Crochet Update: Meet Petey and The Purple Stitch Project!

So, I know I haven't been th ebest when it comes to blogging of late. This doesn't mean I haven't been doing anything, in fact that's the reason I haven't been able to post :) So, here is a little something I made a few weeks ago (and for a very important cause). Meet Petey!

Petey was made with a very specific purpose - he is going to be my donation to the Purple Stitch Project. For the past 2 years, Vicky Howell (of crochet world fame) has helped organized Camp Brainstorm which is a summer camp for children with epilepsy. Last year, she held a drive to collect purple ninjas to give to all the kids. Sadly, I wasn't crocheting back then so I couldn't participate. This year, she held another drive (witht he help of Craftsy) and called for Purple Plushies. Any knitted, crocheted or sewn animal that has at least some purple in it was eligible (since purple is the epilepsy awareness color). As soon as I saw the call for animals, I knew I needed to participate :) Thus, Petey was born.

To make Petey, I used a combination of 3 patterns: Amigurumi Penguin from Lion Brand (a free pattern), Jay the Bird from Fresh Stitches, and Nelson the Owl from Fresh Stitches. I started off just using the Lion Brand pattern (by the way you can access it on their free app! That made it very convenient), but once I got going I realized how small their pattern come out. Since he was just a ball style animal, I used the Jay the Bird pattern to make him a larger size. Also, I didn't like how the lion brand pattern didn't give it a body verses belly color (like a real penguin). The Lion Brand pattern just had you use the body color for the head and then the entire bottom part was white for the belly. So, I used the Nelson the Owl pattern for the color changes in the belly. The beak, eyes and feet were from the Lion Brand pattern, but they just had you make circles and attach them to the sides for the wings. I like a more "wing" looking wing, so I smade them in the style of the Jay the Bird pattern, but I just eyeballed the size.

Doing all these alterations definitely took more time (and more brain power) to make, but I really love how Petey came out :) It makes me want to make one for myself.

 So, Petey is officially packed up and left with the mailman today :)

He is on his way to Texas today to be given to a kid with epilepsy. I hope it can bring them a little more comfort and let them know that people really do care about them. Epilepsy is such an unfortunate disease and it's such a shame that so many kids seem to have it. Even though it was such a small thing, I'm glad I could contribute to this great cause!

If you want to make an animal, there is still time if you are speedy! All of the info is on this website and they would be extremely happy to receive your donation as well!