*Chris saw that Laurie was really focused on making a plushie so she did not notice that they were there. He turned to Erin and sighed*
I guess we're on our own.
*He went back to his seat and started on a plushie version of Valerie. He couldnt think of anything else and it was pointless to be here if he wasnt going to pick something to make. He chose some soft green velvet and began cutting out a sort of pattern. He wasnt all that great with it but he hoped the end result would kind of resemble her. Hopefully she would like it but if not then he would put it on a shelf as a decoration.*

((OMG! Chris is soooo cute! I feel so bad for him, knowing that she's gonna hook up with Obert!))

"Hmm..." Erin thought for a bit, before deciding, "I guess I'll make something else first, then make my cool dragon after I've figured out how to do it." He pawed through some of the fabric choices again, and pulled out a piece of green. "Maybe a frog? That seems simple." He laid two pieces of the green together, fuzzy side to fuzzy side, and drew the outline of a flat frog shape on the back. He grabbed a pair of scissors, and began cutting out his shapes.

Quickly, Erin realized one problem with what he was doing, as he began sneezing wildly as large tufts of green fuzz started flying off from his work. He wasn't sure how to not make this happen... so he hastily finished cutting and sweeped the mess of loose hairs off the table when he was done.

He grabbed a needle, a spool of black thread, and two white buttons for eyes. He threaded his needle after only a few unsuccessful tries, and began stitching round the edge of the frog shape. He was feeling reasonably confident for a moment when he suddenly realised that his thread was slipping put of the fabric on the end. Hoping no one noticed, he quickly tied a knot and continued his stitching.

He tried and he tried, concentrating really hard, but somehow, he couldn't get his stitches to be equal in distance form each other, and the fur kept poking out from the sides! He tried to control the unruly tufts, but mostly lost the battle. Eventually, his stitches made their way to about an inch from where he started, which he knew by logic was where he needed to stop to turn the creature right side out.

Grabbing some stuffing, he filled the little frog just enough to give it some body, and stitched the last inch closed, with an unfortunately obvious seam. Last step was to attach the two buttons on as eyes, which worked out reasonably well, though upon reflection, weren't well centered. He sat back a moment and looked at his somewhat lumpy, long furred frog that looked like it had been run over by a truck. But somehow, he was very proud of his work. He'd never done this before, and though it was quite an acomplishment that he managed to make it look like a frog at all.

He held the frog out to Chris for approval, "What do you think?" he said, as tufts of green fur still clung to his black shirt. "Did I get it right?" he asked with a cheesy smile on his face. "I think he's cute!" he said, hoping Chris would agree with him if he put out a positive comment of his own.

*Chris nodded in agreement, after all. doing a test project first made sense as after all neither of them was all that used to this. Putting aside his first project for a moment he selected some yellowish material and started making a star. If he could do this making he could do a halfway decent job on the Valerie doll. He watched his friend Erin from time to time and tried to mimic the actions. He did not know why the nice fur Erin was using for his frog went on the inside. He gave him a quizical look but then later saw he needed to make it inside out so the rough edges went on the inside.

Chris had learned something about sewing!. He put the outside on the inside of his star outline and took a Needle and black thread. Squinting his emerald eyes he stared at the tiny eye of the needle and tried to thread it. It took him several tries but he finally figured it out and just so it wouldnt come loose on him he matched up the ends of it and tied them together. He started near one of the points and made some rough stitches. They didnt look all that bad for a kid who never did that before. He felt a little surge of pride and accomplishment well up but he wasnt finished yet. No wonder Laurie didnt notice them, this was incredibly intense focused work. He had more of an appreciation now of the people who made clothing for a living, usually women. They did have infinite patience, didn't they?

Chris finished sewing up the small star and turned it inside out. Using what he saw Erin and the others doing he might make something decent yet! He used some soft white cotton stuffing and placed it inside before stitching it closed. He made sure it was tight to avoid any of the stuffing coming out. Maybe he should attach this to his Valerie doll. It would be even cuter holding a star.

He got started on the clothing the doll would be wearing. It wasn't at all easy to make tiny versions of her dress but he would give it his best shot.
He wasnt aware that he should be using a fabric blade so he used a pair of scissors. Green, white, brown, those were the colors he needed to use and he was already getting a bit frustrated. It was a struggle to make his own pattern without the aid of a piece of paper telling him what to do. Forcing himself to calm down he fought the rising irritation and concentrated on his doll. The more effort he put into it the better it would look, or so he hoped.

He wouldnt know just how it would turn out until it was sewn up. He had the basic body of the doll and now it was time to sew it up. Using some skin toned thread, he rethreaded his needle and tied up the ends so it wouldnt come loose. He began to attach the sides knowing the legs and arms would be added after he had stuffed the torso.It did not look like anyone specific just yet but it definately had the beginnings of a humanish type shape.

Chris sewed up the torso and then got to work on the arms and legs. it was only after he had done this that he would complete it with the head and the clothing. Using stitches as even as his hands could get them the appendages became recognizable. He left part of it open so he could place the stuffing inside and give it a proper plushie shape. he remained focused on his task and then attached the arms and legs to the small plushie torso.

He decided to put the clothing on it first before the head and painstakingly attached each section together one by one. A tiny little dress in green, white and brown. He couldnt help but smile at how cute it would be when he was done. He hoped she would like it but in the event she did not he could use it as a dust magnet on his shelf at home. For now he put all of his effort into it despite never having made one of these things before.

Once the clothing was on he prepared the head and placed soft cotton into it until it was firm. It wouldn't be a good plushie if the head was too soft. When it was nice and head-like he sewed up the loose ends and stitched it to the rest of the doll. He made sure to double knot the thread before he cut it so it wouldnt come loose, that would be just plain embarassing. Though the doll was pretty much finished, it was still bald.

He wondered what to use for hair other than some yarn but as he did not see any silken wigs, yarn might have to be forced on him. He picked up a color that matched her hair the closest and plugged in a glue gun to glue it to the head of her plushie. It would take a bit but eventually the glue would melt enough to be useable. When it finally did he picked it up and made a line down the yarn and then placed it on the bald head of the doll.

It felt good that he was almost finished but he refused to slack off just to get it done. He completed the first layer of hair and now would add a second of yarn a few shades lighter than what he had chosen as a base. He repeated this and alternated colors until there was quite a few layers. He wanted it to look as pretty as what he had based this whole project on. This way it might give a more realistic look of highlights but of course how realitic could yarn be to hair anyway? While the glue was drying he unplugged the gluegun so it wouldn't burn anything down. Chris sewed the star in the plushie's cupped hands as if it had just floated into her grasp.

He never promised Valerie the stars but he wanted to give her the stars or at least one of them. He was only twelve after all and couldnt be expected to perform miracles. He thought this was the perfect gesture to let her know what she meant to him. By this time the only thing missing was a face which he soon remedied. Using two black buttons for eyes and some colored markers to draw a mouth. When the glue had cooled down enough on the head of the doll he would be able to give it to her.

Chris gathered up his things and paused to put the now finished doll in his bag. He moved the yarn hair out of its face and smiled absently. Now was not the right time to give it to her, there were too many people around to make a fool of himself just yet. He smiled at Erin, then as he made his way at the door waved in general. He wasnt sure if Obert was still helping Valerie but he hoped he was still around to do so. She looked as if she needed help but Chris had to go home before his training. He was in the mood for some food as he forgot to have breakfast. He had to satisfy his sweet tooth after all and he was definately in the mood for sweets.*

Erin waved goodbye at Chris, and then picked up his little dragon and used the dragon's arm to wave bye, too! "Bye Chris, see you at school!" he called after him. He wondered now what he would do next... his plush was finished, his friend was gone, and there was still a lot of hours left in the day.

For a few minutes, he walked around the room, holding his dragon plushie in his arms, and peeked over people's shoulders to see what they were working on. A few girls he knew from school were there, and had made some really nicely sewn animals... kittens and puppies and other cute things. He turned on his charming smile and complimented them on their incredible work and showed them his creation.

None of them laughed or made fun of his little dragon, and one of them even said it was really cute, so he must have done a good job. He talked with them for a few minutes before heading on to the next couple of tables to see what people were working on. He was somewhat drained of energy from concentrating on his sewing, so he didn't feel like making another toy, but watching everyone else turn the bright scraps of fabric into beautiful creatures was a lot of fun.