Rescued bunny has babies

Mama with her baby bump before the delivery.

One of the abandoned bunnies that my daughter rescued a few days ago just had babies! Six of them! A pile of fuzzy, wriggling, squealing babies! 

The proud mama, the black bunny, is shown above with her baby bump before giving birth. Papa is pure white and settled comfortably into his temporary home.

Julia only picked up this baby because it was flopping around wildly and she wanted to see if something was wrong, but it settled right down in her hand. She researched first to make sure the mother won't abandon a baby if a human touches it. It's all good.

Julia set up this little nursery just in the nick of time in her spare bedroom. She reported tonight that mama and the babies are all doing fine, but papa doesn't like being kept away from them. 

When the babies are weaned, she will try to find homes for them, adopting them out in pairs so they won't be lonely. She will have mom and dad neutered and spayed and require that adoptive parents do the same to avoid the cycle of too many pet rabbits being abandoned.

The nursery setup before the big day.

Have a colorful day

In the stillness of the quiet

My friend Dru sent me this quote by Howard Thurman from her meditation session today. Namaste.

"In the stillness of the quiet, 

if we listen,

we can hear the whisper of the heart

giving strength to weakness,

 courage to fear, 

hope to despair."

Howard Washington Thurman (1989-1981) was an African-Amerian author, philosopher, theologian, education and civil rights leader.

The photos are from today's neighborhood walk.

My patio buddies are happy for spring.

Have a colorful day

Spring color in the neighborhood

Our neighborhood is popping with spring color, just like the tiny house quilt that I'm wrapping up. That's the back of the quilt, above, and a newly opened rhododendron, below.

The quilt for my daughter's new house features cheery, clear colors reminiscent of the blooms in our Northwest neighborhood.

I strolled up and down our street today as a break from sewing on the binding. Every day there is more color!

I put bunnies on the quilt label and found this yellow bunny up the street. Julia has three pet rabbits and just rescued two more last night and is working on finding homes for them. The poor things were huddled together under a car. A neighbor said their owners had moved and just dumped them outside.

The rhodies here are so big that sometimes they dwarf the houses! 

This is the side of our house. Believe me when I say these flowers are on their own, because I truly do not have a green thumb. All I do is turn on the sprinkler in the summer. They just grow big in the Northwest.

These next couple are also from our yard and are blooming despite my neglect.

 Have a colorful day

Hoppy Easter

My three cuddly grand bunnies

wish you a Happy, Hoppy Easter!

Full moon

Tonight is the full moon, so I thought I would do a full moon post using quotes and details from some of my quilts. This April moon is known as the pink moon because of pink flowers that appear in early spring. Here we go ...

"Tell me the story

of how the sun loved the moon so much

 that she died every night

just to let him breathe."

-- Hanako Ishii

"The moon does not fight. It attacks no one. It does not worry. It does not try to crush others. It keeps to its course, but by its very nature, it gently influences. What other body could pull an entire ocean from shore to shore? The moon is faithful to its nature and its power is never diminished."
       -- Deng Ming-Dao, from Everyday Tao: Living with Balance and Harmony 

"But even when the moon looks like it is waning ... 

it's actually never changing shape. 

Don't ever forget that."

-- Ai Yazawa, from Nana

Be like the moon!

Snippets

My favorite perfectly broken in denim shirt has a hole under the back yoke, so I decided to patch it boro style. It's my first try at this type of Japanese mending. I did a blog post on boro here:  japanese-boro-jackets-in-shibori-dragon.html

Then I baked a chocolate wacky cake, which doesn't have eggs or butter and is mixed right in the baking pan. Google "wacky cake" and you'll find recipes. I added extra cocoa powder and mixed instant espresso powder in with the water. This is a cake to make me feel good this weekend, because of ...

... how this sign that was posted at the Y yesterday spoke to me:

Our yoga teacher also left us with this quote:

"A flower does not think of

competing with the flower

next to it.

It just blooms."

Our rhodies started blooming!

Have a colorful day

Woolies inspiration

After missing three Woolies meetings in a row, I finally got back on Monday. What inspiration!

As I entered Pam's house, everyone was gathered around Bobbie's spectacular wool applique animal quilt on a dramatic black background.  It was one and a half years in the making, and she finished it while she spent the winter in Arizona. The pattern is "Folk-Tails" by Sue Spargo.

Bobbie was a busy bee in Arizona. Here is a block that she started in a class. The soft grey background and cheery flowers look like Spring here in the Northwest. This block is still under construction.

Judy also had a large quilt to show. It's pinned for quilting, but otherwise it's done -- and beautifully done! I forgot to get the pattern name.

Here's a detail of her embroidery:

While I was gone, the group decided to make table mats. Linda was working on her round "Songbirds Table Mat" by Primitive Gatherings ...

 ... while Carolynn worked on a long version. I think I'll make a long one for my dining room table.

Donna was just getting started on this wool block:

 Pam worked on this one:

Here are just a few of us. There were about a dozen at the meeting, and we sat around Pam's living room stitching, chatting and snacking for almost four hours. It's one of my favorite days of the month.

These last two aren't wool, but they're colorful. The rug was made by Judy from a jelly roll pack and strips of batting, and she brought it to the meeting. These rugs are popular now with quilters.

And I bought these pink and green fat quarters over the weekend, not realizing until I got home that they matched the tulips in my kitchen. Spring has sprung!

Have a colorful day

Projects, projects

I finally unpacked my sewing bin from Sedona, plus I made a trip to the Quilted Strait yesterday and added some new purchases. So now my projects are all organized on my sewing table and ready to go -- I just have to decide what to do first!

I bought the jacket pattern and drapey rayon batik fabric at the quilt shop in Sedona. I haven't made a garment in ages, but they had a sample on display and it sucked me in. I'm going to make the longer version.

And yesterday, the sample "Hello Pouches" also sucked me in. The top half is made from vinyl, so you can see what's in the pouch. 

I also bought backing fabric yesterday for the two tiny house quilts. All the fabric was 20% off, which is why Carol and I went. It was also a rainy day, which always calls for a trip to a quilt shop.

In Prescott last month, I bought these luscious green prints to use in reversible placemats. I already have plenty of napkins in that green, because it's one of my favorite colors and I consider it my neutral.

I'm still working on my wool applique. 

It's taken over a big portion of my work table, with oodles of threads, trims, buttons and beads. It's a happy spot!

And I just realized that I never sewed a hanging sleeve or label on my color block quilt from last year.  Must get that done before we hang our STITCH library show next month.

The deck off of my sewing room is looking inviting, but it's been raining off and on all morning and now we're under a gale warning, so I won't be sewing out there today. Soon those rhodies will be blooming!

Have a colorful day