The project of the Ballerina Bunny was created from a pattern I had found (but no longer retain).  It spoke to me because it encompassed a lot of my favorite things all at once: my love of ballet; my work as a ballet teacher; my love of animals, knitting, and dolls. I was especially smitten with the tutu and the faux-toe shoes. It was also a good project for learning different knitting techniques and to be able to see results quickly.

Most importantly, I knew it would make my mom happy.  She had been my knitting teacher and I wanted to show her how much she had taught me.  At the time, my mother was battling the final stages of her illness. I had caught a cold and for 3 weeks it was unsafe for me to visit with her, so I was seeking a way that we could still do something together that made us both feel useful and happy.  Making a knitted doll, with so much personal resonance, seemed like a good solution.  We talked over the phone regularly about how to approach different parts and fix issues and share pictures of our progress.

When I was finallly able to present it to Mom, her excitement was beyond what I had imagined.  She loved it, for so many reasons, and certainly for more than just the accomplishment of knitting.  That's what makes it a treasure - because it's an everlasting, irreplaceable, shared experience of the heart captured in each and every stitch.