Pages

Thursday 5 May 2011

EASTER RAKS, HAPPY DANCES AND BUNNY HARMONY

HAPPY MAY everyone, not sure where April went but it came and went very quickly!!!

It seems a long time since I celebrated and shared a Happy Dance with you all and the postal service is the main culprit!  I sent a couple of Easter packages out well before the big occasion, one to Barb which arrived as it should have but the other took over 2 weeks and missed Easter altogther?

I was so pleased with Barb's bunny pillow and wanted to send her something in return so decided on Little House Needleworks 'Lavender Hill' along with the required DMC threads and as I know she has a very big soft spot for sheep some chocolate ones were perfect from the Easter Bunny! (sorry forgot to take a picture but I'm sure most of you know which chart I'm talking about).

My second Easter package was to Annette http://annette-werkjes.blogspot.com/ in The Netherlands and that was the one which would have arrived quicker if I had set off on foot!  Annette's blog is lovely to follow and she has the most adorable children, little Noah and baby Kira, she is superb with needle and thread and makes the most gorgeous items for her home and children.
  I thought this would look nice in baby Kira's room (it's never too early to fall in love with bunnies) . . .


It's only a small design from the CrossStitcher magazine stitched on 28count evenweave but I thought it was sweet and I stitched the flowers to match the lilac fabric.  The Easter Bunny took Noah a little parcel of chocolates which I hear from Annette he wanted to eat all at once (whoops!!!)

A second Happy Dance is Beatrix Potter's 'Benjamin Bunny' finished in my usual pillow style.
I couldn't find any buttons to match and as it was the Easter weekend and all the shops were closed I decided to stitch small cabbages instead !!!


A strange choice maybe? cabbages? but I wanted the colour to match the fabby on the reverse . . . .


Ahhhh, so sweet and if I get fed up with looking at the cabbages I can look at this side instead!

I started my next stitch over the Easter weekend but because I was waiting to hear when my RAKs arrived so I could share them with you, this first photo is a little out-of-date . . . .


This is Little House Needleworks 'The Mercantile'.  I can't remember the last time I stitched a building of any sort and as my bunny stitching has been multiplying at great speed I felt it would make a nice change.
It's a lovely design of a Country Store and I'm building it with Gentle Art Sampler threads, most of them as listed but substituted a couple of them with shades almost the same and I'm really enjoyed it.

This second photo shows it to-date but alas I've run out of wood for the top of the store and my usual supplier has a message on her website saying she's away until middle of May ~ there are other suppliers in the UK and I hate to sound like I'm penny-pinching but when you can buy a skein for £1.20 with minimum postage cost when others charge £2.06 and an excessive standard postage cost not matter what the item, it seems silly not to wait.


I've just planted a tree (left of the store) and am keeping my fingers crossed that it will grow and reach full height as we've had no rain here in the South of England for over 4 weeks ~ my flowers and shrubs are suffering already from lack of water and we're only in May!

Thank you everybody for all your good wishes for the happy bonding of Tilly and Oscar.
As you will see from the pics below there is happy harmony between the two of them and they are now inseperable ~ it's lovely to watch them together and they're great fun to be around.

I have to admit that I did worry if Tilly found her true mate then would she still be my best pal too?
Yes, yes, yes she loves me too and our lovely cuddle times are just as they always were.  Oscar has come on leaps and bounds and is a real character, he is soooo nosey and periscopes all the time to get a better view of everything, he has gained great trust in us and now knows he lives in a loved and safe environment - how did anyone ever subject this dear little bunny to such cruelty???

Thank you for stopping by and all your lovely comments, it's a great treat to read them all and I appreciate you taking the time to do so.
HAPPY STITCHING
xxx

22 comments:

Lindsay-ann said...

Your Benjamin Bunny stitching is adorable, love the cabbages you stitched. That was a great idea. Hope you get some rain soon. It's been very dry in the north too but just this last hour we have had a little rain. Amazed that I am happy for rain! So happy to hear Tilly and Oscar and friends. They make such a cute couple.
Lindsay
x

Mouse said...

awww really cute pillows :) the cabbages are a wonderful idea :) soo glad you still get cuddles and Oscar n Tilly are still friends :). We have just started with the rain up north :) love mouse xxxx

Cath said...

Fantastic stitching . I think the cabbages are great . Have you tired Thread Bear for threads , their WDW and GAST are about £1.45 I think , and they charge postage at cost . Oscar and Tilly look so cute together . X

Jessica said...

I love both of the bunny pillows you made! They are precious. How cute is the building of your Mercantile Store. :) I love LHN patterns. I also love to see your pics of the bunnies. I am happy that they are bonding so well!

Hazel said...

Oh my gosh those bunny finishes are superb. I love them. xx

Annette said...

Thank you Jane for the big and beautifull compliment!!!...I'm blozing ;)
Kira will love bunnies!!!
you stitched some great pieces... love the cabbage...
So cute the bunny pics..

Carol said...

Oh, the cabbages idea is pure genius, Jane--it looks so darling on that Peter Rabbit pillow! And how nice of you to send Annette children such nice gifts--I'm sure little Kira loves looking at her bunny pillow :)

Crystal said...

I love your bunnies both stitched and real.

Myra said...

All your bunnies are so cute! I think your cabbage idea is fabulous - that backing fabric is just wonderful. I am so happy to see Oscar and Tilly being all cuddly.

Teresa said...

Love your bunny finishes, especially the little cabbages.
Will there be perhaps another big wedding in the future for Ms. Tilly and Oscar.
Teresa's Heartfelt Stitches

Lesleyanne said...

Your bunny cushions are simply gorgoues. Love the cabbages. The backing fabric is perfect. Great progress on the Mercantile. Fantastic picture of Tilly and Oscar so glad they are friends.

Barb said...

Oh Jane I love Benjamin and it is so perfect for the backing fabby too. The lilac pillow is gorgeous too.
However Tilly and Oscar are the stars of the show what super pics of them together.
I have started my sheepie rak from you, and will show you some progress hopefully next week when I have done a little more. I love the lilac colour and the sheep thankyou again. Just hope when it does start raining that the "Summer wont be over on Lavender Hill".
Hugs.

Lynn said...

I love both of your bunny pillows. They're adorable! I especially love how you substituted the buttons with those cute cabbages. Really creative!
Your new start is coming along nicely.
Tilly and Oscar are so darling!

Sally said...

Your bunny finishes are gorgeous Jane. So cute :)

I just know Barb will love Lavender Hill! It's a lovely little design and I have it hanging on my bedroom wall. It was the very first LHN I stitched.

Your new LHN start is gorgeous. I love how the GAST look.

Tilly and Oscar look so sweet together :)

CalamityJr said...

What lovely finishes, and I think the cabbages are perfect, even better than buttons. After all, Peter did spend a lot of time eating Mr. MacGregor's garden!

Lois said...

Oh, look at that bunny love!!!! They are so sweet together. What nice finishes! Hope you can get your thread colour soon.

Mylene said...

Oh what lovely lovely bunny pillow finishes and Tilly and Oscar looks so adorable!!

Michelle May-The Raspberry Rabbits said...

Happy bunny dances for pretty stitchies and cutie bunnies. All make my heart smile big!
xx, shell

Justflo said...

What beautiful ways you have to finish your little pillows. Your little cabbages are a superb idea.

Pumpkin said...

Great job on the bunny pillows Jane! I love the cabbages :o)

That's wonderful that Tilly and Oscar are now friends!!!! They make such a sweet couple :o)

Ana Maria said...

Hi, I loved your bunnys, I have 2 bunnys too. One called "Pantufa" and other called "Kitsie".
Beijinhos de Luz!
Ana Maria

Anne said...

I love your bunny stitches and your real bunnies! I know I have some Beatrix Potter book to stitch around here somewhere,? Thanks for the reminder and the beautiful stitching! :)