more for Evey

I painted this little storage box for Evey. I had a lot of fun designing, drawing and painting it freehand.

I wanted it to look a little old and retro so I sanded the edges so it didn't look to new. Three different boxes stack and then tie together with a bow.

Another look at the top. I love how it turned out. I am a bad photographer  so just pretend like it is a good photo.

This is the doll I made to go with her cowgirl quilt. I tried to make the doll look like the girls on the quilt, with bright red lips and pink round cheeks.

I love having a granddaughter.

sewing for Evey

I have the best news ever! My first grand baby is soon to be born. I can't wait! It seems like yesterday when we found out that she would be coming into the world. But she took no time in growing.

 I have got a new deeper passion for sewing and have enjoyed my evenings working on gifts for my sweet little girls.

  

I crocheted her a yellow blanket and then sewed flannel to the back. Next I tie quilted it and added a satin edge. You just can't have too many different textures when it comes to babies. Then I made booties to match. I love the feel of the soft baby yarn, flannel, satin and the little ties all together . I hope my little Evey will too.

 Everyone needs a little grab and go diaper bag for wipes, diaper and a changing pad.

I love this baby quilt. Its all little cow girls. I had so much fun making it. I hand quilted it and then tied it. It has a retro look that made it supper fun to make. I now want to make Evey a whole little cowgirl outfit to go with it.

 No little girl could have two many head bands or shoes....

                                                                                                     

Booties tops and bottoms

 I am working on a cloth doll that goes with this quilt. She has a little embroidered face that matches the printed girls, and yellow yarn braids. I will post a photo when she has clothes. We can not be putting naked dolls on the web, now can we?

    

I am still working on a retro ,circus themed quilt . Sarah said she thinks it will be her favorite so I am not going to post it until she sees it. Its on the quilting frame now . I am loving working on it. The fabric is so soft and I can't resist the print. This is a a small sneak peek at the fabric when I was piecing it.  (this is the just the complementary fabric. Sorry no looking at the retro fabric yet.)

Flower garden Quilt

I am making my first grandmothers flower garden quilt. I have been having so much fun learning how to do it. It is all hand sewn. I love that about it. I pre-cut all the little hexagons and put each "flower" in it's own little zip lock bag. When I have a spare moment I can just pull out the little bag and work on the individual flower.I don't have to pull out the sewing machine and there is no clean up. Just zip up the baggy until I have another spare moment. I love working with so many different fabrics too. I have not got bored looking at the same fabric over and over. I have most of my flowers done now and am starting to work on putting the white edge around them and then sewing them together. I wanted bugs in my flower garden, so when I found some fabric that has lady bug, Beatles, birds, and butterflies all in the right size I could not resist it. I am hoping to add a border with embroidered flowers, bee hives,butterflies, yo yo flowers and bee spelling out sayings.I am having so much fun making it I don't even care how long it takes me to finish it.

painted cloth dolls that I made

I am posting these photos for my sister-in Law, Sherry, So she can see the dolls I make. My family and I reenacted in Nauvoo when my kids were small. Eliza was only 2 - 3 years old, so she really needed a toy to play with. The first doll I made was for her. Then I was asked if I could make some for the pioneer past time in Nauvoo. After that I was asked by several people if I could make them a doll. But next to the first doll I made for Eliza the doll I love the most is in the nursery in the Nauvoo Temple. I hope that it is well loved , and played with by the children who go there.
The dolls are made of cloth then painted. My camera is very basic and I will have to admit I am not very good at photography so please excuse the quality of the photos.

Learning and teaching

A few days ago I had the opportunity to make a new Friend and she was so gracious in offering to teach me about Quilt. She is extremely knowledgeable and talented in this area, so I felt really privileged . It made me think of one of my favorite quotes By Catherine Beecher." If all females were not only well educated themselves but were prepared to communicate in an easy manner their stores of knowledge to others; if they not only know how to regulate their own minds, tempers and habits but how to effect improvement in those around them the face of society would be speedily changed" I so love to read about Catherine Beecher. Catherine Lived in the 1800's and was instrumental in the education of women of the time. She helped in the founding of women's colleges at Burlington, Iowa, Quincy, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. How grateful I am that I have the opportunity to learn from others that practice this philosophy.

Studing for Dec

I have been reading the book of Luke this month. Since there are 24 chapters I will be reading one chapter a day up through Christmas eve. It has been wonderful reading about Christs conception, birth, life and ministry as I make preparations for Christmas. I am so grateful for this opportunity and the spirit it has brought to the holidays.
I am also studying about the Jewish tradition of swaddling clothes. This has been very interesting. When a man and women became betrothed, they did not visit each other during the betrothal. During the one to two years of betrothal the man would work on building a home and the women would also be working on things for their new life together. One of these would be embroidering a swaddling band. This band would be used in the marriage ceremony to wrap the couples hands. Latter the band would be worn as a girdle around the belly of the pregnant woman, then used to swaddle the child, then even used sometimes for the eventual purpose of wrapping the body for burial.
The symbols on the bands often indicated family history. Mary was from the tribe of Judah, so she may have used symbols common to that lineage such as a lion, a lamb, or a tree of life. As a descendant of David, she was also entitled to use the royal colors of blue and white. The symbolic significance of swaddling bands was so important that the embroidery on each side of the swaddling bands had to match exactly, with “right” and “wrong” sides indistinguishable. This symbolized the complete harmony of inner and outward life.As soon as I have done enough research I plan on embroidering a swaddling band.It might take some time until I can start because I want it to be as atheistic as I can make it. I am hoping I can have it done by April conference. Once I get the design figured out I will post some photos.

Eliza and her dolls halloween dress. It was so fun to make them. They looked so cute.