It is Rednesday

I have not participated in Rednesday for such a long time.  I always enjoy hopping from blog to blog admiring every one's red so today I thought I would play along.  Are some of you wondering what exactly is Rednesday?  One of my favorite blogs to read is It's a very cherry world.  Sue is the author of the blog and her very favorite color is RED.  She decided to celebrate her love for red every Wednesday and call the day Rednesday. Each new week,  every one is invited to share their favorite thing red with a blog post of their own.  When you visit her blog that day there is a list of others playing along so you can visit their blogs as well.  It is always fun to discover new blogs.   The RED I am going to share today is found in my latest doll.  I have named her Abagail Rose.

Like I said before I am not a sewer, but these little dolls have really inspired me.  She was just a little challenging for me but I am so happy with the way she turned out.  I can't wait to make another :)

Happy Rednesday everyone!!!! Thanks for stopping by for a  visit I hope you will come again soon.

PS Abagail was created using a pattern from bit of whimsy

Cheerful Little Handkerchief Dolls

As I was cleaning and reorganizing my fabric I came across my collection of vintage handkerchiefs. Whenever I find these sweet little beauties at  flea markets or estate sales I just can not help but to take them home with me.  Maybe it is the dainty lace or perhaps the pretty little flowers that pull on my heartstrings.

Maybe it is because they are from a simpler time when a ladies wore dresses, hats and white gloves. 

I began to refold each little hankie and place them in the basket to return them to their storage shelf once again.  Then the thought hit me.....wouldn't they be perfect for a little doll. 

I am so happy with my little vintage handkerchief dolls.  I am even happier that I don't have to store away all of my pretty handkerchiefs any longer.  They will be repurposed into cheerful baby dolls for little girls to love. 

Meet Percy

This is Percy the Puppy.  I can't remember the last time I has such fun creating.  There is just something about these little dolls that make me smile. Once I made the first one I was hooked.  One of the best things about creating these sweet little dolls is that each one is just a little different. Each one with it's own personality. 

With Percy's spotted eye and

happy little tail his personality is one of cheerfulness. 

After I had finished with Percy, I thought it might be fun to create his sister, Penny.  I began to look through the piles of fabric I have been collecting over the years.  I just could not find the right piece.  I guess it didn't help that all of my fabric was stacked in bins ---so very unorganized.  I sure needed a way to organize my fabric so I could easily find what I was looking for.  I happened to be walking through Target a few days ago when I came across this wonderful hanging shoe organizer.  The fat quarters of fabric that were everywhere suddenly became very organized.  

 If you are looking for an inexpensive way to organize your fabric, this shoe organizer by Michael Graves is working perfectly for me.  Well now that I can find my fabric, I am off to sew once again.  Look for pictures of Percy's sister coming soon :)

Bee Happy

Today was such an easy day to "Bee Happy".  The sun was shinning. the skies were blue, the temperature outside was warm with the promise of Spring.  When I woke this morning, I opened the window just a bit to welcome in the crisp morning air.  The birds outside were singing their happy song.  It is amazing how a beautiful morning can call you from a warm bed to eagerly begin the day.  I am so glad that I woke early as it allowed me have breakfast with some of my very favorite people at one of my very favorite places.

My mom and I met Kate, Emma and Amy(their mom) at the Sweet Shop----The most adorable bakery ever.  I still really miss the girls and it is always so special to spend time with them. 

After arriving home, I noticed that the crocus' at the top of the walk had burst into bloom.

Another thing to bring a smile to my day was finishing this little Happy Bee. 

I really am having fun with my new found love of sewing. 

The perfect way to end this beautiful day---A walk in the park with Alex, Mabel and Sassy. 

Whatever you did today I hope you had the chance to enjoy this beautiful Spring day. 

                                                                                                                                                                      

Little Peanut Family

I think I have caught the bug---the fabric bug that is.  I have always been a little hesitant of creating with fabric.  I am not sure what it was about fabric that made me nervous. My Mom would encourage me "Just try I know you will love it"  I guess I just had the "Oh I can't do that" attitude.  The problem is however that there are just too many adorable fabric prints available.  So I began to do what any crafter would do--- I started to collect them. After I had quite a collection,  I began to add small pieces to my cards and scrapbooks. Then I added some stitching.  Hmmmmm not to frightening (hehehe)  Then my Mom taught me how to make the quilted wall hangings.  That's when it happened---I DO like to make things with fabric.  Kind of reminds me of the childhood book Green Eggs And Ham. 

"I do not like them, Sam-I-Am"

"You do not like them.  SO you say.Try them! Try them!And you may.Try them and you may I say."

"Sam!If you will let me be,I will try them.You will see."

"I do so like green eggs and ham!Thank you!Thank you,Sam-I-am"

Recently I discovered an adorable website www.bitofwhimsydolls.com    Sarah, the owner of Bit of Whimsy Dolls, creates the sweetest dolls and also offers her patterns in "epattern" form to purchase.  Being a beginner at sewing, I wasn't sure if I would actually be able to accomplish the task of sewing a doll.  I purchased the pattern called Little Peanut and gave it my best shot.  I am delighted with my little peanut family.

"I do so like sewing with fabric.  Thank you Thank you Mom-I-Am"

PS I am planning on adding my little peanut family to my etsy shop.  Stop over for a visit if you would like one for your very own.   :)

Tea for Two

 When I was a  little girl I can remember going to visit my grandparents at my Father's childhood home.  I loved that house with it's big brick front porch. A cozy metal glider that squeaked with each movement sat against the side wall awaiting my visit.  I can still remember the dainty yellow roses that grew up the trellis reaching the top of the porch ledge sometimes even spilling over to rest on the glider.  It was always a fun trip to Grandma's house. Only about an hour away.   A yummy dinner awaited us and for dessert---Cool Whip with cherry juice and a little red cherry on top (We were allowed to have whatever we wanted for dessert when at Grandma's) When my grandparents moved to Florida I was a young girl in grade school.  I missed those frequent visits with my grandparents and found myself writing letters to keep in touch.  With each sent letter a return letter from Grandma would come.  One of my most treasured possessions is this little tea set that was sent along with one of those returned letters. 

I even kept the little box it was mailed in--our home address written in my Grandma's handwritting.  I must have added the "tea set" label just incase I would forget what was inside :)

Without knowing my fondness for this miniature tea set, my neighbor called the other day to say that they were doing some reorganizing and cleaning of their attic.  They had found a few little things that they no longer wanted but didn't want to just take them to the local thrift shop.  They asked if I could come over and take a peek to see if I would be interested in any of them.  Imagine my surprise when I began to open  tiny boxes to find these amazing treasures.

I should warn you--- I love them so much I have LOTS of pictures to share with you.........

When I was taking these pictures to share with you, I was trying to decide which new little  tea set was my very favorite.  I just couldn't decide----I would love to know which was your's..........
PS... Thank you Claudia for thinking of me and sharing these precious treasures with me!!!