Devoted to Doll Quilts

Many of you have already discovered the "pull" of small quilts. What is it about doll quilts that touches our hearts? I started quilting 10 years ago by making small quilts or doll quilts for my daughter's dolls. I wasn't very good at it at first, but I kept at it because it made me (and my daughter) feel so good to actually make something so small and still be able to call it a quilt.

Not my first quilt . . . but an early one. I wasn't into "scrappy" yet. Too matchy for me now.

At the time, I was a  devoted mom of 2, doing a little freelance work as a textbook editor to help pay the bills in my spare time. Ha! Who has any spare time with kids? My husband would come home, we'd eat dinner and tired as I was after my full-time mommy job I'd go upstairs to my "office" (a small desk in my bedroom, LOL) for a few hours to try to get some copy editing work done. I really had no time for hobbies. I used to cross stitch quite a bit before the children came along and remembered the relaxing feeling it gave me but all the constant interruptions made it hard to keep my place and I kept losing needles all over the house so I gave it up.

It was the summer my kids wanted to just stay home and play with friends instead of going to camp or keeping busy with activities that I "found" quilting. They were finally old enough that they didn't need my constant attention anymore. Work was slow and I had no projects lined up so I actually needed something to do myself while they played. I couldn't go anywhere--I needed to be there at home but also didn't need to hover over them. So I picked up a Little Quilts book and taught myself to quilt.

My first attempt was awful. I had no idea how to use a rotary cutter or ruler, had no scraps and little sense of design, but I was determined to make something and kept at it. The day I bought that book may have been a defining moment because it was really the beginning of my passion for small quilts. I felt the "pull."

The quilts I loved were the simple ones that reminded me of little antique doll quilts and when I started making them for Caitlin's American Girl dolls, I became interested in the history surrounding quilts. I poured over books on antique quilts but rarely saw any on doll quilts and eventually only found one or two on their history, with a few pictures, mostly black and white, and no patterns. You can sometimes still find this one on eBay. I lucked out--my library was getting rid of it for 50 cents.

Small was so easy for me and I discovered that this was exactly the way children learned to sew centuries ago. Mothers encouraged girls to sew doll quilts to add a fun element to a necessary skill. Sewing was an important chore for families in the 18th and 19th centuries (particularly before sewing machines were available, can you imagine?). Even young children were expected to help out with family sewing and mending. Making quilts for their dolls was an easy way for little girls to practice skills and it still works for us today.

  

Again, please, this is NOT a picture of me as a little girl . . . . I was born in the fifties. The 1950s.

I started out designing quilts intended for beginners or children (American Doll Quilts in 2004 was my first book), hoping to spark something in others that I felt when I first began. I've made some larger quilts over the years but I don't get the same feeling of satisfaction as I do when I finish a little quilt. Haven't figured that one out, maybe it's got something to do with the rapid completion of a project that leads to the addiction. I just shrug and keep on making the type of quilt that makes me feel good. And, hopefully, you too.

I'm getting impatient waiting for the new book to come out. I've done about all I can on my end and now I just have to wait and let my publisher work its magic. In the meantime, I've resorted to making more little quilts to share with you. I've had this project in the back of my mind for a long time and decided to take the leap and make it come to life.

                                         

( Little Prairie Points Quilt from Remembering Adelia)

I really felt like joining a club to make simple little quilts on a monthly basis like the Remembering Adelia Club or the Prairie Children Club I offer to shops based upon the quilts from my books--the members seem to have so much fun! But I've already MADE those quilts you see. I decided to design some different quilts that I've always wanted to make and also make my own rules. 

So here it is, my newest project for you beginning this summer: The American Schoolgirl Club, Doll Quilt Pattens from the Past, a club just for quilters like myself. Something to definitely keep us busy while we're waiting for the book . . . .

If you sign up to become a member, every month, for six months, you'll get a pattern "booklet" for a simple little doll quilt I designed (new ones). The quilts will have a 19th century feel and, in addition to vintage photos of children, the booklets will include tips to help you make your little quilts. It's kind of like a Block of the Month program that quilt shops offer. Instead of a block, you get a pattern for a simple little doll quilt. Six patterns in all. (Not available as individual patterns, club option only.)

From American Doll Quilts

The patterns will include a Baskets quilt, a Signature quilt, a little Crazy quilt and maybe even a few sewing accessories too. In the tradition of American Doll Quilts. That's all I'm saying. A nice little surprise every month from June through November. What could be more fun?

Crazy quilt from American Doll Quilts

This is really so cool and I'm very excited--I've wanted to do this for a long time and never had the time. Now I'm even more devoted to doll quilts than I ever was before. I hope some of you will be too!

      Check it out here.

Oops, I almost forgot. I'll be signing books and showing my quilts from Remembering Adelia at Kindred Spirits Quilt Shop in Denmark,Wisconsin, tomorrow, Saturday, May 15, at 11:30 - 12:30. Be there! The shop has a Remembering Adelia Club so I hope all the members bring their finished quilts too.

Chicago This Week

Sounds like the title of a new morning TV show, doesn't it?  "Chicago This Week," starring Kathy Tracy-- join her as she rediscovers the city of her birth . . . on foot. But today it rained. No walking or exploring outside for me. My hair frizzes up when it rains.

I figure as long as I have to drive into the city a couple of times a week, which will considerably cut into my time to quilt and also won't give me much else to talk about for awhile, I might as well take you all along for company . . . .

       

I was going to but forgot to bring along my hand quilting as we were rushing out the door this morning, so I went to a nearby bookstore to spend some time.

                          

Found a warm, quiet place to sit and read and think and watch the rain for an hour.

To be sure, there are many, many very crummy, gritty parts of the city, but I love this particular Chicago with its clean streets and old buildings mixed with fancy new ones. Reminds me of  when I was 18 and had a summer job downtown working at the Chicago Tribune, always hopping on or off a bus or rushing up and down the street with everyone else, almost all grown up but not quite.

Did a little inside exploring instead. Look what I found. (Did you really think I wouldn't check??)

What a surprise. That's the first time I've EVER seen one of my books in a major bookstore. Who knew any place other than quilts shops or hobby stores carried it?

Walked to the Water Tower Place mall after. Took the glass elevator up to the 7th floor and walked a few laps down and around.

I get slightly claustrophobic in elevators and last week almost panicked when we were "stuck" in a very small one between floors for more than a few minutes. Very creepy. I wish all elevators were glass elevators. Those aren't so bad. But, all in all, considering the rain and the traffic, the commute back home (to the puddle that's in my backyard) wasn't bad at all. Maybe because I remembered to buy Strawberry Twizzlers . . . .

                               

Happy Mother's Day

A very Happy Mother's Day to one and all!

"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother"  ~Abraham Lincoln

(If only we didn't have to wait until they became president for them to realize this . . . )

 I finally got one of those mini applique irons that everyone else has . . .

"It kills you to see them grow up. But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't." ~Barbara Kingsolver

When she was about 12 and we were going through a particularly difficult period (and, if I recall, she didn't like me very much), my daughter wrote me a Mother's Day poem, LOL. Can't remember what we were fighting about, probably homework. . . . I keep a copy of this on my sewing room wall. Here's an excerpt:

"You are there when I laugh

There when I cry

Nothing can stop you

From making me try.

Pushing me through

Sometimes over the edge

We'll always be friends

To that I can pledge.

At times it seems hard

Especially when we fight

You think l'm wrong

I think I'm right.

It doesn't make sense

But neither does love

Like that of an angel

Sent from above."

There's more, but you get the point. Ah, mothers and daughters . . .  At least she got some of her angst out in a creative way. We're better now, some days, at least.

I have a son, too, and he recently turned 21. Where oh where does the time go?? One of my favorite pictures of us, taken just several days after being inducted into "Momhood."  Is that really my hair?? I'm so old now I can't remember if it was a perm or that wonderful thing that happens to your hair in pregnancy . . .

He looks very content, doesn't he? They say babies don't actually smile when they're only a couple of days old, probably just gas everyone said. But I know better . . . 

I started sewing some half-square triangles from scraps a few weeks ago when I was bored. No special pattern. I love simple triangle quilts, so I'll probably just put them together into a little one. Maybe I'll have a little time to get some more of them finished today.

"The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom."  ~Henry Ward Beecher

"The mother loves her child most divinely, not when she surrounds him with comfort and anticipates his wants, but when she resolutely holds him to the highest standards and is content with nothing less than his best."  ~Hamilton Wright

Have a good one.

Busy Week

This week I am finishing up the first edit of the pages and illustrations for the new book--can't divulge the title yet. The pages have been edited by my editors and now it's my turn to go through them and add anything or make any changes. The next version I see will be the page proofs, probably this summer. That part is very exciting--to see the layout and design of pages with photos. My publisher has the quilts to be able to photograph them and I've almost forgotten what they look like!

Everybody's making pink and brown quilts these days and there'll be one in the book too.

I tried to make every quilt in the book inspiring in some way and that's not always easy. I wanted them to be simple enough for beginners to make and yet also give experienced quilters patterns that are, if not exactly challenging, at least interesting. There also will be a few sewing accessories, which are always fun.

Here's my basket of scraps, leftovers from the book quilts--I still haven't cleaned it out yet.

In addition to making sure I finish up the book stuff I have lots of other things that are keeping me busy these days. My 16-year-old daughter has been having problems with herniated discs in her back for over a year that have gotten much worse in the last few months. It's been very stressful to see her in so much pain and not be able to participate in activities that she used to enjoy--she was a terrific soccer player for years and years. She's seen several doctors and has gone through two rounds of physical therapy which sometimes seems to aggravate it more. The latest doctor recommended a Physical Therapy/pain management program for adolescents which sounds promising and is supposed to have a good recovery success  rate. It happens to be located in downtown Chicago, which is not really a big problem for me--but we live at least 45 minutes away when traffic is good.

                           

The program is four hours twice a week plus the commute, which means it will take up a decent part of my week as I will be driving her on those days. Since it doesn't make sense to fight traffic and go back home after I drop her off, I am stuck waiting downtown for hours at a time while she is going through the program for the next few weeks or months.

                        

Don't get me wrong, I love the city. I was born and raised in Chicago and have always lived near it. My husband came with us yesterday and after meeting with the doctors and being introduced to the specifics of the program, we handed her over and took off for a few hours.

                        

I spent my twenties living in an apartment in the city before I met my husband, married, had kids and then moved out to the suburbs. Although we occasionally travel into the downtown area, it's usually for an event---a concert, play or a work-related dinner for my husband--and so it's not that often that I get a chance to just roam around without a plan.

                            

The physical therapy place is down the block from the American Girl Place--I had to stop and look for old times' sake. We were lucky to be able to have that store nearby to visit when my daughter was younger--she'd bring her favorite doll and we'd shop and have lunch in the American Girl cafe, running into girls from all over the country on trips to do the same thing. Oh the memories of my sweet baby girl playing with dolls!

                            

                                

                               

The doll with the sunglasses sitting next to the dog looks like my Caitie!

From there we stopped for coffee and a snack and then walked all the way to the Chicago History Museum.

                               

                               

Chicago has some great neighborhoods and it's been years since I've walked through them instead of hastily driving past on my way to somewhere else. Luckily, it was a beautiful day.

                                

                               

Beautiful vintage architecture mixed with skyscrapers in the background.

                                   

                                            

Only the very rich can afford to live on Astor Street.

                                        

The History Museum

                                          

                                             

No visit to the Chicago History Museum is compete without seeing the exhibit on the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which destroyed much of the city, killing hundreds and leaving thousands homeless.

                                     

                                   

                                   

This doll really intrigued me and I wondered about her role in the Fire.

                                      

"During the Great Chicago Fire, 6-yr-old Charlotte McNally and her family fled for their lives. She carried her doll to safety and decades later donated it to the Chicago History Museum."

Then it was time to walk back and pick up my daughter. The walking did us some good and helped our stress levels a bit. If I hadn't been so worried about her I'd say it turned out to be a pretty good day. Wonder where I'll go in the coming weeks?