N is for Ninja Turtle

I was almost afraid that I wasn't going to have a project for today's letter in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, but I pulled through.

N decided to be a bear. Okay...actually, it decided to be a turtle -- a ninja turtle to be exact. I had been working on two other projects for today, but when it came down to it I just wasn't feeling either one of them. They were boring and/or driving me crazy. So at the last minute, I decided to switch gears.

I went to lunch yesterday with my friend Erin and her three kids. While we were eating, her son started chatting with me about LEGOs and Batman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It didn't really click at that point in time, but it must have stuck in my brain because when I got home from work and sat down to get moving on my original N project and found myself uninspired, I suddenly realized that ninja starts with N.

Since I made this project from start to finish after work on Wednesday, light was limited and I was in a hurry. So...I apologize for the iffiness of these photos. Flash was a must so a few of them look a little bright.

I have an enormous stash of felt hanging around, so I started creating a pattern for myself and cutting out pieces.

I texted my sister-in-law to find out which ninja turtle is my nephew's favorite. She informed me that he doesn't have one, but that he really likes the color red. Obviously, I had to make Rafael. I cut out the head and face pieces, a front and back body, a belly, a shell, arms, legs, and a little tail.

I layered and stitched my pieces to their respective parts with a zigzag stitch.

I then connected the head and face to the body and belly...

...and the back side of the head to the body with the shell.

I pieced together my appendages, stuffed them, and sewed them shut. Arms were attached to the front piece.

Legs and tail were attached to the back piece.

I then put the two pieces together with right sides facing in, pinned them with appendages tucked to the inside, and stitched around the edge -- leaving the bottom area between the legs open so I could flip everything inside out.

After that, I stuffed the bejeezus out of the poor guy and stitched his base closed. I also stitched down the rest of his little mask to the back of his head so it looks like it has been tied.

I'd like to say easy peasy, but under the circumstances it really wasn't. The actual skills weren't hard, but I was definitely feeling the time crunch.

It took me about 5 hours start to finish, including developing my pattern. There was just an awful lot of stitching to do and quite a few times that I needed to change thread colors. But...I got a project completed for the day and now my nephew gets a new toy.


Miss any of my A to Z posts so far this year? Find them below...

1. A is for Anna (Easy Anna Cape)
2. B is for Bath (Appliqued Bath Mat)
3. C is for Child (Children's Growth Ruler)
4. D is for Denim (Denim Bib)
5. E is for Etch (Etched Casserole Dishes)
6. F is for Felt (Felt Hopscotch Mat)
7. G is for Good Night ("Good Night" Envelope Pillows)
8. H is for Hood (Easy Hooded Towel)
9. I is for Insulated (Insulated Beverage Cozies)
10. J is for Jumper (Embroidered Spring Jumper)
11. K is for Know (Know When to Hold 'Em/Fold 'Em Laundry Sign)
12. L is for Loveseat (Envelope Loveseat Pillows)
13. M is for Mittens (Fleece Baby Mittens)

Are you visiting from A to Z? 

Be sure to leave me a comment (including your blog link) so I can come over and return the favor!

I will see you tomorrow for letter O...which already has a project done and pictures taken, thank goodness...