Learning Curve...

Here is a Wee One Yuletyde Present which I have been working on. The fabric before (hello ROY G. BIV....or at least ROY G. BI...couldn't find a violet fabric that was just right at the fabric shop):

And after:




Some notes:
1. You can't make a circular ring by sewing the wrong sides together at both the inner and outer ring seams. After some false starts, I finally sewed the outer seams on the wrong side, then turned and sewed the inner seams from the right side, reinforcing with two rounds of stitches around the circle. I used pinking shears to cut the fabric and hope the inner side doesn't fray too much.
2. You can't have too much fill. I had some bamboo fill left from the Wee Rattle and thought there would be enough, but the last ring, as you can see from the pics, is only half-way filled.
3. This toy appears to be so huge, it could be part of the Festivus Feats of Strength competitions. I hope the Wee One is strong enough to heft them! I made the inner circle 6" and increased each circle by one inch, so the last one is a whopping dinner plate sized 11" (I know because I used a dinner plate to trace out the circle). Oh my! If I were to make another, I would start with a much smalled inner circle. Maybe 3" (though my ability to sew a circle this small is definitely questionable).
4. I still need to craft up a base and holder for the rings, although they seem to stack well enough without one; I'll let you know what I do indeed come up with.
5. Nature Boy helped with the fabric selection and apparently, we like the octopi. I didn't even notice until I was cutting that the two blue prints are heavily octopi-influenced.

So I need to run out for more fill and finish this project up! The Wee One Red Sweater is still on the needles...still working on the front...not much else to say about it now. Better get going and craft some more 'cause it is December already and I have space under the tree that needs to be filled up.

So what do I do with all the leftover flannel fabric? I found a pattern for a ball, could make a blanket...any other ideas out there? I've got at least a 1/2 yard left of each if not more.