Sex Change and a Couple Other Things . . .

I suspect this post will be a bit of a mixed bag of various bits and pieces--but then maybe you've already picked that up from the title of this post!

I wanted to thank those of you who have ordered patterns and kits from my Etsy shop. A couple of readers have asked whether I'm going to publish a pattern for Buckey too. Well, no, not exactly. I can't completely rule it out for the future, but I'm not planning to at this time. HOWEVER--if you want a Buckey to go with your Bette, all you have to do is give Bette a bit of a sex change operation, and it's really not that hard (no pun intended!) Here are my suggestions-- (And if you're not really very interested in making bunnies, skip down a bit, because I'll get past the bunnies shortly.)

If you're going to make a Bette and a Buckey, you might want to reverse the direction of one of them, so they look more like a matching pair--assuming you want to hang them somewhere together. To do that, trace and cut freezer paper for one of them and then turn the pieces over and trace them reversed for the second bunny. Make sure you keep track of which is which. Otherwise, you could end up with a Picasso bunny.

Now, to transform Bette into Buckey. For Buckey, you won't need to trace and cut the mouth, and you'll want to substitute Bette's teeth with two long teeth. When you're laying out your pieces to "test" them before sewing, just play around a little bit and see what looks good to you. I think it also helps to make Buckey a darker color, like the brown I used.

I kind of like Buckey with button eyes better, because he doesn't seem to be laughing as much as Bette. Look through your button stash and audition a couple medium sized black "eyes" or try out a different color. Or smaller buttons for a beady-eyed look.

My own Buckey got a little bit of a makeover today. I kept thinking he looked more like a Mafia thug than a happy bunny, so I decided to see how he'd look with a bow tie.

Yup, I like the way Buckey looks now! If you want to add a bow tie to your Buckey, just cut two "bow" shapes and sew them down before you sew the chin area. I also moved the leaves and yo-yo flower--originally they were in the right bottom corner instead of the top.

And if you want to go a little further on the transformation, before you cut your pieces, give Buckey a little larger jaw and chin. It won't matter too much if you don't, but I thought I'd throw the idea out there for your consideration.

* * * * *

I spent a little time cleaning up the Sweat Shop today and it's a bit better, but I found there were a couple piles of fabric and things I just really couldn't put away. Why? Because they are things I have planned to work on soon and I'm half afraid that if I put them away, I'll either (1) forget what I have planned or (2) forget where I've put the "stuff." Want to see what I have planned?

Flag Day Farm fabric. This is fabric I'll need for the patriotic quilt class I'll be teaching. Well, the two charm packs and the Schnibbles pattern AREN'T for the class, but I figured if I was ordering yardage for a class, I wanted a little something for me too.

And this has absolutely NOTHING to do with a class, a pattern, or anything else but fun! Have you seen this new stack and slice pattern from Pieces From My Heart (Sandy Gervais)? And the fabric to go with it? The pattern calls for a layer cake, but I ended up just buying several fabrics I like. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure I'll make the pattern with THESE fabrics---I'm pondering making the shoes to match the Hats quilt I've already made--but these fabrics were calling to me too! It's very difficult to resist polka dots. And fabric with high heeled shoes in yummy sherbet colors? Be still my heart!

And finally--in cleaning out the Sweat Shop, I decided I'd probably never use this book that was part of the goodies sent to me by C & T Publishing.

I don't really have a stash of batiks and I have too many other projects going on to start thinking about collecting a whole new category of fabrics, so I thought I'd give anyone who enjoys batiks a chance to win this book. Just leave me a comment saying you'd like to win it, and I'll put you in the drawing. I'll pick a winner on Tuesday night.

I hope to have a little tutorial to share with you tomorrow night about an applique method I've used occasionally--this is one that can be used with the Bette Bunny pattern if you don't have wool or just don't want to use wool. Also, a couple people have mentioned the pattern would make great placemats, and this is the method I'd recommend using if you'd like to try making bunny placemats, because I think cotton is much more washable than wool. So, see you then?!