DOLL CLOTHES

Some people enjoy making doll clothes. I am not one of them. Just let me make quilts day in and day out. But we bought my granddaughter an American Girl Doll for Christmas last year, so naturally I enjoy providing for her. My daughter sent me a link to an Etsy shop that I flipped over. The shop belongs to Terri Wilson, and if you are in the market for beautifully made outfits for an American Girl Doll, or any doll of that size, you must check out this site. 

 This is the dress that I chose to buy for MYSELF! This dress is from Terri's historical section. If you need a doll dress to fit an era, Terri has it! This little dress comes with an Abe Lincoln button and the Emancipation Proclamation. I am afraid I may have to buy a doll for myself now. She has so many adorable clothes that fit the 17th Century.

And below is the outfit I bought for my granddaughter (formerly know as The Plumpkin). How cute is this? And it comes with the saddle shoes! Also see the Poodle Skirts!

 If you are looking for a gift for a little girl, or an adult with a doll habit, take a look at Terri's Etsy Shop. You won't be disappointed. She has a larger variety than you will find at the American Girl website. Love their dolls! Love Terri's doll clothes!

 

 Oh look! She has doll quilts too! I think she is one of us!

And here is our own American Girl Doll! All dressed up and ready to party! Of course she is taking her own picture with the phone, just like the big girls do!

Thanks for reading my blog! It is fun to share.

I BELIEVE

 

Recently I was sitting on the couch in our living room and my eyes darted past a pile of magazines scattered on the table. I did a quick double take as I focused on the one thing in the pile that had instantly brought peace to my soul. I love my quilting and other things that bring me happiness and satisfaction, but the flash of this image of our Savior had an effect that came so quickly and so quietly, and it was amazing to me. I am not even going to elaborate, but leave you to "ponder these things" as the shepherds of old in that faraway field were left to ponder.

 

Four year old Kathryn told her mother, my daughter, that she and her friend from school REALLY believe in Santa, because if you don't believe in Santa he won't bring you presents. My daughter replied that there are probably some children in her school who don't believe in Santa. "Yes", Kathryn said. "Claire doesn't believe in Santa".  "What does Claire believe?" my daughter asked. "Claire believes in kittens!" said Kathryn. 

 

Well of course! Who doesn't?! 

Along with kittens, here  is what I believe: I believe in the Spirit of Christmas! I believe in Peace on Earth Goodwill to Men! I believe in the Golden Rule of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. I believe in many other things as well, but this is enough to get us through the Holiday Season no matter what religion we may be. In fact, this is a great way to go through life! At least that is what I Believe!

SMALL BLESSINGS

Regular readers probably recognize my youngest granddaughter, the one I call Plumpkin. She is four years old and quite the entertainer. When her older sister got married last month this little girl kept approaching the microphone at the family dinner. She wanted to share a story like everyone else. She never did get the nerve to say anything, but she was so tempted!

Yesterday I got an e-mail from her. She composed it and her daddy typed it out. It said:

Dear Grandma Marcie,
I have missed you for a really long time. I wish I could be with you.

I really want you to come visit. I wish you could be with me, so I decided to visit you. And now I decided when I get there, I should surprise you and sneak in as a mouse in the morning.
In the morning I might surprise Grandpa too!

Love, Kathryn

I think that is the cutest, sweetest e-mail I have ever received! She lives in Montana, so I am not likely to see her for quite a while.

Thanksgiving is all about family traditions at our house. Even when our house is empty and devoid of our children, the traditional foods must be prepared. Here is what we will be having. Seriously, we have the exact same thing every Thanksgiving:

Turkey, of course!

Chestnut dressing --a favorite from my side of the family

Mashed potatoes and gravy

Scalloped corn --a Patch family favorite
Cinnamon rolls --Patch family

Green jello with pears and cream cheese --Patch family

Stuffed mushrooms --my family

Apple pie --American family favorite!

The chestnuts, pictured above, have been coming to us for the past several years from Spangler, PA, where my daughter-in-law's parents live. They have chestnut trees. For years my mother bought chestnuts and my dad cleaned them for our Thanksgiving dinner. (Not horse chestnuts, mind you. Those are different!) Now we look forward to the package we receive from Pennsylvania with the wonderful chestnuts that we love.

In the photo you can see what the chestnuts look like. They are not as big as those that you find in the grocery stores for $3.99 a pound. Those come from Italy, and you never know what you will get in terms of quality. Sometimes they are wonderful and sometimes not so much. The PA chestnuts are small and sweet. This year's crop cleaned up beautifully!

First you take a sharp knife and cut an X in the shell. Then put a small amount of water in the bottom of a pyrex dish and add 6 to 8 chestnuts. Place in the microwave for 45 seconds. When they come out the shell is partly opened where it was X-ed. Peel back the rest of the shell and the brown skin. Chop the nuts. At this point I put them in the freezer for later, then get them out for Thanksgiving. Saute them in a skillet with chopped onions and celery with a stick of butter. Add about a loaf of cubed bread and stir it together to soak up the butter. Salt this mixture as well. Try not to eat too much as you stuff the bird. All the ingredients are based on personal preference. One and a half to two pounds of chestnuts is usually about right for the stuffing. Well, that is the way we do it at our house!

With grateful hearts and helpful hands, have a wonderful, peaceful Thanksgiving!

MEOWALOT

Who is that sneaking through your neighborhood? Yeow! It's a cute little black kitty cat! Yes, it is my own dear little Plumpkin! This is one sassy little kitty, I can tell you that! Kids love to dress up, don't they? I hope they all have fun on Halloween!

I wonder what Rembrandt, Karen's kitty on the left, will be doing for Halloween? I had to post his picture because I thought he and Plumpkin look related. Maybe he will dress up as a little girl again!

I have never had anyone ring our bell on Halloween for as long as we have lived here. We don't have any children in our neighborhood. And NO, I don't live in a Senior Center--yet! I bought a big bag of candy at Sam's Club. My favorite kind, of course, because no one comes here to Trick or Treat. So it is mine, all mine! If you are thinking that I just might be a chocolate addict, you are so right!


Have a safe and spooky night!

THANK YOU

Thank you for the world so sweet,

Thank you for the food we eat,

Thank you for the birds that sing,

Thank you God, for everything!

Wishing you all the blessings that come from a thankful heart!

KID STUFF

I have been laughing at my funny grandchildren and just have to share a couple of stories. This is the part where you can zone out if you only want to see quilt stuff. But if you want a laugh, read on!

Remember the little Plumpkin, as I have so often called her? She is two years old and lives in Minnesota. She decided to walk to her other Grandmother's house who only lives about ten miles away. My daughter was chasing her down the sidewalk when she turned around and said, "Mom, I'm not a kid anymore!" Apparently this is a quote from one of the Lion King movies. Here she is all decked out for Halloween. Don't mess with her!

The other funny story comes from Arizona. My son and granddaughter (the flyer -age 11) decided to make a pillow case. He bought some fabric and prepared to cut it. Darling granddaughter gets out the supplies. First she finds my cutting mat under the bed. Then she goes into the garage and gets her dad's right angle tool from his woodshop. Next, she pulls out the drawer in the kitchen and removes the pizza cutter! She was overheard saying, "this isn't turning out as good as when Grama does it." Hmmm, should I tell her?

BLOGS AND BLOCKS

My husband has been gone on a business trip this week and I thought I would get so much done! Where does the time go? I can't catch up on the projects that I posted about before I left for Minnesota. I have been home for two weeks and I feel like I am spinning my wheels. I need some time to spend finishing some stuff. I haven't even read all the blogs on my bloglines. I feel bad about that. When I got home my bloglines said I had over 600 entries to catch up. Now it says 400.

It would help if Kim at http://kimsbigquiltingadventure.blogspot.com/ didn't write every day. But she just can't shut up! And I want to read all her funny stories.

Then there is Mary at http://maryquilts.blogspot.com/ who not only blogs every day, but also completes an amazing amount of fabulous quilts, and now is providing instructions for them!

Darlene at http://quiltingdaze.blogspot.com/ and May Britt at http://abyquilt.blogspot.com/ always have darling projects, big and small, and I want to dive into each one of them!

Oh yes, there are many, many more of you who keep me at the computer much longer than I should be. How can I get anything done when there are so many voices waiting to be heard? And new people keep showing up! I am going to have to draw the line somewhere. But not quite yet.





OK, that reminds me of my little Plumpkin. She mimics everything she hears, of course, and her mom has gotten into the habit of saying, "Not quite yet," to her when she asks for things. Plumpkin, of course, now uses that expression constantly. In fact, she will answer her own questions and say, "Can I have a cookie, not quite yet"? Or "Can we go to the park, not quite yet"? This is a picture of her this month - June - when she decided that the only outfit she would be willing to wear was a witch costume that she spotted in her closet. She actually prefers no clothes. Her mom decided that witch clothes were just fine.





Just so you know I haven't been totally non-productive, I have been making some of those Cheri Saffiote blocks, (see http://patchalotmore.blogspot.com/2007/05/primitive-christmas-blocks.html )and I wanted to see what orphan blocks I had that might work with them. I actually found a few that sized up very nicely together. The cardinal is a Debbie Mumm design, the Santa is from Country Threads, The tree from Little Quilts, and the quilt block is a reject from a block exchange. The color was good for this. The little ornament block is one of the Saffiote blocks I made. Patti at http://quiltingisstillmypassion.blogspot.com/ has been combining her orphan blocks into an enormous quilt that is awesome. I can tell you it is hard work figuring how to fit it all together. I am thrilled with my little project and I am going to border it and call it done! Sadly, it only contains one of the Saffiote blocks, so I will still have to decide what to do with all the rest. I am in no hurry, but I would like to see SOMETHING completed!
Dang, my Bloglines is now reading 485!