reconstructive surgery for a bunny...or a bit of a return to sewing

I know Ella from synagogue. She is ten or eleven and is one of those kids who is already complete. You don't get the sense that her personality will undergo any drastic changes between now and adulthood. That personality is well grounded and slightly quirky.

A couple of months ago, Elle and her mom came up to me in a rush at services, Arnie, Ella's stuffed security bunny was in of a bath. I talked them through how to do it ( wash and dry Arnie tied up in a pillow case to reduce the chance of abrasion)

Arnie survived her bath, but was in need of some plastic surgery. Some patches of her fur were worn out by love . Love had also deflated Arnie's plumpness.

Ella brought Arnie over for surgery. First we repaired the bald spot on Arnie's face. Ella cut up three pairs of my pantyhose to re stuff Arnie. I carefully cut Arnie on her shoulder seam. Ella re stuffed Arnie's belly, and her right arm and then sewed it all back together.

After we examined our work, Ella mentioned that Arnie's pink stitched eyes were previously blue but had bleached in the wash. Ella hoped that I could restore the eye color. Ella chose a turquoise thread and I made needle lace eyes. Ella declared the results to be a bit creepy, the bright turquoise contrasted too strongly with the faded grey of the rest of Arnie.

I gently dabbed a bit of bleach pen on the eyes and then neutralized the bleach with some vinegar. That did the trick. Arnie will complete her post surgery spa treatment by being hung in a basket outside Ella's window to take away the vinegar smell.

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