A change of heart

As a rule, I do not make softies, for much of my parenting career stuffed creatures have been, well a bane to me. They seem to multiply and end up everywhere, and then there was the washing, and the losing of that special one that HAD to found in order for sleep to occur. We all know the importance of a smooth bedtime for everyone concerned. Now, I am not a totally cold mother who would deny her child a beloved stuffed creature for any length of time, sheesh that would mean I would have to say no to big alligator eyes. Not this momma.

However, I have been known to give away those extra ones that really only served as one more thing to move when you make the bed. Then I began to see so many cute handmade softies on so many blogs. I felt a small shift began to transpire within myself. Keep in mind that my "little ones" are not so little anymore, they are 7, 7, 10 and 14. I saw the above lambkin here (this is a great blog) and found him irresistible. That little crafty voice in my head said, aww come on who could it hurt? So I made him and it was so fun and my boys all wanted one of their own and each took turns taking him to school to amaze their friends with their mom's skills. (I am not kidding with that either their friends did not believe them that I made it-how cute is that?) To make a long story short-haha- if I had thought about making these instead of store bought stuffed animals, I am afraid I would have a house full by now.

I have to say to all the crafty women out there who make their children handmade softies...way to go. You are creating a sleeping partner and a friend that was made with love.

The green monster I made for the boys for Christmas, this one is Nolan’s and the big black circle was intended as his eye, however this offended Nolan's sense of order and balance and he insisted this was the face and I forgot the eyes. The pattern is from here there are a many great ideas in this book and they are arranged by the amount of time it takes to make each item. I used fun fur which shedded everywhere while I was sewing it. For a baby gift I made one out of soft fleece and tucked a pouch of lavender in with the stuffing, I made the outside like a cover for pillow enclosing the stuffing so the lavender could be removed for washing. Does that make sense?