Celebrate the Holidays with a Ninni

Santa Ninni made by the sloppy sewer

Back in May my friend Leslie and I organized our first swap on craftster.org. We had an amazing 49 crafters sign up to make a monster Ninni. It was an act of plushie adventureness as none of us had even heard of a Ninni before.

Ninni was designed by Suse, an artist in Berlin,  over at  RevoluzZza. (That link gives you the pattern and her tutorial). The two great things about Ninnis are that they are real easy and real fun to make and they can end up being...anything. Three great things. Here's a  link to the gallery of Craftster's first Ninni swap--including all the names of the people who said, "Whatever it is, I'll make it!"

After the success of that first Ninni swap Leslie and I had envisioned other rounds of Ninni to follow and  that is going to happen for holiday this year! Our current plan is to put it up in the swap  idea thread on Nov. 3 and have sign ups from Nov. 6 to 12. If you're a Craftster member, I hope you can join us and if you're not--join now and you can be in a swap in just one month!

Orange you glad?

In celebration of Halloween, these are  orange things that I saw in one day.

The Project Runway Neighborhood: Pictorial Entry

We've tuned into Project Runway after a few seasons away. I don't watch a lot of TV--but I love this show.  The final four who are going to Bryant Park to strut their stuff during fashion week are Viktor Luna, Anya Ayoung-Chee, Joshua McKinley and Kimberly Goldson. My guess is that Viktor, who really has been incredible, will take the prize. But I am rooting for Joshua. He has really added the seasonings to the show.

Here are some photos that I took in the Fashion District--just a couple of blocks radius is all.
The manufacturing is gone, and I do miss all those guys pushing all those racks of clothing around--I mean I can still HEAR it. It's a great part of the city.

Photos © the sloppy sewer

Pigs Might Fly

Well I had just finished making two pigs for teachart for the latest tiny stuffie swap over at craftster.org and I thought I would take them out to the big city before wrapping them up to go to upstate NY.

Teachart is a catcher in a softball league. She plays for "Pigs Might Fly" and their team colors are tie-dye. I knew immediately what to make for her but then everything else--the design, the fabric, the embellishments--needed to be filled in.

Rainbow pig at left is looking out a window of 620 6th  Avenue where we had just gone shopping. Her body is fleece but her wings are ooo-la-la silk. I had the perfect pink button to give it just the right porcine touch.

But while I was making her I had another idea about "Pigs Might Fly". What if they never actually sprout wings? Might they NEVER fly?

And so superhero pig was created.  

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Superhero pig playing in Union Sq. Park

Photos © the sloppy sewer

Time for you guys to fly!

Mug Rugs

"Bigger than a coaster, smaller than a placemat" is how big most mug rugs are. That's because they're meant to hold your beverage and a piping hot fresh fruit muffin, a flaky croissant, a half-brownie from yesterday, a piece of something that still looks quite edible.


Mug rugs are usually sewn and very often pieced or appliqued like a little quilt. Google "mug rugs"  and you'll find a slew of great photos, tutorials and patterns. Make one and you'll likely be surprised at how much it enhances snack time.


This is the mug rug that I made for Somehowtainted in Craftster's round  2  Mug Rug swap:

I had been struggling for days and made/half made three other mug rugs before I realized that I wanted to make one that was more like a flat doll. I am real pleased with how it turned out.

This is the mug rug that Somehowtainted made for me:

The woman can EMBROIDER like nobody's business, right? I'm glad that the skull is on the left side. Less of a chance that I'll ruin it. A few of us had been waiting a long time for this swap to come around again. Honestly, I hope another one gets going soon. It was great fun. 


Susan
the sloppy sewer

Erving, a bright light in the building

Today, in the small area near the freight elevator, in a place where we would likely see Erving, there was a memorial to him.  He was the superintendent of our building and he passed away on Thursday when I was coming home from Dallas.  We knew each other enough to make those small ribbings about who's working and who's slacking, complaints about the weather, construction on the block, those mini conversations that make a place routine and comfortable. It would have been a perfect day for him to catch some extra sun, leaning against the building, and for me to give him just a sentence of poking for it.

There were times when Erving's visits to our offices felt intrusive. (They were always spontaneous.) But he never left the area without laughing and trying to get a laugh . In talking to a friend and co-worker of his this morning I realized that my mixed feelings about these interruptions could have been tempered if I had realized that the office space was more Erving's than mine. Was, actually, totally his.
I should have figured that out, you know, before.

will be missed

Jerry Hutchins Has Plastic Eyes

Photo © thesloppysewer

I have never met Jerry Hutchins but I do know that s/he does indeed have plastic eyes. Possibly for real, but DEFINITELY for sale. I just received my first order from lets say him. The red and yellow eyes are 30mm and the green ones are 24mm and they cost, respectively as they say, $8.95 and $6.00 for 10 pairs. I usually use buttons for eyes, but sometimes my plushies go to homes that have young children. In those cases, safety eyes like these are a great way to go.  Plus, since my creatures often only have one eye, I get a lot of mileage out of these.

If you're interested in finding out more about eyes and other body parts that you can get from Jerry here's his online store.

I did WHAT with Leslie's Mystery Critter Pattern?

My friend Leslie created a pattern over at her blog and we used it as the basis for a Craftster swap that is finishing up now. As soon as Leslie posted the tutorial, I made the day/night critter on the left as a test run. My swap partner, abbeyrd83 (who should be receiving today so I'm good to post
this...I hope), is a Polynesian dancer. That's what inspired me to create the critter on the right. It's way cuter than my usual stuffies. The other one, much more my DNA.
A few mystery critters are already in the gallery. You can see what a bunch of us did with Leslie's pattern now and in the next week here.