Spring Doll Challenge

It has been many years since I have made a cloth doll. I used to be "famous" for them. I made Raggedy Ann and Andy's by the dozens (and sold them, sadly I didn't keep a set)  when we lived in Raleigh. It was a lot of fun. But somehow I got sidetracked by ceramics and then quilts.  Well, you know the story, we do move on, don't we?  My great pleasure in the mornings is to look at blogs.....all kinds of blogs, and lately I found one I really like called Ravenswood Whimzies. I saw the Doll Challenge and it sparked a rememberance in me about my love of cloth dolls. I copied off the pattern (it is free) and will most likely give it a try. Click on the sidebar to go to the pattern and information.  I made my first cloth doll from a book of my sister's and I was about 7 or 8 years old. Kathy and I used to play "little house on the prairie" and her mother made hers. My doll and her dress was all hand-sewn (by me) and I guess it got left in Michigan. I'll let you know how things turn out!   God Bless!

Civil War quilt blocks

I have been working on the 6 inch quilt blocks from "The Civil War Diaries" book by Rosemary Youngs. I have 36 completed and am now moving on to her other book "The Civil War Love Letter Quilts". I am only making those blocks from each book that interest me (uh, the easy ones). As I complete a block, I put a date on the page of the book. The first date is April 2005, Oops! I hope to finish up these blocks soon, as I have been making 2 or 3 blocks a day. Haven't decided how many I'll need yet.  I have been using solid color fabrics instead of repro prints, just to be different.

On another note, I have decided to stop making Prayer Shawls for the hospital. I will still make some on my own to give away, just not for them. I am instead going back to my "first love"....the watch-cap and scarf project for Seamen's Church Institute in NYC. I began giving items to them in 1990, and enjoyed it very much. The POSTAGE is the only drawback.

The last couple of days have been so wonderfully Spring-like! I saw a small brown bird this morning trying to fly away, carrying something in his beek that looked like quilt batting, or somekind of insulation. He/she was determined! Guess it will insulate the nest.       God Bless!