I was working for about a month doing some seamstress work. My old 60's Singer sewing machine and I got very intimate in that time. I feel I know her better than ever now. The machine used to be my mom's; it's built like a brick sh&*house and I love it.
I have been sewing some fun projects lately, including these stinkin' cute stuffed pigs. My friend feeds my creative obsession by letting me consign my stuff at her store. Somebody bought one as a Christmas gift. They paid $15 for it. I'm a little surprised, but tickled, too. Thank you for supporting local businesses!
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| Phone picture... (not too awful, though - huh?)... |
I got the pattern from Martha Stewart:
She is using felted wool sweaters. I bought what I thought was a wool sweater from the thrift store. After further inspection at home, turns out it's acrylic. Not a surprise since I abhor most wool sweaters; I feel like I'm bathing in fiberglass - itchy! I don't know from wool so well. But it was only 50 cents, so no big whoop.
I believe the acrylic sweater stretched more, which is why my guys have bigger noses.
And if anyone has ever read any of the Olivia books, you know that the cutest pigs have giant snouts.
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| I think Olivia should be required reading. For everyone. |
Plus I embroidered eye and nostril details. Everyone knows that the cutest pigs have little eyes and nostrils.
Now I'm on a pig-making jag.
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| I bought a bunch of sweaters, and a velvet-like shirt, at a thrift store. |
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| Cut pieces: tail, left and right sides, ears, round nose, bottom piece. |
I wasn't so sure about the velvet-y one as it's harder to see his nose/eyes. However, my local toy expert, my friend's 7 year old daughter, thought this was by far the best one. So I gave it to her for Xmas.
One thing I do notice is that the placement of ears and eyes make all the difference in the pig's "expression".
I uploaded the following picture to picnik.com and did some messing around. (Picnik is a great, free tool to do some things to your photos that you might not be able to do on your computer. Ah, the interwebs.)
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| original |
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| after strange, virtual, cosmetic eye surgery |
See the difference? I couldn't adjust the ears, but you can imagine...
I'm having fun, plus it's a great time to catch up on some of my Hulu shows.
Update:
I finished a darker pink pig and took a blurry camera phone pic of it...
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| My little friend, Julia, gave the pig a scarf :) |
Linking to:
Oh these are so cute and cuddly! I like yours better than Martha's too!
ReplyDeleteI'd vote for yours -- hands down; no questions asked. I like the eyes close together the best and really like that yours look more like Olivia. Indeed, she should be required reading. I know I have all her books. I'm sure, too, that your pigs are much more cuddly. Cuddling up with wool is like cuddling up to some guy who hasn't shaved in a year. You made Martha's "good thing" into a wonderful thing. Nice work. Is your old Singer light-brownish on the bottom, tannish on the top and made of metal? Is it the Singer 910? Both my mother and I have that model. They don't make 'em like that anymore. I think our models were the last year they were made of all metal material. I'm not giving it up anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments :) My Singer is white with a sort of tannish color around the controls and a sort of clay/tan color on the base and lid of the carrying case. All metal - definitely the way to go!
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