Friday, July 29, 2011

Finished Object Friday


Last night I started a Roly Poly Cat and this morning I finished her. Very cute pattern! Chances are I'll make more but first I'd like to source some cat eyes (instead of these teddy bear eyes) and maybe some toy safety noses (in place of my lame embroidery skills). This is a great pattern for using up leftovers of acrylic worsted weight yarns. Instead of weaving in all the ends, I pull most to the inside as part of the stuffing and use the final end for sewing to assemble. Is that cheating? It certainly cuts down on time spent finishing!

Seems to me that I could pack up one of these little cats along with a gift card to the toy store or the bookstore to make Christmas presents for my preteen nieces and nephews. I know it's gift cards they want, but I like to have a little something that I can wrap so that it feels more like a surprise!

As well, I've finished my Realistic Octopus. His pieces had all been finished for a couple of days, but I'd been putting off final assembly. I struggled to make sense of the final page of assembly instructions; I just couldn't visualize how this would work. Finally this morning I decided to just follow the instructions step-by-step to see what happened. SURPRISE. That worked beautifully.

Lots of sewing and finishing, but now, seeing the finished little creature, all is forgiven! And it seems to me the tweens and teens in the family might like one like him with a gift card. After all creepy, slimy sea creatures must necessarily be cooler than kitties, right? And look, there's a squid too!

Chances are other crafters have been spending their time on far less silly things than me. Have a look here at Tami's Amis to see what everyone else has been up to!

16 comments:

knottygal said...

the roly-poly cat is too cute! love his bright color!

Sam Findlay said...

I like the idea of the kitty as a present to go along with a gift card! Your ocotopus looks great too!

Wool Diaries said...

The cat is so sweet and the octopus looks like he wants to get into trouble. I always give something little with gift cards, like you I like to see the suprise element.

Anonymous said...

Cute. I could totally see pre-teens loving them. Put a little hook on them for hanging on a backpack and I bet those cats would be going places.

stephanni :] said...

i love it all! cute kitties & octopus, what else could you ask for? :) good job.

thanks for the comment. i wasn't too impressed with the potholder. i thought it would have been a little bigger but it will do. it was the simplest to make so far. :)

wrchili said...

Your amis turned out great. I especially love the squid and think he would be a great Christmas gift along with the gift cards. When I'm making toys, I usually just hide the ends inside the toy as well. If it's cheating, you aren't the only one who does it!

geeky Heather said...

Squee!! The cat is adorable. And it's certainly not cheating to use the ends for part of the stuffing. I've started temari with a core of yarn orts, so you're legit. ;)

Stacey said...

LOVE! Super cute!

MagicalJane said...

Dear Auntie Lynn - can you please help us to see? Lots of love from Jane's band of one-eyed teddy bears.

And no, it's definitely NOT cheating to tuck the loose ends in to a stuffed project.

CrochetBlogger said...

Both look super cute!

Tami Klockau said...

Adorable! I tuck the ends of my creatures inside as well. No use in weaving them in!

Crafty Intrigue said...

That cat is so cute. At some point, I want to make an amagurumi project.

sadodosah said...

So cute! And it is a good idea to still have a little something along with a gift card. I am sure that it will be appreciated since it is so darn pretty.

Liz said...

I love your octopus too! And the roly-poly cat is adorable <3 I love giving small things with money/gift cards too. Definitely makes it more special.

Affiknitty said...

Both of them are very cute. What a great idea to have something to go along with a gift card!

Delusional Knitter said...

Those are awesome! Its not cheating as long as the ends are "in" ... I love patterns like that, don't make any sense when read, but when done ... ah ha!