Today is the voting is open for round two of Sewvivor! After you check out my entry, please cast your vote for me at Family Ever After. The voting is only open until midnight tonight, so I appreciate your timely support!

This week’s challenge was to upcycle, repurpose or find a new use for something. I’ve done a little of that before:) Because I refashion clothing pretty regularly, for my entry this week I decided to do something different turn a pile of old sweaters into quirky animal hand puppets!

These puppets are really so much fun to make! I used the sleeves of the sweaters to form the body outside of the mouths, then added various other sweater bits and knit scraps to the insides of the mouths and ears. I made up the shapes for the ears and noses as I went. It was a great exercise in spacial orientation, to get a feel for how to cut and sew to have the three-dimensional look I wanted. I didn’t plan the animals before hand. I just looked at the color and texture of the sweater I was cutting up and tried to imagine if it were an animal, what it would be…

I’ve become quite fond of them all, let me introduce you better:

Betty bunny is a sweet little thing, but not very bright. She loves to snuggle, flop her long ears from side to side, and occasionally speak with a British accent, just for fun.

Henry hippo snorts when he laughs. He gobbles up wooden blocks without trouble, and is very proud of his two bottom teeth (that, so far, have remained cavity-free.)

If you mention something about Henry’s adorable pink striped mouth, he’ll blush. He knows it’s his best feature.

Penelope pig’s favorite color is chartreuse. She dreads the clean-up song (you know the one, “Clean up, clean up, every body everywhere…”) and wishes we could all sing Kodachrome all day instead.

Penelope keeps the other puppets in line. This look means business.

Coco is the diva of the crew (likely attributed to her being made of cashmere.) She can recite all 50 states in alphabetical order, and wishes she lived in #5 instead of #46.

“Uncle” Ernie Elephant is a regular type of elephant hand puppet. He thinks before he speaks and looks before he leaps.

Ernie makes everybody feel special.

All together, they make up a pretty wonderful group. I brought them all outside to play in the neighborhood courtyard, and they had a great time.

My dear neighbors who modeled them for me did, too, it seems:)

And most importantly, the kids loved them. Coco is Milo’s favorite, he meows with her throughout the day. He laughs hysterically when Henry eats his blocks, and Penelope is trying to help him learn better table manners.

I had a blast with this challenge, and hope you love it, too! You can VOTE right HERE (I’m contestant #1) and help me move on to the next round!

Thanks a million folks!