It's an Easter parade!

Can you believe Easter is almost upon us? Another year is flying by way too quickly! Our March started off warm and spring-like, but sure fooled us into thinking it was spring. Last week, the temperature got down into the 20s and all the new green growth on our hydrangea bushes died off. Do any of you gardeners know if the hydrangea will grow back this year? Or is it done for? I'm so sad because we didn't even think to cover up the hydrangea bushes like we did the tulips and daffodils. 

In my last post, I mentioned that I was working on stitching and finishing six new Easter themed pieces. Well, I'm happy to say that they're done and they're ever-so-cute (if I do say so myself!). Many of you have already stitched these adorable designs from With Thy Needle and Thread's "Jelly Bean Jubilee" booklet so they'll probably look familiar. I did make a few changes, though, so I'll run through them for you and then share my final display.

More bunnies and chicks have descended upon my house--I'm running out of room to display them!

Let's get this parade started, shall we? First up is "Penelope and Peeps" featuring Miss Penelope Rabbit and three tiny chicks (can you spot them nestled among the letters?). Isn't she adorable with her little carrot balloon? I stitched this one (as I did all six) on 40 ct. raw natural Newcastle. The only changes I made to this pillow were to use Anchor 0001 for the white and DMC 725 for the yellow. The yellow that was suggested was just not showing up on this fabric so I opted for DMC 725. To finish this piece, I sewed on a pretty blue and white gingham, glued on some white miniature rick-rack,  surrounded the pillow with handmade white cording, and attached a small polka-dot yo-yo. What do you think?

"Penelope & Peeps" all finished up

Next up is a trio of waddling yellow chicks. Even though two of the chicks are trying to pretend they're rabbits by donning white bunny ears, they aren't fooling any of us, are they? On the left (below) is "Jelly Bean Delivery" and on the right is "Easter Parade." Some of the changes I made to these include changing the yellow to DMC 725, changing the colors of some of the jelly beans (I am not a fan of purple so I changed those to shades of blue). The biggest change is that I reversed the "Jelly Bean Delivery" design so the single chick was facing toward the pair of chicks rather than facing in the same direction. I just thought they would look cuter that way when displayed in the bowl. It kind of looks like they are saying "hello" to each other. Yellow gingham fabric, rick-rack, and handmade cording made for an easy finish.

"Jelly Bean Delivery" and "Easter Parade"

 

Then we have a pair of white rabbits. Were both rabbits supposed to be white? No, the girl bunny was charted to be brown, but I changed her coloring. I wanted to make both into oval finishes so I added a few "doo-dads" to the outer borders of  "Let's Paint Eggs" on the right. I also changed the main portion of the egg color to white rather than the suggested yellow and changed the purple stripes on the eggs to  blue. For the "Jelly Bean Garden" finish on the left, I also added a couple of white flowers to shape it into an oval, changed the colors and rearranged some of the jelly beans, and changed her dress color to DMC 598 to match the boy bunny's shirt. Aren't they the cutest couple?

"Jelly Bean Garden" and "Let's Paint Eggs" made into oval finishes

Finally, we have a sweet yellow chick, complete with Easter bonnet, in "Tip-toeing Through the Tulips." The chick is, once again, stitched in DMC 725 and I used Classic Colorworks "Ripe Melon" for the pink tulips (as well as for all of the pinks in each design). The original chart only had three bees, but I added four more  (don't ask me why :). The little bow around Miss Chick's neck is made with two strands of DMC 598.

"Tip-toeing Through the Tulips" (with a few extra bees!)

Here are a couple more close-ups...

 

 

And here are all six nestled into my dough bowl all set to shine on Easter weekend. Do you have a favorite? I'm sure my grandson will adore each of them!

My six finishes from With Thy Needle and Thread's "Jelly Bean Jubilee" booklet

I so enjoyed stitching each of these and they stitched up fairly quickly (as you can tell since I managed to do all six in less than a month)! Who else has stitched these cuties? I just adore With Thy Needle and Thread designs, don't you? Especially the holiday designs--each one is so whimsical and sweet.

I received a couple of adorable stitched Easter cards from two friends "across the pond". How sweet of June (in England) and Gabi (in Germany) to think of me at Easter time! I have them sitting on the shelf right above my kitchen sink where I can enjoy them all week. Thank you both so very much!

A lovely card and other goodies from June!

Such a cute Easter card from Gabi!

So, are you ready for Easter? I still have a ton of stuff to do before everyone arrives--beds to make up, soup and dessert to prepare, cleaning, a bit of shopping, etc. I know that my family will pitch in when they arrive, but I do like to have as much done ahead of time as possible (and that way, I get to have more time to spend playing with Mister B!). I really enjoyed reading about your planned Easter menus--they all sound delicious! I'm making a roast chicken (with vegetables) and some baked ziti (for the two vegetarians). My grandson will be helping me make the bunny cake and some bunny biscuits. That should be fun and I'll try to remember to take a photo of them to share with you next time.

I'll leave you with this photo of five-year-old Carol on Easter Sunday in 1960 (which, based on a quick Google search, was on April 17th that year). My mother said I was talking to my grandparents before I left for church. I'm sure I'm filling them in on the contents of my Easter basket! Look at my tiny white gloves, the shiny black patent leather Mary Jane shoes, and my sweet Easter bonnet. Best of all is the smocked dress which I know for sure that my maternal grandmother made for me. I wish I knew what color it was; but whether it was pink or blue or yellow or green, I know she made it with lots of love. She was such a special woman in my life and I'm sure my love of needle and thread came from her. And now I'm crying... Holidays always make me miss my parents and grandparents so very much now that they're gone. I know those of you who have lost special relatives understand...

Me at age five! Easter morning in April 1960 (Buffalo, New York)

So, that's it for March--on to a (hopefully!) warmer and sunnier April. Thank you, one and all, for your wonderful comments and emails--I always appreciate hearing from you! I wish each of you who celebrates, a blessed Easter Sunday. I hope your time spent with family and friends is filled with happy times, delicious food, and new memories made. Take care now, everyone! Bye for now...