I did it! I finished this month's Month of Softies contribution - a Tumbling Tumbleweed! August’s theme was The Wild West. You can view all of the August MOS images here on flickr.)

The Tumbleweed is made from an old faded velvet curtain. I made up the pattern myself (if there is a place that sells them I surely wasn't going to try and hunt them down.) I actually drew the pattern directly onto the fabric.

I knew from the start that I wanted to add a little bird perched on the top.

The bird here is a smaller version of this pattern, which I adjusted to make a new, smaller bird. The pompom is from a piece of vintage trim I found at the same thrift store where I bought the fabric.

After missing the deadline for the last two months I really wanted to complete something for August, but I had a hard time deciding what to do for the theme The Wild West. Once I had my idea, I drew a very quick and sloppy sketch - it helped me to visualize how all the weedy parts would fit together. I put a little less stuffing in the center bottom of the top piece so that it fits better over the other two. The pieces are sewn together a little bit at the bottom - but it really does stand all by itself. My husband was skeptical of my idea from the beginning, so seeing it come together was totally sweet. Of course, he says that he was purposefully challenging me to help build my determination. Hmm… would that line work on you? Me neither, but it made me laugh.