A Little Late, But Done

This year, Three Creative Studios is running a monthly color palette challenge. The one that just finished was supposed to be done on February 15th, but I didn't quite make that deadline. That was mainly because I really disliked what I was making, and I tossed it aside on February 14th!

The original quilt was a landscape. I decided to simplify, and make a tile-like design, that implied a landscape.

"Set Free The Wind", 12" square

I cut back the tile to add the tree. Before doing the quilting, I added a thread-sketched figure of a woman/goddess.

I intended to go around the figure one more time during the quilting, but I liked the way she seemed to float above the tile, so I didn't end up doing that .The quilting was done by stitching around the tiles.  If I do another piece in this style, I will try stitching  down the tiles before layering the quilt, and have the "grout" be the quilted part.

The hair might remind you of a young lady who appears on this blog quite often. But, I should probably say that the Daughter's nose is smaller and cuter.

More pictures from this challenge can be found here. Check them out, there is some pretty amazing work.

Busting Out Of His Basket

I was making samples for a kid's fabric painting class that I am supposed to be teaching next Thursday. This will be a new experience for me, so I hope it works out OK. We are going to make stamps, and decorate a tote bag.

We'll also be painting and stamping a scarf.

I looked down from the scarf I was working on to see this.

Weasley, trying to fit a 10 gallon bunny bottom into a 5 gallon basket! Would not have worked out for him, except he spent yesterday destroying the front and  back sides of the basket. I guess he had a plan, I just didn't understand it. In other words, the usual....

Dyeing Results

Let me show you the dyeing that I got done, while the weather was good.

First, I made some blue/green pieces, which are always my favorite.

On the bottom piece, that was directly in contact with the sifter, there are grid lines. You can see them on the right-hand side of this next picture. I hope they survive the washing out.

I also did some pieces with a mix of blue, red and black dyes. Most of the red seemed to disappear during the dyeing. The black, which looked like it was going to turn into a deep purple, also didn't show up too much in the final product.

The very magenta piece is an old table cloth that I was given. Since it was in very bad shape, I decided to dye it, and see what I can do with the remnants.  It looks good here.

But, it seems to have lost a lot of color when I rinsed it out. Do you think that could be because it is not 100% cotton like I thought it was?

I had a visit from this guy (again) when I was working with the dyes. Amazingly, he went home wearing the same orange coat  that he arrived in!

It's turned cold again, and terribly windy, so no more snow dyeing for awhile. There's no danger of running out of snow, though, so it's all good. 

Dyeing For Fun

It's going to be another warm day here, temperatures possibly climbing into the 50's. Thought I'd take advantage of that and do some snow dyeing. It took a little while to find the sifter that I set things on, as it was buried under a snow drift. I guess I need to plan ahead better.

Anyway, it's all set up now, and the waiting starts. That's the hard part!

And Now He's Snoring

On sunny days, Weasley and Ginny follow the sun around the computer room. They start in the middle of the west wall.

Then, they work their way across the room to the east, (and a little bit south), until they are in danger of being run over by the wheels of the computer chair.

They finish by working their way along the east wall towards the north. When they finally lose the sun, they retreat to the kitchen for dinner. They are like a bunny sundial. I guess that  would be a Bundial. It's all OK, until the weather changes. Then we all get confused.

And yes, Weasley is the snorer. He gets quite loud. Ginny doesn't seem to mind.

Aphrodite

We've had a number of interesting mail deliveries lately, and today I thought I would tell you about one that came all the way from Edinburgh. Recently, the beautiful Aphrodite came to live with us.

If you are a rabbit person, you probably recognize the work of the very talented and compassionate  Annette over at Dragon House Of Yuen. She generously sent along a collection of her cards, also.

Aphrodite and the cards were even more beautiful in person than in Annette's photos.

Right now, Aphrodite is getting close with my Little Bird painting, that came from Mandy at Bijous Whimsy.

But, I've noticed her making eyes at the big bunny on my pillow that came from Kelly, aka Umber Dove. She may be moving over there for a cuddle.

In the last year, I have acquired quite a few treasures from blogging friends. They all make me smile as I spy them while moving through my day.

Annette also sent a surprise for Ginny and Weasley. She made them heart-shaped blankets, personalized with their names. Here is Ginny, checking hers out.

And here they both are, on their new blankets. Weasley sat on the patch that says "Weasley", and stayed there for quite a while. If he weren't both illiterate and blind, you might think he did it on purpose!

Then, they both flopped out on Weasley's blanket for a nap.

Since they have yet to chew any holes, I would say they definitely approve. Just don't tell anybun, I don't want them to lose their Rabbit ID cards for approving of something!

Thank you, Annette, from all three of us.

Mug Mat Swap

It was a really fun mail week this week. I won't show you everything right now, but I will show you what I received from Susan, over at Art of Mine, for the mug mat swap hosted by Brynwood Needleworks.

When I opened my package, I found some really fun stuff.  My mat  was wrapped in the blue swirl fabric that the stuff is sitting on. I do love a pretty swirl.

The coffee is very yummy. I might not share that! The yo-yo is actually a pretty pin, which I have the perfect sweater for. And the mug mat is inside a cool vinyl pouch that Susan made, with lots of sparkle. I may not have this for long, as the Daughter has her eye on it.

Inside the pouch was the mat itself. The color is quite vivid. I love it.

And it goes really well with chocolate chip cookies. I had to shoo the bunny off. He forgot that chocolate was a no-no.

Thank you, Susan, for your generous gift, and for participating in the swap with me.

For a look at more Mug Mat creations, click here.  And maybe make one for yourself. They are a quick and fun way to use up bits and pieces, and add a little color to your house during this long winter.

Tomorrow I will be back to show you more treasures that I got in the mail this week.

Happy Saturday, everybun!

Checking In

I've been spinning my wheels this week like a rabbit on a hardwood floor! The only thing I've manged to finish is the food I had to cook for a local family in distress. I have so many things I want to show you, but that will have to wait till later, after another sewing day.

Annette, Susan, I received your packages, and I am thrilled. I will post pictures, and send notes soon. The only picture I have for now is of the fabric I found in my stash for the back of the  Mug Mat I am making.

Perfect, isn't it? I'll be back later with more pictures. Have a great day, everyone!

 

That Girl Can Really Rock!

Over the weekend, the high school jazz band held their Second Annual Icicle Ball, which is a fund raiser for the band. My youngest Daughter spent most of the evening playing her trombone, tucked into the middle of the band  where she could hardly be seen. She's in the middle here, you can just see her nose behind the hair.

Then at one point, most of the band took a break, but a small group calling themselves "Push the Envelope" continued playing. My daughter was not among them, but then in the middle of the set, she took the stage and began to sing.  

She belted out "25 or 6 to 4" at the top of her lungs, and had the crowd on its feet, whooping and hollering.  

Other than as part of chorus during her freshman year, it was the first time she sang in public, so she took everyone (except us) by surprise. I think the experience (and all the compliments) may have cured the stage fright issue!

It was icing that night, and she is "head trailer loader" for the jazz band, so later in the evening, I got this picture. Don't you love the boots?

I wish my pictures were better, but the lighting was bad, and I think my camera is in the process of dying. Anyone got advice on a new one? I can't decide between a simple,  little one that fits in my pocket, or a larger one that offers more operational flexibility (but that may be difficult for me to figure out, and hard to tote around!).  If you have a camera that you really love, what is it, and what do you like about it?

(Edit: Ginny just informed me that the name of the song is actually "Bunny Apple Sticks-Want More!".  OK.  It is, afterall, all about the Rabbit this year.)

Joining In On A Swap

I've decided to join in with some of the swapping fun that goes on on the "Net, and I'm starting with  a Mug Mat swap being hosted by Brynwood Needleworks.

My swap partner can be found over at her beautiful blog, Art of Mine. When you check out her very romantic-looking blog, you'll see that she loves pink.  I don't have a lot of that around, so there's yet another reason for a road trip. This should be fun!

What My DAughter DId

during Wednesday's snowstorm.

She crocheted herself a hat. The design was her own, and as you can tell, she is very pleased with the result.

A close-up of the gorgeous yarn, which is a wool/silk blend from Japan, that I got for her last year at the incredible Metaphor Yarns.

Metaphor Yarns also happens to be attached to one of my favorite quilt shops, A Notion To Quilt, and they are both just a little bit  down Route 2 from my favorite coffee shop, Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters. Maybe it's cabin fever, but I'm feeling the need for a road trip. I wonder how I can work this into the schedule?

Happy New Year

Happy New Year, Everybun! Here's to a great Year of the Rabbit for all our Bunny friends and their Humans, and to all the Humans reading this who are silly enough to not be pampering a rabbit.

Weasley says,"Does this mean I get extra treats?"

We hear that red means good luck, so that should mean this is an extra-special year for us, beyond just the fact that it's the year of the RABBIT. And if you've been following along over the last year, you know we can use it. If it works out, we'll try and send some luck your way, also. 

Want To See My Vegetable Garden?

Yeah, I'd like to see it, too.

It's under there, inside that fence. The top of the fence is about 3 feet high.

It's going to be a long time till I can get at the greens I started last fall.

The snow is still coming down, and now it's mixed with the sleet that was supposed to stay south of here. I'm so glad I don't have to be out on the road, and I hope that anyone who does go out is very careful. This is no time to be in a hurry. Stay safe, everyone! 

It's Doing It Again!

There's a road out there somewhere.

I'm trying to pretend this isn't happening, so I'm playing inside today. I decided to try the  flour-paste resist technique on this not very interesting piece of snow-dyed fabric. The funny part is, the fabric looks much better in the photo than in real life.

I added the flour paste, using a thinner layer than last time,  so that it would dry faster. I'm wondering if when the paint gets applied, it might seep through this thinner layer . I also scratched some arch shapes into it with a skewer.

  

While I wait for that to dry, the first thing that I will do (before going out to shovel) is sew a label onto this scrap quilt I have been making.

The white fabric is leftover strip piecing from a Christmas project, and the blue is an orphan piece of Year 2000 fabric picked up at a guild meeting. It was fussy cut to omit the "2000". The next picture shows the quilt set up on my table, ready  for pin basting.

I pinned on some tissue paper with the design for the center. Since I wanted a thread-sketched look, I sewed this once, then took the paper off, and went over it two more times.

An outer section of flames was free-handed, and the other areas were filled in with various spirals, echo quilting, and stippling.

I finished the binding, using the rest of the Year 2000 fabric a couple of days ago, and I will attach the label now. Not a bad use of leftovers. I'm going to call it "Winter Sun", in hopes that we might see some!