the sand box

     Do you remember when you were a kid and nothing was more fun then the sandbox?  The feel of the sand running through your fingers,  pushing that shovel into the sand, throwing the sand at your friend,  filling up a bucket, and then dumping it out.  Life in a sandbox was about exploring and seeing what you could create.  Since I have set up my studio I have been playing in the sandbox.  Alot.  Except fabric is my sand . 

I am inspired to try many new things and one day I started making stuffies.  I saw them everywhere -  in small gift stores, magazines, and online. 

So I suddenly had a great desire to make one or six.  Of course the challenge of thinking about fabric both texture and pattern led me to explore and evaluate my stash.  Don't you love a challenge?  It molds your thinking and allows you to to create in ways you never dreamed of. 

I kept thinking about the cat and dog blocks my grandmother Myers had made.  I like the simple yet graphic design.  They would make great stuffies!

So I started with a combination cat or dog like shape.  I like hand drawing the pattern on ordinary scraps of printer paper.  I save all those extra pages that always print with junk on them.  I pulled this ugly green floral stripe flannel from my stash for the body. 

Then  I found a scrap of floral upholstry fabric for the face. 

I cut out two bodies and faces.  After zig zag stitching the faces on I embellished them with buttons and embroidery floss.

I went back to my stash and found other fabrics of different textures and prints and colors. 

And drew some more patterns - like these bunnies.

And so a gang of stuffies is born from the scraps of my stash. 

Keep dreaming...and playing in your sandboxes...Colleen