Stashbuster Report week 28 (I think!)

Posting Sunday Stash Reports for Judy L's group has become a useless endeavor for me these days. What with gifts from friends, and non-quilting fabric picked up at yard sales, I can't remember what I've counted and what I haven't, and then when I use these fabrics I don't know whether to count them as stashbusters or not. Also, do I count fabric as used when it's a swap? And do I count it when the fabric becomes a flimsy or when it's quilted and bound? So I believe I'm going to drop out of the weekly count. Maybe next year I'll start again and have firmer guidelines for myself. And then again, maybe not.

So, what have I been working on? Well, I did my 20 blocks for the 4 Season Summer Quilt Swap, but forgot to take pictures. They are color blocks, using the half-seam at the beginning and finishing that seam at the end of the block. You can see it in the logo on my right sidebar. Margaret will be sending 20 back to me, and then we'll do this again. By early September, I should have 40 color blocks. I'm not sure how I'll use them, but it'll be fun to see all the different fabrics in use!

Remember when Mighty Mom sent me the box of fabrics and some were a polyester blend? I said I had another use for them. Well, this is what I've been working on:


Last fall, one of the ICU nurses and I were discussing some of our little Alzheimers patients who fidget with their IVs, catheters, electrodes, oxygen, etc, sometimes with messy results. Jennifer said she sometimes makes washcloth dolls for them to hold onto. Not long afterwards, I scored a box of 50 muslin dolls offered on eBay. Some are plain muslin, some are solid or colors with stars on them, some are 8" long and some are 12" long. Because of the holidays, with the subsequent emptying and then painting of the sewing room, the dolls languished for several months in their box.


I pulled the box out a few weeks ago and have begun making little handy dolls for our patients. We've already given 2 away, even before getting them finished. I found some curly yarn at a local shop, though she only had 2 colors; but it makes cute hair. Scraps of leftover fabric are great for their clothes, and I'm working on a couple of small quilts to go with them. I figure the polyester blends and sheet scraps MM sent will be perfect for the backings. The 2 completed dolls shown here are in my locker right now, waiting for just the right "mama". They're washable, and once a patient handles them, they can't be used for anyone else, so they go back to the nursing home with the little old ladies. We're trying to make them and their clothing as sturdy as possible, with minimal parts that can come off.

Rarely does our little hospital get pediatric admissions, though enough of them come through the emergency room that we may leave some dolls down there. It's been fun working on them. Some have faces drawn with Pigma pens, and some need button eyes and embroidered features because they are so dark. I have been searching the internet for face ideas, because drawing has never been my strong suit. The dolls themselves look as if they'd be really simple to make, should we use up those 50 dolls any time soon. They're so cute, I may just have to make one for myself and make the clothes just a bit fancier. After all, mine wouldn't have to endure industrial laundry machines!