The Velveteen Rabbit

The Velveteen Rabbit

It's all hand quilted and finished now. 

I have to admit I don't square up my quilts and only measure them when I post a finish.  Normally top and bottom are the same measurement and sides are the same measurement.   Not this time! Can you tell?  The quilt is 43 x 58 x 44 x 60. 

Sally who blogs at The Objects of Design shared a tutorial for making the standing bunnies.   I started making them on my Janome and finished making them on a new Brother. Unfortunately when I bought the Brother I did not have the needle set correctly for a quarter inch seam so the Brother Bunnies turned out slightly larger.  So, I made the Rabbits hop up and down in the quilt.     I used a variety of neutral background fabrics (mainly because I didn't think I had enough of any particular one) and like how sometimes a butterfly just happened to turn up on a Bunny belly or a Rabbit ear.  

The rabbits were made of bits and pieces of mostly brown fabrics (scrap chunks). 

I hand quilted with regular brown quilting thread on the rabbits and with perle #12 ecru in the sashing areas. 

I actually included a Velveteen Rabbit at the end.  It's velveteen from an old skirt of mine. I made the skirt and wore it and wore it until it no longer fit.  I love velveteen so saved it to remake into something else someday - after all...velveteen was not cheap when I was skinny and made that skirt. 

The backing is fabric with rabbits.   And I free pieced the words "Get Real" to add to the back. 

"It doesn't happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.” 
― Margery Williams Bianco, The Velveteen Rabbit

I had enough Velveteen to make a matching stuffed rabbit.  

The tutorial was generously shared at Purl Soho. 

The quilt and stuffed rabbit are going into the hope chest for the first great grandchild.  I was going to add my copy of The Velveteen Rabbit but can't find it. I think I gave it to my first grandchild, Isabelle, when she was born.  I'll have to buy another copy. 

And it will probably be awhile before the quilt, rabbit and book make it out of the hope chest. My oldest grandkids are 12.   I like to plan ahead.  I like to be prepared. 

This was my goal #16   for   Q2 2017 Finish-A-Long

It was my May OMG (One Monthly Goal) at Elm Street Quilts. (#43)

Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts

Oh Scrap! at Quilting is More Fun than Housework