Update on my pulltoys

Buoyed up by my own grandiose self-back patting yesterday, I decided at lunch to head to Michaels to see what they had in the way of supplies to make my pulltoys happen. My coworker Gloria (Gloriajeananne to all those who sit in our row) came along to provide moral support and to look for silk flowers.

Michaels pretty much had everything I needed. It took a little bit of looking though. But, so we're all clear, they don't carry wagon wheels. Don't ask me why I thought they did, but I spent 5 minutes looking for wagon wheels before I realized they didn't have them. They did have little plain wheels with holes drilled in them, though, so that was awesome. I decided that, since this is a decoration, and a fair entry, it has to be decently sturdy. I hate to trash our local fair staff, but they haven't taught all the volunteer kids to be respectful of other people's stuff (hence the reason I had to had to raise my voice last year at the girl who was intent on sticking a t-pin directly into the stitching of a framed piece), and some of my stuff came back a little damaged, so things have to be built Ford tough. So I decided that it would not be acceptable to simple glue the wheels on, they needed an axle that can be pushed through, and glued. It will look better, trust me. So I found some dowels.

A side note: Every stitcher needs to keep dowels and an Exacto knife in her stash. If you have dowels, an exacto knife and a glue gun at the ready, you can pretty much accomplish ANYTHING with stuff you have lying around the house. You can make wall hangings, ornaments, and, apparently, pull toys. And, since wall hangings are an inexpensive way to finish and have your walls look good, anything that makes them easier to do is a great thing. I bought 10 for 99 cents, a bargain!

So I took my little bag o' goodies back to the office and started playing. I realized right away I had bought the dowels too big, but it was OK. Because I had the Exacto knife, see? So I was sitting at my desk, waiting for a phone call, whittling the end of my dowel so it fit in the hole. I realize that it wasn't the best idea to do that at work, but no one said anything. I think they just opt to leave me alone sometimes. And it fit. Pretty tight. I am going to secure it with glue though. Not hot glue, though. That really is a kinda messy way to put projects together. It's OK for fabric, but not the best otherwise.

I am enlisting my brother's help in putting together the platform. He's an experienced modelmaker, and very detail-oriented, plus he has power tools and works with computers, so he can probably figure out how to get it to attach the safest and strongest way. I am debating about using pins with superglue to hold the stitched part down, but he might be able to do a little better. I thought if I got gold pins and put them on the bottom, that would look pretty.

Now I did come up with an idea to edge the platform. I was driving home last night in particularly heavy traffic, and realized that I can't paint foamcore, at least not the foamy part in the center. It'll just suck the paint in, glop up and look like crap. WAY easier to buy very thin ribbon and pin it along the edge of the platform with gold pins, then attach an eyehook to put the pull part in.

So we're getting there. I did finish the donkey last night. The dogs declared the side porch a cat-free zone, and we sat out there. I stitched and they barked at the neighbors, and the cats when they came to the door and meowed to be let out. I started the elephant while watching GhostHunters, but I just have his blanket done. I'll get him finished though pretty quick, he's smaller than the donkey.