handmade Christmas 2011

I had a hard time figuring out what to give to our baby niece for Christmas. An unreasonably hard time, really. I had many of ideas, but very few of them matched all of my criteria. I wanted to choose something that she'd use as well as something that wouldn't be too much of a production to make. And it couldn't be clothes because, well, at that age I find it rather pointless to sew clothes for them because they grow so quickly.

Finally I decided to buy the book A Friend For Boots by Satoshi Kitamura for her. (We have Duck is Dirty which both of our boys have both loved, and since her parents are cat lovers, I thought one about a cat would be perfect for them.) When the book arrived, I was not disappointed. It was charming. The boys enjoyed it so much that we had a hard time wrapping it and sending it away.

I wanted to make a little cat shaped dangle toy similar to the cat in the book so that it would be a cohesive gift set. I was planning to embroider the face details and use different colors of corduroy for the fur. However, reality set in, and I needed to get the Christmas packages in the mail, so I went with something simpler: a cross between a crinkly sun ray toy and a rainbow sunshine plushie, both of which I've been wanting to make for a while.

I used a variety of fabrics from my stash for lots of textures: terry cloth, seer sucker, satin, velvet, corduroy, cotton prints, and linen. It turned out pretty cute even if it is imperfect and a little wonky.

After the rush of trying to get the packages out of the door had subsided, I decided to make a couple more. (I already had my fabrics and sewing machine out, after all...) One is for Sweet Pea, and one is for a good friend whose baby is due in March.

I wish happy chewing and drooling and crinkling to all the young recipients.