Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog

Category: Plush

graduation gift: tiny graduate narwhals in college colors

tiny narwhal graduates in custom college colors

I’ve been playing with fleece swatches and tiny stitches for weeks, and I’m finally ready to announce: tiny graduate narwhals in custom college colors!

These are so fun to make. The bright colors bring the tiny narwhals to a new level: each pairing of hues gives the little guys an entirely unique personality.

I started with my home state, Virginia, with Virginia Tech facing off UVA in the banner photo. But who’s next? I can’t wait to make these in every shade of the rainbow.

The graduation narwhals make a great gift for college grads, of course, but I think they might be even better suited for high school graduates who can spend the summer scheming and dreaming with a college-colored narwhal by their side. They probably already have enough t-shirts from their future alma mater – and if they don’t, they’ll get more for free when fall comes. What they don’t have is a tiny narwhal with a graduation cap.

a party turtle for katie

party turtle plush for katie

Last week, Brad and I drove to South Carolina for Katie and Jimmy’s wedding. The day of our arrival was also Katie’s birthday, a day I named The Most Anticlimactic Birthday of Katie’s Life. Because, really, when you’re getting married in 3 days, how significant does the anniversary of your birth feel? Not very.

plush party turtle for katie

But I was determined to do my part to keep Katie’s birthday on the radar, however small that blip may be. She had visited my apartment a week or so earlier, and she had noticed my original party turtle for the first time. She loved it. Birthday gift conundrum: solved.

party turtles, new and old

Katie loves orange, like I do, and I couldn’t resist making a party turtle in a much brighter colorway than my original. When Brad saw the picture, he said, “your party turtle looks like an old soul.” And I think that’s pretty perfect for Katie and me: she’s the energetic one in this friendship.

party turtle plush partied too hard

Every once in awhile, my party turtle parties too hard and falls over. Katie’s party turtle, when I first stitched him up, wouldn’t stay upright even for a second! Don’t party so hard, Party Turtle! To help her (Katie declared the turtle a “her”) stay upright, I re-opened the stitches in her belly and slipped 3 nickels into the shell. Now she’s well balanced.

Katie had a good birthday (helped, of course, by Party Turtle), and Katie and Jimmy had a great wedding.

The party turtle isn’t my pattern; the adorable, incredibly silly pattern was made by Jodie, whose blog, Ric-Rac, features some really amazing and perfectly executed plush, including the tiny turtles with party hats. Everyone needs a party turtle: they make any occasion that much more festive.

Here are some previous posts about Katie’s wedding… more to come!

wiwo wednesday: the narwhal factory is open

I’m joining Marie for wiwo wednesday (What I’m Working On). I always love to see what my favorite crafters are up to, and in-progress shots often tell an even better story than the finished product.

narwhal making in progress

Narwhal season is ramping up, and my coffee table is the current Narwhal Factory HQ. I’m churning out the standard gray-and-gray cuties, but also experimenting with some new things. We’ll see where this goes… I’m of the opinion that all narwhal experiments end adorably.

(in case you’re new, here’s where to order the plush narwhals.)