The past week has been a blur! We had our precious 3 yo grandson Alastair with us for 5 days, that big estate sale that I couldn’t keep myself away from (more on that in another post), and a family cold that clobbered me.
Alastair just gave out, clutching his beloved E=MC2 (squared) blanket. His mama calls it his nerd blankie.
Six year old grandson Robert,victim #1, had it first and shared it with #2 Cousin Alastair who spent two of his 5 days with us in abject misery. Then a day later, my number (#3) was up and Bad Bug morphed into bronchitis and Black Plague. Well, it felt like what I imagine Black Plague did.
Now, hale and hearty Granddad (#4) is sneezing. Even Alastair’s father Harvey (#5), an aged-out Eagle Scout (motto Be Prepared), keeps his handkerchief handy. We’ve gone through A LOT of orange juice, Kleenex and vitamin C.
The really good news is that my PREGNANT (hurrah!!!) daughter has nary a sniffle.
But I am eager to get back to blogging. One of the best things about this blogging activity is viewing the photos of projects made by you dear readers. I love getting these pictures!
Today, I’d like to share a few with you.
Shirley made the doll dress with designs from a Custom Keepsakes collection. The sweet doll was rescued from a thrift shop.
Shirley, whose gorgeous altar cloth has already been featured here, sent a few sweet, sentimental pictures. They include one of her doll dresses and others of needlework done by her mother and grandmother. FYI, in addition to her vast array of needlework skills, Shirley is a church organist. Obviously, she knows no idle moments.
Donna, grandmother to twin 3 year old granddaughters and a 5 year old grandson, whipped up these almost matching dresses for her girls. Donna’s transformation and coordination of these plain white linen dresses from All About Blanks is designing at its finest.
coordinating but distinctly different designs for her coordinated but distinctly different twin granddaughters…..
She even added a touch of embroidery to the backs. These cool linen dresses will keep the twins comfortable during Florida’s hot summers. Thirty years ago, Donna and I spent time together smocking dresses for our own daughters.
back embroidery
Jo, is another prolific stitcher. A homeschooling mother of 5, she has the energy of a tornado as she sews for her 2 girls and 3 boys. She is teaching her 8 year old Joy to sew, along with the little girl next door. Who wouldn’t love a neighbor like Jo?  I so enjoy receiving pictures of her projects, like this American Girl doll dress .
Jo made this for daughter Joy’s AG doll.
Another of Shirley’s projects reflects her appreciation for antique textiles, especially her family heirlooms like this doll blanket.
When she was just a child, Shirley received this doll blanket as a gift.
Shirley shared, “This hand knit doll blanket with a crochet edge was done by my maternal Grandmother, or by my Great-Grandmother. I’ve loved it forever and have had it since I was a small child.  It’s a real treasure as far as I’m concerned.” Shirley is a grandmother herself, so you know she has kept this blanket a very long time.
Suzanne Sawko showers her grandchildren with quilts and dresses and projects that they love. This is just one dress she made for her almost 3 year old granddaughter. I love this style and the combination of plaid with the Swiss eyelet. The floral neck binding and front opening is a sweet touch.
She also does some neat things for her almost 8 year old granddaughter, using inexpensive boy’s underwear style tee shirts.
basic boy’s tee transformed into a girlie top
With her serger and her imagination, Suzanne made this into a quick, cute shirt for Alee.
Jo made this darling bunny sunsuit for almost 4 year old Noel. Jo said, “I finally finished my vintage sunsuit!  I’ve never veered so far from the pattern as I did with this one.  I think the bunny face is still too wide, but I’m not remaking it a 4th time!!! Â
I got all excited for the photoshoot, and I tried to do Noel’s hair a la Shirley Temple. Â Then we went to the lake, and it was WINDY! Â Her perfectly coiffed ringlets blew all over the place! Â Oh, well.”
Shirley sent one other picture that I cannot resist showing you. It is a pillowcase made by her mother.
Pillowcase embroidered and edge crocheted by her mother.
She tells us, “This is just one of the pillowcases that was in my mother’s ‘stash’ and I know she made many of them. This is an example of things she wold take to the ‘mysterious sewing lady’ who had a hemstitching machine in a nearby town. Mother would have them hemstitched and then she would add the embroidery and crochet edge. She would also coordinate sheets to go with these. It seems she must have liked the color yellow because many of her items had lots of yellow in them, and the same thing with quilts.”Â
There are more of inspiring photos of readers’ projects that I will share with you another time. What are you sewing now?
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