The Bopple Ball Challenge!

Since I had never seen anything like this before, I'll explain it as if noone has seen anything like this before...

In other words, with a LOT of pictures! 

Introducing, the Bopple Ball! 

As you can see, the Bopple Ball is a ball with a MILLION  little arms coming off of it. Okay, maybe not a million... really there was only 14 of the little buggers. It certainly felt like a never-ending amount while I was in the process of stuffing those bad boys. More on that later.

THE REASON:

A good friend of mine, that I've known for over two decades (EEK!) gave birth to her fifth child - a not-so-little boy named Joshua. I wasn't sure what to make. My mind automatically defaulted to the rag quilt that I'd made previously, but since this whole sewing blitz is still rather new for me, I wanted to try to make something I hadn't made before. Babies are great for experimentation. I mean... trying out new sewing projects.. not mind games or mazes with little pacifiers at the end. Hmm... 

BACK TO THE SEWING PROJECT!

As his name implies, he's a boy, so all the cute little girl outfits I'd seen were obviously out of the question. I was walking around Fourth Corner Quilts (yes, you can find me there quite regularly) when I came across the Bopple Ball pattern by Vanilla House Designs.

THE PROCESS:

If you've read my other posts, you have discovered that I have been known to sew aprons, quilt blocks, purses... I've even made a lined, princess seamed jacket, complete with a mandarin-style collar. (I'll post about that later.) Yeah. This thing, at times, felt like the hardest thing I've ever made. Granted, it had some really cool sewing shortcuts, like folding one piece of fabric in half, right sides together, and drawing all fourteen arms on it, sewing on those lines, and THEN cutting them out - BRILLIANT!  Mainly, my frustration came from the turning and stuffing of said arms. I was trying to find a rhythm for completing them... Nope. I tried distracting myself so the process wouldn't seem so arduous... Nope. I was in the living room, with the TV on in the background, and my mom walked in and started laughing at me.  Why?  Because I was repeatedly shoving the back end of a crochet hook down the end of one of those wretched little arms to get the stuffing as firm as I wanted it. She seemed to think I was getting out some frustration... Hmm. Maybe I should approach it from that tactic!

THE RESULT:



IN ACTION!  Thank you, Mom, for being my hand model! ;)



So, all of my ranting about the arms aside... The trouble was worth it!  It's irresistable - you can't help but want to play with it!  It was universally liked - my DAD even thought it was cute!  Best of all - the look on my friend's face when she saw what it was and that I made it. Can't beat that feeling. :) 

ps... In case any of ya'll are thinking that I'm somehow wonderfully talented at sewing, let me show you Exhibit A, which will demonstrate how false that idea is... The pattern required that, after stuffing the ball, that the opening be stitched shut...

(cue the evil music) 

BY HAND!

As the picture makes clear, this is an area where I have a LOT of room for improvement.