Largesse

Last month, the ever awesome Adrienne at Crafty Planet asked me if I'd make a critter for another window display (you may remember she designed a yeti-themed window last winter). This time, she requested a giant octopus. I'd been wanting to make a large version of one of my critters for quite some time, so I was especially excited about this request. Here's the finished result, hanging out in Crafty Planet:

Isn't he fun? He's 24" tall and made of super soft fleece (my first time using fleece for a plush), with a wool face, wool suckers, and wool fish prey (who all have needle-felted wounds). His tentacles are wired for posability.

I had so much fun making this guy, I already cut out another larger octopus. And I'm definitely going to make time for a large yeti before No Coast this year as well. I'm thinking about 4' tall. . . . Frankly, I don't know why I haven't gone large before. The larger the plush, the easier it is to make. It seems counterintuitive, but I often have to fight with tiny parts to turn them right side out and get the stuffing just so. Especially with tentacles. Unfortunately, plushies are a bit of niche market as it is, and I'm not sure there's much of a market for supersized plush. Partly due to the expense, but also, what does a person do with a 2-foot octopus (other than display him in a window, of course)?

Anyway, I'll post pictures as soon as the window is complete. Adrienne has some super fun stuff up her sleeve for this one, and I think it will be the best Crafty Planet window yet. I even got a few members of the Plush Team to contribute, so it will be loads of plushie fun!