Playing With Dolls

"Nothing is sweeter, nor more bitter, than one's own children."

Macedonian Proverb

Matryoshka Doll Throw Pillow

                                                     
I raised three girls and none of them ever really liked playing with dolls.

The oldest was into playing outdoors as much and as often as she could, even in the middle of winter out in the snow.  The only doll she ever enjoyed playing with was a Micky Mouse that her grandmother gave her.  The middle one did enjoy her Barbie dolls but for her they were a collection to keep dressed in their original outfits and store away.  The youngest was a climber and saw everything from a fence to a tree as a challenge to be conquered.  The only doll she would not give up was not even supposed to be a doll.  I crocheted a doll body that had extra long legs meant to be a draft stopper for the door but when she got her hands on it she wanted to keep it for herself as a sleeping buddy.

I on the other hand remember playing with dolls all the time as a young child.  As a grown up I spent many years in Germany and when I first saw a Matryoshka doll , or stacking doll, while visiting what was then East Berlin, I fell in love with them and now have a collection that is over 35 years old.  Each one is loved and I have some that I actually purchased while I was on a trip to what was then the Soviet Union.

As a tribute to my collection and love for Matryoshka Dolls I created a Matryoshka Doll Throw Pillow to add to my shop.

Matryoshka Doll Throw Pillow

The pillow tops are 100% cotton layered with Warm and Natural cotton batting that is quilted with a satin stitch along the clothing seam lines and also quilted on the bottom skirt portion.  The pillow backs are a soft and cuddly fleece fabric in coordinating colors that makes a great surface to lay your head.  Doll faces come in a variety of flesh toned colors, have machine stitched sleeping faces and hair that is made of polyester acrylic fleece machine stitched in place.

What was your favorite doll?  Please leave a comment if you stop by and share what your favorite doll or play activity was when you were a child. 

Celebration of Quilts

National Quilting Day is fast approaching so I will take this week to feature  the Etsy Quiltsy Team and their beautiful creations. Quilts come in all shapes and sizes and can represent many things to many people....

Quilting is no longer just your grandma's traditional bed quilts.

Quilts can convey a sentiment:

Peace Dove by Quiltie

In this piece the quilter combines both hand embroidery and machine embroidery to create a lovely 12 X 14.25 wall hanging.

They can represent a religion, a culture, an expression of faith:

Shabbat Challah Cover/ Wall Hanging and Chai ("Life") Wall hanging by Sieberdesigns

Sieber Designs uses machine appliqued Hebrew lettering and accents her flowers with a sparkle of beading.  She has machine pieced and machine quilted her designs. 

Inspiring Bird Art Quilt Wall Hanging by Artfully Sew

Artfully Sew uses hand dyed fabrics and wax pastels in her original designs.  She accents her work with hand embroidery and machine pieces and machine quilts her creations.

They can be entertaining and fun for both boys and girls:

On the Go Checkers Roll by Jensport       

In this original design Jensport has pieced a  variety of blue fabrics and a solid white and used her sewing skills to add a zipper pocket to secure all those wooden checkers pieces.  The board is machine quilted in what is called a cross hatch design and with the binding she has added string ties to keep it nicely rolled for easy carry or storage.

Quilted Paper Dolls by Kim's Crafty Apple

Kims Crafty Apple makes these whimsical little "paper" dolls that so many of us remember from our childhood.  The dolls are quilted in an outline stitch to frame the "dolls" and secure the layers of fabric and batting.  There is also a pocket on the backside to store the clothing pieces.  She as also added string ties along the binding to secure it closed and make it a great carry along item.

They can be used to document history:

Family Tree Wall Hanging by SuzyQQuilts

In this piece SuzyQQuilts has used machine applique to attach leaves and tree trunk to the quilt background.  The leaves contain names and birthdates of family members making this a family heirloom piece.  This is a custom order item from her shop that can be ordered with your choice of border color.

and they can bring comfort after the loss of a loved one.

Memory Quilt by Quilting Frenzy

This piece is one of my own designs that was created for a customer after the death of her father.  My customer supplied me with 3 large shopping bags of flannel shirts that had belonged to her father and this is one of the two designs I put together for her.  It is machine pieced, machine appliqued and machine quilted.  I offer this as a custom order in my Etsy shop and the quilt can take on a totally different look depending on the type and color of garments used. 

Quilters of the Etsy Quiltsy Team have taken their craft to a new level and they have filled their shops with items that are perfect for anyone and for any occassion.  They recreate traditional or reinterpret designs, create unique designs of their own and work with customers to produce one of a kind items.  The Quiltsy Team members are professional individuals that create items of the highest quality and workmanship and you can not go wrong when you purchase items from anyone on this team.

For more items by this group search Etsy sellers for "quiltsy team" or check out tomorrow's blog for more featured quilters.