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Total matches for plush: 18

Lady Abigail

Lady Abigail

Lady Abigail (or just Abby to her friends) is still a little new at this.  Oh, she knows how to march, knows every whistle and command, can walk in step or run ahead and around.  It's the whole armor thing that she has yet to get used to.  Her handler thought it might be a good idea to get her started with something custom-made, something unique and personal.  Hey, even chocobos like to feel special.

I'd been thinking about making a fully-wired, completely poseable chocobo for some time now.  I just hadn't actually given in to such insane ideas until now.  The reception to my Desert Bus chocobos was just so good that I felt I should really push myself and rise to the ridiculously complicated challenge.  But I'm glad I did!  The result is lovely Abby with a wired beak, head and neck, legs, toes, wings (all of her primary feathers are also wired) and tail.  And she has claws!  I've been wanting to put claws on a chocobo for years!

And then, after all that, I decided she needed armor.  (Because I'm kind of unsmart.)  So... I went right for some scrap leather I've had for years and started cutting.  Well that was a learning experience, but seeing as how the result makes me extremely happy, it was worth the work.  Stylized forget-me-nots are the flowers that grace Abby's armor, and once I figured out how to firmly secure rhinestones to leather, I couldn't resist having some "flower buds" on her helmet/mask.  Both pieces of armor attach easily with little handmade hook and eye findings and chain, and it's really easier than it looks.

She also needed that lovely blue velvet blanket.  Yes, real silk velvet.  Yes, it attracts light colored fuzzies like crazy, but it's SO SOFT and shimmery and yes.

And of course she's my chocobo, so she needed a touch of bling.  I beaded her a couple of wired "anklets" and then decided her wings needed a little sparkle, so I made her some "wingbands" too.  She seems to like them.

Abby's a big girl.  In her "natural" pose, she stands 12 inches high to the very top of her crest.  With her tail up, she's 6 inches from her chest to her tail, but with her tail extended out that measurement jumps to just over 10 inches.  Fully extended, her wingspan is 15.5 inches.  She can quite solidly support a Square-Enix action figure bareback, and can easily support the lighter ones with full armor on.

She's playful, sweet and loves her greens.  But she won't turn down a slice of cheesecake.  Just so you know.

(Sold.)

Date: 05 January 2013
Aithne

Aithne

Aithne's an explorer.  From the moment she was out of her egg she's been out to explore the world, one tree at a time--but she's always sure to be back in time for dinner.

"Aithne" is Celtic for "little fire", and that is absolutely what she is.  I had no particular plans when I started, but clearly she asserted herself easily so it wasn't a problem.  The inner wire structure as been improved and reinforced from spine to toes, and that includes the real silk velvet tail, making her fully poseable.

And then there is that fur.  I've been wanting to do fur like this for forever, so finally getting the opportunity to try it is nice.  A major pain and very time-consuming, but the end result is exactly what I was going for.  Plus it's incredibly soft to the touch, much like the velvet.

I have no idea what stone that is for her eyes, though.  They were beautiful and perfect and part of an assortment, so if anyone does know please feel free to tell me. 
(Best guess so far: fancy jasper.)

(Sold.)

Date: 08 February 2012
Renfrew

Renfrew

Renfrew is bright-eyed and brand new to the world, and has a curiosity as enormous as his appetite. He’ll lose the iridescent green on his feet and tummy as he grows older, but he’ll gain them in stripes on his back.  Until then, he’s perfectly happy with the way he looks, thank you.

I MEANT TO DO SOMETHING SIMPLE.  I swear I did, really.  I recall, clearly, starting on the head and thinking, “Well, this should be easy.”  I have no idea what happened.  Somewhere along the way the idea to make him wired for full poseability came up and… I don’t know.  Head, neck, back, tail, legs and even each individual toe is all fully wired, fully poseable.

37 lovely glass beads grace Renfrew’s back and the top of his feet, and his eyes are real amethyst.  He’s made of smooth, soft acrylic yarn, and the green highlights are green iridescent pigment in a fabric paint base (it’s not coming off, in other words).  He’s 9.25 inches in length with his tail out straight, he stands roughly 3.5 inches tall (though his legs can be further straightened to stand taller if you’re into that sort of thing), and he’s approximately 2 inches wide at his widest point.

(“Renfrew” means “from the still waters” in Welsh, by the way.  It fit beautifully.)

(Sold)

Date: 21 January 2012
Granny Tonberry

Granny Tonberry

Not all Tonberries (Tonberri?) are out to wish you a stabby death. No, some of them are kindly old grandmothers who make better use of their Chef's Knives by slicing a great big piece of boysenberry pie to share with the wonderful grandchildren. The very same lovely grandchildren who made their apron as a surprise gift for their dear old granny. All Tonberries love boysenberry pie, you know. If adventurers would just keeps some boysenberry pie on them, there would be a great decrease in stabby deaths.

If you're not familiar with the Tonberry, they are evil stabby bastards in the Final Fantasy games. Vicious, horrible things. ...But kinda fun, too.

No, there's... really not much to explain here. This was another totally random project that just happened to become even more random. I made the head, then made the body, then thought, "Hey, this looks like a Tonberry!" And then, um... I have no idea what happened. Then I was making and apron. You see, at some point I wondered if all Tonberries were vicious, stabby little bastards. And then I came up with the theory that clearly they could not be. There had to be kindly old grandmotherly Tonberries putting those knives to better use. And grandchildren who would gather together and make their granny a nice apron. STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT.

Ahem, anyway. Talk about a lengthy project. Completing the crocheted body alone happened over three days. That is definitely (obviously) hand embroidery on the apron, and then beading on top of that. Lost track of how many days that took, and I'm happy about it--even if it looks horrific. (In my defense, the leaves on the bottom right-hand corner were done first. I then deemed them far too neat and ruined the rest.) Her spectacles only took a couple of minutes, luckily--I've been cut by wire enough times to know how it works very well. The pie and knife accessories are constructed of fleece and painted with fabric paint. Her hair was the last thing. You can blame my partner in geeky crime Schala-Kitty for suggesting that little detail. (I love it, though. She really is much more granny-like now.) The end result stands (or, I guess, sits) at 7 inches in height. I'm going to go take a break now.

(Sold)

Date: 29 November 2011
Felted Plush Carbuncle

Felted Plush Carbuncle

Another experiment with the same-ish Carbuncle pattern that I've been playing with--only this one has some needle felted details! Exciting, I know. I wanted him to have a "fuzzy" look, and so... I have succeeded. But not before breaking two felting needles. It's my own damn fault for felting directly to fleece, but... geez. You wouldn't think this sweet little guy would be capable of snapping metal, but he is. "Strong enough to BREAK METAL, yet gentle enough not to crush my hand."

Of course, the jewel in his forehead is a large gorgeous Swarovski crystal, and the eyes and lovely little glass beads. Those fuzzy accents are hand-dyed Merino wool from Flights of Whimzy, and it's soooo soooooft.

(Sold)

Date: 29 November 2011
Sunny

Sunny

Sunny's thing is taking spots. If another chocobo moves somewhere, Sunny feels compelled to take the spot they left behind, even if they're likely to return. I don't know, it's a thing. Maybe she's part cat?

Sunny is an enormous chocobo. Simple enough, yes? She's a touch over 15 inches in height to the top of her crest, 8 inches from chest to tail, and 7 inches at her widest point. She's also designed to be sitting down while leaning up against something, so she's not too great at sitting up herself. Made entirely by hand from uber-soft high-quality yarn, she's also pleasantly huggable. As for how long she took... I didn't dare keep track. Her legs alone took a day and a half.

(Sold)

Date: 19 December 2011
Chauncey

Chauncey

Chauncey's a shy fellow who seems to prefer quiet activities like puzzles. (You don't think chocobos can like puzzles? Shows what you know.)

The product of ten full days of work. There was a moment of panic when the yarn I'd been using for his legs and feet disappeared without a trace and seems to have been discontinued and sold out everywhere, so... I tried another kind for the beak. It actually worked better than expected, plus forced a slightly new method for the toes. Well, different is good.

Another giant chocobo, this guy sits at just short of 18 inches in height to the very top of his crest (while sitting, as he doesn't stand), 10 inches from chest to tail, and 9 inches at his widest point. 10 days. Sheesh.

(Sold.)

Date: 13 January 2012
Stella

Stella

Stella is a sweet young wyvern with a passion for the dramatic and... well, apparently my PSP. She's definitely a star gazer, always looking up and being curious as to what the future may bring, dreaming of places far away and worlds that have yet to be written down... but there's time. I think maybe she wants to be a great dramatic actress, or play one in a student production.

Another spectacular accomplishment, in my eyes. I used the same base pattern with Stella that I had with Andrew... and then ignored the lines entirely. I wanted something a little more "obviously handmade-looking", hence the slight change in the wing design. The rest just sort of... worked out as it did. I did more hand sewing on her than I had on Andrew, and my fingers are definitely feeling it right now. Everything is mine--pattern, stitching, design--but the eyes. Those are hand-painted acrylic safety eyes from Suncatcher Eyes. They're gorgeous.

(Sold)

Date: 29 November 2011