Cuteness – Page 2 – Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog

June 28, 2011

narwhals 2.0!

Here is the result of all my scheming and assembly line work: the brand new, re-imagined Plush Narwhals 2.0!

The little guys are made from the softest gray fleece in the world. I don’t know what it is about heather gray, but it even looks softer than all the other fleece colors. I love working with it, and I love how the little guys are coming out.

But my favorite part of the new narwhals, by far, is the striped tusk. Could it be any cuter? I’m in doubt.

Redesigning the narwhals has been a fun process for me. They’ve been the same for so long, and I was never quite thrilled with them, because I didn’t feel they conveyed my personality. As a maker of things, I like my things to reflect who I am… and the tan & cream just wasn’t doing it for me. I think they’re cute, yes, but I knew that they could be better. And that was the hardest hurdle to get over – why change your best-selling product? Why risk ruining a good thing? But I finally took the challenge, and now I feel I’ve perfected the stuffed narwhal, and it makes me very happy.

I know I built up a lot of suspense, and I apologize for not having this be a completely earth-shattering new creation :) But I think they’re pretty cute! And I’m excited to make lots of them now.

March 24, 2011

look what i made!

baby jammies

My wonderful friend Molly is having a baby and of course he needed a handmade jammies outfit.

baby jammies

There’s nothing quite like making tiny, soft clothes for someone you’re going to love.

January 21, 2011

the beastie!

At the end of September, I received a delightful email request from Collyn (pronounced Colleen) in Canada. She and her best friend came up with a small creature, nicknamed “The Beastie”. In her words, “this furry creature is a symbol of all the wonder and amazement over the small experiences in life that only children and kids could feel”. Since they attend separate universities now, they send letters back and forth to each other (because snail mail is awesome!) and they often doodle the little guy on notes and such.

For Christmas*, she decided a plush beastie would be the absolute perfect gift for her friend. Of course, I was absolutely flattered to be chosen for the challenge.

She sent me a few scanned doodles, along with his preferred color: gray with pink and yellow accents. I spent a few weeks hunting down the most perfectly soft fur I could find, and then it was sewing time.

from this... (doodles of the beastie)

...to this. (the finished, super huggable beastie.)

From the tips of his stripey horns to the bottom of his soft belly, it sure was hard to let him go! I’d forgotten how much I absolutely love fleece applique, how fun it is to sew on little details and make sure everything is exactly perfect. I hadn’t done anything of the sort since Bloo, or the goomba before him. I’d forgotten that, even though I can’t draw, I can make anything as long as I’ve got some scissors. This was a great stretching project for me, a great creative exercise.

But of course, above all, it felt so good to be able to give these friends a real, soft, huggable beastie.

*side note… she asked me to start on a Christmas present in september! so awesome! it’s nice to know there are people in the world who know how long things can take :)