Love Some Bunny

 

The finished menagerie!

Three are traveling to New Mexico.  Four are heading to California.

I will say it again, I don't know how my grandma made so many (probably 30) and retained her sanity.  They were a labor of love.  Definitely a labor.  Only love let me finish.

They are just far enough in the rear view mirror that I'm making one more for an extended family grand-little and not dreading it.  It's possible that sewing one at a time might be more fun than creating them via assembly line.  I guess I'll find out!

Teensy Teaser

:

 Yesterday was a good day on the bunny front.  Turning and stuffing the arms, legs and heads just seemed endless--then I began embroidering the faces and the clouds parted and trombones sounded!

Is it because embroidery was so much easier?  Or just more creative? 

I'm going with the latter.  Suddenly they just had personality.  

 Here is a bouquet of the four little bunnies.  A teaser of what a warren of seven little fully dressed bunnies will look like!

Hippity hop!  Back to include bunches of carrots and overalls with suspenders and buttons.  All much more fun than the basic body parts.  I can't wait till they are all done.

p.s. I found a remnant of a stuffed arm on the carpet.  Bummer!

If I had to reconstruct the events, I'd go with:

• Said arm fell off the sofa and onto the rug as I stuffed others.
• I didn't count up arms and legs so I didn't miss it and begin looking for it.
• Somepup saw it laying there and decided it was a new toy
• Chewing is fun and ingesting muslin and stuffing in small amounts causes no problems
• The new toy was abandoned in a remote corner of the dining room.
• Only to surface two days later
  

Loving Some Bunny

 I have a treasured Easter bunny that my grandma made long ago. He looks pretty spry for a sixty year old.  I wonder how old that would be in bunny years?

(He's been living with all the other bunnies on a special shelf in my lawyer's bookcase.)

I thought I'd try reproducing him. Not bad for a first try without a pattern.

I'll be making a few more destined for a new generation of grand-littles.  

Possibly I should have taken photos earlier when there was still daylight...ya think?! I promised myself I'd post decent lighted and nicely edited photos of the whole litter of rabbits when the last stitch is set.

But for now, a poorly illustrated post is better than none.

Hopalong Jack and the Blue Bunnies

Bunnies are a bit of an obsession with me--wooden bunnies, ceramic bunnies, lop-eared bunnies, rex-coated bunnies, stray bunnies--I love'em.   Peter Rabbit, the Velveteen Rabbit, and Brer Rabbit have an honored place on my bookshelf and in my heart. So I knew right off that I'd enjoy the wonderful blog called Hopalong Hollow Gazette. The Hollow's creator feels like one of those kindred spirits that the Fates sometimes grant us--she loves her critters, her garden and art.


Jeri, however, takes art to a level to which I can only aspire AND she's also a published author and illustrator. If you love books, especially richly illustrated and clever storybooks, hop on over to the Hollow  right now and enter to win a copy of Hopalong Jack and the Blue Bunnnies. But hurry because Fionna Goosefeather the Second will be picking the winning name out of her bonnet on the 19th and it's almost here!

Even if you don't win her book, you won't be a loser because Hopalong Hollow and its inhabitants --two-legged and four-legged, real and imaginary--are all delightful, so make sure you take some time to ramble and stroll about while you're there.

Tell Jeri I sent you,

Rabbits and Bunnies and Hares, Oh My!

If you visit Meadowsweet Cottage this time of year, you'll see that I have bunnies!  I have...

Wooden bunnies

Big bunnies and little bunnies

I have happy bunnies

And bunnies that are basket cases

Lop-eared bunnies

And friendly bunnies

Blue china bunnies

Some teensy-weensy bunnies that lift weights or play soccer

Even gardener bunnies and walkabout bunnies

Yes, there are bunnies everywhere you look

But my favorite bunnies are Peter Rabbit (of course)...

And this mischievous bunny who started it all. 

He's very old now. My grandma made him for me. She made one for all my cousins too (and I have more than thirty cousins).  Can you imagine how much time and effort and love that took?!

Those of us who still have our bunnies treasure them for the works of heart that they are.  What sentimental critters are you displaying this Easter season??

Cheers, from a very hoppy


Linking up with Cindy's Show and Tell at My Romantic Home

Missing a Bunny Burrow

Chana, contact the mothership.

I've been reading the Bunny Burrow for way too long to have it go missing. I know it's there. But I've been 401'd.

401, when Googled, is geek-speak for "you need a password to log on to this site". I've been 401'd from many university or government logs when doing research. It's never bothered me, because I knew the information would be available elsewhere.

Other blogs have disappeared from my daily read over the years, like Toad Pizza and Rockstar Mommy. They've either needed more time for Real Life or Just Changed.

Was there a hovering threat over the Burrow? Was it general uneasiness about stranger danger in the blogosphere? I know life isn't always safe. I think bloggers are pretty brave to open themselves to the universe with their lives and thoughts. I'm always astonished at those with real names (well, I assume they're real names).

Bloggers become friends over the years. I love that geography and age don't seem to matter much. I've known many of you for years. You seem like valued neighbors. We've shared family joys, marriages, new babies, new puppies, vacations, remodeling projects, divorces, deaths, growing children, craft ideas, extended family and haircuts through our blogs and comments.

Chana, you're someone I don't want to lose track of. Your blog makes me happy! We have history, girlfriend. I'm hoping you'll drop by and see this post and want me back.

Hippity-Hop

Hope you had a wonderful Easter!


The Easter Bunny must have felt right at home when he visited us. There were rabbits everywhere...outside hiding among the hyacinths,



and inside on the sofa, the mantle, the curio, and the windowsills!
(I made the two bunnies on the right.)

There were daffodils, forsythia and pansies blooming as well as primroses along the path. I always think the primroses look too perfect to be real.
Our table was set with a cheery yellow tablecloth, Grandma's crystal goblets and our blue wedding china that doesn't go well with Thanksgiving or Christmas colors, but is perfect for Easter! (Oh, is that a little Reese's Peanut Butter Cup that the Easter Bunny left? Mmmmm.)

Our centerpiece was my favorite Roseville vase filled with flowers--Grammy added some of her daffodils to make it look like Spring.

We had a very nice leg of lamb for dinner, but somehow it was the rhubarb cobbler that caught the photographer's eye. Maybe it was the turbinado sugar sprinkles that gave it a gourmet look.
The puppies feasted on lamb leftovers; but that's another story...