Los Proyectos Locos

I'm probably like most seamstresses- when people find out that you can sew, you might be the only person that they know who sews, and they come to you with some pretty crazy projects!  I thought you might like to see some of mine.

I work at a Dual Language Spanish/English elementary school, and we have a big Hispanic Heritage Celebration every year.  Our kindergarten teacher, who is a true Spaniard, said that her dream was to have a Giant King like they do in Spain for holiday processions.  So, our enrichment teacher came up with the idea to put a paper mache head on top of a ladder, and would I make a king's robe for him.

How could I turn down that challenge?  He's a big guy, and we put together as many scraps from our local craft/recycle store, and I sewed them up.   My guess is we will be making his queen next year.

For a couple of years, I would repair a crash test dummy for an Illinois State Policeman after he used it in demonstrations.  It was made of cloth, unlike many of the new ones that are high impact plastic, and the seams would just bust open.  This dummy looked pretty lifelike, and I imagined that the neighbors must have been a little confused to see the state policeman so often at our house, carrying out what looked to be a body! I would sit him on a bench in our dining room, and every time one of us would turn the corner into the room , we would jump, he looked so lifelike!  But after a while, he was replaced with a newer model, so I didn't have the pleasure of scaring people anymore.

But, I recently had the pleasure of scaring my cat with a very lifelike stuffed panther that needed stitches.  This is a panther the size of a small child, and he is the mascot of the school.  He had been hugged so much that his seams had burst, and I was called in to play surgeon and stitch him back up.  The day that I brought him home was the same day that we took our cat to the vet.  I'm thinking that the cat thought we picked the panther up from the vet, and that he was REAL!  Our cat was seriously afraid of this animal and would skulk around him, ready to run.  He's much happier now that I've returned the panther to the classroom.

Did you know that it is a thing now to have a Christmas party and dress up like characters from the movie Christmas Vacation?  I've now made two Ellen Griswold blouses like the one above.  And if you have googled "Ellen Griswold Blouse" and have found my blog.  No, I will not make another.  Not for any amount of money.  Sorry.  Two is enough.  If I make another, it will just be for me.

I really enjoy a good challenge, and I'm usually amenable to los proyectos locos.   I hate hemming and alterations, but give me something that taxes my brain, and I'm happy.

How about you?  What is the craziest sewing project that you've done?

Happy Sewing!
 
Ann