Linen

I’ve got this “thing” with linen lately.  Well, not lately, I guess I’ve always had it.  But now that  French General linen is available from Moda I’m a bit more obsessed than I was before.  I love linen and I’ve spent the weekend with it!
I made myself a linen heart sachet to hang in the studio.  Something simple.  Something linen. 

It’s hanging on a wall next to my computer, from an old window. 

And then I made a new prototype bunny from my pattern “Five For Brunch”.  She’s linen of course and I gave her lop ears. 

I added a little apron, a flower garland necklace, and of course a bunny wouldn’t be a bunny without…

…a polka dot bunny tail! I’ve added directions for the apron, necklace and lop ears to the pattern. 

I’ll be teaching this bunny on March 5th at Thimble Creek in Concord, CA.  You can make her in just one class. Join me if you can!
And to all of you who read my blog, please stay with me as I work out the changes that are coming.  I’m getting a new “look” and possibly moving my blog to Word Press.  Change is very scary, but I think it will be worth it.  My web site already has a new look and a few more changes are coming to it too.  Many surprises are coming in 2010!
And I haven’t forgotten about the rick rack tutorial for “A Tisket, A Tasket”.  Next post I promise. 
Have a great Monday everyone!  I’ll be back soon!
Hugs,
Anne

Craft Iron

Good news!  While I was at market I spoke to the people at Cl0ver asking why they discontinued their craft iron.  I love my Clover craft iron and the thought of going without isn’t appealing. 

Apparently some of the irons are making a buzzing sound.  They didn’t say what the buzzing sound means.  I guess the moral of the story is don’t ever trust an iron that buzzes!  My iron seems to be fine, but I’ll be extra careful not to leave it on all day. 

The good news is that Clover is replacing the iron  with a new model that should be available by next market!  They promise the same type of iron with that wonderful pointed tip.  New and improved, coming in about 6 months.   Hope it comes in colors don’t you?

Have a great weekend everyone!  I’m sewing some little “Allie” dogs for my Christmas tree!   Pink dogs! 

Back soon!

 

Anne

In love with toweling!

Is it possible? Can you actually fall in love with toweling? You know, it’s that fabric that comes with two finished edges. All you have to do is cut and hem two ends and you have a towel! A towel! So how exciting can that be?

Enter The French General! Kaari Meng thank you!

I opened up this piece of LINEN toweling today and fell in love. I can think of so many things to do with this! I may have to order bolts and bolts just to have…then line them up on top of the shelves in the kitchen to look at every day. If I tie a bow around the bolts they become decor don’t you think? 25 bolts? Is that enough?

It’s so wonderful and I’m going to do something really cute with it. You’ll have to wait a bit to see my pattern, but have faith. This toweling is going in my kitchen and hopefully yours!

L	O
V	E

Have a great day! I’ll be sewing on this toweling and dreaming of bolts!

Hugs,

Anne

Punch Needle Bunny

Coming your way in time for Easter. If you love Punch Needle you can make this little bunny in just one evening. She’s the bunny from block number three of A Tisket, A Tasket and she’s so easy to make!

Here’s what you’ll need:

Picture frame with 4” x 6” opening

8” x 10” Weaver’s cloth or fabric like Moda Bella cotton.

8” x 10” thin batting or flannel

Punch needle (I use the Cameo Ultra Punch)

Embroidery hoop and stand (I use the Clover stand and hoop)

Pearl cotton size 8, or 3 strand floss such as Weeks Dye Works: pink, cream & brown.

Let’s start!

Center the design and trace onto wrong side of background fabric.

Following the directions that come with your punch needle, stitch the bunny’s eye with brown, body with pink and tail with white floss.

Remove from frame, press background (don’t press the bunny).

Add two little flowers to embroider under bunny. You can easily draw these yourself. Just make sure you are inside the 4” x 6” dimensions. Draw a straight line for the stem, a “v” for the leaves, and five little dots to indicate where to make your lazy daisy stitches. You’re set to go!

Using 2 strands of green floss, embroider stem with stem stitch. Embroider leaves with a lazy daisy stitch.

Using 2 strands of pink floss, embroider flowers with a lazy daisy stitch.

Place finished bunny on top of batting or flannel. This gives the finished picture a slightly padded look. Center on cardboard that came with frame. Check to make sure it looks good in the frame. Then remove from frame and go onto the next step.

Fold extra fabric to back of cardboard. Double thread a needle and stitch as shown to hold fabric in place.

(Trim a bit of fabric under each corner on the back of the frame to help it lay flat .) First stitch from side to side in one direction, then the opposite direction. You may have to re-thread your needle 3 or 4 times.

Insert finished bunny and back of frame. Hang with a ribbon or place on a table and enjoy!

Need another quick gift idea? Needle punch a bunny (yes, I know I forgot her tail poor baby). Place wrong side of bunny on top of a scrap of wool or felt. Machine stitch around bunny, right next to loops using a tiny stitch. Trim backing fabric next to stitching. Using pinking shears trim wool. Add a pin clasp to back of bunny and pin to tote or jacket.

Happy daylight savings everyone!

Hugs,

Anne

A Bitty Day

This is a bitty post. Really, I promise! Not too many words and well you'll get the picture LOL!

I taught a Bitty Dog class in Bunny Club yesterday at Thimble Creek our local quilt store. Bitty was really nervous because it was her first appearance after market. She's heard about the Chihuahua movie and how movie stars get treated. And to tell the truth I think Chelsea may have played it up a bit with her. But by the time class was over, she was strutting her stuffing! Bitty dogs were everywhere! All colors and each with their own special look. It was an amazing thing to see!

This bitty dog stayed home. She's a reject that didn't make the cut. SHHHH! Don't tell her!

This is the original bitty. She didn't make it to class because she's traveling and giving autographs. Who knows where she'll pop up!

This is the bitty that premiered at the Bunny Club yesterday.

A little brown bitty made by Nancy. It's a gift for a special friend, but Nancy couldn't stand it and made two of them...one for herself too!

Heidi made this beautiful white bitty dog. No pincushion base yet...she ran out of time, but I know Heidi, and the next time I see her she'll have two more done (:

And only my friend Chickie would think of a red, very French Bitty Dog. Chickie's well traveled and I think her bitty may be too. Just check out that necklace!

I couldn't call it a day without a pink bitty dog. I just had to make one! She's going to Thimble Creek to visit the shop and she's so excited! She'll be there by the end of the week so if you're in the shop look for her!

No day is complete without a group photo. Look there's a bitty in blue with the cutest brown buttons! Why, that's a great looking little dog!

So are you hooked yet? Do you want to make your own bitty dog pincushion or any of the other Bunny Hill pincushions? Since I can't have you all in a class, join me on my new Flickr group called Pincushions by Bunny Hill ! It's your chance to post your own photos or just ask me questions. I'll be checking in to answer questions and I'll have some "how to" photos soon. Get creative and you might win a prize! And, can you name your dog? Don't forget the bunny, bird and kitty. Hummm I wonder what is coming next?

Hugs to my pincushion friends!

Anne

A Decorating Give Away!

It's a bit early for Valentine's Day, but I've been having so much fun making things I've decided to have a give away! These little treats are hand-made by me just for you! They'll help you decorate for that special "Love" day.

Remember that shabby log cabin block I showed a few posts back? I had one left over from my quilt and decided it needed a good home. I made a little 8" pillow that's perfect to tuck in front of a few other pillows on a chair or bed, put on top of a dresser or tuck in a basket. It may be tiny, but it will brighten up your room! And do I see pink lace trim on it? Yes, I think I do!

Personalize your home with your own crafty projects and you'll have a wonderful place. It's the key to making a house a home. We often have left-overs from craft projects that could be put to good use. The piece of fabric I used for the white heart was destined for the trash can. It's a left-over scrap of fabric from my slip cover project. I couldn't stand to throw it out so I made a heart and added three of my vintage glass buttons, and some pink velvet ribbon.

The heart on the right I made from my newest fabric "Flowers For Emma". It's also made from scraps, then I added some crystals and pink velvet ribbon and now it's destined for one of you!

If you're the winner of this random number drawing, what can you do with these hearts? There are so many things I can think of, I've given you a few ideas, just in case you win!

You know what you have to do to win this drawing! Leave a comment and I'll pick a winner on February 3rd. It's another random number generated drawing and it could be YOU!

Nite, Nite my sweet readers!

A fun weekend!

I spent the weekend doing what I love! Quilting! I don't know what makes this so relaxing. Could be the hum of the machine, the feeling that you made something or, just being able to let your mind wander as you sew those little seams together. Whatever it is I LOVE it! I get crabby when I'm away from it for awhile, and I always feel so much better after a day at the machine. Who knew a sewing machine could be such good medicine?

While I was sewing away, I decided to make a new cover for that old lamp shade from Target.

So, here's the new shade cover! All spiffed up for the New Year. I've put the directions on my web site....just in case you have a shade that needs a bit of dressing up! http://bunnyhilldesigns.com/dynamic/?page=Free%20Patterns

Happy New Year Everyone!