Penguin progress Part 9 and penguin giveaway!

Riddle: What do you get when you cross a penguin with an alligator?

They're done! 2 Penguin costumes are in the mail on their way to Alabama to two twin two-year olds for halloween. I sure hope they, and their parents like them, and that they fit. I think they're cute. Here's a picture of one finished. I should have pictures of the girls in them this weekend.

(and I know I've already posted these pictures of the hood but I wanted to post the whole costume together.)



Since I had a bit more penguin scrap leftover I decided to make a postcard as a giveaway! This is Floyd the Florida penguin. He's come out to play because it's been in the 40s this week at night... in Florida...in October...


...but it won't stay that way for long so Floyd is looking for a new home, maybe yours! Leave a comment to this post and on Monday I will randomly pick a new home for Floyd from those who entered. Make sure to leave an email or link so that I can contact you in case you're the winner! Good luck!

Answer: I don't know, but don't try to fix its bowtie!

Back to the Future Wednesday

"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats."
~Albert Schweitzer

This week's featured future project is Simplicity 9004



I want to try my hand at a non-garment sewing project, so this looks like lots of fun, for me to make and for my kitties to enjoy. I can't decide which one to make. I'm torn between the fish because, well, it's just super adorable, and the tent because then I could use a kitty print fabric.

I want to mention that these projects that I'm featuring on Back to the Future Wednsesdays are projects that I actually plan on getting to relatively soon, and pretty much in the order I'm presenting them. This may be one though, that I'll work on a little throughout to help alleviate the frustration I can only imagine will come with this project. :) I'll keep you updated once I choose which to make and once I have the fabric for it!

Penguin Progress hinderence

Riddle: What do you sing to a penguin on its birthday?

When I needed a break from working on the penguin costumes the last few weeks I worked on another project inspired by the costumes, and a birthday present for my friend and co-worker, Natalie since she loves penguins

I had to wait to post this until after her birthday so I wouldn't ruin the surprise, but without further ado here it is:



It's a wall hanging of a penguin with little interchangeable accessories, and friends, that are held on with velcro. A great majority of this was made with scraps from the penguin costumes, and other scraps from my bin. I'm quite happy with how it turned out! :)



Aside:
One of my kittens, Grace, LOVED the little heart. No matter where I put it she found a way to get to it and then carried it around the house. Finally I broke down and made her one. Here she is enjoying it.



Answer: Freeze a jolly good fellow.

Penguin progress Part 8

Riddle: Where do penguins go to dance?

You may recall that I drafted the pattern pieces for the penguin costumes 1 size smaller than the smallest size the pattern allowed. However, because this was a child's size costume and not a toddler's size costume, it was still too tall. So I had to cut off some from the bottom - 5 inches. Sadly I didn't realize this until after I'd gotten the front and back pieced together. Since the tail was in the center back seam and 5" from the bottom, I also had to figure out what to do with it. My original plan was to open the side seam up 5" past the tail so that I could move it up 5" before cutting off the bottom. After some inspection, though, I decided that in fact I could open the seam up a couple of inches past the tail and cut a bit off the bottom.

(this picture may be a little difficult to see, but it's the open back seam with the tail piece in the middle ready to be cut)

After cutting the costume smaller I decided that the tail was too big anyways, and if I'd tried to move it up then the tail would have started way up high on their backs. So cutting off part of the tail it was. Then I folded over the bottom of the tail stitched it closed (leaving an opening for stuffing), and then closed the back center seam.

Then I marked my new cutting line 5" from the old cutting line.



I cut off the extra piece and then continued on as normal. Happily, my alteration made them almost exactly the right height!

Get ready: my next penguin progress post will be the finished penguin suit!


Answer: At the snow ball.

Penguin Progress Part 7b

Riddle: Why do penguins carry fish in their beaks?

So you may have been wondering what all the source of my frustration was from post 7a, and the answer is..... bias tape.

Sewing the bias tape to the neckline was a giant pain in the a**. I broke something like 5 needles during my attempts (I lost count). The difficult part was getting past the seams which were thick and doubled over in some places because of the construction, and the extra thickness the padding in the wings added made it difficult to turn the costume very smoothly. I really was ready to throw in the towel. I didn't, though. I managed to fight my way through and get it sewn on to both of them. It doesn't look incredibly pretty, but it's on there, and I guess it's not TOOO bad for a costume - at least that's what I'm telling myself.

The horribly wavy stitching, the knots in some places - sigh. You may have even noticed the two lines on the back part - that's because the directions said to baste it on the inside and then stitch it on the outside, but back there where there's two lines is where I was unable to get out the stitches because they were too small from my machine getting snagged on the seams. Anyways, on the second costume I just did the stitching once to save myself some aggravation. It was a good choice.



Answer: Because they haven't got any pockets.

Penguin Progress Part 7a

Anyone know where I can buy two penguin costumes that look somewhat like a beginner sewed them?



=F+R+U+S+T+R+A+T+E+D

Penguin progress Part 6

Riddle: Why are penguins so popular on the internet?

I've now finished one hood. It took me all Friday night to put it together, but it looks like it's going to fit. I tried to take a measurement but so far I've been unsuccessful at getting a very good idea of it's fit. It's supposed to have elastic in the back to help hold it tight against the child's head, but I think it'll be fine without it so I've omitted it. Here's a pic as modeled by my trusty vacuum cleaner (since my head is too big). :)




Cute picture add on: Best pals


Answer: Because they have Web feet.