Love Bugs

Patricia is such a silly lady.  It’s funny to see her personality evolve.  Patricia has been eating solid foods like a champ.  We started her a few weeks ago, and already she’s glomming things down.  I am pretty sure Julius didn’t start eating solid foods in earnest until 9 or 10 months.  She is a MUCH messier eater than Julius is though.  Julius would let us feed him and would open his mouth for more, taking dainty bites.  Patricia grabs the spoon while you are feeding her, particularly the end of the spoon with the food, then forces it into her own mouth.  After that she gums the spoon for a while, then drops it and smears food all over her face.  She is STRONG, so once she has hold of that spoon it’s all over until she gives it up.

The other day I went to clean her up after smearing herself with food and I ran her hands under the running water.  She got so excited that she started pumping her legs while I held her.  Since she was so excited about the water I decided to give her a bath instead (and of course Julius wanted to come too).  As we were waiting for the tub to fill up, she was squealing with joy and trying to climb into the tub (did I mention that she is almost crawling)!  She was SO EXCITED!  I don’t know if Patricia’s actions are just more obvious than Julius’s were or we are now more accustomed to baby language, but it is so much easier to interpret what she wants than it was for us with Julius.  It might be a bit of both.

On the other side of things, Julius these days is a total ham.  (Actually who am I kidding, as a baby Julius was a total ham.)  He has started singing us silly songs that he has made up.  Like “today is waffle day” and “the muffin song”  (not to be confused with do you know the muffin man).  Some of the lyrics are over the top.  My absolute favorite song I wish I had video recorded.  It had an actual tune that I cannot now remember, but the lyrics are the real gems.  Here you go,

Everybody is a bagel 

Every single person is wearing a bagel costume

Every person is dressed like a shrimp

-Julius Colton

I can’t make this stuff up.  I can however make some silly bugs.  Let’s get to it.

Patricia’s bugs

You will need:

• black embroidery thread
• small amount of stuffing
• needle and thread in matching colors of felt below
• pattern here

for bee:

• yellow, black, white felt

for dragonfly:

• white and two different colors felt for body
• light blue tulle

for butterfly:

• two different colors of felt for wings and body

Cut out all pattern pieces as directed.  Do not add seam allowance.

Cut pattern pieces as directed.

For dragonfly:

1. Take one of the colors of small circle and place the second color of small circle on top to slightly overlap.  Handstitch along the edge of the top circle segment that overlaps.
2. Overlap another circle in alternating color, and stitch as in step 1. Repeat for 4th circle.
3. Take a large circle and slightly overlap the large circle with the side of the bug with the contrasting color.  Stitch as in step 1.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 with the other half of the dragonfly.
   

   Back view of the finished dragonfly body pieces, next to a finished body.

5. Using the embroidery thread, backstitch or split stitch a mouth onto one of the larger circles.  Make two eyes with french knots.
6. Place the two halves of the dragonfly together and starting at the neck of the dragonfly, blanket stitch all the way around the dragonfly to the side below the neck, leaving an opening for stuffing.
   

   Stitch dragonfly halves together.

7. Stuff dragonfly lightly, then finish stitching the rest of the head closed.
8. Lay wings out with the top wing on the top, bottom on the bottom, slightly overlapping.  Repeat with tulle wings, overlapping the white wings.  Place body of dragonfly centered on top of the wings.
9. Take the whole piece and flip it over, then stitch the wings to the body.
   

   Stitch wings to body.

For the Bee:

1. Take one large circle and lay stripe in center of the large circle.  Stitch stripe to circle along the edges of the stripe.
2. Overlap stinger on top of large circle below the stripe, so part of the stinger hangs off the circle.  Stitch stinger to circle at the top portion that overlaps.
   

   Finished body front and back.

3. Place smaller circle on top of the body of the bee, slightly overlapping.  Stitch to body along the segment that overlaps.
4. Repeat step 2 and 3 for the second large circle (you can also repeat step 1, but I didn’t bother).
5. Using the embroidery thread, backstitch or split stitch a mouth onto the smaller circle connected to the striped bee body.  Make two eyes with french knots.  Instead of trimming the extra embroidery thread from the French knots, leave 2 inches of excess that will become your antennae.  Knot at top.
   

   French knot eye with antenna

6. Place the two halves of the bee together and starting at the neck of the bee, blanket stitch all the way around the bee to the side below the neck, leaving an opening for stuffing.
   

   Stitching the bee halves together.

7. Stuff bee lightly, then finish stitching the rest of the head closed.
   

   Stuff

8. Lay wings out and place body of bee centered on top of the wings.
9. Take the whole piece and flip it over, then stitch the wings to the body.

For the Butterfly:

1. Place a wing detail on one part of the wing in the indicated spot.  Flip the wing and place the corresponding wing detail on the back of the wing so the two details sandwich the wing.
2. Stitch through the wing detail, wing and opposite wing detail along the edges to attach the wing details.
   

   Stitch two green accent pieces on top of purple wing.

3. Repeat for other 3 sets of details.
4. Using the embroidery thread, backstitch or split stitch a mouth onto the head of one of the sets of butterfly bodies.  Make two eyes with french knots.  Instead of trimming the extra embroidery thread from the French knots, leave 1.5 inches of excess that will become your antennae.  Knot at top.
5. Place the two halves of the butterfly body together and starting at the neck of the butterfly, blanket stitch all the way around the butterfly to the side below the neck, leaving an opening for stuffing.
6. Stuff butterfly lightly, then finish stitching the rest of the head closed.
7. Lay wings out and place body of butterfly centered on top of the wings.
8. Take the whole piece and flip it over, then stitch the wings to the body.