Awesome, isn't it? Gail at Bright Life Toys is amazingly talented and I really owe it to her that I even dusted off my sewing machine.
I loved the idea that plain, flat fabric could be turned into something so squishy and dimensional. So, I ventured off to find a pattern. After endless cruising around the internet and disovering that they're called Amish Puzzle Balls, I finally happened upon exactly the pattern I wanted, but the directions are only available in a book. I told you I'm not about investing in patterns yet...I just want the free stuff. How lucky am I that my library has the book?! It's called Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson of The Purl Bee. I don't claim to know anything about who's who in the crafting/sewing/knitting/making-beautiful-stuff world, but apparently she's hot stuff...and I believe it! Anyway, I immediately checked out her book so I could figure out if I could maybe somehow make one of these balls myself.
And lookie here...I did!
Ignore the bad photo. I need to figure out how to take the beautiful pictures I see on all of the other lovely blogs. But, it looks pretty good, right? I sent this to my friend, Erica, for her new baby gal.I've since made 4 more - I think they're my favorite thing to make so far. I've seen tiny ones done as Christmas ornaments, which I think would be darling...maybe if I find time between now and Christmas... The cool thing is that they look hard, but looks can be deceiving. Seriously, if I can make this with very limited skills (I'll share my bobbin story one of these days), anyone can.
It looks great (and a good photo too)! (I see over and over again that many people use a solid colored background and natural lighting to get good photos) I've always wanted to try my hand at one of these cloth toys, but thought they looked difficult and time consuming. I guess I'll have to give it a try now.
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