In 9th grade, I planned to do something in design for my career, so taking a clothes-making class seemed like a good place to start my journey. In that class, I learned how to sew, pin patterns, and steady my hand so that I wouldn’t botch the garments. These skills have helped me over the years to fix rips in clothes and make small outfits for my dolls, but it also helped me in another aspect; making toys as gifts and for fun. I was able to use my small amount of toy making skills to help out at the service event last Saturday held by Stockton Honors. There were many different stations, along corresponding to several local charities in need of comfort and care, but I chose the station where they were sewing and stuffing teddy bears for the Ronald McDonald house. Even though I came to the event later than I was supposed to, they still had a seat for me, so I quickly took it and settled down with my pair of scissors and an unfinished teddy bear.
Now, I wasn’t the most skilled at this craft, as I hadn’t practiced in years, but I did a pretty good job stuffing the bear and sewing up the arm so that it was tight and wouldn’t come undone. Needles are very hard to thread and thread is hard to knot, but I managed to do both over and over so that I could make a full bear instead of just finish up one. I like my bears stuffed so that they are very huggable, so I may have over stuffed them a little, but I was still able to close the unfinished bear and move onto the purple, paisley printed fabric in front of me. The bear designs were simple but cute, and I was actually able to cut out the patterns effectively. This legitimately surprised me because I usually cut an edge off or make them ragged. After staring at the two sides for a little bit, I flipped them over, pinned them together again, and rethreaded the needle with the same blue thread that I used for the unfinished bear.
My stitches were actually decent, holding in the abundance of stuffing I pushed inside the bear’s body, and once the last stitch was put it, I took a satisfied look at my toy. I felt very good about what I had done, both for myself and the children. I can say from personal experience that in times of sadness and distress, when no one is near to comfort you, a stuffed animal is a great thing to have; their soft bodies give that feeling of warmth and care that someone might need. Maybe that’s why I have two in my room, lying on my bed, waiting for me to hug them. Therefore, I was happy to help with this event and give those in unfortunate situations a little hope and love, as well as a boost in their spirits in that cold and lonely hospital room.