We had a few names rolling around in our heads when we settled upon “Calvin,” but while there are a few reasons why we ultimately went with it, the most obvious reference for our generation is the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip. I was a relatively big fan growing up and still have multiple book compilations in my office.
Well, when the “Calvin” name was announced, the comic strip was obviously mentioned, and we were asked whether we were going to give him a “Hobbes.” Famously, Bill Watterson, author of the comic, never licensed his materials to third-parties, so you can’t buy an official “Hobbes” stuff animal. Etsy has had some recently, but when I just searched, they were no longer available, so perhaps the lawyers made a few phone calls…
Anyway, Calvin was going to turn 2 (today, as of this posting, incidentally…happy birthday, buddy!) and Brooke and I wanted to get him the stuffed animal. Brooke found a pattern at Instructables and wanted to give it a try, as the material was reasonable and the stuffed animals on Etsy were generally not (some reaching as high as $150).
She actually took care of the initial work when I was gone at work for an evening,taking care of the bulk of the work before the kids were even in bed (as the sewing machine is right outside their bedrooms). This didn’t take all that long, though if she were going to do it again, she’d watch the head a bit more closely, as it’s more round than the real thing.
She had to sew the arms, legs and head on by hand, but that wasn’t the time-consuming part: that went to the stripes. Each stripe had to be done by hand, so she spent many evenings sitting in front of the TV, sewing each stripe on. The whole thing wasn’t quite done by the time we had Calvin’s birthday party this past weekend in Columbia, so she took all her materials along to work on. Finally, after many nights of work (most nights for around three weeks?), she finished up, just in time to give it to him.
Pretty good, right?! For my part, I’m pretty impressed. It looks quite a bit like the real thing and just as good as most of the options available on Etsy (when you can find them). Brooke also personalized a little “Cal” onto the bottom of it, forever marking this “Hobbes” for this “Calvin.”
At least, to the only person that matters, he’s perfect. 🙂
Happy birthday, Calvin (and Hobbes)!