What the second granddaughter got for her birthday.....

Following on from this house money box that Husband made for our elder granddaughter for her birthday, 

 he then made this doll's bed for the younger one -

I made a set of bedding to go with it. This is the mattress -

The feather pillow was made from an old cushion, and the pillow case from a vintage unworn beautiful cotton shirt, and a scrap of blue I got from somewhere -

The sheet, made from an old one of ours, gave me the opportunity to practise mitred corners (not quite perfect but I'm getting there!) -

And last of all this quilt, which has a bit of a story: When I was about 20 and living in my attic flat in Bristol (very nice it was too) I made 6 panels of patchwork, using scraps leftover mostly from things I had made, but also some from things my sister or my mum had made. I had a couple of these panels that I had never made into anything (other panels I did but have since unmade them so they need remaking into something else now!). This little quilt is made from one of those panels. There are pieces of the first blouse I ever made, at 15, and three dresses made in my twenties. The backing is a piece left over from a recent dress.

We have another grandchild due in the spring so now I'd better start planning what I'm going to make for it!

Doll's bedding set made for Granddaughter

Granddaughter No 1 was 3 just before Christmas. I made her this set of doll's bedding, which was a feather pillow, made from old cushions (feathers everywhere ....) a pillow case, a duvet made from a piece of wool fabric I was given, duvet cover made from calico, and duvet cover. The little doll is made from calico and stuffed with scraps of curtain interlining. 

The first thing to say is that some time ago one of my customers had given me lots of very old baby clothes which her husband (about 75) had worn. She gave them to me because none of her family wanted them and she thought I might appreciate them. I gave them all a hot wash, to see if they would stand up to it without falling apart as much as anything else, and then I wondered what to do with them.....

I know some people might consider it sacrilege to cut such things up, but I did..... The bedding below is made from one of the gowns, and I would guess is probably a cotton/wool mix. When I was doing my 'O' level needlework back in the 1970s, we were taught that the fabric known as Viyella was 80% wool/20% cotton, and that the one called Clydella was the other way round, i.e. 80% cotton/20% wool. I remember some of my school blouses being made from it. I don't know whether you can still get a fabric of this fibre content, but it is, in my opinion, such a sensible fabric - both soft and warm to the touch, ideal for winter shirts and blouses. It was lovely to sew with.

In these old baby garments there is a lot of fabric, as there was much gathering, so there was plenty in one of these gowns to make this set. The applique and embroidery is all from the original garment. I edged the pillow case with a piece of my wedding dress, the fabric for which came from Liberty's in the 1980s.

I made the little doll as I thought that Granddaughter might enjoy putting her in and out of the pocket, and also taking the nappy on and off. Maybe she will do that when her mummy is changing the nappy of little baby brother or sister who is due in the spring. I also thought that she might like trying to undo and do up the buttons on the duvet cover.

The nappy fastens with a popper.

Details of the embroidery - 

The piece of lace was also from the gown -

 Detail of applique -

Making the duvet with layers of wool (wool makes the best duvets! Yes it really does!) 

I sewed the original Harrods label back in and added my own on the back, with the date of Granddaughter's birthday.

And I also have to show you the money box that Husband made her, because it is so lovely!

Money box house

The money goes down the chimney. Husband spent hours getting it to look just right, and making a removable bottom. Now she can start saving for a real house! He also made Granddaughter No 2's present, and I made stuff to go with it - next blog post!