Birthday Goodness...

Awhile back I hinted that I was making some things for Evelyn for her birthday. I had found this doll bunk bed at an antique store for an unbelievably cheap price back in March. I enlisted my Step-Mom Lisa to make a set of doll quilts for it and they turned out beautifully, as you can see. She made them to match the full sized one that she sewed for Evelyn when she was born. Lisa also knitted an afghan that the dolls would certainly need for cold winter nights...I love that.

I made a set of mattresses out of pillow ticking. I stuffed them with cotton stuffing and then tied them like a quilt in places that I had marked with a pencil to provide a uniform shape. I am pretty happy with how the whole thing looks. I still hope to make pillows and perhaps sheets to go as well. Then of course Evelyn needed a doll to go with it. I set to work sewing an Awake/Asleep Doll. One side is asleep...

Then you flip her dress over and...

She's awake...

My Mom made one exactly like this when I was small. She had given me the pattern and instructions a few years ago. When I had a little girl I knew that I needed to make one for her too. It felt like it's a family tradition in the making. Giving my daughter a doll of her own, yet much the same as one that I had and loved (and still have) was really special to me. I had the sense of carrying something on and giving my daughter a piece of family history too. I hope that this is a doll that she will love and that this bunk bed set will give her lots of playtime joy as she gets older. And who am I kidding, I can't wait to play with it too (with Evelyn of course). :)