from Pinterest "pin" to bowling pin

Last month our family received a most precious invitation in the mail:

You remember Gavin, don't you? I wrote about him here in 2010, & here in 2011. He is such a fighter! It's been a blessing to follow his progress through his mama's blog and facebook.


What to make for the little guy, though? I started "shuffling" through my Pinterest boards and came across this pin

which caused me to do a Google search until I found this tute

Perfect for a young man's birthday! 


So... here's how I accomplished it:


I cut out fabric (3 layers) to cover a baseball. I embroidered "Gavin" on one side and 3 dots to represent bowling ball finger holes on the other. I hand stitched it around the ball; then trimmed & clipped it to be a little raggy along the seams (so the lil' man could get a good grip...)

I embroidered bunny faces

cut out 36 ear pieces

pinned 36 ear pieces

& stitched together twelve bunny ears...

The most difficult part of this project was stitching the neck area without catching those ears in the seam. It was a little tight! (I did try sewing one leaving the top of the head open then hand-stitching the ears -- but that was not much of a time saver...)


After sewing together the body and stuffing it almost full with Pollyfill, we added about 1/3 cup rice to weight the bottom of the pin. This was the second most tedious task! (Well, it was a toss-up between that & hand stitching the bottom without getting rice all over...)

My boys might, or might not have enjoyed a bowling game or two.

I decided Gavin would probably need a bag in which to store his bunny bowling set. I covered all the seams & boxed the bottom & added drawstring ribbons.

Those pins sure look cute in there, don't they?

We had a lovely time at the party!

Here's a glimpse of a pretty tired, just about over-stimulated, almost overwhelmed Gavin.

baby shower gifts

Last week was a trifle busy with a couple little items for a baby girl due next month. I made her a hat

a headband

a taggy-head crinkley doll

and two burp rags.

Blankie, Bunnies & Burps

Living in the Valley, one doesn't use a lot of blankets -- unless you're a baby.  I try to create my blankies for use year-'round.  This one for Baby-to-be-"M" uses a light pink Minkee & crisp cotton floral. It isn't apparent from the photo, but the roses are highlighted with shimmery gold -- which is why her monogram is gold thread.  I made the binding from one of three pink plaids.

I love this "Wee Bunny" pattern from weewonderfuls! I've used it for many 1-year-old-birthday gifts. The bunny for "M" uses pink plaids plus the rose print.  Gotta have Minkee ears!

I figured Bunny M needed a big sister "K". (I made a toddler quite happy: she took the bunny to bed the first night...)

I embroider the face so there are no buttons or whiskers to chew off! The pom-pom tail is stitched with upholstery thread. 

I am such a fan of raggy monograms! I ♥ texture that much.

This sweet blanket stitch applique flower from Sew-N-2-U pretties-up another burp.

Ahhh -- another baby gift wrapped up...

 

p.s. -- I didn't forget "Mom"...

the Sewists

Big changes at our house this fall. H & A are schooling online. I decided to embellish their "curriculum" with life-skills...

...whip stitch...

"Mom, why is the thread too long?"

...form the knot...

...pull it taut...

...and display...

And they lived happily ever after. 
The End