Real bunnies multiply much quicker ...

.........than my bunnies. I began a third and decided to use a lovely pink brocade for her inner ears and foot pads. Brocade? Am I nuts? Guess so.......but..I have worked with it a bit before on the Song of the Lotus doll outfit.... not that I knew much about sewing at all when I did that one...but learned a lot. And, my friend Maggi has been struggling to teach me more since then ... I still notice her rolling her eyes every so often when I do my usual and just sit there, hesitating, or if I am stitching so slowly that I can count the ups and downs... poor Maggi. Good thing she is patient.










This is the sleeve cuff I did way back... so I sort of knew I was in trouble right at the outset. Especially for small foot pads. But, I've had this fabric sitting around for years now..just bought it because I love it... long before I got a sewing machine. So, I asked my friends who sew if they had advice or tricks to offer and at least began armed with those tips. Still, it was slow going and I was being ultra careful with each stitch because I hate to "pick" any of the good side and ruin it. Every mark is magnified and so noticeable on that fabric. Then, my buddy Richy, a bear maker in England, suggested backing the brocade with tissue paper while stitching. Never heard that one before...but I tried it and wow!.. so much easier. I didn't have to position each stitch nearly as carefully ... it seemed to help the needle to slide through the fabric easier.. don't ask me how. I think he actually wanted me to use it on both sides...but I couldn't really make it work on the foot pads with both sides covered in tissue. Too awkward for me to get around all my clips that I use to hold things in position and also..I felt that I couldn't really see well enough how I was placing my stitches. Just felt I had to see the fabric.










Tada! tissue still on the one...peeled off the other foot pad....ooooh...love it. I laughed when I turned it and saw this, becasue it seemed like I had ordered it from the store or something.....just had to unwrap it. Voila....










need some daylight for the proper colours of the foot pads... but here is the ear from earlier.













Oh... and... in other news, we had about 4 inches of new snow overnight. Look how light and fluffy it is. It was warm enough that it was melting quickly. I went out to shovel anyway... just in case...and thought it would be heavy, but not at all. It was airy and as soft and fluffy as it looked.


A perfect bread making weekend.... and I am now moving on to making slashes ... had to give it a try right? Think I will stick to plain round top for the crust.. but, found some great multi grain flour... making it more of what I want in a bread.










Yummmmmmm