This time last week I was finishing up this little darling. She is 4 inches tall and based on a pattern from the book DOLLS TO MAKE FOR FUN AND PROFIT, by Edith Flack Ackley, published in 1939. I remember checking this book out of the library as a child. I recently purchased my own copy.

Unlike the dolls in the book she is made of wool felt, not woven cotton fabric. I am very comfortable hand sewing felt. She has a wire armature so she can be posed. Her petticoat and pantaloons were made out of an old cotton handkerchief. The trim is vintage tatted lace.

Confessions and Apologies of an Occasional Sports Mom

Dear blog readers,
This week school started again so I have been very busy. Along with my teaching schedule my fourteen-year-old has basketball practice at 6:30 a.m. three mornings a week and I just go to school early on those days. I also have had an awful cold and I have not done a creative thing this week. This evening I worked the concession stand for an hour and a half, then watched my son's team play. They are the seventh grade team of a small private school playing an even smaller school's team. I have put this video on my blog for the benefit of family members unable to come to his games. My apologies to anyone uninterested in basketball.

The Tale of Two Teapots

My family is a tea drinking family. We love coffee too but I have more warm memories about tea and teapots than coffee. The song "I'm a Little Teapot, Short and Stout" brings back memories of my teen-aged aunts and me being about 3 years old. My grandmother served me tea from her yellow Hall teapot like this one when I was visiting her as a child. I remember Bigelow Constant Comment, still a favorite, and Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger, not a favorite but I loved it then!

The yellow teapot is one I found in an antique store and bought because it is just like the one my grandmother, who is 91, still uses.

This large white teapot was given to my grandmother by my great-great-aunt. My gandmother gave it to me because it is so big and she thought I could use a big one; I have 6 children and we use to have frequent "tea parties." This is a BIG teapot. It holds 1/2 gallon or 2 liters of tea and measures 7 1/2 inches tall, 12 from handle to tip of spout!

I started my children with "cambric tea" giving them a little tea with copious amounts of milk and sugar cubes. Cookies, scones, or some other sweets usually went with tea in those days and still do!

Tale of Two Tea Cozies

I was inspired by a piece of soft gray felt that I bought off a remnant rack to make a tea cozy for my large white teapot. I decided to make it fairly simple to go with the simplicity of the teapot. I had a desire to do some hand sewing but also finish a project in a day or two. Naturally one project inspires another, usually before the first is finished! I thought of making a tea cozy to send to my grandmother out of some squares I started last August. This was a nice last day of '07 and first day of '08 project - two tea-cozies finished in two days!