Sewing Stuff...

... Even Though I Know it Will be Grossly Under Appreciated

I love to sew.  Especially cute stuff - like dresses for little girls, baby blankets, toys and dolls.  The first Christmas after we were married, my husband gave me a sewing machine accompanied by a cryptic note that I interpreted to mean he believed this was an investment that would save us money in the long run because now I would be charged with making all of our family's clothes.  He insists that this wasn't his message, but it's still a source of contention between us :)  I barely sew clothes and I don't use my sewing machine to save on essentials!

A couple years ago I had the idea that I would sew saint dolls and simple cloth dolls for my first daughter, Ruth, so that she'd have something homemade and precious to become attached to, love and cherish, and that she would sentimentally save for her own daughter some day.  Well, I made those dolls, but she's not attached and she does not love and cherish them.  I thought I'd try again for her birthday this year... I made her a quilt - small enough for her toddler bed but big enough to transfer to a twin bed.  She won't even put it over her body.  She will only consent to sleeping on top of it.  Similarly, with the matching pillow, she doesn't like the side with the lovely patterns, she'll only sleep with it flipped over onto the flannel backing side.  Why do I even bother?  (I know the answer is it's really because I love to do it.)

I try not to take it personally.  I even thought I'd try again with a new doll.  (my husband heard my plan, and said "will you ever learn??")  Ruth has a resin statue of Our Lady holding the child Jesus in her room that she's taken a special liking to.  It's pretty heavy and has some sharper edges, so you can imagine I'm not crazy about Ruth sleeping with it or setting it on the nearby windowsill at bedtime - because I KNOW that one night it will fall on her in her sleep and cause a concussion or some other form of facial damage possibly requiring future cosmetic surgery.  We made a deal - if she would agree to leave it up on her dresser, I would make her a soft Mary doll that she could take into bed.  Ruth decided on Our Lady of Guadalupe - no doubt stemming from a deep spiritual bond she feels with OLG, stemming from her portrayal of Our Lady for All Saints Day, a costume stemming from the materials I had on hand at the time............  

cute, right?  I thought so!

Aaaaaaanyway... I made Our Lady of Guadalupe for Ruth and St. Clare for Clare (a few-weeks-late birthday gift).  While Our Lady of Guadalupe has found a home in the far corner of Ruth's bed (next to Mumford, the meerkat,) and Clare seems to enjoy chewing on St. Clare, it is as I suspected - I love the dolls more than the girls do.  But I'm willing to give it time.  And I'm willing to set my sights on my next victim... I offered to make a doll for Russ.  Although he said "no thanks" I don't feel like I really need to take him seriously.  After all, that's Ruth's take on all my handmade gifts and it hasn't stopped me yet!

a partially staged photo - it really was nap time, that was a real yawn, but I placed the
statue to best portray previous practices 

(update)

...hahahahahahahahaha... in a weird twist of events...

I originally wrote all this during nap time this afternoon.  After nap time, Ruth came downstairs with 5 dolls and Mumford in hand.  Dominic went to gather up the rest of our dolls and this is what transpired...

And then, this...

Maybe my kids have inherited a stich of my creative genius!!

Or, maybe not...