Sunday, March 30, 2008

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

14 comments:

Pauline said...

oooh that fabric is gorgeous, your bunny is going to be fab. Your bread looks so yummy, I was wondering what slashes are?? are they something like we call t-cakes in England.

Pauline

Judi W. said...

Luscious fabric! Good trick with the tissue paper. I have a product called Stitch and Tear that is made for doing that - nothing is ever left in the seam. Just love it! You can also start sewing on tissue paper and then onto the fabric for small fussy bits that tend to get pulled into the throat plate.

BumbleVee said...

tx for the tips Judi... any and all gratefully accepted here.....the more the merrier, I will give them all a try.

Pauline said...

Oh thanks Vee about slashes ha ha. Well t-cakes are made from bread and are round flat things that you cut open to make a sandwidge with. Some people call them baps, flat cakes or fadgies (fadgies in the North of England. You got me wanting to buy yeast now coz I can almost smell that newly cooked bread and my Mum used to make it for us bu Dad never liked it. He threw it to the birds and said even the birds would break their beaks on it but I loved it with strawberry jam.

MightyMom said...

yeehaw!

way to go!

Louise said...

When are we going to get to see this lovely bunny, I can't wait, I hope we don't have to until next Easter! x

C.C. said...

The brocade is just so sweet on those bunny feet...hey that rhymes! The bread looks divine, too. The snow...not so much!

Sandra Evertson said...

The brocade is a stroke of Genius! Simply Gorgeous!
Sandra Evertson

Vee said...

That is positively inspired! I love that sweet little foot pad. Had to laugh about your sewing slowly...I feel that way often...as if I could count the needle going up and down.

I baked bread (Paska) Sunday, too. What was that all about? I haven't baked bread for years.

Little Blue Violet said...

LUV that fabric Vee, the colors are great. Also, please stop showing photos of your homemade bread unless you are shipping loaf to me, delivered warm.
I so hope we are done with snow. Yours is lovely but since I cant made bread that is edible, let warm weather begin!
Darly

Gina said...

Your dolls and bears are adorable! and your bread does look yummo.. I would love the recipe for the cheese and pineapple loaf please!
Thanks for visiting my place too :O)

Linda Fleming said...

That beautiful fabric looks gorgeous on the bunny feet. What an elegant bunny this will be.

Folksie Linda said...

Oh wow Vee, that is spectacular! Love the brocade in the ears and on the feet.. I can't wait to see your bunny finished! Coming out beautiful!! Hugs, Linda

mycuriousteaparty said...

Hello I just thought I'd drop you a line to say what
'FANTASTIC BREAD'
congratulations

I love making my own bread too, because..

I love the smell that fills the house
Everyone eats it, no waste/no waist (do you get where I'm coming from)
I can choose my own flavors
what's your favorite? Mine is grated carrot with toasted pumpkin seeds
Only natural ingredients
I'm not adding to the plastic waste mountain, our bread out here almost always comes in a plastic bag.

On another note your work is so inspirational, I've learnt so much and I'd just like to say thank you.