Bubbles Bunny

I'm getting a late start on Easter bunnies  - I'm blaming Craftcation, not procrastination - but the first one is finished and in his new home.
Mr. Bubbles is Addy-approved
 
I thought I was going to make a more traditional bunny for the girls this year, but once I saw this pattern, my search was over. (Ravelry link.)
Such a goofy little guy. 

The pattern - Bunny Caprice by Kristi Randmaa - is well written and easy to follow. I especially love his shapely little feet - such a clever way to crochet them. I also love that the feet and arms are attached as you work, not sewn on later. Sewing up is not my favorite thing . . . .
 
I need to work on my embroidery skills (the smile and eyebrows), or maybe just leave them off altogether. I think Bubbles is cute enough without them.
 
And it will make the next two - that I need to have finished in less than 5 days - go even faster. 

Bye Bye Birdies

And just like that, the baby hummingbirds are grown and gone.

Rachel and I found the nest empty when we went to check on them Friday night.

I'd worried that mom hadn't done a very good job of hiding her nest, but Rach walked by it several times without spotting it.

Good luck, little hummers; may you live long and prosper.

Getting Big

I checked the baby hummingbirds today, standing well back from the nest to get these pics, which explains the less than stellar quality.
 
But look how big they are! And their beaks are so long!
 
Judging by the amount of poop on the nest, they must be healthy, well-fed little guys. They were crowded in the nest when we took the first set of pics; now there's no way they should both fit in there. I wonder how much longer until they take flight?

Whirling Dervish

Leanne spent the day with us, unexpectedly, so she got to help me with my planned projects.
 
We cut out fabric for three dresses for her 
  
- and made one of them;
 
then cut out fabric for 10 pillowcases, which I'll make tomorrow or Tuesday.
 
Leanne loves playing with Leia when they are both here 

 
but she LOVES when she's here by herself and can just act silly. 
 
And my Pumpkin can be very, very silly. 

Moneypiggy

Sometimes I get the make-it bug, but don't want a big production - just a little something quick and easy. And fun.
 

This filled that need.  A bit of felt, template, scissors, sewing machine and bam - done!

 
Leia and Leanne both love to play "monies" so I think this will be a big hit.
 
Thank you, Pinterest! 

Baby Hummerbees

Look what Gary found while trimming plants in the backyard- 
  
Baby hummerbees!
  
Two tiny little guys, crammed into a nest on our overgrown hibiscus.
  
Guess the backyard can go wild for a few weeks. Hope we didn't scare mama away with the noise and the picture taking!

Monsters and Paisleys and Owls, Oh My!

I love making t-shirt dresses, and I love seeing the little girls wearing them, but I think my window of opportunity may be closing, at least with Leia. 
 
She says she wants them,
  
says she loves  them,
 
says she will wear them . . . .
 
but with two teenage sisters, I'm thinking her idea of fashion is rapidly moving away from cute, grandma-made outfits.
 
I could be wrong.
 

We'll see in the a.m. when it's time for her to wear one of these.

 

Edited to add: She loves it! Happily wore this one to school on Friday the 13th. Doesn't she look cute??

March Mini

My St. Patrick's mini-quilt is done and ready to be hung - and it's still only the first week of March! It's a mini-miracle; I finished a project before the it's-too-late date.

 
This was a paper-piecing class I took at Quilt Ventura. The Scrappy Cats pattern was meant to be a quilt or long wall-hanging, but I knew I wanted a single cat in pink for Valentine's Day (still working on that one . . . . ) and another in green to honor St. Pat.
 
My pal Debbie gave me the border fabric, something she had leftover from another project, and I chose the other fabrics around that. I love the little horseshoes and pots-of-gold.   
  
The quilting on this is minimal. Since it's a wall-hanging, and (in theory) will seldom be laundered, I wasn't too worried about the batting shifting around. Sloooooow and steady stitch-in-the-ditch was about all I did before attaching the binding and sleeve by hand.
 
My goal is to make 12 seasonal mini-quilts that we can use for decoration, one each month. I have a couple designed in my head and a couple partially done in the UFO Challenge bin. I may not get all twelve finished this year, but I'm going to have fun trying. 

Shabby Roses

Whether you call them Works In Progress (WIPs) or Unfinished Fiber Objects (UFO's), I love getting half-done projects out of their bins and into the "done" pile.
  
This one, from a class I took back in September 2014, now has borders. I think my original plan was to make the outer border 6", rather than the 4" I attached today. Wish I had remembered that, since I think it would probably look better. I need to take better notes . . . or remember where I put the notes I did take.
Dimensions:  58.5 x 70.25"

The plan is to take this with me to QV tomorrow night for backing, batting, thread and maybe - if I'm lucky and no one is using the big table - I can get it sandwiched and pinned too. 
 
If not, I'm hoping to stop by before my class on Sunday and put it together. 
 
Either way, this baby is on it's way to DONE!

Early Christmas Quilt

I'm claiming this as an early finish for Christmas 2015, rather than what it really is a missed deadline in 2014.
 
I started the quilt top December 5 and had sewn, sandwiched, and quilted two days later. And then it sat, mainly because I didn't have a surface long enough to do the squaring up. 
  
I meant to take it to Quilt Ventura and use their big cutting table, but somehow that just never happened.
 
Fast forward to February and QV's new UFO challenge*. The rules are simple: register your unfinished project; finish it up (including a label); 
Minimalist label since I want to use both sides

then bring it back to show off and register for prizes. They had me at "challenge" but prizes are always nice.
 Princess Leanne on her quilted bench throne

Before quilting, this was 88.5 x 40.5; after squaring up yesterday, it's now 86 x 39.5.
 
Leanne "helped" me measure the length though, so it could be off a bit (or a lot of bits . . . )
 The first quilt Leanne helped me with in February 2012. She was so cute - and little!

The quilt is modeled after the seasonal couch covers Debbie makes for her pup. 
 
My plan is to let the cats lounge on this, then whisk it away - along with all the cat hair - when the highly-allergic DIL and grand-daughter come to visit. Everybody wins! Now I just need to make two more  . . . .  

*AND it's an entry for Aunt Marti's monthly UFO Parade! I love a good parade.