Last Leg of My Migration

Mid-May in central Maine

is a lovely time and place to be,

especially if you don't mind bugs.

After all, bugs mean birds!

But I draw the line at ticks, I'm afraid,

and I loathe to leave the deck

because this is

"The Year of the Tick".

Eeeeee-ew!

Earlier in the winter,

I mentioned making Owlivia pillows from my scraps

to donate to the local police department

for them to have on hand when a call involves a child.

They are just the right size,

smaller than an 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper,

to not be cumbersome for tucking in the cruiser,

but large enough to cuddle and bring comfort.

I went through all of my larger scraps,

cut them to whatever size I could get out of them,

then Crafty Daughter sorted through them, matched them up, 

and did the non-sewing steps to make these.

A few of you reached out to me

when trying to make some,

so I thought I would share my addendums

to Sandy Gervais' great tutorial.

Most of the difficulties were with the eyes,

so this is where I will begin.

Sandy used a circular pattern that was printed 

on the fabric to construct her owl eyes,

but that is not always possible,

so I figured out how to use yo-yo's instead.

I think they add nice dimension to that

cute little face!

After a little trial and error, I settled on a 3-3/8" circle

 cutting it out just beyond the traced line,

hmmm, maybe 1/8".

I stitch just kissing the outside of the line along the raw edge,

then pull tight.

 I use a 1.25" circle and a 5/8" button as templates

to cut the whites and the pupils from felt for the eyes,

stitching first the pupil onto the white,

then the white onto the yo-yo.

Sandy uses buttons for the pupils,

and a dolls head needle to attach the completed eye 

clear through to the back of the owl's head.

I did my first several owl pillows like that, too,

but for this batch I nixed the buttons 

because I didn't want any small children 

to choke on them, and I used a hot glue gun

to adhere the completed eyes.

.

Two other little things I do to make them easier for me 

are pictured below.

I use tracing paper for my pattern

(you sew on the lines, then tear the paper away).

And I leave at least a half inch for turning under

and stitching up.

I get so frustrated trying to accurately turn under

a quarter inch.

I avoid it whenever possible!

This is not meant to replace Sandy's tutorial,

just to augment it,

so be sure to begin here

if  you would like to make one.

If gifting them, I will couple them with either 

the book Owl Moon by Jane Yolen,

or the chapter book Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat, 

depending on the age of the child..

I hope this helps anyone who would like to make 

something different for gift time!

Or perhaps some of you would like to do something different

for your community project.

It doesn't matter if your fabric is ugly,

because when they are completed,

they are all adorable!

Enjoy your week!

Cape Breton,

here I come!

~Karen