Bunnies!

Here's a basketful of bunnies that I stitched for my niece's baby shower. 49 in all.  They were scattered around the buffet table. Guests took some. I think I'll make a mobile with some.  

The shower was fun. 

The mom to be is surrounded by big boxes. She's hidden behind the quilt her mom (my sister) made for the baby. It's Dr. Seuss fabric.

I love this photo of the mom-to-be.

I haven't been doing much lately. I have a few Mollie-Makes finishes--kits that came with the magazine. They're instant gratification.

 

 

These are shoe clips. In my youth they were a popular way of dressing up your shoes without buying new. I hadn't seen any for years.  I wonder how they'll look with my black oxfords.

Wetlands Walk

We recently went to a local wetland area, a boardwalk in a backwater of the Little Calumet River along the expressway in Hammond (just east of Kennedy, just south of I-80).  It seemed unpromising at first. The expressway is very loud, even with the sound barrier. Once we got into the woods a bit we could let the noise fade to the back of our minds and hear the birds. 

 We saw this Great Blue Heron looking for lunch.

 Taking our time and looking a bit closer, we spotted a second Great Blue (on the right in the water).

Then we found two Black Crowned Night Herons. I hadn't seen them so clearly before.

Along our walk we saw some turtles sunning themselves and signs of beaver and muskrat. It's not a long walk. Some people were having family picnics, others were fishing. We took the shorter trail that led to the Little Cal. There was a deck you could fish from and also a dock where you could put a boat into the water.  

It was a nice interlude in a couple of busy weeks.

I also taught a class on color last weekend. A great review of it is posted here--the author did a great job.  Thanks!

Back to Int'l Quilt Festival

Some followup on this event last month.  First, in a baggie of random silk fragments that I got (I get one each time I go to this event just for the fun of it), I found a fragment of Japanese embroidery.

I think it's pretty cool.  That cord in the upper left is something I will learn in a future phase.

I also completed the books from Belinda Spiwak's monoprinting class. I added pages to both and brushed printed pages with some gesso to allow me to write on them. 

 

I liked my cover so much, I made a title page on the first page of the book.The picture of the sleigh determined that the book would be bound at the top instad of the side. 

This is the back of my booklet.  The front and back covers of the tag book are pretty much the same. I made them very different on the booklet. Hubby picked which cover would be front. 

Giveaway Winners

First, the news. I printed out the comments, cut them into individual strips, folded them and tossed them in the air at my keyboard until one fell to the floor. It was the comment by bubbygigi, who won the acorn pattern. Then I repeated the tossing activity and the second strip to fall to the floor was Jane S. Congratulations! The packages will be on their way once I have your addresses. 

 I haven't been stitching much. More (endless) bunnies. I've been organizing instructions for a workshop I'm leading this weekend. We'll be meeting at House of Stitches so stash enhancement and a class! 

 The older generation in my family gathered on Easter for barbecue burgers and conversation.  Here's an overview (look at the gorgeous quilt on the wall--my sister's work).  My sister-in-law is knitting away on a new project.

Here's another view of the quilt and the quilter.  That's my brother in the background.

And my sister-in-law shows off her newest finish. This is before it was blocked, so the lace isn't showing at its best. It is very pink.  I love these circular/spiral vests (this isn't the first she's knit!).

And me, I sat on the couch and made bunnies. More and more bunnies.  I think I'm at three dozen. (for some reason three dozen sounds like a lot more than 36!)

Bunnies!

Kind of appropriate given spring and all, but I've been stitching bunnies. Dozens of bunnies (so far just two, but more are in the works).  The bunnies will be decorations for my niece's baby shower coming up in a few weeks.

That's pretty much all the stitching I've done lately. 

I did, however, spend a wonderful day at the International Quilt Festival with my sister. This is the sight that greeted you at the entry--glorious RED quilts.

They were in celebration of the show's 40th anniversary.

I took a few photos of the quilts that inspired me.

 

It was inspiration overload.

This is us at the show--they have a photo booth setup and a person on hand to take photos...pretty cool!

This is a project I did in a miniclass by Belinda Spiwak.  The class was on using gelli plates for monoprinting.  I made two journal covers and a page of fun printing to cut up for pages for the journals.

Here it is again, those red quilts.

Post 987

This is my nine hundred and eighty seventh post.  That's the last number in the Fibonacci series before 1,000. The next number in the series is 1,597--a long way off.  So, I've decided to hold a giveaway to celebrate. 

You can learn more about the Fibonacci series here. You can learn more about the golden ratio, golden rectangle, and other geeky fun things here and here.

I know that a few readers aren't embroiderers, so I have two giveaway items--one you can enjoy and one you can make. 

The first is a patchwork chicken pincushion. I didn't make it, but thought it was really cute and bought it at a quilt show.

 The second is a pattern and partial kit. I bought this project originally because my mom had stitched it and I wanted to make one, too. I've since inherited mom's.

The project is a dimensional (stumpwork) acorn with a beaded cap and beaded edge designed by Liz Turner Diehl. Mom made hers as a door hanger with a tassel.

I just purchased the instructions and then gathered my own materials.Linen fabric, some over dyed threads and three tubes of beads in two sizes (11 and 14). 

If you're interested in winning either item, please leave a comment on this post. I will ship anywhere. Please make sure you include a way for me to get in touch with you (e-mail, your blog link, etc.) Please comment by tax day April 15 and will choose winners randomly on April 16. 

Good Luck.