored at the Salvation Army fabric sale. It's a special event the sal army has where they sell JUST fabric and notions. It's just this side of crazy (they only let so many folks into the building at a time and there was a big ass line) but an organized kind of crazy that works for me.
Did I mention I got the fabric for about a buck (or maybe a buck and a half). So, say, $1.50 for enough fabric to make six stuffed toys. The felt on their faces was cut mostly from scraps and the stuffing, thread, and embroidery floss I always have on hand (so I never really factor it into charity stuff).
These six bears are joining all the other stuffies I've made so far this year. I put them all in one box (a box from the big ass bags of stuffing I buy!) and hope to get them mailed on Saturday.
"Hey, mom, what's this?"
*sigh* Murray, you're not supposed to be on any of the tables let alone the one I'm sitting at trying to work.
"Well, what is that?"
It's a brush to get your hair off everything. You shed like it's your life's work. Just being this close to the toys will have them sprinkled with hairs.
"You mean THOSE? Yeah, I got my hair on those. You'll need to use the brush on them again. Probably twice before you put them in the box. Oh, and Eugene chewed part of the box."
Yes, I noticed that. You are both ever so helpful.
YES, I have to lint roller every toy I finish because Murray's hairs are everywhere. Even after a good rollering I'm sure they still end up with at least a few hairs on them. Hey, I'm a crazy cat lady. That's the price you pay when you have cat children.
And Eugene really did chew the box I'm mailing them in. There were handle holes (with little flaps that can get pushed in to make the handle holes) and Gene chewed the crap out of one of the flaps. Or maybe it was Murray? Safe money is on Eugene for that one. He loves to chew cardboard (the thought of that makes my teeth want to crawl out of my head).
So, what's on the Fluff list for May? I have no freaking clue. I'm tempted to revisit one of the baby friendly patterns I have (like the little horses or dinosaurs) because I can churn out a lot of those really easily. I just need to go up to my craft room and thumb through all the patterns and see what strikes my fancy (but I really think a super simple one is going to win).
Yesterday I had to burn a vacation day so that meant it was as Sew Day!
I had to get the Fluff Project items done first thing.
That lead to this pic:
Chain of limbs and tails!
That lead to (eventually). . .
Six kitties total.
Ok, so the yarn one was done weeks ago so it doesn't count as part of the group I finished yesterday.
This one might be my favorite of the group. I LOVE the sushi fabric. And I put teeth on that one. I didn't put them on all the cats.
Each of the cats is different which was a blast. I love picking out fabrics.
The pattern is from Dolls and Daydreams (the skeleton cat) and I reduced the size by 25% (so this is 75%). The full size is rather big and since I have to ship these I try not to make really big items. But if you're making the actual skeleton cat (it has a ton of appliqued felt bones no the limbs and such) you need it full size. I love the skeleton cat but probably won't ever make another one because it's a lot of work (tedious cutting).
Pussy Parade!
After I made the yarn one (with no full felt face) I decided the embroidery is nicer on the full felt face.
And after I hand stitched one or two of them, I got some balls and decided to machine stitch them. that lead to getting really bold and using a zig-zag stitch. GASP, I'm using something other than a straight stitch! Alert the media!
Cute as hell results, if I do say so myself.
I think they look equally cute with and without teeth.
I need to play with the pattern a bit and see if I can come up with an open eye style. I like the closed eyes but an open eye would be super cute. I think I'll go through some of my other patterns and maybe poach eye styles from them (the My Funny Buddy ghosts had good oval shaped eyes in a a variety of sizes).
But I won't be doing that any time soon. I won't make any more kitties right away. I already have the March items chosen and the test one is already cut out so. . .I'm super excited about them and can't wait to show them off.
But first I need to finish up with all my blog updates (oh, I'm not done yet)
At long, loooong last I have the next shipment of Fluff Project goodies ready to box and send. Now I just need to find a box big enough for them all (or a few bags?).
16 ghosties. BOO!
and
4 reindeer
That's 20 items. Too bad it took me way too dang long to get them done. But at least they'll arrive before Halloween so maybe they'll get to the kiddos in time to not be too late. Well, the christmas ones should be (but maybe not the halloween, oh well).
These are both My Funny Buddy patterns which are always easy to follow and produce a nice end product.
Closeups of the wee ghosties?
OK!
The ghost pattern comes with four sizes and five designs. Four designs to make a family (mom, dad, daughter, son) and one design for a more classic "scary" ghost (with a black oval mouth versus a cute stitched smile).
Mom has the cutest purse. You can put the bow on her, too, but I didn't feel like it.
I made the "son" of each family a little different, too. You can use the bow (on the daughter/mom) as a bow tie for the son but I wanted to just have a plain cute ghost for the son (since I wasn't making the "classic" look--I didn't like it as much as the super cute version and I didn't have enough fabric to make it and a full family in each size).
I love the mustache on the dad. And his monocle. It's just so darn CUTE.
All the sizes are nice, too. The bigger ones would be great for littler kids and the small ones for teens (who might think it's not cool to have a stuffed toy but still want one). You can also put hanger hoops on the littlest size but I opted not to just to keep everything simpler for me when I got to the mass producing.
Even though there's a good bit of hand stitching on these, it goes really fast. I cut out all the bodies for everything and then cut out each size face details as I sewed. So cut out all the big faces and then stitch them on. That broke up the small cutting and hand stitching a bit (and kept me from worrying about loosing pieces as they sat waiting to be stitched).
I got my flannel from the remnant bin at Joann fabrics and the faces are all wool blend felt from my stash. The deer are all from stash fabric. The light colored ones are small wale corduroy and the dark one is some funky fuzzy faux fur (short nap, shiney on the back--little bit thick to work with but not as bad as full nap faux fur which is a pain in the butt).
I'm going to take a small Fluff break for at least a month while I work on some projects for me. I want to make my big ole whale and work on my postage stamp quilt and other quilty stuff. But I just bet I'll get bored of those projects and find some fluff I just need to make (I do have a lot of patterns floating around).
Last night was some serious assembly line machine stitching, let me tell you what. I sewed up 10 of the 16 ghosts you see there (2 of the big ones were already done).
I've had the faces on them (and pinned and waiting) for a few days.
How stinking cute are these, huh?
I just have the four tiny ones to do now. I have the bodies cut but that's it. Then I have to move on to the reindeer (bodies are cut for them but that's it).
What else am I up to?
Well, I'm going on a cutting spree here shortly. I need to chop up some scrap fabrics into 2.5 inch charms. Some for a Swapbot swap (need 150 for that) and some for the Curious Quilter swap (happening in September). I need groups of 100 for that. Good thing I just changed up my cutting blade!
Then I want to get working on a great big whale I found at HERE. No exaggeration, he's a big boy. And I have some flannel in my stash that just might do him justice.
Not to fret, I cover up my works in progress when I'm not around to supervise. So there won't be a big ole ring of "I slept here" hair on anything. Or, worse, pieces won't go missing. Miss Olive did that just the other day when I was making Nessie. I went outside to take photos and when I came back in herself was on the floor chewing at something on her foot. It was a pattern piece, fully destroyed. Good thing it was just cut from notebook paper. That pattern took a big hit. Between the two of them I lost the fin pattern pieces and they mutilated the body gusset piece (from the larger version). SO BAD.
I got two of the large ghosts ready for the machine. I'm going to make one of each face on each size. I have the "dad" (mustache one) and "boy" (just regular eyes) ready for the machine. I have the pieces cut for "mom" (has a purse!) and "daughter" (has a hair bow). I'll try to get those ready for the machine tonight.
The one issue I'm having is the white fluff from the flannel pulling through when I stitch on the black face pieces. I'm sure it's more annoying/noticeable to me then to anyone else but it's still bothersome.
After I finished my mini quilt yesterday (I did it start to finish and it was fabulous) I got down to some prep work for some Fluff Project items.
The cutting. OH, the cutting!!
And it's not all done yet, either. I still have all the face pieces to cut and the scarves for the reindeer.
Yes, I'm doing ghosts and reindeer.
I cut all the body pieces for 4 reindeer and 16 ghosts. That's four of each size.
That is all that remains of the approximate 1.25 yards of white flannel I scored in the remnant bin. I'm so glad I could not only use it all but that the totals came out even.
It was as I was pressing all the fabric that I realized I had picked the HOTTEST day of the year (almost 90 degrees) to cut corduroy and flannel. Head, meet desk.
I still have a good bit of the corduroy (I got a yard of it for $2.50!) but I'm going to stitch up what I have cut already (20 items) then do another round of cutting. I'm hoping the ghosts will go quickly since the faces can be as simple as two eyes and a mouth. Of course, you know I'm going to makes at least two of the "dad" version that has a MUSTACHE!!!
I also have to stitch up some more swap items. I have two open swaps on my dash right now and a few more will be assigning partners soon.
I made 40 critters for the Fluff Project (which was also Hopeful Threads second quarter charity sewing project--double dipping for the win!).
Yes, I am bragging.
Brag, brag, brag, brag.
And being that obnoxious person who shoves pictures in your face and is all, "LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!!" (said in my best Stuart voice)
That there is what I completed in the last two days. Yes, two days, 15 critters.
Ok, so I did hedge my bet and make some easier stuff. I'll admit it.
These puppies were a free pattern I found through the Hopeful Threads pinterest page (it might have been on the blog, too).
I think it was meant to be a bit bigger but I didn't enlarge it a ton. These were just big enough that they weren't a pain in the ass to machine stitch. You get too small and the machine is like a hungry beast ready to chew up bitty fabric pieces.
Hello Kitty puppy. Yeah, I think it's CUTE.
Five puppies total.
Five stegosauruses total.
This was another free pattern (via Hopeful Threads' pinterest). But I altered it a little bit. The original pattern had loops of ribbon for the spines but I didn't want to do that. I wanted them to be more appealing to more kids (and the ribbon loops made them very "baby").
SO. . .I took the arm pattern piece (from the large My Funny Buddy dino pattern) and made plates. It worked PERFECTLY. I didn't have to resize or anything. Yeah, I'm gloating about that. I got the creativity, my friends. (and straight up laziness--I did not want to make my own shape).
This one is my favorites. Big Bang Theory dinosaur. *slaps knee* It's so funny! The two white plates have a fern print on them.
OH, and I accidentally cut one of the dino sides the wrong direction and was miffed about it but then I used just about all of it making the plates. WIN for me.
Birch organics dinosaur. This is from a scrap pack I got a while back (reviewed it here, like I do). I think it's technically two different lines but they play well together.
Butterfly dino with bright plates. I had so much fun putting together the fabrics for these. Fun scrap buster for the plates. I was pawing through my small scrap basket and holding the pattern piece to bits to see if they were big enough.
Polka dot and purple/pink dinos. Check out that little bit of Briar Rose there on the polka dot one (the rose print).
I really love seeing all the scraps on these stegos.
When making the plates using the arm pattern, just trace the arm and then sew on the line. So that means you can just draw the pattern on a folded over piece of fabric (or two layers of scrap) and just sew then cut it out (using pinking shears). No need to backstitch at all, either. Turn them right side out and roll the seams a bit (to make them nice) and then baste them along the back of one of the sides. Just make sure you have them in the right direction. I just hold the plate along the top of the side piece (as it would look finished) and then fold it down so it's flat against the side piece then pin it. One pin per plate. Super easy.
DEFINITELY BASTE.
I'm a total basting convert and now I preach it like the gospel. Go forth and baste.
The Dinosaur family says "Hi!".
(take a small Pee-Wee's Playhouse break and sing along to that fabulous theme. . it's ok, you know you want to. . ."Come in, and please pull up a chair LIKE CHAIRY. Let the fun begin, it's time to let down your hair. . .)
The triplets.
All these dinos are My Funny Buddy patterns. The babies are a free pattern that includes this baby, a baby coming out of an egg, and an egg. These babies are super easy and fast to make. Very cute.
Adult dinos.
I was worried this pattern would be involved but it's really fast and easy. The faces have a bit of applique (as most MFB patterns do) but it's not bad at all. Definitely worth the few minutes it takes (most of that is cutting out the pieces--but that's a great felt scrap buster).
There is a bit of curve sewing to get the belly to the front tail piece and to get the face/head back to the body pieces but it's not bad at all. Actually, it's good practice.
I switched the pattern up just a tiny bit and put the arms in the opposite direction so they pointed up to give a real, "HE-ey" feel to this pair. I like the up arms a lot. Makes them cuter and happier.
That fabric was PERFECT, too. It's from years ago when I bought a remnant box from fabric.com. It's a damn shame they upped the price on those because they are great. Nearly full yards of fabric (I reviewed it here, so check out the "review" tag if you're interested).
And I had a box that was just the perfect size so they can all go together in one shipment. WOOT!
One last pic just to show the bunnies sitting on the puppies' heads. The bunnies look so worried!
(oh, random funny moment when I was taking pics. I put the dollies next to the wiener dogs and one dollie looked like she was totally eyeballing the dogs' butt. Her face was right up in there. I had to move it, after I cracked up, of course. Yes, I have the maturity of Beavis.)
I'm so damn happy I met my personal challenge and that everything turned out looking so well and there was NO drama.
Ok, the only thing close to drama was when my needle fell out of my machine. Yup, the screw had wiggled loose and BOOP, needle just fell on out. Didn't cause any drama but I was like, "Huh? What do you think you're doing, crazy machine? NO RESTING!!!"
OHHHHH!!! I almost forgot to share this great thing that I finally got.
CLEAR THREAD.
Yes, I got a spool over the weekend and let me just tell you it's a god send. I'm getting decent at ladder stitch but with the clear thread you can just do a very shallow whip stitch and it looks good. No need to match thread to fabric or labor to get the perfect ladder stitch. But there is a cost. It's irksome to work with. It holds the coil from the spool which is frustrating and knotting it is trickier than regular thread (seeing it and manipulating it). And it likes to just delicately pull out of the needle (when you get your fingers all caught in the curliness). BUT, it's easy to thread the tiny eye needle I prefer for closing stuffed toys, since the clear thread won't unravel. Damn, I totally hate when I'm trying to thread the Tiny Eye and the thread just blows up on the end and I have to trim and slobber all over the thread (yes, I use my mouth when I sew--put the thread in my mouth, hold embroidery floss in my lips when I'm separating strands, lick my finger tips to separate fabrics, you know regular stuff like that).
AND, I also got thread conditioner for use on my embroidery floss. I only used it on the second of the adult dinos (the one with no whites on the pupils) but I can already see a difference. I'm a convert.
Ok, I'm done yapping now. I'll get the box of stuffie goodness in the mail this week (before vacation!).
In case you forgot, this quarter's charity sewing project (via Hopeful Threads) was a double dip with the Fluff Project. The Fluff Project is the ongoing charity sewing project at Hopeful Threads. But Hopeful Threads also does different quarterly projects (for different charity things). I was very pleased about the double dip. So pleased, in fact, that I got all worked up and made myself a personal sewing challenge.
40 items.
Yeeeeah, I should have thought that through just a tiny bit more BUT. . .there you go.
So, I need to get my items mailed out by July and it just so happens that I'll be on vacation the last week of June so guess what that means? I need to get my items in the mail by June 20.
For those that aren't keeping track (or don't have a calendar hanging on the wall RIGHT next to their head) that gives me exactly 11 more days to meet my challenge.
That there is what I currently have done.
That's 10 bunnies, 6 dollies, and 9 puppies. A grand total of 25 items.
That means I need to make 15 more items in the next 11 days. Totally doable considering there's a weekend in there and I'm not going to painting right now (summer break) so I can take the three hours on Wednesday evening that I normally paint and make them sewing hours.
I did already cut out a dinosaur and get the face all stitched on. I'm giving the pattern a test drive to see if it will lend itself to mass production. So far it's no more time consuming than what I've already made. I'm just curious to see how fiddly the pattern will be. It has a belly piece that attaches to the front and it's a big ole curve. And the body has some dips and humps to it (to make a limb). So we'll see how irritating all those warbles and curves will be.
If the dinosaure proves too annoying, I'll at least have one for the pile. I may push through and make a second one since, in a fit of dumbness, I cut a few of the pattern pieces in the wrong direction. So I have a belly and front body already cut (facing the opposite direction of the one I'm working on). So I'd only have to cut the back body, head pieces, and limbs to make a second dino.
I'm not sure what pattern I'll make if the dinosaur proves too annoying. I'm tempted to re-visit some patterns I've already done. Maybe the monster. It was so cute and you can use a variety of fabrics. I like picking fabrics.
Ok, time to check out the puppies in detail (since they haven't been profiled here yet).
It's a My Funny Buddy pattern. They really are nice patterns for pillow style stuffed toys. (Pillow style means they're rather flat, so no gussets to make them stand up). They have nice details like hand stitched faces which can be fiddly but I've found once you get in the groove the faces are easy to mass produce.
The most fiddly part of this pattern are the ears. You can make the ears without the flip to them, but the flip is so freaking cute it really is worth the tiny bit of fussiness. Really, it's not that bad. You just sew a curve into the underside of the ear and then put the two pieces together. The curve is easy but putting the two pieces together is where the minor irritation comes in. I just always worried I wasn't keeping the fabrics lined up well enough and would get puckers/folds along the top. It never happened but I fretted it each time (despite copious pins).
The collar involves a few steps, too, but it's not fussy. Just straight sewing. And the finished results are totally worth it. The collars are also fun scrap busters. All the collars on my pups came from my bucket of small scraps.
This was the first one I made. I always do a test item to see if the pattern is good for mass production. Nine times out of ten, the test item turns out well and I can use it. This puppy is definitely good to go.
I was testing the face fabric along with the pattern. The face fabric is a rather thin muslin from my stash. I like it for the faces since it matches everything and is a natural shade. It also made it so I could use off white for the eye patches. Pure white just attracts so much dirt and dark fuzz.
The test puppy is the only polka dot one and the only one with a bright yellow collar. The other eight puppies come in pairs. OH, and for the record you can get two puppies out of one fat quarter of fabric and still have a nice piece leftover.
Patriotic puppies.
That fabric is so dang cute. I got it in a swap and I liked it for the cuteness but (since it was patriotic) I really did think "what the hell will I use THIS for?" But that's the fun of doing a fabric swap series. You get a few fat quarters of different themes so you have them around when/if that them comes up.
I used it because it was puppies. I dug around my stash specifically for dog print fabrics and found quite a few. This fabric also has the bonus of being glittery. I'm a sucker for glittery fabrics.
Groovy puppies.
That fat quarter came in a scrap vomit fat quarter bundle I got many moons ago from Pink Castle fabrics. I recommend their scrap vomit fat quarter bundles. You get nice fabric at a good price and it really is a grouping of miscellaneous fat quarters that really don't go with each other. Mystery fugly fat quarters? Yes please.
Big puppies.
Another random fq from my stash. Cute dog print fabric perfect for making puppies.
These are my favorites (well, I really like the polka dot one, too). That fabric is so super cute I could die. It's also really nice quality. I'm pretty sure it came in a mystery fat quarter bundle I bought when I first got really into sewing (I would buy mystery bundles to build my stash) and I've been deliberately hoarding it for a while. I needed just the right project to show off the cuteness! LOOK AT THE PUPPIES!!! And I made sure to fussy cut the ears so puppies would show on the flopped over part.
See, that fabric is why I'm so happy there was decent scrap left over after cutting the patterns (even with a bit of fussy cutting). I didn't want to use up every last bit of that super cute puppy fabric. I need to have at least a charm or two to add to my 2.5 inch postage stamp charms (which some day before I die will become the world's most heinous quilt).
I will be taking a small break from the Fluff Project sewing while I finish up a swap I need to get out (by the same date as the Fluff stuff). The swap item is going VERY well (after a bit of drama involving my cat, Olive, trying to EAT part of it. . .bad girl!) and as long as there is no further drama I think I can get it wrapped up in just a few hours of work. I do need to fire up the glue gun and I'm not sure if the glue will play well with the paper clay (dried) that I'm using it one so. . .we'll see! I can't wait to see how that project turns out, it's looking very cute so far.
