Hip-hippo-ray!

Clem and I spend the day together on Fridays, and he's had a cough so we weren't being sociable this week.
He saw me sewing and said 'I want to make something with you'. He really wanted to sew.
I racked my brains... machine sewing with a three-and-a-half year old?
Shall we make a bag? (Thinking drawstring rectangle.)
'I want to make a toy.'
What sort?
'A monkey... no, a hippo.'
I was in a can-do sort of mood (which, I can assure you, is not all the time), so a hippo we made.
I drew a shape which he approved. I cut it out in two different linen scraps.
I guided the machine and said 'go.... stop!' while he crouched under the table and pressed the pedal.
Before stuffing, I had Clem draw on the white side with a fabric texta, and I iron-set it.
We stuffed it together. I sewed it closed.
Done! A Mama-Clem-made hippo.

Two eyes, a mouth 'with food in it', some random squiggles, a tail and 'his willy'.

I am rather pleased with this because while Clem's all for abstract sloshing-paint-making-dirty-water-with-the-brushes or mushing-chalk-in-water kind of, erm, art, he has not yet shown a lot of interest in drawing actual pictures.

back of hippo - don't you love using up scraps?

These photos were taken when Clem was engaged in this:

making foccacia dough with Charlie and Dadda

because previously when I had asked him to participate in a hippo photo shoot, I got this:

the hippo toss

and managed, at best, this:

the 'I don't want photos' hippo shot

Hippo has been proudly shown off to family, and accompanied Clem to bed. Little things like this make me so glad I can bring a few sewing/crafting skills to our home.

- Jane x