what sound do giraffes make?

I have no idea what the answer to that is.  However, I know I've been working on this giraffe design off and on for a few months.  And here one is...hiding in my sedum.  

And here's another one.  This might be my current favorite fabric I have recently "rediscovered".  I have quite a bit of it as well.  I'm considering maybe using it to craft myself a garment.  We'll see.

Overall, I'm really happy with the final design of these giraffes.  I initially had planned on making them more "giraffe" like - out of yellow fleece with brown spots.  They looked good like that but...one of the main things I like about creating softies is playing with fabric designs.  I love brightly colored and fun printed fabric and these giraffes are a perfect way to show off some great patterns.  Will I ever make a yellow fleece giraffe like I initially envisioned?   I probably will sometime.  But I'm really enjoying using some of my bolder fabrics right now.  

Each giraffe has a few ribbon tabs for their mane and one for their tail.  These mark my first softies that are free standing on their own.  I really wanted the legs to be sturdy and smooth and able to support the body.   And they do.

These will start to be available in my shop this Friday (tomorrow!).  

chicago and camels

A few weeks ago, Kinsey and I traveled to Chicago for my brother's wedding. The weather was beautiful and warm (mid 80's in October!) and we had a really nice time walking around the city. His wedding was on 10.10.10. The Chicago Marathon was also on 10.10.10. As you can imagine, the city was very busy. Luckily, a shuttle bus took us everywhere we needed to go.

One of the things we did was go to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Not only is the zoo free to get in to, it features all sorts of animals. Penguins, tigers, seals, buffalo, gorillas, and.....cows and pigs. One section was a barnyard theme. It was sort of funny to see these animals in a zoo setting. We're so used to seeing them all over that it seems strange to see them eating grass next to a fake silo and barn. Here's a photo of when we reached the entrance to the zoo and looked back towards the city.


Here was one of my favorite animals we saw...camels!



Here's Kinsey checking out the seals swimming in the underwater observation room.



This was the view from our hotel room. There were always people on the top of that center building eating. It looked nice from our room, but I don't think I'd like eating right at the edge of the building that high.


And here's a shot of me after the wedding waiting for the shuttle to take us to eat. I love this silver dress! I am pretending that the corsage on my wrist isn't really annoying me. Also, I am pretending that Lake Michigan was really the sea and we were in Maine.