Friday, April 24, 2009

The Magical Toy Society

So you start your own blog, and a year later you find that you do things like travelling interstate to meet some new friends. You have great fun with these new friends, and you can't quite believe how crafty most of them happen to be. You know, they knit and sew clothes, and they create works of art and generally do things that you have never done in your entire life. So then you return home and continue reading their blogs, and one day you click on a button which says "The Toy Society." Lo and behold, you discover that many of these new friends of yours enjoy crafting the most stunning soft toys, and then leaving them in public places, to be found by...anyone who comes along. Just for the joy of it.



So you start wondering how you can be involved in this, because it's the most fabulous idea.



But you are not at all crafty.



Enter Jodie with her birdcage pattern. You trust Jodie, if she says her pattern is simple to stitch together then it is, and so you buy it, and then you sew it together. Of course, you fall in love with the little bird-in-a-cage and want to keep it for yourself, but NO, you will use it for your very first toy drop.



Which turns out to be a very good idea.



The next week you find yourself dreaming of crafting your own little toy, FROM SCRATCH, for your second toy-drop. Your family cannot stop LAUGHING because suddenly you're talking about fabric and felt and the difficulty involved in threading a needle. Eventually you decide on a fish, and you adapt the techniques you learned when making Jodie's bird - you sew the fins and tail on inside out (like her birdcage loop), you sew on a tiny felt nose (like her birdcage base), and you add a tiny bit of selvedge (in her honour). You then name the bird Fifi (for obvious reasons) and place it in a bag with a lovely picture which you found in a Luckie box which was gifted to you by a new crafting friend, and then you leave that fish all alone, in a public place, and walk away (gulp).



Which also turns out to be a very good idea.



Then you are so happy that you spend a lot of your time skipping around the house and singing.



Because that's the effect The Toy Society has on people!!


Thanks Bianca!!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! You just never know what these blogs might lead to...

Mary said...

You are going to become SO addicted to this!!

Anonymous said...

That is wonderful! What a cute idea the Toy Society is, and go you for contributing!

Julia said...

I love your fish! Did you figure out the easiest way to thread a needle?

The Coffee Lady said...

What a lovely idea! I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for toys now...

Jodie said...

A finer fish has never been seen, because this is a fish brought about by crazy wonderful friendships - and we all know they are the very best kinds of friendships to have.

Badger said...

Ooo! I love the idea of this! When I get my office turned back into a sewing room, I will have to do this. I know just where to leave my first toy!

fifi said...

oh, Eleanor!!!!


The fish!
Swims all the way to a baby!!

on mummy's birthday!


Oh, the joy of that. That made me very very happy.

That One said...

I have been meaning to make a Toy Society toy for ages and ages. You have inspired me, Dearest, to get crackin'!

eurolush said...

What a wonderful feeling it must be to know your birdie and fish have found two new homes!

PS- I like to think of you skipping 'round the house singing.

PPS- I'm going to do this in Germany, too!

The Toy Society said...

weeeeeeeeeeee! Hooray for fish! Hooray for birds in cages! Hooray for you!

PS I owe you an email.

Duyvken said...

You are a star Eleanor! Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.

Sömsmånen said...

Thank you, Eleanor for seeing the sewing through. It's a wonderful project and a beautiful fish. You rock!