Friday, January 27, 2012

A Present for Bonnie.




Since way back in the dawn of time (my time anyway) I've loved to make doll's clothes. Collecting offcuts from Mum's sewing projects and using a needle and thread to gather strips of fabric onto a band, I turned out skirts galore. I was pretty chuffed with myself because I could do a proper waistband. I was allowed to use Mum's sewing machine only so long as I didn't turn on the power, (that privelege didn't come until I was 12). Turning the wheel by hand, though laborious, got the job done more quickly. Any excuse to dress a doll was good enough and not much has changed over the decades. So when this little dolly needed some new clothes I needed no persuasion. Bonnie is the daughter of friends of ours and loves to play with her dolls. So here is a new dress, some pyjamas, and a jacket. I hope Bonnie gets as much fun from them as I have had. Wishing you a good day wherever you are.
Bye for now until next time.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

A challenge


A friend who works in the newborn unit of one of our hospitals has given me a bundle of beautifully crocheted little blankets. They were intended as a gift for the unit's cots but are in acrylic and will not stand up to the very hot water that the hospital's laundry uses. Being a tiny cot size they are not large enough to wrap a baby so my friend was unable to pass them on to the hospital's welfare section. It saddened her to think that this lovely well-intentioned gift should go to waste so she presented them to me wondering - could I do anything with them? Well now I ask you; what crafter could resist a challenge like that? My first thought was to stitch some of them together to make a larger blanket. "Make it big enough for a single bed then it could still wrap a baby if necessary." suggested the man of the house. Not just a pretty face that man. That done I took the blanket off to a local welfare agency that rehouses those fleeing from abuse. I thought I'd match up the colours in the others and work extra squares to enlarge them. What an opportunity to reduce my stash. So here I am half-way through the first one, making smaller squares to add to the little cot cover in the centre. Do you know my stash doesn't look any smaller. I'm hoping it will by the time I get through a few more.
I do hope your year has got off to a good start and will just keep getting better.
Bye for now until next time.