Memories...

 I had a girlfriend bring me a black doll from 1950's, I could not believe what I was looking at!
I had that very same doll as a child, my dog ate the arm & feet off of it but I kept her anyway.
We did not have a lot back then & what you had you treasured. She is here in a box or bin somewhere & I'll blog about her when I find her. I remember her name was Nancy, mom must have named her.
Well, Kathleen was given this doll from her mother-in-law & asked if I could make her some clothing.

Here is what I did this week! lol

 Kathleen's doll with no clothes but a lovely body & gorgeous hair for being over 60 years old!

 She was wearing this ecru cotton,  prairie style dress. I asked if the clothing be modern or vintage style. Kathleen wanted 'vintage'.

Vintage it was! I had just the pattern for that doll. Now to find fabric that would compliment the era & the doll.

 I found a small piece of lining fabric & made her panties. The size large was for 20-22" too big for this 19" doll! Back to the drawing board with the size medium!

Downstairs in my stash, I came upon some vintage pink lining, perfect for her panties & slip!

I attached the slip to the dress bodice & added more ruffle & lace to hold the dress out.

 I used a VIP 18" doll panel dress that was originally a 'nightgown' pattern & shortened it into this dress. The sleeves & dress are underlined with a soft tulle to give body to the dress.

 The bonnet matches the bottom of her dress & I added a small piping, of the same fabric, to the yoke.

                                                                    Then I made the coat!
The coat looks like it is a linen type fabric but it is a polyester fabric that I had to make me some clothing. I will in time, I'm enjoying the moment right now, creating this outfit!

 To trim the coat with bias tape, I found in my bias bin, this vintage Made In Canada, bias tape, the perfect choice to accent the coat. And at 6 yards for .29 cents, how old do you think this bias tape is?!

 I loved the bonnet detail, it was fully lined too! So you made two bonnets with the circle at the back.

                                                   I think she turned out very sweet!

 Shoes & socks for her can be purchased at any of Michael's stores. When I find Nancy I may make her this outfit & put mittens on the hands that are missing. This doll has been cherished!

Peanuts Progress~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

The border is now on & the quilting is done but I still was not satisfied with it. Then it hit me...
As I have been discovering some of my studio supplies, I remembered seeing my beads & sequins. Yes, I had star sequins that would make the night sparkle!

 So every morning I have my coffee & put more gold sequin stars with gold beads onto the night sky in the pumpkin patch! This wall hanging finishes 36" x 36" so I will wait for Mitch & Nicole to take it back to Alberta with them after Christmas, in their large suitcase.
I mailed the 12" x17" Snoopy wallhanging & it was over $16, so next year the Pumpkin Patch Quilt will be hung in Alberta! This one was a lot of work,  with the zigzagging in the satin stitch & stars.

Winter Wonderland!

 I've been working on these small wall hangings, they can be hung well after Christmas as I used non-Christmas colours on them. I still have to hand sew on the snowflake buttons & a curly textured pom -pom to the end of the hat.

 I also made coordinating bowl holders for the microwave, a nice winter touch to this gift.

Memories Of A Good Friend~~~~~~~~~~

 I received this trunk, the day my girlfriend Liz Vincent peacefully died. She wanted me to have this trunk & I have put it in my sewing room for now.

 Inside is her sewing that she never got around to finish & loads of different sewing supplies. She knew I loved Christmas & sent me many Christmas fabrics too.

 This finished wall hanging called 'Welcome  Home' was in the trunk. I will have it quilted & on my wall for Christmas. The red binding is wound around an empty spool, just waiting to be sewn on.

 It is a Victoria winter scene with Cardinals, I love Cardinals & miss not having them here in the northeastern NB. I had several pairs at the feeders in southwestern ON.
For now, they'll be on the walls & in quilts.

Hand Quilting~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I thought I would give it a try on this miniature quilt of mine.

 As you can see it is only 8 1/2" long, so this should be doable?!  Wow, I was amazed at how long it took me to do just this small piece. I do admire those that can hand quilt a whole quilt!!

For now, my wee Christmas quilt is done & ready to be added to the Christmas mice vignette.

Rexton, Rexton...

I know she likes the kitchen counter to be able to see everything & be out of the puppies way.

She has perched herself on Baxter's new coat & now has her scent on it for him! I scolded her for being on the counter!  I always start out with, "Rexton Richardson!".

And just scowls at me & pretends that she does not hear me. I'm always having to physically move her & let me tell you she is now 12 pounds! And still, has 2 more Manx years to maturity! I'm visualizing a 15-pound cat then!
By then, maybe  the pups will be kinder to Rexton. I know she misses Boris & just wants to be their friend too.

I did manage to get more canning of chili sauce done & I added in my neighbour  Karens, hot red peppers to it. After cutting the peppers on the plastic IKEA mat, I cut the remaining celery on it & sampled a few pieces of celery... oh my!!! The pepper juice was all over the celery & my lips burned for an hour! Yes, it will be a warm chili sauce! lol