W.I.P. Wednesday : Shhh!

Whipping up a little rabbit family for Guppy’s basket on Sunday. Or trying to. Can’t let her see what I’m up to now, so, shhh!

A warm welcome to all our new Wipsters! If you’d like to join the Wipster list, just leave a comment and let me know. The W.I.P. Wednesday Flickr Pool just keeps growing – don’t be shy! Those photos are there to inspire, and we would love to see what you’ve been up to. Think of it as your parents’ fridge : a safe and loving place to highligh what you’ve been working on (without the strawberry jam stains on the door).

W.I.P Wednesday : Betty Bunny

Today, when I woke up I was certain it was Tuesday. Which it is obviously not.

This is because I’m jet-lagged, but I haven’t gone anywhere at all, which seems most unfair, really. I should at least have gotten a little voyage out of it or something. After being on cortisone and honestly not sleeping, I have crashed, re-found the fatigue, and am totally disoriented. How funny is that. Luckily, I’m on vacation this week, so I didn’t miss any key events (like work or Guppy’s school).

I actually thought it was pretty funny.

And funny rimes with bunny! Betty Bunny, to be exact.

I found myself on Saturday afternoon still bunny-less. I’d managed to print the pattern for this one (that I really wanted to make but had way too many steps for sneakage), but was alone with Guppy because Monsieur Fish was off being a rock-star. This made things a hair complicated because I couldn’t very well sew it in front of her. Huh.

I improvised. We spread out paper and crayons for a massive drawing fest on the dining room table, and I began drafting the most embarrassingly-obviously-easy softie pattern ever made by a human, Betty Bunny.

I basically drew 3 different tube-shapes of different lengths for ears, legs & arms, and then her head and body. I embroidered her face while Guppy taught her dinos how to swim during her bath (they are quick to learn, let me tell you), and managed to cut out the fabric while she spent a little time on Sesame Street after her dinner (thank you Elmo, Zoé & Rosita). Once she was in bed, all I had left to do was stitch & assemble, and everything came together so easily I was feeling a little bit smug when Monsieur Fish came in and everything was all ready.

I do account my productivity to the cortisone, because while it is a vile and evil and will make you think you’re in another time zone, it does get you rocking in the productivity department. Mad productivity.

I’m really happy with Betty, especially her face. This is such a lame-o picture, her face really looks so cute! I knew I wanted a brown bunny, and had some great corduroy scraps to use, but wasn’t sure how to get a lovely face on that dark colour. I’d have rathered a scalloped edge to a crimped one, but I don’t have the cutting skillz required to do that (or the shears). Next time. I also think that I’ll make some much fatter ears because they look a little more like antennae than I’d like, but all in all, a fairly successful first no-pattern sewing project.

Have a crafty week, and don’t forget to see what the other Wipsters are up to, and to check out our W.I.P. Wednesday Flickr Pool, too. There are some really beautiful things up and it’s so fun to check them all out!

W.I.P. Wednesday : Little Purl Bee Rabbits or What I would be making for Guppy if I had time…

Were any of you “X-Files” fans? I was a bit ‘ole “X-Files” nerd, and while I don’t think I believe in alien abduction (the truth is out there), I can so relate to the phenomenon they oft referred to as “missing time” : when you have this hunk of time which seems to just have disappeared and you have no idea where the time went, or what you were doing… because here’s the deal, despite my lofty ambitions and best intentions, I still haven’t made Guppy’s Easter Bunny gift yet.

Well over a month ago, back when I thought I was going to have lots of time to get them done, I saw these adorable Purl Rabbits at The Purl Bee :

photo credit : The Purl Bee

These are some of the most stylish bunnies I’ve seen around! Trying to figure out how to spend all your copious free time? Well, make yourself a Purl Rabbit! You’ll need the Pattern Pieces for Rabbit (Just look at the top of the post in the project journal for the next part of the project.)

I really love the Rabbit Clothes – do they come in adult sizes? They are so cute, and really make the Bunny look all dapper-dan. And fancy-pants. Fancy Danny Dapper Pants. Whatever.

Realistically it’s not going to happen because this week is going to be very full for the Shellyfish, but I technically still have time, so let’s not start calling bets yet, ok? And if all fails, I can still make more of these felt cuties à la Aranzi Aranzo like I did last year – they are always a hit. And of course, if I really go into “you’ve got to be kidding me” mode, I know I have a dino book stashed somewhere that could also be slipped into the basket. Must keep our bases covered and all that.

What are you making for the baskets o’ festiveness? Have a crafty week, and don’t forget to see what the other Wipsters are up to, and to check out our W.I.P. Wednesday Flickr Pool, too.

The Bunny!

I woke up and wanted to hurry to get out for my run, when I heard squeals of joy emanating from the living room…

The Guppy knew that today was “Bunny Day”, and she was up and in the living room standing before her basket, repeating excitedly, “Mumma, Mumma, look!”

How exciting! Baby felt bunnies hatching from vegan chocolate eggs!

Madame & Monsieur Lapin (Monsieur is easily recognizable by his little French moustache and pink attire…because male-folk do wear pink!) were my first attempts at sewing with a machine (more on that another day…). I followed the free Wee Bunny pattern from Wee Wonderfuls. Monsieur Rabbit was my first attempt (er, pas terrible or not-so-great as we say in French), but Madame Rabbit is much cooler (and looks darn good for just having a brood of felt bunnies!). The little felt bunnies are from the cutest book in the world which I want to blog about when I get the time so I won’t steal the thunder from a future post.

The Bunny of Spring didn’t forget me, as I found this beautiful book in my basket and cannot wait to start a billion projects…