Okay, I guess this week we are having a change of plans. Hi 👋 You were probably a little surprised by the beginning of this article 🤔?!
I’m Alyona. I have been sewing and crafting for as long as I can remember. And this is my weekly “newsletter” series turned into an evergreen article as well 🌱💪. This series is called what am I working on this week. In my previous article, I planned to make an alpaca or llama, whatever you call it. But these articles are not stiff and perfectly organised. I share my week as I go through it, and sometimes life happens 🤷♀️. Sometimes I suddenly change my mind and go for a completely different project. That is exactly what happened to me this week 🙈.
I realised I did not really have time to go to storage and pick up my Wooden Hoops for the cot mobile. Since I was not making the cot mobile, I did not have to rush and finish all the elements for it. At the same time, I wanted to make a gift for a sweet friend. She has the Dachshund dog. And I thought it would be lovely to make a small piece she could always keep with her. Sooo … Last week I was making cactuses for a future cot mobile, but this week I completely shifted gears 💪.
Why I Changed the Plan
I spent quite a long time choosing what colour to use. I hesitated between a brownish shade and black. In the end, I chose dark brown. My Soft Felt in black is going down far too dramatically. And I want to keep it aside for Batman later. Spoiler alert, yes, Batman is coming, and obviously Batman needs a lot of black felt 🙈.
Dark brown also suits my friend’s dog better. Her dog is more dark brown than black, so this choice felt more accurate anyway. Sometimes a practical decision ends up being the right one. That was the case here, and I felt quite happy once I finally stopped arguing with myself over the colours.
I also kept hesitating over the shape and purpose of the piece. At first, I thought I might make a bookmark. For a bookmark, I wanted the dog to stay flat, so she could place it inside a book while reading. Then I started thinking about making a Key Pendant instead. That idea pushed me in a different direction because for a key pendant I wanted the plushie to have stuffing inside.
Bookmark or Key Pendant
That part confused me a bit because of the dog’s position. The dog is lying on her back, and this breed is such a long little sausage style dog. I kept wondering where I should place the pendant itself. I wanted it to work nicely if she clipped it to her bag, and maybe even to her keys, although I am not fully sure she likes bulky things on her keys 🤔.
At first, I tried placing the attachment closer to the head, but it did not look the way I wanted. Then I thought, heck, I will put it more in the middle. That way it hangs properly and really gives the impression that the dog is lying on its back. If I were making a cot mobile from this plushie, it would be much easier. I would simply attach a long thread in the middle of the belly and the job would be done. But for this one, the pendant was not long, so I had to think a bit more carefully.
In the end, it turned out pretty fabulous, and I am very pleased with it. I still have another pattern of the same dog breed, but that one looks more like the dog is dancing or skating. I am not sure I will have time to make the second one as a gift, but at least one is done 💪. Now I just need to choose what wrapping I want to make around it so it looks like a sweet handmade gift ✂️🎁.
A Little Update on Last Week’s Work
By the way, the pattern from last week is already out and available on My Website. That pattern contains three different cactus shapes inside. If you read last week’s article and felt curious about it, I just wanted to give you a little update and let you know that it is now ready and online.
That was not the only new thing this week. I also had a great upgrade for my hair curler 🎉, and you can probably see in the photos that my hair had some very fabulous curves going on 💪😂. I spent some time testing the GHD Curl Tong this week as well, and I decided to take a few pictures while I was at it 🤳.
So that is pretty much everything new from this week. If you want to keep up with what is going on in my creative life on a weekly basis, you are very welcome to subscribe on My Website to the Newsletter. Just scroll down and you will find the subscription button. That way you will know what project I am working on, what I am creating, and what is going on in my crafting life in general ✂️.
A lot happened this week, and I am really grateful that you give your time to me by reading my blog articles or following along through the newsletter. As a little thank you, I want to share one Free Sewing Pattern with you for you to test, and I hope you enjoy it 😉.
One Last Little Reminder Before I Go
I almost forgot to mention that the latest pattern I worked on last week, tested, and felt very happy with is already available in my Sewing Patterns Collection. This pattern is cactus – or cactuses, I should say – because in one pattern you get three different styles and three different designs as a bonus.
So yes, this week started with one plan and ended with a completely different felt Dachshund dog, some nice hair curls, and a few little creative detours along the way. I hope you enjoyed this article. I am so happy you stayed with me until the end, and I will see you in my next one. Bye 👋
