Those New, Young Designers

You've encountered them every time you visit your local quilt shop, surf the quilting websites or open a quilt magazine: those new, young designers are everywhere. Their designs are prolific; in books, patterns, and by the yard. Is it just me or do they seem to get younger and younger? I had two in the house a few weeks ago. Working out of a box of precut scraps they pondered, placed and replaced. They stepped back and took stock, they gave each other advice; and then, finally, they were pleased with their layouts. They were each designing doll quilts and, at 4 and 6 years old, were quite serious about getting them "just right".

Lynnleigh with her design.

Lucy Ann with an extra-long quilt layout for her "taller" dolls. 

The girls "helped" Nana, after they completed their work by taking each and every square off the wall and piling them on small tables so that I could assemble them later. It's a good thing I took those photos above! 😀

Somewhere along the line Lucy Ann's layout changed from 8 squares across to 9; Nana adjusted the sizes to fit.

After they were sewn together I loaded them both, end to end, on a single piece of batting and backing and did a quick meander quilting pattern. Each was later bound with each girl's favorite color binding. Their babies will now be safe, warm and cozy under these new, designer, quilts; in fact, one can even be used as a table runner! 😉 I wanted these to be finished as soon as possible, demonstrating to them that their work has value and significance. My hope is that they will remember laying these out and be proud of their creative efforts; that they will be continue to be inspired and express themselves in original and artistic ways. 

When you next encounter those new, young designers, think of this: they likely started just this way!

Life is Good!

Making The Bed

I've spent the afternoon making a bed... or, I should say, making bedding!  This is a doll bed for Lucy Ann for Christmas. There's no better way to get into the spirit of Christmas than spending hours on end in the sewing room watching Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel and making gifts. I do hope my granddaughter, and her dolls, will enjoy this bed as much as we have already; because, before I could make this bed up, Mr. Goodneedle actually made the bed; this is a gift of handmade love from both grandparents.

It's a trundle bed; Lucy Ann's doll can have a doll-friend sleep over!

The bed is a treasure, handcrafted from maple, it will match the furniture in Lucy Ann's bedroom.
Mr. Goodneedle designed the raised panels and cut out the heart detail for the panel in the arched headboard; he made the mattresses for both beds from a thin sheet of plywood wrapped in upholstery weight batting.

The upper bed is completely outfitted with a fitted sheet/mattress cover, top sheet and matching pillows. The lower bed will have to wait until next week to receive the same treatment. I added a bit of piping to accent the sheet and pillow cuffs. The trundle bed's mattress is a bit smaller; the sheet set for it will be the opposite fabrics as the top (periwinkle polka dots with the whimsical print cuffs) so that Lucy Ann won't be frustrated trying to figure out which sheets fit which mattress!

I made the quilt from my stash collection of 2.5" strips, pulling out coordinating colors. The quilt is backed and bound with the same print as the sheets. (The quilt for the lower bed will be backed and bound likewise with the polka dot.)  Instead of batting I used a heavyweight flannel to achieve a soft quilt with a "drape" to it, I didn't want the quilt to be too thick or stiff and not hang well when the doll is asleep in the bed; I chose to quilt it simply with diagonal lines. Without a doubt, this is the most fun I've ever had making any bed!

Life is Good!

 

The Weekend And Beyond...

Observing Mason's 6th Baptismal birthday after church this past Sunday.

Today I'm playing blog catch-up. We've had a busy few days here at Chez Goodneedle. Our Capital City grandchildren visited on Sunday. I love the photo above of our Senior Pastor and Mason at the Baptismal font, it is very special. Mason is the first child that this Pastor has baptized where he also confirmed both Mason's Mom and Dad when they were freshmen in high school as well as married them some fourteen years later; all right here in this same sanctuary.

Mason and his Mommy returned home and little Miss Lucy Ann (and her babies) stayed for a few days with Nana and Pawpaw. On Monday we made doll quilts together. Lucy Ann chose all the squares from my 2.5" bin and laid them out exactly the way she wanted them to be arranged. Nana stitched and she was my assistant, bringing me the pieces in the correct order! After we finished the first one I had a feeling that she would lose interest... but boy, was I ever mistaken! Oh, no; she was determined and hung in there. She chose the tying thread (perle cotton) colors and helped with the tying. She loved every bit of the process.

Yesterday we took a trip to Charlotte to visit the new American Girl store there. This was the view from the front seat looking back for the entire drive! She pored over the catalog in preparation for her shopping excursion. She told us that it "seemed like forever" to get there!

Lucy Ann and her two babies arriving at the store.

Lucy Ann took her time shopping, she was interested
every little item and considered how she might use it.

She was enthralled by the hair salon for dolls.

After careful deliberation, final selections were made and it was, all too soon, time to check out and get some lunch. Lucy Ann had a T-shirt specially made for Sarah (doll in her arms), it is contained in the teeny-tiny shopping bag she's holding. Baby Barbara is in her carrier on the counter. Both dolls have new outfits and Lucy Ann provided her grandparents with some wonderful, happy memories and such a fun time spent together; I hope she remembers these last few days exactly the same way. Tonight she'll be sleeping in her own little bed at home again, we kissed her goodbye only a few hours ago... I miss her already, our house is altogether too quiet.

Life is Good!

SEW DAY!

This is chapter #2 of the post where these girls began their sewing journey. After a quick lesson in our church basement at the beginning of last month we set a date for a full day of productive sewing at The Strawberry Patch during Christmas vacation. Two precious doll quilts (front and back shown) are the result; that, and the happy look of accomplishment on these adorable faces! I hope that as time goes by these girls will look back and remember the fun that we had today, and how enjoyable a day spent sewing can be.

Life is Good!

doll quilts: 21" X 17"