Barbara

This lovely lady is my mother-in-law. Her name is Barbara Heiner Curtis. Abby calls her "Grandma Barbara" or sometimes just Barbara. Her favorite color is royal purple, she loves dark chocolate, she will always win any game you play with her, and she is a master knitter.

She has knitted blessing blankets for all of my babies. She has made countless sweaters in every color of the rainbow for Abby. She is famous for her knitted dishcloths that she gives away any chance she gets. She patiently taught me how to crochet and knit the first year I was married to Cody. She uses her talents to uplift and cheer those around her.

We love her a lot.

I'm thinking of her today because our family will celebrate "German Christmas" tonight. In honor of all the Heiners, Neubergers, Fankhausers, and Von Auckermans in Cody and Barbara's family tree, we will bake stollen and gingerbread and then trim our tree--or as Charles Dickens called it, "that pretty German toy, a Christmas tree." While we won't hold hands and sing O Tannenbaum, we will take a loaf of stollen, all dusty with sugar, to Barbara. It's a small token of love we can give to a woman who gives us so much.

Fröhliche Weihnachten-- Merry Christmas.

Molly Dolly

When Abby was two, she found this cloth doll at The Quilted Bear. Since my mom was shopping with us and since she is a grandma, she bought the doll for Abby. We named her Molly Dolly. Ever since Molly Dolly has come home to live with us, she has snuggled with Abby, shared Abby's bed, and spent many hours playing with Abby. Really, she's not much to look at, in fact she's a little wackadoo (and so is her speaking voice--Molly has quite a distinctive tone.)



But Abby loves this doll and even though she is now six years old, Molly is still a beloved friend. However, for years now Molly has worn the same dress--a pioneer dress and matching pinafore. She's never had anything fancy to wear . . . until now. When I decided to sew doll clothes with the seagreen taffeta, I knew that Molly must have the first dress. She deserves it.

I used an old out-of-print McCalls pattern that is my favorite pattern for eighteen-inch doll clothes. The dress turned out really pretty, and when Molly saw it, she got pretty excited.

"For me?" she asked.

"Yes, Molly," I said. "All these years you've worn nothing but that shabby old calico dress. You need something beautiful to wear for the holiday season."

"Oh I do! I do!" she exclaimed, "I'll wear it to all of my fancy Christmas parties!"

Now if we could just do something about that hair . . .

Seagreen . . . Taffeta

Sitting on top of my fabric remnant stash is two yards of seagreen taffeta that my mother-in-law gave me. Taffeta is such a lovely fabric--it's crispy, easy to sew, and makes a nice swish-swish sound when it's worn. It's also a great word: Taff-e-ta. It may be one of my favorite fabrics and favorite words. I should be excited to make something with this stuff. Only there is one problem. It's seagreen. What kind of color is seagreen? The only people who can really pull off wearing seagreen are mermaids. I even tried to convince myself that instead of being seagreen, it was really a pretty light blue. But when I went to the store for matching thread, the only thread that matched was called "Spray Green." Which means seagreen.

It's a lamentable situation. Two yards of taffeta could make a great holiday skirt if it was red or black. Or if it was only a half yard, I'd whip up a Barbie dress (or a dress for Barbie's friend Ariel) and check it off my stash list without thinking twice. But two yards of seagreen taffeta requires some thought . . .

And look . . . matching lace. The quandary deepens. Just what will I make?

Check back soon.

Pumpkin Love

What do you need to bake a pumpkin pie besides a can of pumpkin? A pumpkin apron of course! Last week, my reward for finishing all of my laundry and ironing was cutting out and then sewing this very easy, but very cute pumpkin apron. And every time I folded a load of clothes or ironed another white shirt, I looked at this pumpkin fabric and smiled--(yes, I know, I'm a dork.) There is just something about a good pumpkin print with all its orange cheerfulness that makes me happy. And I can't think of a better way to wear a pumpkin print than in an apron (it may be the only way one can wear a pumpkin print . . . )

And there is something very fun about wearing an apron. I picture myself wearing this apron as I cook Thanksgiving dinner. Except I'm not cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year. But I will wear this apron as I hover around my mom in the kitchen trying to be useful. I'll even wear this apron as I make dinner for my own family. I'll wear it as I whip up a pumpkin pie or two this month. I might even just wear it around the house. I'll be honest, I am wearing it right now as I type this post. It's just so much fun to wear!

The pattern for this apron is the "Lily Apron" by Busy Bee Quilt Designs. It really is super easy to sew--I'm already planning to make it in a Christmas print. And please excuse the funny picture of me. Someday I'll have a dressform to model all of my creations instead of having to awkwardly pose in the kitchen as Abby takes my picture.