Puppies Galore

Many, many years ago my Mom bought some fur fabric on sale with plans to make teddy bears. My mom loves teddy bears. She added the fabric to her collection of “Projects to be” that already filled dozens of boxes.

Over the years she made me and my sister countless dresses, pants, blouses, jumpers. She sewed costumes and cushions and curtains. She helped out on many volunteer projects with hemming, altering and melding. My mom's sewing machine was always busy. So the teddy bears never got made. The tote holding the fur gathered dust and got moved from house to house as my siblings and I left home and my parents moved.

Not too long ago my mom asked me if I wanted a big bag of fake fur that she'd decided she wasn't going to keep anymore. I can't pass up fun fabric even if I don't have a plan for it and already have quite a stash. (I got it from my mom.) So, the forgotten fur was transferred from my mom's storage room to my garage. I opened the bag, fingered the lush fur, and imagined adorable, stuffed critters. Then much to the fur's disappointment (I'm sure), I stashed it on the highest shelf not planning to access it anytime soon.

A short time after that, I asked my son, Eli (11), what he wanted to make to sell at his school's upcoming free enterprise day. He surprised me by saying he wanted to make stuffed animals. It was as if the forgotten fur was calling out to be used. I told him I have the perfect fabric.

My son loves puppies. We found a Youtube video and Eli drew a pattern (with a little help from me). The fur came to life in the shape of a tan and white puppy as Eli traced the pattern on the fabric and I cut the pieces out. That first puppy, I stood beside the sewing machine and coached Eli along as he sewed the pieces together. With each puppy, Eli gained more confidence. We got a system down over the next few weeks as we listened to audio books and created more puppies, 8 in all. Eli traced. I cut. I pinned. Eli sewed. I pinned the next piece. Eli sewed. Eli turned the puppy right side out. Eli stuffed. I hand sewed the little guys closed and added eyes and nose. Teamwork at its best, filled with so much learning, laughing, and joy.

There is a tan puppy with a white tummy, a light brown puppy with a white tummy, a black and white short haired puppy, an all light brown puppy, a peach, red and white puppy (We call it alien puppy), an all white puppy with blue eyes and two dark brown puppies, one with short legs. The short legs came about because of a mishap with a seam ripper when a seam didn't go right. There may have been some tears over that one. But it was great to show Eli that mistakes can be fixed and create something adorable.

I loved calling my mom to tell her that we found a good use for her teddy bear fur. It wasn't just sitting in a tote any longer. Eli learned about hard work paying off as he successfully sold all of his puppies. We have plans to make more. We may even make some teddy bears. We have enough fabric. I'm grateful for the legacy of handicrafts in my family and the reward of passing it on to the next generation with fabric that has quite a history.