I find swaps not only bring out my creative side, but also allows me to sew up things that I probably would have never thought of making if it weren't for the wishlist of my partner. Because 'planning' is one of my favorite parts of sewing (besides the actual sewing), I find myself spending hours daydreaming of things I might want to make and how I can go about sewing it up. My latest project is a prime example (so no peeking Marie!):

A Harry Potter Book of Monsters (you can get an idea of the inspiration book by checking out this 'toy' found on Amazon - but take a deep breath before you do, this plush is $49.99!). Actually, it's a book jacket for Cables Untangled - my partner had 'wisted' the blanket that appears on the front cover and since my knitting skills are not that advanced, I thought this was the next best thing (she also had listed a jacket cover similar this).

For this particular cover, I used a shaggy faux fur and a stretch paisley, brown knit that was a remnant from another project (in hindsight, I wish I had used a red or pink so it looked like the inside of a mouth when you opened it up) for the jacket flaps and lining. I opted to use a knit in these areas so it would have some stretch and fit snug over the book edges. The 'teeth' are made from a white felt and the tongue is from a felted wool sweater. From there I glued on some large googly eyes and used half circle felt pieces for eyelids.