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Friday, November 18, 2011

GRAMMA'S SCRAP BIN




Last Tuesday was the P.E.O. silent auction. You may recall that since last winter I have been busily sewing and crocheting outfits and items of clothing to fit the American Girl doll in anticipation of this event. One of our members has two granddaughters, ages 6 and 8, who own American Girl dolls, and she said she would be interested in my home-sewn creations.

I approached this project with the enthusiasm of a hobbyist. I augmented my stash of patterns and fabrics by shopping sales at Jo-Ann. The remnant bin there is my favorite place. I searched online for ideas and patterns and experimented with the ideas of other hobbyists, learning a lot in the process. I made everything in pairs because of the two sisters who play together. If I’d really thought it through, I might have planned wardrobes, but I figure there’s always next year. The girls turn 7 and 9 the first of the year.
 
I named my sewing endeavor “Gramma’s Scrap Bin” and ordered labels. Instead of sewing the labels into the garments, though, I created hang tags by photocopying the labels and gluing them to store-bought tags. I then tacked a decorative rose on each tag with needle and thread. I attached a hang tag to each garment with ribbon and a safety pin.  

And yes, the grandmother in question “bought” most of the outfits, making a nice donation to our chapter’s fundraising effort. She was the only interested party, however. Several members enjoyed looking at the outfits, but most of our members have great-grandchildren who are rapidly growing up. One member said she would gather information about her great-granddaughter’s baby doll and let me know. And I have a project to dress a Barbie doll for my half-sister’s great-granddaughter.

And what did I “buy”? A well-used, well-loved vintage Betty Crocker “Cook Book of All-Purpose Baking,” 1942. Original price: 25 cents. I was in competition with another bidder for it, but when she realized I wanted it, she quit bidding. Are these people nice or what? Undoubtedly I’ll be talking more about this little cookbook.

Another member, knowing that I’m looking for bits and pieces to make and embellish doll clothes, handed me a box including fabric remnants, leftover yarn, bits of lace, etc. Fun!

And I also brought home some beautiful scarves that didn’t sell because the owner didn’t want them. Well, there’s that handkerchief project. If nothing else, I can experiment with the scarves. KW

3 comments:

  1. I'm anxious to hear about the recipes in the Betty Crocker book. Recipes from that era had lots of beef, butter & lard. The recipes are fun to read, but scary to eat.

    Another thing about food from that era were the popular vegetables. Broccoli was rarely seen. Today, you can hardly get a vegetable other than broccoli with a restaurant meal. Last year I ordered Sweet & Sour Chicken at a Chinese restaurant and they put broccoli in that. That recipe doesn't call for broccoli! My love affair with broccoli was over a long time ago.

    Peas & carrots were the favored vegetables in the 20's & 30's. In the 40's, we ate from Victory Gardens. Green beans were popular in the 50's. Broccoli seems to have been with us for way over 50 years now. It's gotten out of control, since farmers are now producing amounts to keep up with the demand. There's probably a Broccoli lobby & a Broccoli Growers Association. When will it end?

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  2. Love all the doll outfits! The sweaters and Santa hats are adorable, too! I still love making doll things. Some little girls are going to be very happy come Christmas day.

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  3. That cook book looks well loved. Could be a gold mine!

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