Yesterday we attended a very special event, and I made a very special gift for the occasion! … Kelly’s bridesmaid and Tim’s groomsman, now a newly-wed couple themselves, hosted a baby shower for who else but our newest little not-quite-here-yet bub… The new nursery is to be jungle-themed, so I thought I’d make an animal mobile.
I bought acrylic felt sheets, wooden beads and a bamboo hoop from the craft section at Spotlight, and everything else from my stash… embroidery thread for the embroidery, upholstery thread for stringing everything all together, and all-purpose glue… the blue/green wool that I used to wrap the hoop was from a large bag full of wool that a neighbour put out on their verge as rubbish. When I spotted it I was like… whaaa??? well yes please and thank you! #wastenotwantnot
The designs are all my own:
toucan;
sort of a generic monkey… I kinda wish now I’d made him a specific type but oh well…
gorilla. btw, most of them have a definite front and back so I’ve pictured both of his here… He was one of my early favourites so I can’t believe I forgot to take his special close-up photo! we’ll have to make do with a couple of zoom-ins …
tiger. I’m pretty pleased with my tiger, it was easily the most labour intensive and fiddly of them all! This is actually version three; I was dissatisfied with two earlier versions but kept going until I had one I was happy with. He also has a definite back and front.
panther
blue and red macaw
blue and gold macaw. Until I was making this mobile and made a point of looking it up, I wouldn’t have noticed that these macaws have black beaks while the red and blue ones have white beaks!
python. this was a last minute inclusion and I really love him! My python has a lovely diamond pattern along his length, and it should be noted btw that this is not a very common marking for this particular colouring but I’m claiming artistic license!
There are three different leaf sizes, and I went to a careful effort to balance everything out; the ground dwellers are at the bottom, then there’s the mid-range dwellers, with the birds flying up in the canopy. Except for the toucan, he’s not flying but I imagined him perched on a branch.
I like the way the blue/green yarn I used to wrap the hoop is sort of “planet earth” colouring, as well as sky/leaf canopy colouring. Seems sort of fitting. And the dark wooden beans that are really there to weigh down the motifs, also sorta represent nuts in the trees and on the ground, and the wooden trunks of the trees.
Lastly, here it is in motion.. thanks Cassie! for holding it up for me to film it!
Kelly sent me a picture this morning showing it hanging up already, which is so cool! and I sure hope baby enjoys watching it from his cot!
Before anyone points it out; yes I know these animals do not necessarily live in the same jungles as each other, but hey; at least they’re all actual bonafide jungle animals and I didn’t pop a cheetah or a zebra in there!
Now before I forget… I said I only had two more things to blog about before the end of the year, but I was forgetting the following! for Kelly’s birthday she mentioned how she needed maternity clothes, so I offered to take her shopping for fabric and I’d run up a few things… I’ve shown some of them here but not all of them for some reason, anyway, here are the rest…
a Closet Case patterns Ebony dress with set-in sleeves; in cotton jersey bought from Spotlight for this project
A raglan-sleeved Ebony tee, and a skirt made using Burda 7023. Apart from the navy blue merino for the sleeves which is leftover from my Nettie tee, these fabrics are all long term residents from my stash, some give to me by Mum. It’s not a glamorous outfit, but one I thought she could wearing hanging around the house or on the weekend for housework or something… hey, we all need those clothes too!
another raglan-sleeved Ebony tee, and Burda 7023 skirt combo… striped jersey a long term resident from my stash, originally leftovers from this dress; and black jersey from Spotlight, not a leftover but bought specifically for this project. For my previous notes on adaptions to this skirt pattern, see here.
So; NOW I’m pretty sure I have only one thing left in this year to blog and it’s a lovely one if I say so myself …. stay tuned!
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