Grandma Bunny

Yesterday, I promised to share my mother's first sewing project in the barn... it's actually more of a story. So, please go grab a cup of something good, for this is a tale of enchantment... about real life magic that happens when you least expect it. My mother had not planned to be at the barn during Christmas and my daughter's birthday. She was supposed to be overseas, and had sent her holiday gifts in the mail. How she wound up in her very own sewing corner (with her life long collection of supplies) on the day her youngest grandchild turned four is a wild story in itself... maybe to be told another day. My mother had no choice but to whip up something before the snowplows cleared the roads and we came to get her for cake and ice cream. She wanted to make my daughter a doll, but knew that I had plans for that sometime soon. She took out a very special piece of cream colored organic flannel. It was the last piece she had left from the Moses basket she had lined for my son a decade earlier. What could it be? Who would it be? All morning she worked on her very first softie. No pattern, no tutorial, no internet... just letting this sweet soft bunny evolve in her hands... She sewed her a skirt and a beautiful velvet shawl. Grandma Bunny was born at the barn, but she was already a Grandma, wise and full of stories to tell. When she puts her shawl in her lap it transforms into a "story blanket". My mother is a master at telling tales... she can pull any aged child in and keep them completely engaged. You should hear the stories she taught Grandma Bunny to share. So, of course my daughter loved her instantly.

There's more. This is where the magic happened... the very next day, my mother and I were showing our good friend, Pat, the sewing room. There was a little jumble of antique cloth on the floor. Nothing out of the ordinary for the barn studio. "What's this, Mom?" I asked almost tripping over the little mound. "It was in a box of stuff from a sale, years ago. I don't even know and haven't had a chance to go through it yet," said my mom... or at least something like that. The three of us immediately went to examine the pile. When I remember this moment, I can hear fairy bells ringing, but I tend to be a romantic loon! So glad Pat was there to be our witness! Each little scrap of cloth turned out to be a piece of exquisite doll clothing from who knows how long ago. When my mother picked up the teeny, tiny white apron she gasped. She realized each piece was exactly Grandma Bunny's size! *Goose bumps* How do these things happen? She set about sewing on tiny buttons where they were missing and doing a little mending. Now, that Grandma has the most stylish, vintage wardrobe any bunny has ever had! Here are a few of my favorites, but there are others...

Would you like a little fashion show?

Grandma Bunny admiring her dressing gown...

Getting ready to cook up something in her little white apron...

Now where is that Carrot Soup recipe? (the lace peeking out from under the apron is from a pair of pantaloons!


Waiting for my daughter in her white shift...

It's time for a story... when my mother isn't here to help tell stories, Grandma Bunny enjoys this book of American Indian Fairy Tales. This book was my grandfather's when he was a boy in the 20's. He read it to my mother when she was small. Now, I help Grandma Bunny read it to my children. We really are a crazy, sentimental family! Much too romantic! We're not all sugary and sweet, just love the past and keeping it alive is pure pleasure.



All ready for bed in her union suit pajamas...


Since this post is already over the top... way over the top with magical nonsense, I must include one last picture. I don't have a choice... this is Grandma Bunny's daughter, the first softie I ever made when I was a little girl. My mother saved her all of these years, and I rediscovered her last summer at the barn. Her little ears are threadbare, but she's loved all the same.

I wonder if my daughter will make a white bunny, too! Traditions... sometimes they happen without your awareness that they are even taking root.

Congratulations if you made it through this epic post. I'll be back with my usual fare soon!