Hi there!

Well, I had the most wonderful birthday yesterday and.... I finished my "Within an Inch of My Life" project!

If you are on Facebook, you can go to my page The Raspberry Rabbits and see a little video I did.

Here's my final inch representing 365 days of stitching. I never missed a day and truly enjoyed every step on this journey.

I received this quote this morning. It's from Lynne Moncrieff of Somerset Studio
"The hear of it is... going with the flow, and not being weighed down with any potential pressure of thoughts of a finished project." This quote describes exactly how I felt on this year long journey. I was free to just stitch what I wanted without writing instructions, or worrying about a finished product. It was simply a creative journey for myself to mark my 50th year.

You can see on the left side of the photo that it ended a little wonky. Well, I came up with a great idea to finish off so it is even all the way around. I will share that in a future post once I get it stitched.

Here is an inch I did for a new Slow Stitching Club I joined.

Each month we will have a small challenge project to make. Our first challenge was to make a wonky name tag. Having unfinished edges is about as wonky as I can do. LOL! The hare was hand painted on linen by my dear Jules. I was excited to use it in this project. I added some wings for some wonkiness. ;)

Then, I did an inch for our annual community yard sale. David and I both declared that we are done with yard sales. Good gracious they are dreadful to do. It's not like we had that much stuff, but people are ridiculous and rude when you won't take 50 cents for something you are asking $5 for! We're done. We will donate things to those in need and smile.

David did another Liberty puzzle. We are passing them around with his family. He said this one was pretty challenging.

Of course, I spotted this piece right away. ;) It's so cool how they put little creatures and characters into the puzzle that only show up from the back side.

I'll close for now as I have to go finish packing for my trip to St. Simons Island in Georgia tomorrow. I'm teaching for the Coastal Georgia Quilt Guild. I'm really looking forward to fun and creative time with them.

Sabrina knows I'm getting ready to leave. She's always follows me around when my class trunks come out of the closet. She's a Mama's girl for sure.

Hugs and see ya next week!
Michelle

Lattes, Puzzles, Friends and Inchies

Hi ya and happy first day of Spring! It's still chilly here, but that's ok because it makes my latte lunch break extra cozy. There is a new coffee roaster cafe that opened up near my neighborhood. I've been a Starbucks snob forever, but.... I will admit, this latte from Casa Blanca is waaaaaaay better!! Oh my gosh! Plus, who doesn't love a little love in their cup? ;)

My sis-n-laws came for a visit last week. They brought this incredible puzzle!

It's made in the USA and is actual cut wood!

I will admit, we were addicted to putting it together. It was a true challenge and so much fun.

This is what the back looks like. Can you see all the other shapes in it like the octopus, starfish, turtle and sailboat? Isn't that cool? I highly recommend this company if you like to do puzzles. We are going to pass them around through David's family and then to our friends. I already have my eye on one to get David for his birthday in May.

I only have one week left of my "Within an Inch of my Life" project. I can't believe it is coming to an end. I've had so much fun!

Here's a few more of my inchies. I did one for the puzzle.

Then I did one for our sick little cottage. Our foundation was falling and we had to spend $10k to have steel peers put under the house. Of course, insurance won't cover it unless it actually falls down and you can't live in it. Don't get me started on that.

The right end of our house was then leveled as that had fallen the most. It was crazy watching the 2" plus gap under the baseboards go away as they lifted the house. I would much rather have spent that money on enclosing our screened porch! Poo!

This next inch was for International Women's Day.

I'm proud to be a strong, independent woman. Me at age 9. Hated dresses then, hate them now.

This is a note my friend, Janet Melanson, left on my Facebook business page.
"On this, International Women's Day..you are a great example of an awesome internet/blog personality..who champions independent design, caring for bunnies and all wildlife, and being an example of one of the best women of our time.. well done you!"

I will admit, she brought me to tears with that note. Sometimes people just don't know how much kind words can mean to someone. That was a huge hug for me that day when I needed it.

From Friday to Tuesday morning, I got to spend time with a new forever friend, Kelly Ashton. Kelly was in town for several quilting classes and lectures including one for my guild. She stayed with us and we immediately clicked. Isn't it funny how that happens? Kelly is a kind, loving and beautiful soul who also happens to be an amazing teacher and quilter. If your guild is looking for a teacher that can give a class on mastering points and "Y" seams, you need to contact Kelly. Her lecture and trunk show is also incredible! You can reach Kelly HERE. Tell her the bunnies and I said Hi!

Speaking of traveling and meeting friends, my passport finally arrived! I'll be going to England in October to see Sallieann and to finally meet Jules in person!! My best friend, Beth, is going on this adventure with me. We're sooooooooo excited!!!

Well, that's it for this week. I'll see you back here next Thursday instead of Wednesday. Have a relaxing weekend!

Light, love and hugs,
Michelle

Packing, Cutting and the Cat

Hi there!

I've been a busy bunny around here. I'm getting ready to visit the Sandhills Quilters Guild here in NC. We are going to have a fun play date together making my "Beekeeper Pincushion."

This is a finished pincushion by my friend, Moira MacAvoy, from the Charlottesville Quilters Guild class. Isn't it beautiful? Moira is an embroidery artist and it shows in her exquisite work.

David has been cutting hexies for me. I have loaded them in my SHOP if you are interested. I also have a few openings left this year for Play Dates if your group our guild would like to contact me. Information is also in my shop.

My "Within an Inch of my Life" project continues to grow and grow. Only a little over a month left to go! Did you like that rhyme? hee,hee,hee.

Yesterday's inch was for Sabrina and her love of towels.

She doesn't care about any of the other laundry that I fold on the bed, only the towels. She comes running to sit and roll all over them.

She just cracks me up!

Well, gotta get back to work. Have a great Valentines Day, a fun weekend and I'll see ya back here next week.

Hugs and friends,
Michelle

This week from Bunnyville...

Hi ya!

First, I want to thank you for your kind comments on last week's post. Blogging has been part of my life for a very long time now and so much has changed. It's not the number of comments I was concerned with, it was the number of readers. Well that and how many ridiculous "Spam" comments I get from bots that I then have to go and delete. It's so annoying! However,  I decided I will continue on here for a while longer and just see how it goes. It's truly nice to share this little place in my world with you.

So... that being said, here is this week from Bunnyville.

David finished painting the guest bedroom. While he was at it, he also painted my bookcase. It was handmade by a friend 27 years ago. It's real, solid wood. No press board crap! I still love books and enjoy collecting special ones. The afghan at the bottom of the bed was handmade by my dear friend Jade. It's alpaca yarn and is soooooooo warm! I'm designing a pillow for the bed and will be offering it in my shop once I get it done.

My office is the only room left to paint here at Bayfield Cottage. Once it's done, the entire cottage will have been painted inside and out. It sure did need it and we are both really happy with how it looks. My signature, calm, clean and serene.

I actually did my little inchie about my books.  :)

I'm pretty sure I will frame this when I'm done traveling with it. I will probably hang it in my office. It's so much fun going back and looking at them. So many people have been inspired to start their own project.

I added this really nice embroidery stitch guide to my shop.

I also added 16" x 16" pieces of 100% wool felt and

the iron on hexies that I'm using in my "Within an Inch of My Life" project. Hop on over to my SHOP if you would like to get them or some precut hexies and some Valdani too. The bunnies and I truly appreciate your friendship and support of our small business.

This is a little lemon tree my friend Patty gave me. It's been so cold here that I moved it into our bathroom where the sun just pours in. I think it's really happy here in this vintage pewter cup.

Of course, Sabrina knows what do do when it's cold outside. She finds her spot in the sun. She's so funny. She loves to sleep on a towel. Every morning when I make the bed, I have to put her towel on there too. Precious girl.

I was feeding Henry and Hannah this morning when I saw something fly by the window. I looked out to see this beautiful hawk sitting on the fence. It then few over to a tree and joined it's mate. I know they were discussing breakfast options. I told Henry and Hannah they should be very lucky they live inside and were not on the menu! ;)

Finally, I had a scare with Henry on Sunday and again last night. He stopped eating. We bunny parents know that it is not good when rabbits don't eat. It can literally be life threatening. The problem is fur. He has been shedding like crazy. All that nasty, yellow fur has been coming out in clumps. Even though I get tons off of him every day, rabbits groom themselves like cats do. However, unlike cats, they cannot cough up a hairball. Instead, the fur must pass through them, thus the reason they need a lot of hay and water.

I did all my tricks giving him drops for gas, making him run around the studio and syringing water into him. Luckily, that worked both times. This morning he was back to his normal self and I can say that the big shedding is over! Whew! It's always so scary with these fragile little creatures and needless to say, I didn't get much sleep either night. Little bugger.

See ya back here next week!
Michelle and the fuzzy ones

Hoppenings here in Bunnyville

Hi friend! How's your week been so far? Mine is busy but good. I have been thinking about this little old blog again. There use to be a time when I looked at my stats and saw that around 1200 people read my posts. Now.... I'm lucky there are 100. Is blogging just dead? Has Facebook and all other forms of Social Media really taken over? Hmmmm.... we'll see. What do you think?

Anyway, I wanted to share some "hoppenings" going on around here.

I have a small problem... I'm totally addicted to these cookies!!! LOL! They are so good. I eat two of them every day with my tea/coffee break. Sometimes... I eat them for breakfast!!!

My "Within and Inch of My Life" project continues to grow. I love working on this and friends in my Facebook group are having fun too!

Here's the one I did in honor of Dr. King. Love over hate always. I am completely worn out with all of the hate in the world right now. I try my best to focus on good things that we are all blessed with. Some days it's easier than others.

Indeed!

The moon has been so magical the last few nights. It's so pretty when it shines through the bare trees. I love looking at it and making wishes. :)

This is my talented and fun friend, Patty Marsden. She is an excellent seamstress.

This 100% wool coat was given to me by a quilt guild friend. She thought I might like to cut it up for my artwork. Instead, Patty made lots of alterations to make it a petite size and also replaced the lining.

I now have a classic dress coat to wear! I love it with my bunny scarf my sweet friend, Sallieann Harrison, brought me from England.

I actually just took this photo while I was writing this post. Hannah was giving Henry some kisses. Not like she has a choice. He literally just throws himself at her and demands to be groomed. My bunny friends understand this best. ;)

Hugs and see ya next week!

Michelle, the Bunnies and Sabrina kitty too

Securing Christmas and Hopping into 2019

Hi ya!

Thanks so much to everybunny who left a comment about me blogging again. I must say, I'm really happy to be back. I am truly looking forward to some fun times ahead!

So, how was your Christmas? Sabrina decided this was the best place to wait for Santa.

David and I started a tradition five years ago. We have a lovely Christmas Eve dinner and then go to the movies and eat a big bucket of popcorn on Christmas day. hee,hee,hee. It's fabulous! We went to see Aquaman. It was just ok in my opinion. I would rather have seen Mary Poppins, but David isn't keen on musicals.

I decorated for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving and while I have loved having my cottage decorated for the season, I decided today, as my friend Captain would say, to "Secure Christmas," which means put everything away.

Ever since Hurricane Florence, I feel like my little Bayfield Cottage has been in a state of "dirty." Now, local friends will say I'm nuts because I'm a clean freak, but you know how it is when it's your own home. The windows need cleaning, the baseboards need dusting, the cupboards and closets need to be cleaned out and everything needs to be tided.

Plus, David is off work for 12 days and is painting "Bunnyville" for me!!! I guess I'm just excited to have a fresh studio and I want everything to be ship shape before January 1st.

Speaking of January 1st, my "Within and Inch of Your Life" project/challenge will kick off then. If you have been following me on Instagram and Facebook, you will have seen my daily 1" hexies that I have been stitching every day since my 50th birthday on March 27.

I have had so many friends interested in doing their own piece, that I have decided to start a Facebook group "The Raspberry Rabbits - Within and Inch Club." Here I will share some inspiration and fun ideas on what you can stitch and how to put them together in unique ways. It will also be a place for friends to share what they are stitching, encourage each other and to stay motivated. We are going to have such a fun adventure together!

The club is FREE to join on Facebook and I still have some supplies available if you need them. Hop on over to my SHOP. 

Henry and Hannah continue to do very well. However, I still cannot put them together unsupervised in the same condo yet as Henry is like a toddler. I'm constantly telling him to "get out of there, put that down, stop pulling on the pen, don't dig the carpet, you can't chew that, stop pestering Hannah" and so on.

In addition to things like "Henry.... why did you put your toy in your water bowl?

"Ummmmm... it wasn't me."

Hee, hee,hee. The little bugger just cracks me up! Anyway, until he can calm down a bit, I don't want him pestering Hannah. My old girl likes her stuff they way it is and especially likes her own potty. ;)

See ya back here next week and looking forward to hopping into 2019!

Hoppy New Year,
Michelle, the Bunnies and Sabrina Kitty too