Embroidery: Grover

Jim Henson Craft Swap part two: I made this door hanger for my partner and was so pleased with how it turned out. My partner said she loved Grover and fondly remembered the "Near and Far" sketch where Grover runs back and forth to define the meaning of near and far. Quite brilliant really. So I tried to think of a way to craft "Near and Far" and immediately knew I had to do something double-sided--near on one side and far on the other. I found the images from online coloring pages which are a great resource for images, especially characters. I used fabric in different tones of blue to give it a "Grover" feel and added some yellow pom-pom fringe to add a little whimsy. It was a bit tough to sew the fringe on the machine but I made it work.

The front with a lovely image of Grover. I love his expression.

The back with different blue fabrics and a little Grover far away.
Detail of far Grover


Again, I hated to send this out! However, I did receive such wonderful things in return that I suppose it's ok. I can always make one for myself. (wink wink) Here is what the great ursulaandolive crafted for me.

Muppet themed push pins, Muppet buttons, Kermit inspired slippers, a "monster" journal, a knitted "monster" pouch in lovely red fuzzy yarn, the Letter H stuffie named Henny, and a puppet that looks a lot like me from the glasses to the paint brush she's holding. Everything was wonderful.

Embroidery

Now for those of you who don't know what a craft swap is (I'm actually pretty new to it myself) it's loads of fun. There is usually a theme, a specified crafting time, specified sizes of items to make (like one small, and two medium items etc), and a partner to craft for who also crafts for you. The packages are mailed off and you get wonderful handmade items. So for the Jim Henson Swap, which was my very first craft swap, I made this pillow featuring everyone's favorite frog, Kermit.
The image was from a pin image I found online. Then I backed it with this lovely Kermit fabric that I was surprised to find--Kermit being kinda old and not Spongebob, Dora, Hannah Montana or other characters of the day. I was so pleased with how the stitching came out on this. I added one of his catch phrases, "Hi Ho" and added a little button for detail.


It was really hard for me to send this out to my partner! I really wanted to keep it for myself. I do have leftovers of the Kermit fabric so I guess it gives me a good excuse to make one for myself. I just think his pose and gesture really capture the spirit of Kermit. He's such a treasure. So in the spirit of Jim Henson--dare to be creative and never stop dreaming.