Lia's Quilts and Dolls from Grandmommy

For all 4 grand-children,

I’ve made crib and big

boy/girl quilts. Here are

Lia’s--her Paddington

Bear crib quilt, and a

blue and yellow quilt

made for her move to

a big bed after little

brother Locke was

born. I had fun yesterday

 taking pictures of the

quilts and also of some

of Lia’s dolls--some

that we had given her.

Here are 3 of the small

Madame Alexander

 International dolls we’ve

 given to her--representing

Norway, Mexico, and Sweden.

Then two bigger M.A. dolls,

Alice in Wonderland and Amy,

from Little Women.  (Lia's Great

Grandmother Lelia, for whom

she was named, is in the

picture at the end of

the bookshelf.)

Finally I’ve

taken a photo of Lia with the

Wee Folk Harry Potter dolls

I made for her Valentine gift--

Harry himself and Hermione.

California Crafting

Bob and I are now in CA for Easter.  Our suitcases were loaded down with crafting projects for me to do with the grandkids Lia and Locke.  I suppose first we'll make those that are Easter-related:  a bunny face cake (this year, I bought a new Wilton cake pan), and Easter-themed cookies.  What I am most excited about doing with them, though, is to make some shadow boxes for Lia and Locke's Wee Folk dolls.  For Locke I made Robin Hood characters, and for Lia, Harry Potters.   My very first posting to this blog showed some of these dolls. I've just figured out how to post a picture from the Internet!  I made dolls similar to these for Locke.  My idea for the shadow boxes is for the children to design settings for their dolls.  Then using their drawings, we'll make patterns for templates and then cut them from felt.  For Robin Hood and his Merrie Men, we could also use some twigs glued to the felt background for a forest.l  Can't wait!

Good Neighbors and a Re-done Throw!

Our dear friends and neighbors, the Dyers and the Coopers, who moved from our Guittard neighbor-hood with us to Deer Creek Drive, have determined to get together once a month for dinner. Here you see Thelma and Bill Cooper and Bob, on their back screened-in porch, from which you can see our house.  We had wine, grapes, hummus, and

crackers.

We hosted the first, a "break-
fast for supper,"
and then last evening, Thelma and Bill hosted us.  We then went inside for a delicious dinner.  Genie was not feeling well and couldn't join us, but here are Thelma and Bill, Preston and me. 

When we returned home, I got to work re-doing grandson Locke's new throw.  I had not cut the fringe deeply enough and had tied the two pieces of the fringe too tightly.  So I untied all of them while watching American Idol (yes, I am a guilty fan!) and then made the cuts a bit longer, and then tied them more loosely.  As a result the throw is much flatter, and the knots, softer, more comfortable!

Of Friends, Grandbabies, and Friendship Quilts

I call Patty Field and her husband Willie our

"newest friends." They certainly were our newest at our 50th
Anniver-
sary
party!  I met Patty in the early 2000s, but it was only when she joined Lake Shore church that we have become close.  We worked together on a friendship quilt for Lake Shore's 50th anniversary, which was celebrated the same fall we celebrated ours.  I had lunch with Patty today, who this semester is baby sitting with baby 3-month-old Charlotte while the babe's mommy teaches at our local community college.  Here is Patty with Charlotte, and one of the beautiful baby alone!

And for good measure, I'll add pictures of the Lake Shore quilt Patty and I made together and also a close-up.

A New Throw for Locke

We leave in two days for Easter in California.  Grandson Locke (6) has a fleece throw made by me, but some time ago he gave it a "haircut."  He wanted one end of his old throw open, so that he could climb inside while it was on his bed, making it into a sleeping bag.  When he showed me last visit what he had done, he said, "Now the end is all crooked!  I want it straight!"  I told him that I thought it was time he had another throw, with fleece that was for a big boy, not the babyish print he had on his old throw, and that I would deliberately leave one end open.    This time I used my Dear Jane 5" square ruler, marked the 1 1/2" line with tape, and cut the fringe 1 1/2" wide and 5" long.  These are wider strips than I did before, but hopefully these won't tear off as readily as the narrower ones I used for all 4 of the grandkids' throws, made several years ago. So here are views of both sides of Locke's new throw.  He'll be surprised and delighted, I'm sure, with the more grown-up look.  And, yes, one end was left open!

Quilt Camp 2010, Part Two

This is one of quilt teacher Cara Gulati's quilts.  This one is not in her book.  In it you can see 5 scrolls and 5 ribbons.  She taught us how to draw both the scrolls and the ribbons, but I chose to use only scrolls in my design.  I'm not really ready to publish a picture of my quilt, since it's still unfinished, with only three of the five scrolls even sewn together.  But I will show here my line drawing.  This is the one I did standing up, on four taped-together sheets of drawing paper.  Then I took it to a copy store and had it enlarged 100%.  The center design section of the quilt measures 48"x60".  I plan to applique it to a backing fabric--not black as in Cara's quilt, but a very dark blue batik.  The third picture shows Carolyn working at one of the high tables.  Behind her is the cluster of three tables where Carolyn, Carole, and I worked.  At the far rear of the picture can be seen a portion of the fantastic Creations fabric store!