Just in case you hadn’t seen it, Noel’s blue and silver Christmas/New Year’s dress set is listed on Ebay now. It’s only running for 3 days and ENDS TUESDAY EVENING…YEP…TOMORROW NIGHT! AND it has a new name…thank you very much, Ingrid! Instead of using Old Fashioned Christmas again, Ingrid suggested Winter Delight and I loved it, so the name was changed! Yay! I plan on sending it out Priority Mail so HOPEFULLY it will arrive by Christmas.
You can see it by clicking her picture at the right side bar or you can click HERE.
I mentioned in my listing that I “may” change the tiny little french knots to seed beads. Well, I did that… let me tell you why: I could see in the close up of the french knots that some were kind of curling loose… and this Sliver thread that I use isn’t really sewing thread at all…it’s for decorative things. Does anyone remember what it was like when you had a cassette tape unwind? Remember that brown shiny tape? Well, that’s kind of what Sliver thread is like…only about as wide as a pencil line… really skinny stuff. It’s kind of stretchy too and has a mind of its own. I just didn’t want someone to have their doll get her finger caught in the thread and pull it out. It would be kind of like unraveling your knitting…
If you click on the picture below, you can see where some of the french knots are already curling.
Rebecca had these seed beads… they are painted silver on the inside and the clear glass on the outside makes them sparkle…
I believe it was Linda who suggested a few days ago that everyone send me pictures of their dolls dressed up or Christmas decorations they have up or something festive going on with them… She said she knew it was a busy time for me right now and maybe this would help me out while I’m not sewing for the dolls right now. I will be doing some before the end of the year, I think… but I DO want to get my kitchen cabinets painted…and I mean it this time. I appreciate Linda’s suggestion very much! Today was a BIG day… we had the Food Pantry giveaway for families… There were 271 that went through the lines to get all kinds of food, toys (I was on that detail along with Leann) stockings filled with goodies, cleaning products, and lots more. It was cold (in the upper 30’s) but fortunately we were standing by the building so the wind and cold air blowing were pretty much blocked from us. We survived! :o)
This is where Leann and I were working…
We had a couple of great helpers… who would retrieve us toys for young girls, young boys, babies, older girls and older boys… I told them if they posed for me, I would send their picture around the world. They had no idea what I meant, but they still posed…
We had LOTS of toys to pick from…
The day went pretty smoothly…
Here is a panoramic shot of the line of people waiting to get their goodies.
I still have plenty to do, but I still want to keep up my posts. I have just decided to use the pictures I’ve received in the order I have gotten them. That way, I hope I don’t miss anyone. I haven’t responded to anyone’s emails because I wanted to keep in the “in the black” so I’d know I hadn’t opened them yet.
So who’s up first?
Bobby San sent me this picture of a quilt she sent to her granddaughter in the Ukraine… Isn’t it beautiful??? Thanks Bobby!
Next up with some pictures is Kathie… she’s from Omaha, Nebraska and loves repairing dolls… in fact, she has a doll hospital! :o)
She sent me this picture a while back of the ornaments she’s giving her sister’s grandkids… She said she usually sends ornaments with their names and the year on them, but thought they will ever forget what year these were from! Aren’t they adorable?
Here is more from Kathie… this was her email…
Most of my favorite ornaments are on this tree. I have wanted to do one forever …and since we had “time” this year it happened. Funny thing…the big tree we always do still has a ton of ornaments on it 🤗
The Angel ornaments that are tiny are Hallmark by Donna Lee. I think my daughter bought me the first one and after that I got one every year…and then whenever I saw one at a garage sale or Estate Sale. There are duplicates but that way no one will have to fight over them later😳
The Angel on top is a Madame Alexander that a girl friend of my sons gave me years ago. We usually get one from vacation spots …2 are from Hawaii made from shells. Others are probably equally hand made or manufactured or gifts from friends.
Kathie’s pictures won’t enlarge if you click on them, but IF you hit the control key in the bottom left of your keyboard and the + sign up on the top row, they will enlarge… to get back to regular size… just hit Ctrl and the – key.
Has anyone else ever had such a “girlie” tree, or do you recognize or have any of these ornaments? Thanks Kathie!
I hope you’ll come back tomorrow and see who is up next. I’m going to put away my Christmas fabrics and props…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Well, although I did like your French knots, Jeanne, I can see the logic of switching them to beads. I have to say, I was a bit surprised you used Sliver for the knots, but it looked so Good, I thought maybe I might try it sometime. But, after what you said about it, perhaps not!! LOL I’ll save it for machine embellishment instead. (And it’s not real easy to use on the machine, either, sometimes!)
Bobby, your quilt is beautiful, and I love how the pink/magenta/purple colors blend so nicely. I’m sure your granddaughter will love it!
For sure, those kids will remember this year, Kathie, and will remember exactly when those cute ornaments were given to them!
And what a fun tree, and so much to look at! I recognize some of the ornaments (although I don’t have them). I do have a little ballerina fairy rather like the one on the far left of the 3rd picture up, however. Your Madame Alexander treetop angel is a real treasure, for sure!
It looks like your day yesterday went pretty smoothly, Jeanne! What a wonderful thing to do for the people who need it, and it seems there are a lot of people who need it this year!
Bobby, your quilt is just beautiful and your granddaughter will certainly treasure it always, knowing it was made for her by her grandmother! I notice an antique sewing maching at the left of your quilt picture. I have one like it too! Reminds me of my grandmother who gave it to me.
Kathie, your tree is adorable! I like those slim trees, much easier to trim! I do recognize some of the Hallmark Madame Alexander character ornaments. I have one similar to the Little Red Riding Hood ornament. It’s fun getting ornaments out and remembering where or when you got them. I also recognize those old fashioned paper ornaments, of which I have several. And Chatty Cathy! I don’t have her, but she is fun to see on that tree with all those old fashioned ornaments! Thank you so much for sending these pictures to Jeanne for us to see!
I’m thrilled to see everything in this post. Thank goodness for people like you who man and woman the organizations that are being Santa this year. Thank you. Bobby’s quilt is beautiful and obviously made with love. It will provide memories for generations.
Kathie’s tree is wonderful! Thanks for sharing your pictures and getting us started on what will surely be a memorable series of pictures of Christmas trees as our friends share their trees, especially since few people will see them in person this year. I do have some of the ornaments, the flat white angel dolls dressed in fur-trimmed outfits. It’s going to take a while to study this tree in detail. I hadn’t seen the slim trees before. What a great collection you have! Thanks again for reassembling my childhood Mary Hoyer doll a while back in your doll hospital.
Bobbie,, what a beautiful quilt and treasure for your granddaughter to receive. The design is very beautiful. No doubt this will become a family heirloom. I’m guessing you have other quilts made by you for family. What useful yet meaningful gifts.
Now that is a spectacular tree. All the ornaments and little dollies are fun to look at including the MA Angel on top. It takes awhile to see each one. It must be memorable to know when you got each one. Do you keep a list of their history? So interesting to look at all of them.
Thanks for sharing these pictures , Jeanne.
Glad you survived the food/toy giveaway and that it was outdoors and masked. I’m sure everyone appreciated the food and gifts. Times are so tough right now.
Thanks for sharing the photos from everyone. The quilt is wonderful. Love it. And Kathie’s ornaments and tree are so well displayed. How fun to discover the bubble lights. I always wanted those as a kid, but we didn’t have them. Much later on I bought a small string. Guess I should find them and see if I can put them somewhere. We have the tree out of the box and up in it’s corner. We’ll see if we want to haul out boxes from the top of the closet and put on decorations today. Maybe.
I’m excited as a Connie Lowe doll will be headed this way in the new year. They are so fun. 🙂
Jeanne, forgot to mention how pretty your Christmas outfit turned out. Love the blue and silver you chose. The name is perfect too.
The world is a better place with such wonderful people like you and the volunteers who contribute their time and efforts at the Giveaway. I’m sure many families were very appreciative and grateful.
Dear Jeanne, Bobby’s quilt and little animals are lovely. I am sure they will all be big hits.
I love Kathie’s tree. I recognize a Madame Alexander doll. I think it is Little Red Riding Hood.
How wonderful that you donated your time to help those in need of food. They will be forever thankful that people cared about them.
Thanks for all the pictures everyone! We are in the car traveling home so this is quick acknowledgment of all the photos. It’s hard to type in a moving car!
Hope you have a safe trip home. Must be hard to leave though.
What an amazing job you all did giving away the parcels. I am sure everyone was very grateful for a bit of extra love at this time of year.
I know exactly what you mean about the silver thread! I made a wall hanging for a friend a few years ago and buttonholed, by hand, all around the words on it in gold thread. It was a nightmare to do. The gold coating kept wearing off as I put it through the fabric so had to cut very small lengths. When I had finished it I gave it all one last press and all the thread melted! I had to re do all the buttonholing but by this time the whole thing was finished and quilted so it was much more difficult. I thought I might use the thread in something else but use the machine this time (and be more careful with the ironing) but the gold kept wearing off as it went through the fabric and then it would break and I would have to start again. I am at a loss to know what this thread was supposed to be used for!!!
Loved the photo of the tree with all the angels. Love the doll on top. I have a collection of angels all of which were supposed to go on top of the tree but the top of the tree isn’t strong enough and they all make the whole top branch bend. I have a star on top at the moment and even that looks as though it has imbibed too much. I have reduced my decorations on the tree to only handmade or bought for me (mostly by Sam). I have one little decoration that comes out every year made from part of an egg carton and painted blue and sprinkled with red glitter. It was made by Jonathan when he was in kindy, I think he was three. He noticed it last year and I think was quite pleased that I still treasure it.
Bobby’s quilt is lovely, I am sure she will treasure it forever.
I made one for my grandaughter in Melbourne (Australia) 3 years ago. I managed to get it in the post (at great cost!!) the day after the last posting day. I thought one day wouldn’t make that much difference. only a couple of days after I posted it my son had a stroke (actually 3 strokes over the next couple of days). His wife was given compassionate leave from work and since it was very close to the end of the school year Wendy didn’t have to go back for the last couple of weeks. Robyn had to go back to work on 16th Jan and Rob was coming out of hospital soon after that, and Wendy wasn’t going back to school till the beginning of Feb so I decided to go over to help out. The quilt didn’t arrive in time for Christmas or even in time for New Year. It arrived two days before I did! I could have taken it over. Worse still, I had to be home by 9 Feb as I had a wedding cake scheduled and since it was for a friend and I was only charging cost I couldn’t ask anyone else to do it for that sort of money. Got to the airport and checked my texts and found the wedding was postponed!!! I was pretty upset as they could have done with my help for a lot longer.
As usual I have written a book have a good day everyone. I will send some photos shortly. Let you have a look at my drunken star!
Ah, I about cried when you told of the gold thread fiasco. So frustrating to say the least. 🙁
Oh, yes, some of that metallic thread is an absolute Bear!! I think some of it is designed for bobbin work (where you stitch with the item wrong side up). I know the spool *I* used was–although I didn’t realize it until I was about halfway thru the topstitching on my sweatshirt jacket! No wonder the darned stuff kept fraying and breaking! By then I had too much time invested so I soldiered on and did finish it. And the gold does add a subtle sparkle where it’s stitched, so I like the effect, but it was Awful to work with at the time!!
Sorry should have said that Jonathan is now 18 so that little egg carton decoration is 15 years old.
Dear Anne,
I’m sure your granddaughter treasures that quilt that you made for her. I’m hoping that your son made a full recovery. how scary that must have been.
Looking forward to seeing your “drunken star” I guess it had too much eggnog. LOL
The seed beads add a lot of sparkle to Noel’s jacket. That out turned out so pretty.
How wonderful that you and others volunteered to distribute food and girts. A lot of people do need the assistance this year if their children are to have a Christmas.
Bobby, what a beautiful quilt. i’m sure it will be greatly treasured by your granddaughter. i know I treasure the quilts my grandmother made.
Kathie, those reindeer and elf ornaments are adorable. The is no way someone would not know what year they are from.
Your doll tree is so cute with such a variety. I only recognize a couple. I have one similar to the flat cardboard angel one in the third to last photo that I received on a gift one year. The bubble lights add a lovely touch. I love them as well. Have a couple of vintage saucer sets (the kind that are all one color) that I don’t use as often to avoid burning them out and then a couple of modern sets that can burn anytime.
This will be so much fun to enjoy other’s decorations as there isn’t much opportunity to see store displays or other’s house this year.
Thanks for letting all your readers see the Angel/Dolly tree. Glad all of Jeanne’s fan club enjoyed it🤗 It is in our family room so I do get to see it every evening. Have a couple more trees to send pics of too. 🤗
The seed beads do look better on the jacket than the French Knots. I’m surprised you could make knots out of that thread! The new name is a great change…it should sell fast!
Your church should be commended…just wrapping all those gifts is a huge job! How did you know what gift to give to give to what child? Did you have more than the usual donors and those who needed food and gifts this year?