The Red Elephant (more Minky)

In between fittings for the Prom dress muslin and waiting for the fabric to arrive, I finally made the elephant for my son.  Sam not-so-quietly reminded me of it every time I started a project for Stephanie.  It was about time!

He decided he wanted the body to be Minky (instead of just the ears as we did with the others).  A knit for a stuffed animal, really?  Hmmmm.  Another interesting project.    I found that the legs do not support the body well -- perhaps this is a result of the flexibility of the fabric -- a woven would probably have been a bit stiffer.  But Sam loves him, even though he is currently eyeless.  My black yoga pants and black fleece vest were covered in red fuzz by the time I finished.

Sam with his animal friends

Sam also insisted that I make another Minky pillowcase, and I couldn't resist.  A sweet little friend had extensive orthopedic surgery last week and will be in a hospital bed recovering for as long as 6 months!  He's really the cutest little kid you could ever imagine and we wanted to do something for him, imagining how tough it will be to spend that much time in bed.  My kids love their Minky pillowcases, and thought Johnny should have one, too.  And since he has a sister, she should also get one.  It was a fun, quick little project.

Boy

Girl

I've realized over the last couple of weeks that I really enjoy sewing for other people more than I do sewing for myself.  Good news for my daughter.

Who doesn't love to support a children's hospital?

Have you seen Wonky Wilma?  I learned of her from Scruffy Badger, and instantly fell in love.  Janet of Kitchen Table Sewing created the pattern and will email it to you for a donation to the Great Ormond Street Hospital charity.  Our family is a big supporter of Arkansas Children's Hospital, and we all adore elephants, so I signed up immediately.  Coincidentally, my office had a "white elephant" party on the calendar, so I thought it would be fun gift that one of the young moms in the office would grab for her little one!

Wilma is only slightly wonky, in fact I think she is adorable!  I made mine with Minky ears, tail and foot pads, and used a funky print for the body that allowed me to place an eye-shaped pattern in the eye area and avoid using buttons, making it safe for little one who may want to eat a button.

My kids -- who are really too old for stuffed animals -- fell in love with her.  My daughter plans to make one for her white elephant party next week, as well as another for herself. My eleven year-old son begged to keep this one.  I now wish I had given it to him and just bought a gift card for the exchange.  As in the past, I was sorely disappointed with the office party.  Very little imagination was put into most gifts, and unfortunately, the person who opened Wilma was a young man in his 20's, who behaved as an unhappy toddler would when he saw the contents of the package.  He has probably already thrown her into the trash. 

I feel terrible that I wasted the little treasure on someone so unappreciative of handmade gifts.  I suppose I am spoiled, because anyone I've ever gifted in the past has been so happy to receive it -- or at least they were gracious enough to act as though they loved the gift.  Oh well, as we say in my business, "Lesson learned."  My daughter and I still plan to make a few of these for little people we know will enjoy her, and I think it is a wonderful gift that Janet has given to both the hospital and to those of us who sew.