Hoppy Friday! Well actually, Hoppy Harrington Day!

Hi ya! Hoppy Friday!

Today I am grateful for my sweet, ever so soft, fuzzy, boy Harrington. Four years ago yesterday, I brought him home from the rabbit rescue.

I really can't believe four years has gone by so quickly. I have learned to cherish each and every day I have with my rabbits. It is a gift I treasure.

Harrington is the softest bunny I have ever had. His fur is like silk. Of course, all his personality comes from his wonky ear. ;)

I love his fuzzy feet and how he is ticklish when I give him nail trims.

I love when he does his "pout" face

I love how he does a big flop on the floor and takes a nap. When a rabbit does this, they feel safe and happy.

I love how he pretends he's just going to "lick" my sewing cabinet not bite it. ;)

But most of all, I love how absolutely sweet he is and how blessed I am that God brought him to me.
 
I have received a bunch of emails from friends telling me how much they enjoy my animal stories and to keep writing them. So, I decided I would share the post on Harrington's story from 2010.

Razzy bunny had passed away in July of that year. Razzy was friends with Sugie, who you will see in the post. She was such a sweet girl. I lost her in April of 2011. Hannah came to be Harrington's friend and live in Bunnyville in May of 2011. Also, you will see Harrington's fur looking discolored in the photos. This was from him being kept out in the sun by his previous owners.

From 2010:

Doorways of Happiness - Part 2

So yesterday I told you about the rabbit I drew for a new pattern and named it Sir Walter Harrington. I also posted the quote from Helen Keller about one door of happiness closing while another is opening. Here is the rest of the story.

Since Razzy's death, Sugie and I have been terribly sad. We miss him so much. When a rabbit is "bonded" to another rabbit, it can be a little bit more complicated. You see, rabbits can grieve so much that they make themselves sick and they can truly die of a broken heart. David and I kept a good eye on Sugie and I spent tons of time in the studio with her and gave her lots of attention....but....

she was still incredibly sad. Then, she got sick. Sugie has a genetic disorder called Megacolon syndrome. She will be prone to issues with her digestive tract for her entire life. I have learned what I can do to keep her issues under control. However, stress can triger more issues. She got sick and then got an eye infection. It's like she was crying all the time. I'm still grieving the loss of my Razzy boy, but I didn't want Sugie to die of sadness either...so

A friend of mine told me to go visit a lady an hour away who has a bunny rescue. She had a sweet little bunny named Snoopy who looked just like Sugie. She also had another boy named Simba. Both were under a year old. A little bit of a concern for me as Sugie is 2 and baby bunnies and adult bunnies eat different stuff. I went to the rescue on August 28th. Bonnie, the lady at the rescue, got Snoopy and Simba out of their pens and put them in playpens for me to visit with them. Then out of the clear blue she says, "Oh, did I tell you about Sir Harrington?" WHAT??!!!! did you say???
"Oh" Bonnie says, "I thought I mentioned him." My heart skipped a beat and I got goosebumps. My rabbit drawing I named...the font I use (Harrington) on my patterns....Bonnie is a weaver and also does ceramics (visit her here). On each of the bunny pens in her rescue, she makes a little ornament with the bunny's name on it. I walked to the pen and saw this.

She opened the door and Sir Harrington came running to her. She handed him to me and he snuggled against my neck. I put him in the playpen and he danced around and did binky's (that's bunny talk for happy bunny dance). When I sat down on the grass, he came running over to me and licked my hand and layed down for me to pet him. Bunny people know that when a rabbit licks you, they are saying they love you. Even when I went into the other playpens to visit the other two, Sir Harrington kept hopping around and dancing trying to get my attention. His coloring...chocolate...like Razzy. Needless to say, I filled out the adoption papers and we made our way to Bunnyville.

Harrington is a mixed rabbit, but mostly Havana . His ears go up, his ears go down, but he prefers one up and one down. He comes running for attention and closes his eyes when you pet him.

When one door of happiness closes, another door opens. We just have to find the strength and be willing to look at the open door and walk through it. Sugie and I both needed a hug for our hearts. The hug was Harrington.

Hoppy Friday dear friends.

xx,
Michelle, the Bunnies and the Kitties too

Fellowship of the Flowers Week 35 and our August project!

Eight months have gone by...eight months! It's so hard to believe how fast this year is going.

Today I'm delighted to share our eighth project in "The Fellowship of the Flowers."

Since we are heading into the season of celebrations, I thought it would be fun to use the flowers from weeks 18, 19 and 20 to get a head start on gift making.

So, I used the flowers to make "Sneaky Snack Mats." Around here, I call little afternoon treats "sneaky snacks."  Not that I'm sneaking it, but it's just fun to say. hee,hee,hee.

If you are a member in the Fellowship, your instructions will be emailed to you today. If you would like to join the Fellowship, or take a hop through the last 34 weeks and 7 projects, please click on the tab at the top of the blog. 

This is the flower for Week 35.

Here's how it looked before stitching and embellishing.

I had some blue rick rack and liked the way it looked with the blue fabric.

I think the beads added a fun touch.

Fall will be upon us shortly, (unless you are in Australia and then Spring is hopping in). Time to get back to some stitching and crafting.

Light, love and hugs to you,
Michelle and the fuzzy crew

"Falling for You" - My new Folk Art Fusion design

Woo hoo! It's finally finished! I'm so excited to share my new Folk Art Fusion design with you!

This was so much fun to make. This was a redesign of a previous pattern and I made it into a pillow.

I was inspired to redesign this as a Folk Art Fusion piece and use the blue because of our gorgeous North Carolina blue skies in the fall.

I imagined squirrels hurrying about getting ready for a grand wedding celebration under a giant acorn. Everyone in the forest was invited. ;)

This was the first time I have machine quilted the wool felt background. I really like the texture it adds. What do you think?

National Nonwovens sent me the correct color so now I have the wool and Valdani pearl cotton Kits available in my SHOP. 

The pattern is available as a Download only. You can hop over to my Craftsy store to purchase it.

I think it looks really pretty in my living room and I'm looking forward to enjoying it all through the season.

Thank you for your friendship and support by purchasing my designs and kits. The bunnies, kittens and I truly appreciate you!

Light, love and hugs,
Michelle and the fuzzy crew

Hoppy Friday!

I know, I know, you're here for the kitten photos. Hee, hee,hee. It's hard to resist all that cuteness. I am really enjoying my time with them. Remember, I still have three available for adoption to "inside homes." Contact me if you are interested. They will be ready to go to their new homes around September 21. I have given them "temporary" names in the meantime.

D.K. (aka David's Kitty), likes to use Miss Tiggy Wiggins as a pillow during nap time.

They will be four weeks old on Sunday. I love their blue eyes, but I'm told that like babies, their eye color will change to whatever eye color they magically want to be.

This week my cuddle puddle has begun to spread out and explore. It's so much fun watching them walk around like a bunch of drunk clowns.

Little Tabitha is the most adventurous. She was the first to open her eyes, the first to walk and now the first to run and explore.

 She is the smallest of the bunch, but has the biggest personality.

They have all decided they like to sit on my feet.

Miss Tiggy Wiggins continues to melt my heart with her sweetness.

She loves to crawl up in my lap and sit for a bit. Maybe I should read her some Peter Rabbit stories. ;)

D.K. is such a handsome boy and a real sweetheart.

His markings are just gorgeous with the black, gray, white and tan.

I think his dark nose is so cute. He could even be named Charlie for Charlie Chaplin.

This is Shamus de Barrington. He will be going to live with my friend, Gerri.

He is such a lovey boy. He is the biggest of the puddle, but he is laid back, loves to be pet and is an absolute sweetheart.

I keep telling him he has the perfect name because his markings look so royal.

Here he is posing for a spread in GQ Cat Magazine. ;)

They love to play and wrestle. Here Tiggy Wiggins is wrestling with Shamus while D.K. is refereeing.

Tabitha decided to try and wrestle Sabrina. 

Their favorite game is the "Pile On" game where they all try to be the one on top of the pile. They usually fall asleep instead and return to being my little cuddle puddle.

The bunnies are doing great. In fact, next Friday will be a bunny post. Have a great weekend and we'll see you back here Monday for my new Folk Art Fusion pattern, "Falling for You."

xx,
Michelle, the Bunnies, Sabrina and the Cuddle Puddle

Fellowship of the Flowers

Here we go with Week 34!

Every time I look at this flower, it reminds me of a print on a little girls dress.

I think it just looks sweet and innocent.

Maybe I'm hanging out with bunnies and kittens so much I want to stitch sweet look stuff. hee,hee,hee.

We sure have come a long way with the flowers. Click on the Fellowship of the Flowers tab above and take a stroll back through all of them and the projects.

Hugs and see ya Friday!

xx,
Michelle and the sweet fuzzy crew