Shark was a great white success!
I finally had use for the dismembered platypus plush I’d stored away in a ziploc bag. Last year at the height of the Ducknana craze, I wrote on our kitchen whiteboard asking the roomie for his favourite animal/fruit combo. His answer, “platypus pineapple” remained on the whiteboard for a few weeks. In that time, I got the idea to make this character a reality by fusing together two mass-produced plushies:
Unless you source the plushies from thrift shops, frankensteining plushies isn’t a budget-friendly hobby. I believe that platyapple set me back $80. At least it gave me polyester filling to use in my felt shark. All that now remains from last year’s project is the hollowed-out body and hind legs of what used to be a pretty darn adorable platyplushy.
Anyway, the cat photographed is Lizzie, one of the two cats I’ve been looking after for the past week. I did not make the shark for her, nor is it for Jordi’s cat, Klaus. As I quickly learned, felt is a terrible choice for cat toys. I’d put the shark on the entryway ledge. It’s a short ledge where my friend stores his keys, sunglasses, and mail. I’d never seen either cat jump up on this ledge, so I was surprised to come home from work to find the shark on the floor, slightly beat up.
What the devil? The cats were barely interested in the toy when I showed them, yet as soon as I turned my back, they pounced on it?! Yeah. Sounds about cat.
I nursed the shark back to health with a clothes shaver. The damage done to it is now barely visible. Anyway, this was a project that focused more on skill than on creativity. As a kid, my favourite gifts were crafting kits/DIY books. I’ve crafted critters out of styrofoam egg cartons, tried my hand at paper sculpture, latch hooked, pimped my jeans with puffy paint, boondoggled, bead loomed, cross stitched, and MANY MORE! The shark wasn’t even the first hand-sewn felt plushy I’ve made: As a kid, I made all the Winnie the Pooh characters (minus Christopher Robin) using patterns I found in Mom’s sewing kit.
Although I prefer to put a creative twist to these projects, I’ve found that it’s best to start simple. My first knitting project was Tin Can Knits’ Wheat Scarf. The first time I made a gingerbread house from scratch, I used the provided templates.
I had my first sewing lesson yesterday.
I made an evening gown out of that cat face fabric.
I used this lesson to hem old Ikea curtains.
They were so long that I have enough leftover fabric to make cushion covers for the dining chairs. My creative projects are on hold until I get the hang of using a sewing machine. Also, I need a sewing machine of my own, and all the expensive supplies that come with this hobby. I don’t think I will buy a video game console to keep me busy through the winter, but a sewing machine.
(Just now I helped Jordi choose the genitals for his character in Baldur’s Gate 3. I chose “Penis C”.)
Even then, all online purchases are on hold as I came across a suspicious charge to my credit card last night and have since cancelled my credit card. The charge was for just $10.16, making it easy to overlook, thus allowing fraudsters to siphon your funds every month unnoticed. Now I have to pay in cash and visit physical store locations for a few days? Nooooo!
squaremeat.com 