Something Different and Something Same

Well, I have been doing so much knitting, that I needed to take a break.  I decided to make another play mat set for my friend's daughter who is going to have a baby.  I didn't really want to do another knitted one, so I decided to do a machine sewn animal set.  I wanted to do a farm scene this time, but I didn't have enough farm animals of any one pattern style.  I used what I did have and went on line to find a few more that would look like the same style as what I already had.  I also wanted to make a farmer, so I had to be creative with the pattern I had for a man.  Actually, it was a clown, but I altered things a bit and came up with something that sort of looks like a farmer.  These little animals are really cute, but they create quite a challenge because of how small the little pieces are, and because things get so tight that it is difficult to sew in some places.  Also, the turning right side out is very difficult with such a small opening for turning.  Everything comes out a little bit crooked somewhere or another, but it does add character to these charming little animals.  I was lucky enough to find some material that would do for the mat part.  I liked both so much that I decided to make the mat reversible, so it doesn't matter which side is up.  I also made this mat set with the arches that can be used as a crib mobile, but I am unable to show this one set up as a mobile.  I no longer have a crib set up at my house like I did before.  No more tiny babies that need a crib, so the crib is gone.

I found this adorable little lamb online.  I chose fleece for the material.  Cute for the lamb, but very difficult to sew in such tiny, tight places like the legs.  You can't see from this angle, but the left ear is turned down in a really cute way.

This cow is from a pattern I have used before.  It always comes out so crooked in the head, especially the muzzle.  The ears do not show up in this picture, but they turn down on the side of the head.

Every farm needs a pig.  I also found this little guy online, but he was so little that I had to enlarge him so he would be about the same size as the other animals in the set.  I decided to make his hanger go across the top of his back to  make him look like a piggy bank.

Sweet little kitty has a very crooked left ear.  The right ear is perfect.  The left front leg also does not sit flat when it is on a flat surface, so it looks like the kitty is lifting its leg to start walking away.

This horse is from a very old pattern.  The style is a little different from the others in that it is not three dimensional like most of the others.  I really think it is cute, and it was so much easier to make than the others.

This little donkey is also from a pattern I found online.  He was really tiny and was meant to be hand sewn.  That is not for me, and I wanted him to be about the same size as the other animals, so I enlarged his pattern, too.

This floppy eared puppy is really adorable, but a real headache to sew.  It was the first one of these that I sewed this time.  Though I have made these animals before, I always forget how difficult they are to maneuver with the machine, and how hard it is to follow the instructions.  They are so confusing, and I wonder how anyone could ever come up with them in the first place.  It blows my mind! When I finished him, his ears stood straight out like airplane wings.  I had to tack them to the side of his head so he wouldn't fly away.

This little duck is probably my favorite.  His wings stick straight out like he is going to take flight.  His head was the hardest thing in all of the animals to figure out.  I don't know why, because I have made him several times before.  I think I was really tired when I was trying to do it.  I left for awhile, and when I came back, it went right together without a problem.

This is my little farmer.  He is wearing hip-hugger pants and has no hands or feet, but I think he still looks somewhat like a farmer.  You can't see his hat from this angle, but he has a hat that sort of looks like a cowboy hat.  I hand embroidered his hair which you also can not see much of in this shot.  Although he is not three dimensional either, he took quite a while to do because of all of the detail with his clothes...the belt loops in particular were difficult to sew on. I also put a small bell in his hat, so he jiggles a little when you shake him.

This shot shows one of the sides of the mat.  In this one, the center is made from a flannel that has farm animals, barns,  tractors and trucks, and trees printed all over it.  I cut strips of material like the material I used in the arches (two different blues, and two different greens) for the sides.  I cut corners out of some yellow.  I made a border of these strips and corners to go around the printed flannel material.

This shot shows the other side of the mat.  This is a patch work quilt top.  It looks great and has blocks that look like gardens.  I didn't need to do the patch work.  It already came that way.  I reversed the front animals in this one so that you can see all of the different animals the way they look hanging.

I also completed another project this week.  I needed to make yet another pair of slippers for a friend.  This pair was for a boy about eleven, so I had to really work on downsizing the pattern that I have been using for a man.  Hope they fit.