The Lucy and Olivia Bunny Project (aka Bunnywatch 2017)

In December 2016 I met up with Amy Jo at a church function.  Amy Jo is Olivia Jo's mom. Olivia Jo is my granddaughter Lucy's best friend in the whole world.  Amy Jo remarked that she loved the knitted toys I made for Lucy.

And then I Had An IDEA!

I could make a little bunny for each little girl, and dress them in winter-themed dresses.  Then, in February, I would send them each a February-themed dress, and in March a March-themed dress . . .

You get the picture.

So I dug out my Little Cotton Rabbits bunny pattern by Julie Williams and made two bunnies:  one white for Lucy, and one pink for Olivia (pink is her favorite color). I mailed the bunnies to the girls, because every little girl likes to get mail, and it keeps the post office in business.

January 2017: bunnies, dresses, and sweaters

Since Balance Time Day (Valentine's Day) is in February, the next dresses were definitely pink and red.  I mailed the dresses, and timed them to arrive on the first of the month.

Lucy and her bunny, Charlotte, in her February dress

St. Patrick's Day decided the theme for March's dresses:

The dress on the right was my first attempt.  I thought the shamrocks looked like broccoli, so I did not make another like it.

April brings Easter and flowers and beautiful bright colors:

Lucy and Olivia and their bunnies had a double play date.

 In May, Lucy was going to a wedding in Colorado, so the bunnies benefited from some wedding finery.

These dresses were knit with lace and beads, and tulle was added for the petticoat and veil.
Each dress weighs a TON!

When I made these dresses, I knew I was crazy.  All this for a bunny?

Here's a detail of the lace and beads.

 June makes me think of watermelons, so the dresses reflected that theme.

The seeds were added afterward with duplicate stitch.

 Of course, July's outfits had to be red, white, and blue.

 But then, Something Horrible Happened.

Lucy's bunny, Charlotte, went missing!

Lucy, aided by her mom, searched high and low for Charlotte.  She asked for help finding Charlotte in her nightly prayers, but to no avail.  Charlotte was gone, and she stayed gone.  I took pity on her, and made another bunny, whom I thought was much cuter, even though she was the same color as Charlotte.

Since she had gone missing with her July outfit on, I made a new July outfit just for the new bunny.  (I couldn't just send a nearly-naked bunny to my little granddaughter, could I?)

Bunny 2.0 was sent out with the August dress, and was well-received!

 The August dresses were a little different:  bright yellow for the hot Utah sun, and fastened on the side with brightly-colored buttons.

Then, in late August, Charlotte was found at Great Grampa's house!  After some discussion with Lucy's mom, and Lucy herself, Lucy was allowed to keep both bunnies, but was advised that she would only get one dress each month, and the bunnies would have to share.  Lucy was fine with that.

September reminds me of sunflowers and blue, blue sky.

October, of course, means Halloween and pumpkins and brown fallow fields.  I love the orange ribbon belt!

The November dresses are my favorite, probably because they are so many different shades of turquoise!

December dresses, modeled after the final dresses from White Christmas.

Of course, bunnies outside in winter will need a cape, and hood.

And they will need stockings to hang on the mantle on Christmas Eve.