Bunny Rug--Reprise

I'm trying to get some order in my house. That's a long term project--such a long term project that I don't really want to think about it. One small step in that project involves finding and completing some of the little items that are piling up on various chairs around the place.

This is one of the bunny rugs I started some time ago. There should be a link in the previous sentence to take you to the spot in this blog where I posted about it. I don't want to face that reality just now. On the positive side, here it is: complete. There's a layer of hot pink starry flannel, backed by a layer of pretty purple starry cotton; all bound together with a strip of lemon yellow. I think that's three bunny rugs done and five to go. I also think that if I want to improve my completion rate I'm going to have to change my approach. I love hand-hemming, but I can feel a batch of machine-stitched binding coming on. Apart from getting the job done faster, it will make me more confident in guiding those of my students who are horrified by all those little fiddly stitches around the edge of a completed quilt.

Slow, Slow, Slow!

I'm having a slow morning. I think I've had enough sleep. Honestly, it's hard to tell when insomnia is my middle name, but I've had a few decent nights without extra medication, and that's about as good as it gets. I've had a nice breakfast and better than average coffee. I have plenty of things on the "to do" list and plans to catch up with a friend later in the day. The sun is shining, and it's not too hot. Nevertheless, I'm feeling unmotivated and slow. I guess that's just how it is today.

Yesterday I finished off the hand stitching on Bunny Rug #1, despite being less than thrilled with the fabric. It's done. Now I have Bunny Rug #2 all ready to go:

I've used spray adhesive to layer the two fabrics together. I've stitched around the edge and trimmed it all square. I've cut the binding strips. Next step is to join the binding strips to make a continuous length, then fold, press and stitch it around the edge. And this is fabric that makes me smile, so hopefully I can get going on that today.

Bunny Rug #1

I took along one of the baby bunny rugs I'm making to my class last night. They're about as simple as can be: two layers of fabric with binding around the outside. We looked at binding in last week's lesson, but there was so much to cover, I thought a bit of reinforcement wouldn't go astray. Besides, with the new format for this class--a "do your own thing", UFO class--I thought I might just get the chance to put in a few stitches. I got nearly to the first corner--which conveniently allows me to post a picture of the corner here: The unexpected consequence of bringing this project along was admiration for the busy pink, blue and black paisley fabric. It's definitely not my style, but several people commented on how much they like it. Just as well, since I'll be giving it away to a charity when it's done and I do want someone to enjoy it. OK, now to put in a few more stitches while I brew myself a cup of coffee and then do a bit of cleaning up.