Crafts are for Babies! (pt. 4)

Way back at Christmastime, when the world was finally interesting to me again (beyond House Hunters and the couch), I started thinking about this little creature human who had taken up residence in my innards.  Not meaningful thoughts, but thoughts like "I should probably make something."  I enjoyed making my little felt snowmen so much that I soon came to the conclusion that I needed to make a mobile with felt animals galore.  

I poked around the internet for tutorials, but the one I kept seeing that suited my plan involved cross stitching hoops.  Now, let me say that sometimes I am irrational.  And for some reason I was irrationally against using cross stitching hoops.  The thought filled me with revulsion.  It STILL fills me with revulsion.  (Obviously I have nothing against other people using those hoops--it's just the thought of ME using them that I can't stand) 

So, I came up with the whole design myself and I intended to document this whole mobile-making process from start to finish.  Well.  That didn't really happen at all.  Oh well, I'll conquer Pinterest another day.  Plus, now I am mysterious.  

Once we knew the Speck was a boy, I knew I wanted a mobile of sea creatures.  So Drewbles and I brainstormed a bit for creatures and corresponding colors and then I drew the thing up:

(Side story: sometimes during college, when I was really hungry, I would sometimes draw my dinner in my notebook margins--all of the ingredients and how to assemble them.  This worked best with sandwiches and burritos.)

Then I drew out my little patterns, using an oatmeal lid as a frame for the drawings to keep them all roughly the same size.  It was not an exact science, as some were long and some were tall and some were big all around. 

We took a little trip to Coney Island Hobby Lobby and then I got to work cutting them out.  Then, while we were in California and Drew was working, I spent a couple afternoons sewing them up and stuffing them.  One thing I quickly learned: stuff as you go!  I even took a picture of this part:

That was the last picture I took before it was done, oops.  Assembly didn't take as long as I thought, but I did hit a bump when it came time to fixing the anchor to the rest of it (I had drawn this out but it didn't work quite right in execution).  I scowled at it for a few days and then Drew sat down and figured it out in ten minutes.  This is what husbandfolk are for, people.  Here is the finished product:

(Husbandfolk are also handy for holding things so you can take pictures of your craftiness)

Here are some glamour shots of the individual players:

(We call this one Spyro...it was not intentional)

(When I sewed this one up his open-mouthed smile kind of disappeared.  Now it looks more like a toothless, old-man kind of smile.  But he's still pretty cute, I GUESS.)

I'll let you work out just how it all came together because it would be a really boring thing to read and probably confusing without any pictures.  But I'm pleased to say that it turned out exactly how I envisioned it, and really, can one ask any more of a craft?