stuffed animals for boys and babies

I've been keeping a friend's baby a few days a week and it has inspired me to make soft baby things. Yes I know. Our lives are crazy enough without adding a baby to the mix, but truthfully I'm loving it! Sweet baby with soft hair and little baby sounds. Oh, I'd have another in a heart beat. But since I cannot, I'm pouring out my creative baby energy on this sweet little one. Luckily her mama is a good friend who doesn't mind. The other day I sat down determined to make her a soft little lovey and this sweet little bunny and taggie blanket is what came out.

Her mama was pleased and we can both convince ourselves that the three month old was too. My own kids were impressed with my bunny making skills. Apparently, clothes and blankets are nice, but stuffed animals make me pretty cool. And this prompted the most challenging sewing request I have ever received.

Remember when I told you that I wasn't a sewing sexist. That I was making a messenger bag for the boy. Well, I did. I presented it to him and he gave me an odd look. It turns out that a kids pattern on my grown boy looks, unfortunately, like a purse. So I got a purse. But that left the boy with nothing. I asked him if there was anything he wanted me to make as a substitute for the ill sized messenger bag. He thought seriously about that for a minute, then looked up and said,

"A rhinoceros".
I'm sorry, a what?
Yes, that's right a rhinoceros.
Well, I had let him down once and I was determined not to do it again. However, I didn't have the faintest idea of how to make a rhinoceros. Go figure. So I searched my favorite crafty blogs until I found a pattern. Who knew? Other little boys want their crafty mamas to make them rhinoceroses too. (Is that the plural of rhinoceros? I really don't think I've ever had to refer to more than one rhinoceros.) So I sat down at my machine last night and made the boy his rhinoceros.

Then I put it at his spot on the breakfast table awaiting discovery. Now, Chris is not very excitable. He's pretty even tempered. He's gracious but the tone of his thank you is usually the same whether it's a piece of gum or a Wii. But he has this little smile. It's small and quick, so you have to watch carefully. But if you get the little half smile, you know you've surprised him and made him happy. I got the smile this morning. That was all my mama heart needed.
But my kids, being wonderful, gave me much more than what my heart needed. They are amazed! Bunny's are impressive but somehow the sewing machine has been transformed overnight into a magical animal making tool. Apparently rhinoceros making puts me up there with wizards. I now have requests for a poodle, a kangaroo, and an elephant. Oh my, back to the blogs for patterns I go. I wouldn't want to lose my wizard status.