Hi friends, It's been a long time since I played with stuffed toys, but that doesn't mean that I don't enjoy making them! I'm always on the lookout for fun things to make for my young (and young-at-heart) friends. This is a stuffed hippo that I made a couple of years ago to go with my favourite kids' book, But Not The Hippopotamus. It was hard to find a pattern, so I ended up adapt a pattern for a stuffed elephant from another great book, Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts. The elephant pattern was the brainchild of Hilary Lang (she writes Wee Wonderfuls) and I just discovered that she's got a book coming out – a book chock-full of 24 sewing patterns for dolls! Exciting news. Here's a cover shot: Other great softie patterns I've noticed in my web travels lately...

• Gerald Giraffe (love his necktie!) from Hop Skip Jump
• Black Apple Doll (pattern+tutorials) from the day Emily of Inside a Black Apple went to see Martha (yep...that Martha)
• A plush chicken – who lays eggs! Great idea for your little farmer. From Ikat Bag.

That's all for now. Have a GREAT long weekend (and don't forget that you'll have an extra day to enter this week's giveaway). I'll see you here Tuesday to announce the winners...and give away even more goodies from Fiskars.