This month all of my New to Me's are animal related, I am not quite sure why it certainly wasn't planned :)
First up
a New to Me pattern, Whiskers the Fox, from Ann's Orchard Needlework
Then
and finally Denis the Dinosaur!
Despite the kit being advertised as suitable for a child, it wasn't all plain sailing I can tell you. I ran out of the green thread/floss and had to use a substitute to finish off the second leg and attach the legs and arms. The kit also came supplied with beads for the eyes, but I decided to stitch colonial knots instead, which meant that I also ran out of the black thread too!
The instructions for attaching the legs and arms were just that - "stitch into place". Having never attempted anything like this before I could have done with a bit more guidance.
We got there in the end and I am sure that it will look good on the gorgeous grandson's bedroom shelf, but it wasn't quite as easy as I had anticipated.
I bought a kit and a pattern for two more soft toys when I was at the Knitting and Stitching show. Fingers crossed that they are more fulsome in their instructions and their supplies :)
So, that's my New to Me's this month now it is your turn. Link up and celebrate the trials and tribulations of trying something new and, of course, encourage and support your fellow bloggers who have moved out of their comfort zones this month too. As ever the link party will remain open until 23.59 GMT on May 31st, so if you are thinking of trying something new this month but haven't yet here is the nudge that you need. Grab the link party button and take the plunge! Check out the linkers and give them some blogger support for their endeavours too.
I'm considering myself nudged - I haven't done anything new this month, but I had a couple of new-ies picked out last month to work on, and I didn't touch them. Hopefully this is the kick in the butt I needed!
ReplyDeleteI hate when pattern designers (especially the ones that CHARGE for their patterns) don't provide full details - that's what we're paying for, after all! I like my patterns to have lots of pictures (and I prefer pictures to drawings, most of the time) - I'm a very visual learner. Denis turned out pretty cute, despite the lack of construction explanation. I can't imagine a child being able to make the project without a LOT of help, though - Denis' tummy looks like it has an inset piece!
plenty of new this last month the FPP pieces are great and the dinosaur has worked so well, shame the instructions were so poor but you did a grand job.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lucky grandson, his bedroom must look amazing with all the gorgeous framed animal stitcheries. The dinosaur is very cute too, you 'adlibbed' the pattern well! xx
ReplyDeleteOh wow, that dinosour is so cute! You did a fabulous job, especially considering it's your first stuffed toy. I have yet to venture in the stuffed toy category ... too much hand sewing scares me. Was it a lot of hand sewing?
ReplyDeleteThat dinosaur is great! Thanks for linking up to TGIFF! And I JUST wrote and scheduled a post for Saturday about a recent "fail" I had with a quilt! I'll try to remember to come back and link up on Saturday! :)
ReplyDeleteThose PP blocks are so fun! Congrats on your first softie, looks pretty good to me! Sorry to hear about the hassle with instructions though :)
ReplyDeleteDenis the dinosaur is going to be well loved. Good idea to embroider the eyes for gorgeous grandson.
ReplyDeleteOoooh I love the hedgehog - off to follow the link! (All are fab but I have a hedgehog fan in the house!!!)
ReplyDeleteDennis is great! I hate kits that are stingy... the bad feeling created has to be worse than the tiny bit of extra it would have cost to give you extras!
ReplyDeleteWell done for persevering with your dinosaur, he's ended up looking great.
ReplyDeleteI love your menagerie! I think Dennis is my favourite :)
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