Coneja’s person first wrote to me back in August.  She was concerned that the Bunny needed to be replaced from the neck down.  Here are her diagnosis photos:

As you can see, her legs, arms and torso were made from the same very thin fabric as her skirt, and over time they just got thinner and thinner.  But her head, hands, and feet were all still sturdy, just a little deflated.

We agreed the best treatment would be to give her a spa, then recover all her clothes in new fabric.  We’d replace the bodice and skirt, but leave the trim as a memory, as it was structural so was ok to keep wearing. 

It took a couple months, but Coneja flew to the hospital in October to begin treatment.  Here she is starting her spa with her bubble bath:

She got restuffed next and of course, got a heart of original stuffing.

I thought those flowers would be nice for her and her person completely agreed: Oh my gosh the heart is perfect ! Thank you so much!

Next up, choosing fabric for her new clothes.  We discussed a couple options.  Flannel was a bit sturdier than her current clothes, but velvet was the next step, and brighter colors, and that’s what her person and I agreed on.  I was going to recover most of the clothes, but replace the skirt.  It was just too thin to hold new fabric.  Here she is bright and sturdy:

Still herself but ready for many more years of hugs!

She flew home and arrived just this week.  Her person wrote:

She just got here! Omg she is actually perfect!!! Thank you so much Beth, you’re incredible !! Even my mom started crying when she saw her!
Thank you so so much!!

This week has seen several Georges (three monkeys and a bear) and inquiry requests from several Zachs.  But today’s story isn’t about names (although I have been collecting a list of names for another post).  Today’s story is about Bunny.  A completely different bunny from the last two.  His family wrote:

“My daughter’s stuffed bunny is in serious need of repair. He’s very dirty because I’m afraid to wash him. We’ve done a bit of repair on him ourselves, but this is beyond anything I can do.”

These are some of the diagnostic photos they sent:

A couple of the patches (like the one on his cheek) were original to this bunny, who was supposed to be patched, but the others weren’t.  The hope was to remove his old added patches, repair his wounds, clean him, and getting him looking close to new.  We knew going in that the sharpie around his nose (that pink line) probably wouldn’t come out.

He flew in from AZ a few weeks ago with a very sweet note:

Hello!!

My name is Bunny (sometimes Baby Bunny).  I belong to O. H.  We have been best friends since she was 2.  She will be 9 in just a few days!  She is very sad that I will be leaving for a while, but everything will work out in the end. 

Thank you for looking after me!!

–Bunny

As you may have already guessed, Bunny started his treatment with a spa. Here he is in one of severalbaths.  You can see he’s starting to clean up, and his sharpie tattoos are standing out more clearly:

Once he was clean and dry, we needed to find a fabric close to his cleaned color for transplants for both hole repair and scar/patch minimization.  There were several options, from white white, to off white, to pale gray:

His person opted for the middle option, the pale gray.  Bunny’s surgery proceeded, including a heart with a bit of his original stuffing.

Then I worked on his many wounds.  Soon, he was done with surgery and it was time get his chubbiness right.  Here are the photos I sent with his spine open for chubbiness adjustment:

The response was, “ that looks perfect!” So I closed him up.  Here he is, awaiting his flight home earlier this morning:

And that’s the story of the non-striped bunny. :-)  On to the Georges, and a Cheese-Kun, and Rainbow the dalmatian, and another bunny.

Have a good weekend everyone, and take care of each other.

beth

Patches the Quilted Bunny

First, Happy New Year all! I hope that 2022 is a year of hope and happiness for you all. :-)

Ok, the story of Patches the bunny. He was a very well loved, quilted cloth bunny, who, at 25 years old, had been worn down by his adventures. Here is his diagnosis photo:

Fortunately, I had just treated a similar bear, whose condition was a bit more stable, so I had a good idea of what his legs should be, shape and proportionwise:

As you can see, the bear had a number of quilted areas recovered (pink dots, turquoise dots, blue marble, check and leopard), and that was the plan for Patches too. The new fabric is always a bit brighter, and darker, but fades to blend better over time.

Patches was going to have lots of new patches, new quilted and new quilted legs, but keep his sock ear. Patches arrived from the East Coast and surgery began. It took nearly two months… hand sewing each little patch takes time you know. :-)

Here he is, almost all better:

One final tweak… a little patch on the hole of his sock ear, and he was ready to fly back East:

His person wrote:

“Patches arrived home safely. He looks great! Showed my son a pic and he thought I bought a new bunny … :)”