I have been selling hobby horses for a few years now. Like most things in my shop, they started as something I made for my daughter and then my niece and nephew, and then I decided it was something to add to the shop. At first I made them from fleece in lots of colors and a very random collection of ribbons I had amassed over time. They were one of my "sweatshop" items. My husband uses this term for the pieces on in mass batches. I make so many at one go that generally they take over my work space, our bedroom, and the house in general.
I decided that the hobby horses needed a reinvention this fall. Last year, once again, I made a gift for a baby shower that needed something extra to go with it. The shower theme was rodeo inspired and I pulled out a hobby horse to add to the present. Then I saw the registry and realized that everything was extremely neutral, beautiful, chic. Not what my hobby horses were. So at the last instant, while packing my suitcase, I whipped together a rabbit head out of an old sweater I had felted after it was no longer wearable, and made it into a hobby bunny. And of course, I didn't take a single picture of it, not even a quick blurry cell phone shot.
I was really quite pleased with the results however, and when it came time to start replenishing my stock of hobby horses, I grabbed my bin of old sweaters and got busy. I've just spent the afternoon updating the shop and thought I better go ahead and share them here as well.
I still love my bright colorful fleece horses and will still make them too, but for now I'm loving these upcycled creations.