This week I've been doing a bit of re-organizing in my mom-cave, and I keep tripping over these two special items because I don't really have a spot to keep them in. So thought I would share them for Vintage Thingy Thursday over at ColoradoLady's blog.
The little barrel chair is a kid-size seat that's been in my family since about 1960. Barrel chairs were popular around this time - must-haves for the discerning rec room of the Boomer family! My older sister, myself, and my younger brother all used this chair, as did my daughter. I've re-covered the seat a couple of times over the years - a simple tuck-under-and-staple job - but other than that the little chair is all original.
Seated in the little chair is a hand-sewn bunny I made in about 1990. Around that time, beautiful lop-eared rabbits in extraordinarily fancy dresses were all that on the craft show circuit, and oh how I wanted one. But oh how I did not want to pay the asking price for them, even though of course it was obvious how much time and love went into making them.
So I did the next best thing - I bought a pattern, and decided to make my own. Now make no mistake, this pattern tested my sewing skills. And although I opted for a very simple dress (no patience to make the fancy pinafores and lace-trimmed skirts), I think she turned out very well!
And my bunny story goes even a little further: at that time I had a step-daughter who was about 12 years old. She saw my bunny, and said she wanted to make one for her mother for Mother's Day. So we went to the fabric store to choose her materials, and over a weekend she made her own bunny with really just a little coaching from me in interpreting the pattern directions. She told me later how much her mom loved it, and to me that made the bunny pattern extra special.
Both the little barrel rocker and the handmade bunny are destined to be handed down to my daughter and her little ones when the time comes. Maybe I'll take time to whip up a fancier dress for Miss Bunny in the meantime - and if not, I'll at least recover the rocker seat a few more times.
