Really Random Thursday – March Hare Edition!

Re ally Random Thursday again already! Where does the week go?

Just after Christmas I was persuaded by a youtube video to exchange my trusty wooden knitting needles that have served me many years for some hemostats and this week I tried them out for the first time. And, lest you think I’m ‘as mad as a March Hare’ to have done that, read on!

“A hemostat (also called a hemostatic clamp, arterial forceps, or pean after Jules-Émile Péan) is a vital surgical tool used in many surgical procedures to control bleeding”. (Wikipedia)

They were amazing! The handles fix and release so you can use them to turn pieces right-side-out easily and because you can ‘grab’ the stuffing you can push it exactly where you want it – no more wrinkly rag dolls! I’d say my March Hare is the best stuffed toy I’ve ever made and he was also by far the quickest.

Although, when I tried another small brown hare (you might remember the first one blogged here) it was still fiddly and difficult!

I was intending to embed the youtube video here but, unfortunately, blogger was having issues with saving it for some reason so here is a link. It really is a must-see if you’re a newbie doll maker and the only thing I would add is that it’s much easier to mark and sew your pieces before cutting them out, wherever possible.

I was very nervous about doing the faces so I put it off until this morning. I was happy with the little one…

Less so his big friend but overall I’m very pleased with how they’ve turned out. (Note to self – next time make bigger: facial features + tummy + upper arms and think about re-shaping feet).

Getting back to being ‘as mad as a March hare’, the earliest expression of this idea on record was circa 1500, in Blowbol’s Test reprinted by W. C. Hazlitt in Remains Early Popular Poetry of England, 1864:

“Thanne [th]ey begyn to swere and to stare,

And be as braynles as a Marshe hare.”

And it’s been in continuous use in the language ever since (The Phrase Finder), enjoying greatest popularity, these days, in association with Lewis Carroll’s Hare in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland:

“The March Hare … as this is May, it won’t be raving mad – at least not so mad as it was in March.”
But it is now understood that when you see hares chasing around and boxing during the mating season, this is not madness – just partying! (See more here).

The phrase ‘as mad as a hatter’ though, tells another story altogether. According to Phrase Finder, Mercury used to be used in the making of hats. This was known to have affected the nervous systems of hatters, causing them to tremble and appear insane…

I’m looking forward to seeing whatever randomness everyone else is posting about this week!

(Nearly forgot! Click here for my Giveaway Party).

Janine @ Rainbow Hare

I’m linking up with:

And because this is also my Friday Finish this week I’m linking up with TGIFF and crazy mom quilts too :)

10 thoughts on “Really Random Thursday – March Hare Edition!”

Celtic Thistle
March 14, 2013 at 5:26 pm

When I read this first I thought you were knitting with the hemostats, and my mind boggled!

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Kerstin
March 14, 2013 at 6:16 pm

Is it bad not to know what a hemostat is? I have to google that! Cute bunnies!

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Patti
March 14, 2013 at 9:15 pm

I used to have a few of those accidentally taken home from work! Too bad I didn't keep one! I love both your hares, Janine. You are so creative! Like Fiona, I thought you were knitting with them too! LOL!

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Kristy @ Quiet Play
March 14, 2013 at 9:32 pm

Oh those bunnies are fantastic! I especially love the little brown hare!!

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Benta AtSLIKstitches
March 15, 2013 at 7:17 am

Thanks for the tip re the scissory things. I saw a fab necklace with “your” hare on it at the Avoca store in Dublin, I reached for it to get it for you, – but sorry, I then put it back, lovely as you are, I haven't got €99 spare :-(

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Reese @ Quilty Reese
March 15, 2013 at 3:07 pm

Very cute hare! My daughter would love something like that.

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Jodi B.
March 15, 2013 at 3:54 pm

Oh my gosh, your rabbits are so darn cute! Thank you for the video link. Also, I never would have thought to stitch out the shape on your fabric pieces before cutting out the shape. That is a genius idea. Please share more on that.

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Mina
March 15, 2013 at 5:52 pm

I love your rabbits! Totally cute!

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Catherine
March 17, 2013 at 9:52 am

They are both lovely and full of character – your hemostats obviously really did the trick:-)

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Live a Colorful Life
March 20, 2013 at 10:32 pm

I have thought about getting hemostats. Sounds like a good idea. And your hares are really cute. Thanks for linking up!

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