Eloise the elephant

Still in softie-making mode here, and still behind in my posting. It's been a rough week, as I took a nasty fall last Friday and emerged lucky to not have broken my nose or wrist, but still looking (and feeling) pretty awful. Not much crafting has happened lately, but I'm still catching up on posts for pictures taken last month. Seems like I just can't keep up, much less get ahead...

But back to Eloise. Isn't she cute? This is a pattern from Indygo Junction, and Eloise was made as a sample for my LQS. The fabrics are super soft corduroys from Michael Miller. They were SO easy to work with! And the result is a soft yet textured stuffed animal. What's not to love?

The pattern comes in two sizes. I chose to make the larger elephant because I was worried about the curves being fussy in the smaller size (more on that in a future post), but I had no issues, not even with the curves in the sculpted trunk. And this elephant is big. The pattern says 18" high, which I don't think includes the limbs.

I'm not a huge fan of how the limbs go together--there's a bit of hand-sewing, and the stitching through all layers before stuffing leaves the limbs floppy. I guess I prefer a more sculptural softie, but I understand the motivation to make one easier for little arms to get around. In all, I really liked making this elephant and if I hadn't committed to giving her away, she'd still be at my house!