Miss Dolly for Big Sister!

In August, I made this Rag Doll using the Miss Dolly Tutorial by Brittany from I am so Crafty, I Sweat Glitter.

This is my first doll, so I pretty much followed the directions using what supplies I had on hand. My niece is expecting a baby boy soon, and I wanted to send something special for his big sister, Mia, to help her celebrate.

A few months ago, I finished a sample block I found from a quilt I made for my niece several years ago. I figured it would be fun for Mia to have a doll quilt that matches her mom's quilt, but then when it came time to pack it, I just couldn't send it all by it's lonesome..

I packaged Mia's dolly with the quilt I sent for Jayden's nautical-themed baby shower.
His ship has been personalized..

And I made the binding double-wide to serve as a border for this simple quilt.

Although the binding is hand-finished, I top-stitched it by machine for durability. I love the feel of the double-grooves.

Miss Dolly was my August New FO,

But wait, I actually have another one to share!

I have been cutting Christmas fabrics into strips and squares for a technique that has been on my bucket list to try, called Stack the Deck.

While I was at it, I cut a Jam Roll (a double-wide jelly roll that can be cut into 5" charms)  to post in my Etsy shop!

This is a technique that shuffles fabrics sort of randomly, making it tough to envision the finished quilt. A bit nervous cutting away all the fabric, but I did it anyway, and finally I am ready to start assembling these to see how it takes shape!

I stacked and sliced my first set of squares:

 Then I rotated each stack:

Karla Alexander has authored quite a few books using the technique, and it's potential has intrigued me for some time now. I figure I will try it out and then see how it may relate to future quilts. The pattern I am using is from her book, New Cuts for New Quilts.

That is as far as I got with this one before getting sidetracked by my design wall, which I need to clear before sewing more blocks together. Maybe I will share the mess on my wall with ya'll next week!

With all my UFO's pending, this should not be my goal right now, but I really want to do a couple Christmas quilts this year. Now or never, you know! My September goal with AYOLF is to finish this flimsy!

Thank you all for reading today!

And BIG thanks to all the wonderful linky-hosts who help us all to connect!