It's All About the Bunnies

With the last week of lovely sunny weather (admittedly it was still freezing) and pastel coloured pretty things starting to appear in shops, it definitely feels as if Easter & Spring are on their way, hurrah! While Autumn is undoubtedly my top season, Spring is a close second with all of it's freshness, places re-opening for Easter, and it's emphasis on chocolate and adorable animals like chicks, sheep & bunnies! I feel a bit too young, poor and urban to properly qualify as a target 'Land Love' magazine reader but I bought this lovely glossy slice of inspiration/aspiration this month as it featured lots of rabbits, flowers & Spring crafts.

Last year I made a few little bunnies for family and friends (& myself naturally, they look very sweet peeping out from behind the rack of crocheted toast on our dresser) based on crochet guru June Gilbank's Baby Bunnies pattern which is satisfyingly straightforward & adaptable. My favourite two are pictured above, Johnny & June, during their photo shoot in Mamma C's garden. Initially, I was thinking of making more to sell this year (with permission from June Gilbank) but think the time each one takes to make is hard to balance with what I'd have to charge and what people would pay. A neater/faster crocheter may not have this issue but alas, I do. Also, re my quest to find a distinctive style, I want to make my own unique items.

Sticking with the rabbit theme (because it's hard for me to look past the bunnies) and mixing it with my odd passion for faux taxidermy, which happily seems to have become on-trend now, I've created three crocheted bunny heads with fabric covered button noses and ears. Pictured are Rosie, Bel & Freddie. They are currently gracing the spare/craft room wall in their unfinished state. If we have any visitors coming to stay in the near future, I fear they may be susceptible to traumatic Watership Down themed dreams as they sleep underneath the bunny heads! They are soon to be finished off with wooden mounts which the very lovely John at Ogwen Art & Craft http://www.ogwenartandcraft.co.uk/ is making for me. 

Adding to the bunny delirium, I've also now made tiny needle felted bunny heads mounted on their own fabric 'shields'. Today I've spent a happy day tinkering with fleece, experimenting with shrink plastic (getting the size right & remembering to punch holes in before shrinking in the oven has been tricky!), playing around with fabrics and trying to avoid getting too messy with glue. Time limitations & the fact I've run out of brooch backs due to a stint at making crocheted daffodil brooches for the office job's charity fundraiser, mean I've stopped for now. I'll take one of them out & about for a test drive tomorrow. Then I'll get on with making more of the big & small heads and putting them up to sell on Folksy. I keep hoping that the bunnies will breed in the night (like they're supposed to!) & I'll awake to find a craft room containing a much multiplied bunny population. This really would help things along...