Winter Equals Sewing

For several years around our house the annual ushering in of a long, cold winter means hauling out the sewing machine. I grew up as one of five girls in a home where my Mom sewed for enjoyment. As she worked on her quilts she would let me have all the left over scraps that I wanted. From these I would sew to my hearts content doll clothes and doll quilts, and eventually graduated to larger quilts.

But I never really outgrew sewing the doll clothes. Luckily, two of my own little girls have loved dolls and doll clothes over the years, too, which gives me a good excuse to keep creating them. Many a happy day has been spent looking through the American Girl magazines for new designs, digging through the scrap boxes for just the right pattern, and then the girls waiting patiently while their new doll clothes appear out of the odd-shaped pattern pieces. I don't actually use patterns, I just guess and cut and sew and hope they fit, adjusting sizes as we go.

Alexis has outgrown these sewing parties, but since Grace received a new doll for Christmas her first thought was that she needed some clothes. When cousin Morgan came to stay this week it turned into a sewing party for both of their dolls. They choose a winter outfit, complete with mittens, boots and a vest. The final result was two matching outfits and two happy girls; wait, three happy girls!