RATZ and Super Swaps

Just a quick post to share some swap items I sent out. 

The first is a coffee cozy (which, incidentally, also fit around the individual sized Ben & Jerry's ice cream containers...just sayin') made for my secret partner in RATZ (Rapid and Tiny Zakka) swap.  She had lots of likes to work off of, which somehow makes it harder, including red and white combos.  She also seems to have a liking for the French General style fabrics. (Warning:  lousy inside-at-night photos to follow.)

I really liked the button (a tulip) on this.  Also the added bit of satin ribbon.

Just love the feminine feel of this softly colored fabric!

While I was making coffee cozies, I also made one for my Super Swap partner.  (I used the pattern and tutorial found at InColorOrder by Jeni Baker for guidance.)  For my partner, I had Michelle (a.quilter.2) who is quite talented and based on her favorites reminded me of my younger sister--lots of fun, whimsical, modern likes.  She also likes giraffes, but more on that in a second.  So I made her a bright kind of silly cozy with a cute little worm in the center (you know...early bird gets the worm...okay, maybe its only hilarious when you're up really late).  The center is made in log cabin block style only using folded strips of fabric (think iris folding only not as complicated).

Isn't that a cute little worm?  The button is actually two buttons stacked.

I had some gray houndstooth, which coordinated with the gray on the front, plus houndstooth is just fun.

Now to the actual swap item for Super Swaps---this round was pincushion or small animal.  And, as sort of mentioned earlier, I made a giraffe for Michelle.  When I saw that she liked animals, particularly owls and giraffes, I knew I had to make her a little creature.  However, when I decided on a giraffe and went looking for a pattern, there were almost none out there!  The few that did exist were more floppy or child styled or were out of print.  Mmph!  I did find another cute one, but the etsy seller was on vacation.  Left high and dry, I was.  So, I made a pattern myself (go me!) and created my very own giraffe!

Hello there!

I used felt for the ears, regular quilting cotton for the body and for the antlers I made two tiny French knots out of wool embroidery yarn.  I used variegated DMC perle cotton floss and wool embroidery yarn for the mane and tail. 

Isn't this little guy a cutie?  I did the mane in loops, but it would look cute as fringe too.

Michelle likes Tula Pink which is what I used for the body---which worked out perfectly as I had all the color coordinating flosses, yarns and felt.  It was meant to be.  :)

Figuring out the gusset (underneath belly part) was the hardest,  (I think I might tweak it just a touch more) but after three test ones, I got it to where I liked the results.  This giraffe is just the right size to be either a fun little shelf sitter or a pin cushion, so Michelle can use it either way.

You can see the tail here--it is braided and matches the mane.

I need to write up some instructions, but then I'm going to have the pattern available for others to enjoy.  I think I may make a larger size too that would be more child toy size.  We'll see how the pattern translates to the larger scale.  Anyone interested?  First though, I need to make me a giraffe--this one was hard to give away!

Could you stick a pin in him?