Elliott rarely asks to make anything so when he does I temporarily lose my mind with excitement. I do too much. I drop everything and make it a big crafting bonanza. Writing it out I’m realizing that maybe this is why he rarely asks to make things?! I tend to smother him with enthusiasm and encouragement. But I want him to know that it’s possible to make just about anything. It’s a lesson that’s important to me. Being able to figure things out is a really valuable skill. I just don’t know how to let him solve interesting problems without me directing the whole operation.
His latest request was to make a stuffed animal. Elliott does not need another stuffed animal. I am ok at sewing, so this was going to be an ok-ly sewn superfluous stuffed animal. My aunt and cousin took us to the craft store where we searched through the simplicity sewing catalogue to pick out the least baby-ish stuffed dragon pattern and we were lucky enough to find the fleece we needed in the sale bin. Even with the pattern and fabric on sale this venture cost us around $20 which is pretty steep for a stuffed animal that will take us three days to fashion with our bare hands and mediocre sewing machine. I convinced myself we were buying an experience. We let it sit on the floor in its plastic bag for a month before we got to work.
Unfortunately the simplicity pattern was anything but simple, it’s one of the most complicated things I’ve ever made. The tiny fleece pieces kept getting stuck in my machine, jamming everything every few stitches. But I muscled through it and it started to look good, not made in Taiwan good but made by a crafty mom good. Made in Taiwan good is the standard I’d like to achieve. If you try to craft anything yourself you will start to have a wild appreciation for the quality of anything made in a factory overseas and shipped to a big box store. You will start wondering why the starting price for everything in the world isn’t $200. Which is also a lesson I’d like to impart on Elliott.
So, the head is done. Elliott’s going to sew the wings tonight and we’ll assemble the body and stuff him by the end of the week. He’s coming along. I’m not sure the lesson we learned was what I thought we’d learn when we started out. I don’t know if this is what Elliott was expecting when he asked to make a stuffed animal. Honestly he was most excited to make this tiny pouch because he got to make that all by himself. I think I would have been better off just leaving out a pile of scraps and scissors and the sewing machine set up and let him play around.
Someone please remind me to do less.
Here is our handmade stuffed animal gallery:
Things worth sharing
A friend told me this week that my valentine idea was genius! To which I say, this genius forgot to put a spot for folks to write their e-mail address in the signup form so I cannot sign them up for my newsletter. Hah!!! Oh boy. It’s fixed now. I also stole this genius idea from the artist NoelleDaily who sent me one last year. And I signed up to get my own valentine from the artist, quilter, maker of lovely things Laura Brown! I am not a genius, just an adopter of good ideas. MORE VALENTINES! MORE JOY! Here’s the link if you want one.
This V&A spotlight on the painter Eric Ravilious is nice.
I signed up for the social media escape newsletter. Just pondering what an ecosystem fueled by a circle of creative folks supporting one another looks like. Just everyone sharing enthusiastically the work of folks making things that make your heart sing.
My friend Kate makes super cute collars and fanny packs from reclaimed textiles.
Here are some things I already recommended but they’re still so good and maybe you missed them. We use this popcorn maker every Friday and have yet to have a bad batch. Move with Nicole pilates videos complete with weekly schedule are so grounding. I keep making this morning glory cake and it’s my favorite thing to eat.
My Shop: phillycornerstore.bigcartel.com
E-mail: halestormenator@gmail.com