Belated Birthday Bunny

Since I was in the mode of sewing - making the simple elephant and bunny patterns to go with my new book - I finally managed to make a very belated birthday bunny for my friend Karen. In her birthday card, many months ago, I had included swatches from about 10 vintage fabrics that I thought she'd like, so she got to choose. I love how it turned out.

With a larger scale print like this, I have to be more careful in how I place the patterns so that large motifs will be in good places.
I always love how these bunnies look from the back too.

This stuffed bunny pattern was inspired by the bunny I created for this book by Linda Sue Park for Clarion some years ago. When I made the first bunny, I thought it was the best thing I'd ever made!
I started selling them in my Etsy shop, and they were very popular.
Here's a sampling of those I sold:

There was a thrill in listing a new bunny and having it purchased usually within hours. Compared to the long process of illustrating a book, the immediate response and connection with buyers was so satisfying, and a sale always made me want to make a new one. Also, each bunny was different.
But it was certainly far from cost-effective, so eventually I had to stop selling bunnies.
However, this bunny was the inspiration for my next book, My Blue Bunny Bubbit which will be published by Clarion this fall.
It's funny the circularity of things, how one thing leads to another in a way you'd never expect!