A New Project

The quilting group that I belong to decided that it would be fun to buy dolls, make clothes for them, and then give them to children in need at Christmas time. When JoAnn's had a 50% off coupon last week, I purchased Madison, an 18 inch doll. When I went to a meeting on Friday, one of the women brought fabric that she didn't need and I got the African print that I used to make Madison's dress. With some alteration at the shoulder, the Simplicity pattern I used fit her well. She has a narrower body than the American Girl Dolls. My goal is to make her four or five more outfits. I already bought her a pair of sneekers and will buy her a pair of black shoes the next time I'm near A.C.Moore.

Hari-Kuyo Needlebook

I made this needlebook from an on-line class taught by Susan Elliot from the blog: http://playswithneedles.blogspot.com. (Get a cup of tea, and check out Susan's blog, you'll love it) I especially needed a place to keep my needles in a spot where they'd be labeled so that I could use the correct needle for the job to be done. Hari-Kuyo is the name of a Japanese festival where seamstresses, dressmakers and others take their broken needles to a shrine to properly dispose of them. Last year, I buried my broken needles in a pill bottle in my garden and said a prayer over them. This year, I hope to do the same thing.

Ben's Holiday Gifts

Ben, our grandson needed a wallet to carry his lunch money to school in so I created this wallet with a ribbon to go around his neck. I used a Lazy Girl pattern but changed the size to fit his needs. As an extra treat, I included lunch money inside for which he was pleased. As another gift, I made Ben a pillowcase with outlines of states printed on the fabric. He enjoys having me ask him the capitals of the states so when my friend Gayda pointed this fabric out to me on a recent trip to JoAnn's, I had to buy this for Ben. Now I'm waiting for Simplicity patterns to go on sale so that I can make him a bathrobe from

fleece with the Giants logo on it, Ben's favorite team.