Thursday, May 29, 2008

Crafting with my Sister

My sister is staying with me - and so far I have tortured her with some shopping and needle felting. We found out that needle felting takes some time and can be quite painful when you needle felt your fingers! Here are the results.

From little beginnings ...
... grow voodoo dolls? ...
... and very scary ears ...
... but eventually after much needle poking grew first needle felted bunny!
Do you like his carrot?
Or his fine fluffy tail?
And what did my sister make ... well she made a very cute whale - here he is swimming in the deep blue sea!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Frustrating Fluffy Fur

I have a long list of things I want to make ... endless in fact. But this week has been super frustrating for two reasons 1) I haven't seemed to have 'done' as much as I wanted and 2) Fun Fur yarn. It all seemed like such a good idea to knit a fluffy bunny - it was going to be fluffy, cute and wonderful.

But something went horribly wrong ... Fun Fur is easy to knit with - but once you have knitted - you can't see anything - and I mean anything - the fur is rather furry (erm .. perhaps I hadn't appreciated the 'fur' part in the label) and you can't count your stitches - see your seams - its just a mass of fur.
So I have no idea if one leg is longer than the other or if one arm should have been sewn higher or lower - and the nose - I can't find the little nose stitches anywhere!! I could only guess. I crocheted the soles of the feet from my favorite Debbie Bliss yarn (which I decided late last summer was just too expensive to use for bunny making - but it is SO soft and yummy.)
I tried to sew a face - but that was impossible due to the fur - then I tried to give a little 'hair cut' around the face - but the result was so terrifying I'm embarrassed and ashamed to share the face with you. It didn't help that I ran out of the fun fur for the last ear - so far he only has one .....

Regardless of all this flying fuzz - I feel there is potential in the little fur ball (below is his fluffy side profile) ... but maybe he wasn't meant to be a bunny? Perhaps he is a bear? or a doggie? or a tiger? or just a good old fashioned yeti?

Monday, May 19, 2008

Something is hiding in the garden ....

Little bunny is in the garden and she is so scared that she is hiding her eyes.
"Why are you scared little bunny?"
"There is something big and scary hiding in the bushes. I think it wants to eat me."
Can you spot the scary monster too?
Look again - the monster doesn't look very scary - he looks quite friendly.
"I'm not a monster ... I'm a Brontosaurus. I'm a herbivore so I don't eat bunnies - I only eat plants."
Phew! What a friendly dinosaur! What wonderful fluffy crests the brontosaurus has along his back ... and who knew dinosaurs were so cuddly! I think we in the Rachael Rabbit workshop will enjoy having a dinosaur of our very own that lives in the garden.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Making Things for Friends

Since I started crafting every hour I'm awake ... I find that I make a lot of gifts for people. I can't explain how much I love making things (though I constantly debate my talent level - but I love it so much I've gotten over that!) and making things for people I love and care about makes it an extra special process for me.

One of the things I have realized since I came to the US is how hard it is to make new friends - especially as you get older (am I going too deep here?) I have a small core of very valued friends who are now scattered across the globe - and as I get used to living in the US for the rest of my years I realize that we all are growing up, moving through towns, cities and countries - leading our own lives in very different ways. I guess the thing that will sustain these friendships will be those experiences we shared and the great moments we spent together.

So I was thrilled to make this quilt for my friend Kristen. She is due to have a baby boy in about 4 weeks. Kristen and I used to work together in a place I will not mention - but the experience was such that I know no one else will be able to fully understand the now humorous (but at the time emotional) scars it left us with!

This project is a 2:1 - a wall hanging and a baby play mat.
The tabs are removable - so Kristen can choose to hang the patchwork quilt for decoration or her new baby can sit on it ... and maybe it will serve both purposes!
My step mum - Jennie - is a bit of a stitching goddess ... and she taught me many moons ago (I wonder if she will remember) to make a cushion with a padded duck in the middle of it. I used the same technique to make the padded heart and padded bunny on the quilt - after sewing the heart and the bunny onto the quilt - I cut a small hole in the back of the cotton - stuffed the shapes and then stitched up the cut. The shapes are very plushy and maybe the new baby will enjoy squishing them?
This bunny is showing how the baby might look lounging on the grass.
I wanted to make some of the squares crinkle ... I debated about stuffing them with a plastic bags - but I didn't know if this is the right 'technical' material to use - do you know what the crinkly material in baby toys is?

Sunday, May 4, 2008

A Bunny Picnic

The sun came out this weekend and we invited some friends to a special garden picnic. Here come the bunnies hopping down the hill ...
... bunnies love garden picnics ...
... the boys talked about growing lettuces in the vegetable patch ...
... and the girls talked about carrot cake recipes ...
... soon all the food was eaten - but who will get the last cupcake?
We played hide and seek too ... 1 bunny tail, 2 bunny tails ...... 40 bunny tails - ready or not here I come!
It was a wonderful picnic in the sun, on the lawn under the big tree. I suspect that there was a little chemistry between these two ... who knows what the future might hold ... perhaps a bunny wedding?

Friday, May 2, 2008

Getting Ready

All the bunnies in the Rachael Rabbit workshop are getting ready for the bunny picnic (although the weather is a bit of a shame - grey and drizzling)

This little bunny is having a shower ...
... but she doesn't know which summer dress she should wear. They are all quite pretty.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Bunny and the Lost Trousers

Bunny is hiding in the cupboard because he is embarrassed.

Me: "Why are you hiding Bunny?"
Bunny: "I'm embarrassed because I'm not wearing any clothes. I have lost my trousers."
Me: "Well don't worry Bunny - we can just make you some more."

Bunny (sadly): "I don't think these fit me - they are rather short."
Me: "OK I'll make another pair."

Bunny (horrified): "These are far far too tight."
Me: "I'm sorry Bunny I don't know why I'm struggling to make trousers today. I'll try one more time. Third time lucky!"

Bunny: "Oh thank you - these fit just right. I'm very pleased with them - I'm going to wear them to the bunny picnic this weekend."

Are you going to the bunny picnic this weekend?