Eons ago I used to make loads of stuffed toys (as teenagers
@Flobear and I had a bit of a cottage industry) but it is more than 20 years since I have made anything and I have only ever made things in fur or felt which are very forgiving.
Anyway, my neighbours recently started fostering. Up until now they have just done weekend respite for other foster carers for two 12 year old girls. About a month ago they took in a 4 year old girl on an emergency placement. She came with very little stuff and of course there are no shops open. Neighbours with children rallied round and put together some bits for her and I had some things from when my niece and nephew used to come and stay. they're in their 20s now.
About 3 weeks ago DH told me that the little girl had told him that she wanted a dinosaur so I thought 'no problem'. I found a pattern for cotton fabric and after a bit of searching realised that good old Bumbleberries quilting fabric was a good dinosaur look. All the pieces are backed with fusible woven interfacing for robustness. I was delighted to find a pair of googly eyes in my button box, goodness knows why I had them because I've never used safety eyes for anything before. I washed an old pillow with a polyester filling and it was perfect for stuffing. Just as I started to stuff I realised that one of the eyes had a crack right across the surface. Damn, blast and botheration!
I searched on e bay for some more googly safety eyes that weren't in China or in packs of 500 and found some in London. After receiving an e mail to say they had been posted they arrived 10 days later! It has taken me forever as my hands didn't like using a needle in confined spaces to stitch on the legs so I could only manage one every couple of days.
But, I have finally finished it - the moment has probably now long passed and my neighbour told me yesterday that the girl had just received a box of her things from home.
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