If you are Jenanne, don't read this post!!!

I have been matched with Jenanne for back tack III and don't want her to read this post, since it divulges my plans for her stuffy. So, if you are Jenanne, I am serious, don't read this. You'll spoil your surpise!

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Ok, so now that she's gone, here are all of my plans so far:

I have decided to make a cat. Probably not a huge surprise to anyone who knows me, since I love cats. But I found a pattern in one of the Japanese craft books I bought at Mitsuwa back in March while I was in Chicago. I am pretty confident in my ability to make this, but we'll see what happens, considering all of the instructions are in Japanese!!!

Here's a picture of the cat from the cover of the book (along with a pig and a frog).

The ISBN for this book is 4-529-04076-3 - if you are wondering.

In some ways, I am not being very creative in dealing with the fabric "challenge" the back tack organizers asked for (black and white fabric only except for 20% color, with the body being black and white and the smock being the color - I consider it to be 20% or less of the whole stuffy), but I think it will still turn out really cute. I haven't decided yet if the J should go on her smock front or somewhere else (another swap rule - the initial of the recipient must be somewhere on the stuffy), but I do know that I am going to make her eyes open (most likely with buttons - I might draw some eyes on shrinky dinks and put holes in them like a button). Tonite I'm going to Michael's to look for a button nose and some doll joint parts so that the head, arms and legs can move, since that's what they use in the book and it looks easy enough to do (famous last words!) I have some soft fake ultrasuede type stuff in black that I am going to use for most of the body and I think everything else will be in wool felt.

That's it for the plans so far!
Hopefully there will be some sort of sewing progress to show on Monday. Stay tuned!

One little last note: I bought a serger yesterday from Costco.com - don't think it will help me much with this project, but I don't care. I have a serger!!! yeah!!!! Lots of spring skirts with rolled edge hems on the way!