Searching for the Model

I really like making my nieces cotton dresses for their birthdays. Last Christmas one of the little girls walked in with her 18" doll she had just received from Santa and it gave me a great idea. Each birthday dress should be accompanied by a doll dress for their favorite doll. Having raised a house hold full of boys, dolls are not known in my arena. But I really needed a "model" for these doll dresses.

 So off to the Flea Mall I went in search of a doll. I trolled up and down the rows of booths full of all kinds of items from tube socks to antiques to books and corn hole boards. I finally came across of booth full of dolls. My lucky day. In search of just the right doll I was stopping complete strangers to get their opinions of the right doll. One young girl and her mother had no idea which one was the right doll. But I did come across an older woman that confirmed the doll I picked was the proper size. Besides all the dolls in the booth that day were 50 percent off. This cute little red headed doll was obviously only on display since she still had the tag on her wrist and came with a stand. Nine dollars later I had her in my studio and was dressing her in a matching dress for the birthday girl. She now lives in my studio waiting for her next modeling assignment.

This is a link to the American Quilters Society  utube video. I was interviewed for my quilt, Flight Patterns, that placed second in the Modern Quilt division.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YRV7AgO4EGY 

My new doll is modeling a dress for the next birthday girl. 

Time to flip the calendar page

I flipped the calendar to May and the page features a bicycle!

 

 

It's already May. Hard to believe. The good news is I love May and planting a garden and riding my bike in good weather. So here I am. Flipping the calendar to a new month and there's a bicycle on the calendar. This could be the month I start a bicycle-themed quilt. After all I did get a new commuter bike that I think is pretty nifty. Sometimes quilters need a bit of motivation to get started or finish what they have started. So that is what May is about to me. I'll be sewing this evening. Finishing projects, even if it means sewing a binding or sewing a label. All sewing counts.

In the past few months I have been working on a block of the month type quilt and while I haven't finished that quilt, the blocks are complete. I will show that later when the quilt is complete  I recently spent the day sewing with a niece and we had a great time. We made a dress for her daughter. The niece had a pattern in mind and she picked through my stash for the perfect fabric. I must say she has great taste. Working together we finished the dress and it has already been worn. She has one lucky little girl.

The front of the dress for my 2-year-old great niece.

 

The back of the same dress.

 

 

I want to promote this new book by my favorite quilt author, Gwen Marston.

 

 

I want to let you know that one of my favorite authors, Gwen Marston, has a new book that is hot off the press. Minimal Quiltmaking is a great read. I just love Gwen's writing style. The photos of the quilts are fabulous and I find the book very inspirational. And I am so proud that my friend, Pat Isaman has two of her quilts featured in this book.

 

Happy May everyone. Enjoy the Kentucky Derby.  Joni