A few days ago my husband and I celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary. Each year I make a piece to mark the day. This year I made a little book that contains images of all of our bunny companions.
Our First Bunny
Our New Bunny Pair
Materials List
Flash cards 9″ x 3″, kraft paper, roofing felt, tree wrap, printed photos and labels, contact paper, PVA, cotton and linen cord, pit fired ceramic beads, wax, hardware cloth, and crimping sleeves.
Dash hadn’t seemed quite right for a couple of days. Wednesday morning he wasn’t able to stand. Back leg weakness is a common problem with older bunnies. He wasn’t interested in eating or drinking. Bad sign. He let me hold him. He actually laid on my chest. It is a selfish thing. When bunnies are unwell they often don’t resist being held. Dash had a seizure. Then he died.
Six months ago Elliot died, now Dash. The house seems so empty.
What do you do with all of the care, love, energy, and time that belonged to the furry ones?
Dashiell Greeting
Elliot Greeting
Dinking around with adding stones in the garden.
Definitely needs a better curve.
Dash noticed the changes right away.
I was in Michaels looking for a bead needle and ran across ceramic bunny beads. They made me smile. After finding a bead needle, I went back to look at the bunny beads.
What do you do with an impulse buy?
First I made a pair of earrings.
Then another pair of earrings.
Made a necklace with the beads strung on linen.
The thing is, I really don’t wear jewelry, especially cute jewelry.
When I am not working in the studio or garden, I wear a necklace that I made with a pair of pewter magnolia earrings.
The necklace is waxed linen cord with a bound holey rock from a NY Day visit to Shell Beach. My wedding band. Part of a pair of bunny earrings. One earring lost at a garden supply shop. The earrings were a gift from my husband. And a small locket my niece gave me. It is funny that I actually gave her the locket years earlier for Christmas. The locket has a photo of my husband and Nora, a bunny who lived with us. Everything is sentimental.
December 21st will be the 4th anniversary of the death of Nora, the sweet little bunny who lived with us.
Back to the impulse buy, finally I made this bobble.
It is closer to my work and my necklace. I like the combination of a spring and black safety pin.
When would I ever wear it? I tried fastening it to a jacket, that didn’t work. I tried fastening it to the laces of shoes. That didn’t work.
Last night I hung the bobble in the kitchen. It is too small to be on its own.
This morning had an idea for the bunny beads. Leaning toward stringing the beads together with Birch twigs, safety pins, and linen fiber. Could hang them from the kitchen spice rack filled with bunnies. Seems like it could be a fitting solution.
The memorial piece will have a penny dated for each year of my mother’s life.
I have a stash of pennies, but did not have one for each year from 1930 to 2018. Found a coin shop in town that had reasonably priced pennies to complete the piece.
Interesting that 1943 is a steel penny.
Loom Knitting Pleated Pattern with Undyed Wool
Today will have completed 35 rows of 89 rows for the pennies. Will need to knit a bit more for overlap.
When the loom knitting is done, the pennies attached, and important years indicated, a box will be made of cedar as a home for the memorial piece.
Normally I would work all day to complete a project. But I have to limit my (repetitive) working time to five rows per day. I had surgery on my hand in June, with some working too much too soon complications. Developed scar tissue with extreme sensitivity. Still working to gain back finger strength and manual dexterity.
Dash enjoyed helping with my favorite desensitizing therapy.
