04.22.08

craft interlude: the supersecret baby project i mentioned back in (cough) august is finished and delivered at last.

the sockshund, a "welcome to earth!" gift for my dear friend valya's sweet baby james, came to be after my first attempt at a creature went horribly awry: i was originally stitching up a felt giraffe, but the tragic yellow cow-dinosaur i improvised would have traumatized the little man. i was too squeamish to throw the half-creature away, though, so i'd pull it out once a week, stare at it for half an hour while trying to come up with a saving tweak, then stuff it back above our armoire with a dejected sigh. the nursery theme rolled over to "puppies" after little J made his debut, though, and i was all over patterning a dog, so the sockshund was born. joe was a very patient consultant: when i was finishing up the face and tail, i'd stop sewing every few minutes and jump on him. "is this cute? is this cute?!"

anyway, sockshund! behold his hand-stitched notquitebabyproof wienerdogness!

sockshund (2 of 3)

trip photos are online as well; trip narrative is on its way. no, really.

6 comments:

tom said...

And the weirdest part about it is that the little guy might have liked the yellow, er, thing better -- even though the weiner dog is **cute**. But he ain't talking.

Moral: in keeping his mouth shut, he got a very cute toy. The system works.

lauren said...

the failed giraffe was truly hideous - his neck was way too thin (like a diplodocus), his chest was way too deep (like a steer), and i couldn't for the life of me figure out how to make all four of his legs the same length, even with hooves like elevator shoes. i haven't made something that ugly since i tried to freestyle an armadillo a few years ago - and i say that as someone who is especially fond of making cockroaches with hairy feet.

Meg said...

Weiner dog and I are in love. I need 5 weiner dogs immedatly.

wabes said...

oh good god, lau. i don't believe you're capable of making ugly! even your hairy roaches had a charm, your koi were unstoppable, and don't get me started on your fireflies.

and you coordinated the ribbon's ribbon trim with his little argyle pattern!?

the sockshund says: erstaunlich!

valya said...

james loves it, of course. my mom was admiring the sockshund today, and he grabbed it out of her hand and started waving it gleefully. and as i said, it's impossibly adorable.

kinda curious to see the giraffe though :)

sharon said...

i can has cute weinerdog with the button eyes?