before i show you the sewing, i’ve got a little story.
it’s no secret that my little gal has a strong affinity for elephants. she has since she was about a year old, and the obsession continues to this day. it’s pretty cute to have this feminine little girl that loooooves giant gray mammals with huge noses, but hey she loves what she loves!
well. she has about 20 stuffed elephants, but her favorite has always been Frankie, and E is very attached to her. Frankie is Real in the Velveteen Rabbit sense – loved to the point of shabbiness. one day, E dropped Frankie somewhere between summer camp and home, and we didn’t realize she was missing until bedtime. her absence caused a panic. E has a huge heart and tons of empathy for everyone and everything, and she was so certain that Frankie would be very sad and lonely without her. of course, E was very sad and lonely without Frankie. my husband and i were worried that someone would see a “ratty old stuffie” on the sidewalk and would just toss her in the trash. it broke our hearts, and after making the walk himself to look for her, my husband even found and ordered the same type of elephant on ebay (though of course Frankie could never be replaced).
fortunately, this story has a happy ending. in fact, E happened to drop her in front of pretty much the best house possible. Monica, a mom of three little boys that could see how loved Frankie was, noticed her on the sidewalk and kept her safe that night. my husband and i actually went to high school with Monica and say hi when we see each other in the neighborhood, and her son was even attending the same summer camp! it was a wonderful coincidence that the next day at camp (after I had searched the place top to bottom) she came over and said “is anyone here missing a stuffed elephant?” i freaked out, hugged her, and beelined straight to her house, where she had kept Frankie dry (yet visible!) during the overnight rain…
i mean! oh man! it made me cry! E was thrilled to be reunited with her special stuffie, of course, and thought it was funny that Frankie “spent the night in a tree.” i had to make Monica a thank you gift. wouldn’t you?? an especially good deed deserves a handmade thank you, for sure.
i made a foldover clutch from my tutorial (with two tone variation tutorial by Cherie).
the top is Leah Duncan’s Valley of Azure from her Meadow line, which you first saw on me here. it’s from my sponsor LiMa Sews – this print is now unavailable but she still has other prints from Meadow here. i accented it with some stretch chambray and a mustard yellow zipper. i interfaced the outer fabrics to give it some more structure.
the lining is Denyse Schmidt for JoAnn from a few years back; i think this project finally used the remainder of what i had in this print and i’m sad it’s gone!
it turns out Monica later did a search for something sewing-related online, happened to stumble across my blog, and emailed me – she sews too! i didn’t know at the time whether she’d even know i made the clutch (though I think E told her when she ran it up to her doorstep along with her handmade thank you note).
anyway the whole story still makes my heart swell up a bit, even though it happened a few months ago. i’ve been meaning to tell it here just as a happy little tale that may brighten your day. we had feared the worst for poor Frankie, but she and E are happily together again and i couldn’t be more grateful for the woman that made it possible.
thank you, Monica!! you are a good person. 🙂
skirt as top 
Great story. So nice you found the elephant and a new sewing friend
I seem to have got something in my eye. What a lovely story 🙂
that is just the best story!!!! how awesome is that?! And whenever I see anything related to elephants I think of E. 🙂
Oh this is awesome. My girl has a dog named Biscuit that is so so loved and so so worn. She is 10 now and still would be heartbroken if biscuit went missing
That’s a great story. We all know how much those loveys mean to our little ones! It was so great that Monica did that and you guys found it too.
The foldover clutch is gorgeous.
Thank you so much for sharing this heartwarming story.
what a sweet story. we had a similar situation with my daughters scooter and it warmed my heart so much. and I want to make that clutch with some leftover leather scraps.
This is the sweetest of stories from beginning to end! Thank you for the smile and I am so glad that Frankie was found safely. How great to have found an old friend to be a new sewing buddy!!
Aw what a sweet story! And I love the blue and yellow combo on the clutch.
What a sweet story.
that color combo is really divine! and we need more monicas in the world – i’m so glad frankie is safe and sound!!
best story ever. I think every mom/dad has a similar “lovey” story to share, but not every one has the great ending yours does! What a sweet woman:) And super sweet of you to reciprocate with your own thanks – love your fabric choices! Must check out that Leah Duncan line.
awww!! so glad Frankie got home safe and sound! and I love the clutch-lovely colors!
What a sweet story!!! I can totally relate. When Tobias was 18 months old we forgot his special elephant at a hotel, and I was touched when they were kind enough to mail it to us. To this day, he still sleeps with that elephant, five years later.
Oh my goodness this story is just so sweet and brought a tear to my eye! Both V & H have beloved stuffed animals that are REAL and if anything were to happen to them I’m we would all be devastated b/c they’ve become such a part of our family! It’s good to know that there are good people out there! Great outcome! And you are so sweet for making such a lovely thank you present too…it’s beautiful!
Knuffle Bunny in real life! I love it.
What a sweet, sweet story!…and such a beautiful thank you gift!
That is so sweet and awesome of her. My daughter has a stuffed alligator (Gaygay) that she would be so lost without.
what a great story! i’m glad it had a happy ending!
That was a great story to share!!
It’s nice when things work out….he was meant to be found by Monica for a few reasons 🙂
What a great story! It made me tear up a little too! What a lovely gift for a lovely lady!
How very sweet!!
Awwwwwwww… that is all 🙂
This is the kind of thing we need on the nightly news. Such a sweet story, and a lovely gift.
Aww what an awesome story!! Love those happy endings to lost loveys. Clementine’s first tiger is still somewhere in Mexico, picked up almost immediately by someone after we dropped it at a resort (we backtracked right away and it was gone within minutes) and never returned. I visited the resort front desk every day of that vacation (“le tigre? le tigre?”) to check the lost and found. It was sad.
Love that clutch and especially love the happy ending story!
That’s so wonderful! I love when people are kind and thoughtful 🙂 And how lovely of you to make a thank you gift.
What an awesome story, Kristin! The clutch is amazing! I’m so glad Frankie made it home safe and sound.
Ha! What a great post! So glad it all worked out and eventually led me to your blog! I love the clutch…especially the colors…and especially because I doubted you made it since it looked so professional and it was before I knew you sewed 🙂