Guest Blogger: Nan Baker from Purrfect Spots is Wild about Bunnies!

Wild about bunnies!

Do you like bunnies? Well who doesn't like bunnies? They are so cute and soft and snuggly plus they make you think of Spring and Easter. And because I love bunnies, I designed a bunny quilt. But these are no ordinary bunnies. These adorable bunnies are the creation of the internationally famous watercolorist, Will Bullas. He has long been known in the art world for his fabulous paintings and many of them are of animals. However, Will has a wonderful sense of humor and that gives his art work a very different twist. He has received numerous awards and you can read all about him and see more of his artwork at by visiting his website.

I have known Will for almost 20 years.  I first used his designs in my needlework patterns featuring cross stitch.  Here are two of them shown in cross stitch.  "Dust Bunnies" is a favorite.

"Dust Bunnies"

Dust Bunnies was featured as a quilted wall hanging in The Quilt Pattern Magazine (March 2014).  Quilters Dream Wool was used in that quilt as well. 

"The Recruit",  in cross stitch is one of the blocks featured in the bunny quilt. No matter whether you are doing cross stitch or quilting, the bunnies are great designs.

"The Recruit"

After working with Will's images in needlework, I was delighted to be able to do a quilt adaptation. The result is my latest quilt called "Bullas Bunnies"!

"Bullas Bunnies"

Not only are the bunnies adorable with lots of personality, but the names that Will has given them are priceless. He has a wonderful sense of humor.

Starting at the top left and going across are:

 Hare Style with a bowtie. Hareball with a baseball – think Spring training. Easter Fashion  - the baby duck and chick have bunny ears. Cottontails and Cute Buns(no comment needed here). The Recruit (shown earlier in cross stitch) shows a baby duck with his bunny ears. Bunnet all decked out in her Easter Bonnet. Honeybun has a bee on his nose. Baby Talk shows cute baby chicks and a baby bunny.

The fabrics used in this quilt are by Hoffman using mostly their 1895 Watercolor Collection. Because of the painted look of the fabrics, it is just "purrfect" to use for the bunnies as it gives them a natural shading. You can add more shading if you want, but many times it is not necessary. The speciality threads that make all the cute expressions on the bunnies' faces are by Kreinik Threads. Working with the threads, you can make the long whiskers on the bunnies plus give them eyelashes and ear fuzz! I even used their iron-on ribbon to make the bee in Honeybun. 

But one question you might ask is how did these bunnies get so fluffy? Well thanks to Quilters Dream Batting, their Dream Wool did the trick. I had never quilted with wool or a "puffy" loft, so I was a little apprehensive. I checked with the staff at Quilters Dream, told them about the quilt and what I was trying to accomplish. Their suggestion was Dream Wool. The quilt measures 46" x 63" just a little larger than a throw. I don't have a long arm machine, just a regular sewing machine so it looked like a monumental task. And with the extra "fluff" I wondered how it was going to work. (Picture 6) 

Well my worries were unfounded. Dream Wool was very easy to work with and not real bulky like I had feared. I must tell you it quilted like a dream (Oh I think that is their saying.) But it is true and if you haven't tried it, I urge you to do so. And if you have any questions their great staff will be more than happy to help you. 

I hope you like the Bullas Bunnies pattern and when you do start making those bunnies, I hope you will share pictures of your bunnies and your quilt. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to let me know. I also would like to thank Quilters Dream Batting for allowing me to share my story about the bunnies on their blog.

~Nan Baker

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 Patterns: Quilt Woman.com