February~ Come and Gone!!

Out with the snowmen, it's February; love and hearts have replaced them on the tabletops and kitchen windowsill! 

And yet, while all of that is true, here is the greater question:

Thank you so much, blogger friends and those in real life who've reached out to inquire about my whereabouts and well-being. I'm fine, just as busy as I've ever been. I had taken on quite a few outside longarm commitments over the past few weeks; those, along with regular day-to-day activities have pretty much taken every free minute and run out the clock on February. Whew! Of course, that didn't stop me from starting a few projects of my own...

... as well as a new set of Lenten paraments for church. If anyone reading this has experience with sewing paraments or vestments let me know. I have questions for you!

I got a this bitty cross stitch piece bordered with all the best intentions to make a seasonal pillow but the backing/stuffing part still hasn't happened and this cutie remains one dimensional, I need to finish it for next year now. 

This little hanging is now 25 years old; made by a dear friend who's since passed away. She made one of these for every month of the year, they hang in the kitchen window as a reminder of our friendship over all these many the years. 💗

And just like that this month has all but passed and spring is knocking LOUDLY at the door! Augie is now sixteen months old and the absolute perfect companion. I'm going to TRY to be better about posting here, I seem to have gotten out of the habit, time to get back in the swing of things!

SEW, what's new with you?

Life is Good!

How Do You Quilt A Rabbit?

There's a rabbit in the studio this morning; a great big, white rabbit.  The pattern is an old one from Country Threads. I have wanted to make "Harvey" for years, well-- 2019 became THE year! You know how sometimes you just decide to drop everything, or push it to the back of the cutting table to make room for that ONE THING that you decide has to happen here and now? Well, Harvey became that one thing. It was now or never, Harvey pushed himself to the front of the line for Easter, you know how pushy rabbits can be.  This is the pattern, dated 1997. I collected all of the Country Threads patterns back in the day. If you go to the link above, reprints are still available, for a limited time only. He went to together quickly and easily, the pieces are big! He measures, as shown,  21" X 53".

Somewhere along the line I checked out the notions requirements for buttons, etc. I found these, at the same time, when cleaning out a drawer. They belonged to my MIL, they had been stashed in the old 301 cabinet that I inherited a few years back. They're the perfect size and were destined to become his eyes and shirt buttons. The cards were marked at 15 cents. That might give a clue to their age. I set them aside.

Then it was time to load "Harvey" onto Snowbird for quilting. But, I ask, how do you  quilt a rabbit? The pattern included those dreaded three words: "quilt as desired". Okay, no help there. 

I chose straight-line quilting with a ruler. It seemed to work well for this door banner. 

After quilting he received his features: eyes, whiskers and button embellishments. I just so happened to find one more thing while cleaning out yet another drawer(!); the perfect finishing touch!

Bunny buttons for his fancy French cuffs, ooooh, la-la! They're pewter and were found in my own mother's button box! His name has now changed. He is no longer "Harvey" but now his name is "Buttons"; Buttons the Bunny, it was a natural choice, with assistance from both of my Moms. 💗

Buttons is keeping guard of the studio door now as I come and go, he makes me smile. The following has been declared by both of our granddaughters: "he is my favorite quilt ever!"

And so, the answer to the riddle: "how do you quilt a rabbit?"

"Very gently!"

Life is Good!