Saturday, June 21, 2008

Craft Visions vs. Reality

I was reading Cheri's blog tonight when I saw her post about a quilt she is planning. Cheri went on to say that her mental quilts are always far more stunning than her actual quilts. I can totally relate to Cheri's thoughts because I have this same problem too. My projects always look better in my head than they do in reality! Today I worked on a few projects for swaps then started work on this little rabbit softie. In my head he's the cutest thing but in reality he looks like a sad little ragamuffin!

My favorite part is the back of the bunny. I love the little heart and tail. It's hard to see in the photo but the tail and heart are on a pocket. Nature Girl likes to stuff things in purses and pockets so I thought a pocket would be cute. She's already in bed and hasn't seen the finished project yet. My guess is that even if he is a little sad looking, she'll happily carry him around for a few days, stuffing his pocket with treasures. The picture quality is poor but here is a little doodle of what I wanted him to look like. Even the doodle is better than the reality! I think the proportions are off on the softie. The top should have been wider, his nose a little smaller and eyes further apart. So the reality of this little ragamuffin and the mental vision just aren't the same. It makes me wonder how do other crafters make their stunning craft visions into a stunning reality? Have you ever seen I'm a Ginger Monkey's toys or Lucy Kate's owls? They're original designs and look amazing! I'm not up to crafting a stunning reality yet, but I'd settle for something that looks close to my vision!

Speaking of craft vision. . . this is a mermaid outfit I envisioned. I made it for Nature Girl when she was two only to find that she doesn't like to play dress up. She loves to pretend but has never felt like she needed a costume to do that. I made the length adjustable by placing elastic string down the sides if the fins. To adjust it you just pull the strings tighter or looser and adjust the toggle to hold the string. Tonight was the first time in almost 2 1/2 years that I've seen her wear this outfit. I was excited to see it on her! She was pretending to be a mermaid who was going to get married. There was one problem. The only boy to marry was already married to me! I told her she could borrow my prince for one day!

7 comments:

jovaliquilts said...

I think it takes lots and lots of tries to get things right. One of my favorite examples is Mickey Mouse -- if you see the original cartoons, he's really ratlike, but he morphed over time into that cuddly little mouse we all love.

What a cute costume, I'm so glad Nature Girl finally wore it! I made my then 3-yr-old a unicorn costume for Halloween, at her request, but on the big day she wouldn't wear it because pink sweatpants were part of the costume and she only wore dresses!

A Spoonful Of Sugar said...

Love the pouch idea - looks cute with the heart and tail attached! I think making a few prototypes is a norml part of the design process - you usually need to tweak a design a few times to get it just right! Mermaid costume looks great.

susan said...

eeeeeeee are you kidding me? he is adorable!!! i love him. i like a touch of wonkiness in my critters, and he is super sweet. i find tho usually if you make a second one, they usually come closer to your vision
you are so talented, i love the you made it adjustable!! i never would have thought of that

jacquie said...

I don't think you know how talented you are. It's so wonderful how you can bring an original idea to life. That is such a rare gift! You have a gift, you know!

Unknown said...

I was just thinking the same thing...my head makes the most amazing things but my hands never quite do the same. I think the bunny is so cute, you are obviously crazy (and you just linked to me saying I was talented - proof of your madness!!!)
That mermaid outfit is fantastic...I'd love a mermaid outfit, I would swish about all day in it.

Anonymous said...

I love the mermaid outfit, Curly Girl still plays dress up from time to time. I do the same thing with my 'visions' and many don't turn out as planned....some do though...like my elephant bird I made. As for the little bunny, he is still VERY cute and cuddly. Maybe not what you'd planned...but cute just the same. I agree that the pocket is the best part of all. I love the quilts.....can't wait to see the flamingo one all finished!

Anonymous said...

I love that little bunny. Anyone who wears their heart on their bum is GOLDEN!

Great job!