Patter from Patti

Grandson & doll for cruise

Our first grandson arrived April 29, the day after I flew home.  I spent nearly the whole month of April in Orlando waiting for his birth.  But, I did get to see him in person for Mother's Day.

Kieran, on the left, and Kayleigh are enjoying their new brother.  His name is Kayman.  He weighed 7lbs. 14ozs. at birth and was 21 1/2 inches long.  He's a terrific baby boy.
John and I are enjoying having 3 grandchildren. 

The family picture shows our granddog.  Dana had just received her first summer haircut.  She's a Golden Retriever and quite the protector of her family.  Golden's are wonderful around children.  Very patient.

The Cruising with Soft Dolls is coming along.  We have nearly all the cabins filled.  Still room for a few more if you are interested.

Gail Wilson designed the doll that the rest of us will interpret.  I used Gails pattern, but did change the head and hands.  I decided to make removable clothing as I'm going to make another outfit for the doll to wear.                  

She's not finished, but I wanted to show her in her mermaid outfit.  There will be some beaded starfish added, along with a few beaded flowers.  In her hand is a flower made from silk cocoons.  That is one of the techniques I'll be sharing.  When I get more of the cocoon flowers done I'll take a photo of them separately.

The kit I'm providing includes the organza for the flukes, silk cocoons, the Tibetan Goat hair seen on the doll, and a bead kit with all the beads needed.  All kits are included in the cost of the cruise. 

For more information on the cruise contact Barbara Roby at Barbara@brtravelservices.com.
Or email me.  Keep checking back here for more updates on the doll.  As soon as everyone else gets their projects done I'll post them on the Cruise blog.

The Grandchildren

Our daughter sent more pictures of our two granddaughters. They are simply the cutest two on this earth!

Kayleigh will be one year old August 1. Big sister, Kieran, is 3 1/2 going on 25. She's quite the little fashion queen.

Kieran loves her little sister and especially loves helping her walk. Kayleigh is walking some and one of her favorite two word combinations is "All done!"

Heidi's adventures

Heidi arrived home for a short visit after spending 9 days on Corsica. She, and her friend Raphael, hiked part of the famous GR20 trail. I'm just glad I didn't know how much mountain climbing there was.


Heidi said it is beautiful with many waterfalls, pristine pools of water and breathtaking views from the mountain tops. I'll take her word for it.

Our oldest daughter found a picture of her at 7 mos. and had to share how closely Kayleigh looks like her at 7 mos.

I'm not sure why some of the photo's won't enlarge when you click on them. I'll have to find out from Typepad.

Heidi's adventures

It has been awhile since I've updated Heidi's information. She's teaching 5th grade at the International School Brussels. Yes, that is Brussels, Belgium. Many of you know she's been teaching in Europe for the past 6 years. First in Stavanger, Norway; then St. Germaine en Laye, France (near Paris) and now Brussels.

Belgium has beautiful scenery and so much history. Heidi is getting ready for a 9 day hike in Corsica so recently did an overnight hike in the south western mountains of Belgium. Beautiful area.

Someday I'll find the photo of Heidi standing on a very scary rock in Norway. I'm glad they don't have such places in Belgium!

More Family Stuff

Many of you know how much I love my family. Recently, John and I helped move my dad back to the farm. I thought you'd enjoy seeing a picture of the farm Dad grew up on. It is now a historical farm as it has been in the family over 100 years.
My grandparents raised six boys in that house. Dad and my Uncle Duane shared a bed. That is the two of them by the sign in front of the house. That's me bundled up. This was taken in January when the temperatures dropped down into the teens (fahrenheit).
One of my cousins found a truly wonderful picture of several of us when we were children. This is the Illinois bunch. We're missing the California family and this was also taken before more than half of my cousins were born.
My friend, Sandy, captured the picture of me and using her magic with Photoshop placed my favorite doll, Radical Rachel, behind me. You'll see it used often in my website.

Recently we had a mini family reunion here in California. Two of us were in the photo from the late 40's, or early 50's. Can you guess which two?

Actually, there are 3 of us in the older picture. My aunt is in both pictures. Hard to tell which one is our aunt/mom. She's ageless.

The Grandchildren

March 3-10 was the 3rd Soft Doll Art Cruise. It was a bit different this year as we didn't have enough for our own cruise. We joined a quilt cruise. But, 13 of us had a great time. We had two people from England and one from Australia join us this year. And, we even made mermaids.

After the cruise I visited our daughter, JB, and her family in Orlando. Our granddaughters have grown up so much.

Kayleigh is now 7 mos. old. Her sister, Kieran, is 3 and loves having a little sister.

When I was in Jr. High we left the farm in Illinois and moved to the gulf coast of Florida. I took the girls to the beach, and you can see that they had a great time. Even Kayleigh loved playing in the sand.

It was hard leaving, but I had to fly up to Illinois see my dad. We spent one afternoon trudging through the woods looking for an old pioneer cemetery. Dad is now living with one of his brothers, Duane. Hard to believe that these two men are 90 and 88 years old.