Snuggly Owl

Before babies, I could happily spend an entire Saturday in my sewing studio working on projects and listening to my favorite tunes or watching old episodes of Gilmore Girls. 

I loved having hours to relax and sew and be creative. But now I'm learning how to work in smaller chunks of time -- a half-hour here, a half-hour there -- to get my sewing fix in. So I'm really loving projects that can easily be broken down into a series of simple steps. That way I can do a step or two -- or three or four if I'm really lucky -- then put the project down and come back to it an hour or a day or a week later and pick right back up where I left off.

This snuggly owl that Ashley over at Make It & Love It designed for Sewing Republic was just that kind of project. Simple sewing. Lots of little steps that could be spread out over a week or two. And an adorable end result. At least I think so! (And I hope the little boy who received it as a gift for his first birthday thinks so, too!)

Snuggly Owl

I did make one modification to Ashley's pattern: For each wing, instead of cutting one piece and folding under the inner edges to create a hem, I cut two pieces, sewed the wrong sides together, then turned them right side out. I did this because I had the extra fabric and I'm kind of lazy -- I hate folding over and ironing edges, especially on a curved piece.

I'm also thinking it'd be fun to turn that body panel into a pocket if I make another one of these. Wouldn't it be a great place to store little treasures!?

Whoooot!