Raggedy Ann And Andy Get Ready For The Ball

Back in April I made these dolls. They are really quite easy to do as they start out as a panel that you simply cut apart and sew together. You can find a panel here on Ebay just in case you are interested.

Naked and hairless dolls, but so cute! As I said, the dolls are quite easy to put together, expect for the hair. It's not that it's so difficult, just takes time. The clothes are also from a pre-printed panel.

And finally, my finished dolls. They are going to be a part of a silent auction item for Lincoln Park Zoo, one of the last free zoos in the United States. When I say free, it's free to those who come to the zoo, there are a lot of people working very hard to raise funds in order to keep the zoo free.

Yesterday I put the quilt top together for the second piece of the auction item. It's for a double size bed. I don't think I have ever sewn so many 1/4" seams in my entire life. I dreamed about 1/4" seams last night!!  

The inset panel that you see above was left from I think the dress panel I made for the doll. Wherever it came from, I saved it and thought it would be cute to add to the quilt, but as you can see it had a few issues, one being that it wasn't exactly the right size. I pieced in a little daisy fabric that I had and made it work. The other issue is the printing in the upper right hand corner.

I decided to make a heart and applique it on top of the writing and no one will be the wiser. I think I will put a few hearts in other places on the quilt as well just to tie it all together, maybe.

My next step will be to sew the borders on to the quilt top. If I can get a little more of the piping that you see above, I am going to use it along with a narow strip of the yellow fabric and then finish it off with the small daisy fabric. I have a red and white check that I will bind the quilt with once I get it quilted. The quilting is going to be quite simple. I just need to get this finished.   

The last item of the auction package will be this little rocker. I will be making a slipcover for it this weekend. I plan to use the small blue daisy fabric and pipe it in the red and white check. As I work through the process, I will carefully document my work and I will post a slipcover tutorial next week. Slipcovers are really quite easy, just a little tricky in the corner of the seat.
This is not my favorite type of sewing to do, but once I get into to it, I have a good time. My husband saw the quilt top this morning and asked if I am going to be able to give it away. He knows that so much of my heart goes into these projects, but in the end, I am very happy to be able to be a part of something that has such far reaching benefits.