The Elephant in the Room

It's well-documented that I will find just about any excuse to craft. My latest adventure comes courtesy of Mr. Goodlaff's sister, who brought a beautiful baby girl into the world this week, making me a very proud aunt on a crafty mission. Eventually I will make Baby H a baby blanket, but these things take time, and I wanted her to have a little something to tide her over until I can finish it.

Looking for a quick, easy-ish project, I consulted One Yard Wonders, a book filled with great projects needing one yard of fabric or less. After much back and forth with Mr. Goodlaff, we decided that Elodie the Elephant was the best choice. We chose fabric from among my stash and I got to work. I cut, I sewed, and I stuffed. I pinned her ears in place and was about ready to sew her shut when I stopped and took a second to admire my so-called handiwork.

And it was bad.

Elodie looked more like a demented anteater than an elephant, and I knew there was no way I could give a beautiful, innocent baby girl such a terrifying plaything.

Now, there's a decent chance that I screwed up at one or more points along the way, but in looking Elodie over, I saw the eyes were in the wrong spot, the nose was too long, the ears too Dumbo. (Actually, I just googled Elodie, and in my opinion, the other finished projects look just as sad as mine did.)  Elodie, in her unfinished state, was scrapped.


The next day I went to the craft store looking for inspiration, and happened to stumble across a totally different elephant pattern. This pattern had the advantage over Elodie in that it did not look like an anteater, so I bought it, along with some super-soft baby snuggle fabric. No point in doing it halfway--this time it was Elephant or bust.

I cut, I sewed, and again, I stuffed. This pattern was more complicated than the first one, and at times I was confused, but I made it to the end, with this as my final product:

Meet Ellie.  She's about three million times better than her predecessor.  Aside from the fact that her head isn't quite sewed on straight (I've decided she's inquisitive, hence the head tilt), she's absolutely perfect.  She's soft and fluffy and in a few months, I hope will make a great cuddle partner for Baby H.  It went over pretty well with the family, and I hope she'll love it as much as I did.


 And speaking of Baby H,

Welcome to the family, little one!  I love being Auntie Goodlaff...