This project actually began not too long after we adopted Rufus, some five months ago. I dragged Jeff one day to a fabric store in search of some bunny themed prints. We found nothing. Well, I think there was an Easter one, but I decided that Rufus would be against being stereotyped as the Easter Bunny. I asked a co-worker who sews like a fiend for some on-line fabric sites. She gave me many. It was hard finding ones that weren't too cutesy that were bunny themed. I finally decided on two and placed my orders.

The fabric sat on the coffee table for a couple of weeks before I broke down and started to make Rufus a bed. After Rufus spent about two hours under our bed one day, loving the soft blankie that Sirbie sleeps on, I realized he really wanted comfort... and comfortable.

I had forgotten the pain of making Sirbie's bed. That was five years ago. I made two. Neither were what I had envisioned. After starting on Rufus' bed, I remembered that although I made two beds for Sirbie, there were many more versions that never made their way to being stuffed. Why? Because once I had cut out pieces of fabric and assembled the individual parts, I couldn't figure out how to make them all fit together to be a bed. And I did the exact same thing with Rufus' bed. I had even grander ambitions for Rufus' version. I won't even explain it. Suffice it to say that once I went through the effort of cutting out the fabric, piecing it all together, and sewing the individual bits together, I ran into the exact same dilemma - how to assemble it all into a bed. Argh. Again, it got the better of me. I had to make do with the remaining fabric I had. I had just barely enough.

There are two parts to Rufus' bed, just like there are two parts to each of Sirbie's beds. There's a border edge and then there's the center pillow part. With both of Sirbie's beds, I left the pillow part separate from the border part. I didn't have enough material for the smaller version to be attached; I didn't have the strength to attach the big bed. For Rufus, I managed to salvage some fabric and was determined to do it "right." The border edge and the pillow center are now attached, forming one piece that's now a bed. I'm actually glad I did attach the parts because I knew Rufus would pull the two unattached parts apart. While that's not such a big deal, it doesn't make much for comfort, isn't what I had intended, and wouldn't really have fit in his cage as two parts.

Once the bed was in his cage, Rufus did exactly what he did to Sirbie's big bed - try to dig to China in it. He's a digger. And once he decided he wouldn't get to China through the pillow center, he decided to grrrr his way through the border edge. He loves to chew on that. Other than the great fun digging and gnawing, Rufus hasn't learned the true meaning of the bed. He hasn't embraced its comfort. He doesn't like to sleep on it. And he also doesn't understand why his noisemaker (a bulky tub that he likes to throw around) isn't in his cage. I tried to compensate for the loss of that toy by adding a smaller, quieter toy (a plastic sandwich storage container). While that's great fun, he still prefers his cage his way - with his tub inside... and the bed I spent hours making outside. Jeff thinks he'll grow to love it... on his romps outside the cage. I think he's like the other animals in the house. He just doesn't care for the things I make. Sigh.

The completed bed.

The fabric swatches close up.

Rufus "enjoying" his new bed

Rufus "enjoying" his new bed