Meet Bruce

Check out the very cool shark the talented Marion Gillins made from my Triangle Toys pattern!


Here's a snippet of the nice email she sent me:

I was immediately inspired to make these, it's just a matter of finding the time! I managed to get both kiddos to sleep AT THE SAME TIME today and I made one! I don't have much quilting fabric in my house, I usually sew with more "unusual" fabrics so I made do.
I have attached pictures of a shark, who I have named Bruce (not from nemo because as my daughter reminded me, "fish are friends, not food", but from Jaws. Or because of the Monty Python sketch. Or both.) I am also plotting an octopus with ribbon loops instead of points, a fish, and a mermaid. My daughter has requested princesses which I think will involve tulle coming out the top like a cascade from a hat and fancy fabric for the triangles.

I am having so much fun thinking about these and it is so nice to be able to sit down and whip one out in one sitting!

First of all - can I say that it was absolute GENIUS to change the sweet mama kangaroo pocket into the rick-rack-lined gaping maw of a shark?! Here's a picture of the kangaroo for those who haven't seen the original post.

Ms. Gillins did exactly what I hope people will do with my patterns - make them their own! I was inspired by the Built By Wendy (no relation) book with sewing patterns. She gives basic patterns for a shirt, a skirt, and a pair of pants - and then shows readers a kajillion different ways to modify those patterns. Add/subtract/gather the sleeves, lenthen/widen/narrow the skirt, etc. It's inspiring and fun - and freeing. With the Triangle Toys I showed how to make the basic shape, how to add feet, a beak, back plates, and a pouch, and how to embed rick-rack in a seam. I hoped that seeing one shape and several variations would invite people to come up with their own variations - and look what happened! A shiny silver shark named Bruce is now chomping down on a little orange fish who is NOT named Nemo. Awesome!