I often see yards and yards of ribbon at the thrift store. Someone needs to find a use for all of that ribbon. Flowers would be a great way to repurpose ribbon. There are so many varieties of ribbon flowers too. I've seen a lot of carnations, daisies and of course, roses. But, once you get the basic method you should be able to come up with unique patterns for your own style of ribbon flower making.

Once you have made a few ribbon flower heads you can attach them to hair bands, use them when wrapping gifts/ presents and make them longer but attaching flower stems so they can sit in a vase. I've got an old one from days long ago which is still on my door knob, on the inside door where I seldom disturb it but get to see it often.

I've already written about ribbon embroidery. Making flowers out of ribbons is different because it's not embroidery. Instead of sewing with ribbon onto cloth, you are forming the ribbons into flowers, 3-D flowers rather than the (bumpy but mainly flat) 2-D flowers created with ribbon embroidery.

If you want to cheer up a friend, ribbon flowers are a good option. They can be taken into hospitals too because they have none of the qualities of real flowers, other than being cheerful, colourful and pretty.

Be Aware of Pollination and Flower Allergies

Most plant and flower allergies are caused by plants which are pollinated by the wind versus those pollinated by insects. So this is something to consider if you are looking at which plants to grow in your garden. If you plant insect pollinated flowers (entomophilous) you will have less allergy trouble. If you plant wind pollinated flowers (anemophilous) you will probably be itchy, sneezy and all the rest.

There are a lot of different fabrics which can be used to create flowers. Fabric flowers are good for people who can't have real flowers around for some reason, like allergies. I've got allergies and asthma myself. So flowers that don't have pollen at their centres are a good thing.

Not everyone likes or wants real flowers. Whether it's an event (like a wedding) or just flowers for around your home, it's nice having something add a splash of colour. Unlike plastic or silk flowers - a fabric bouquet could be put in the washer on the gentle cycle once in awhile and come out okay. This makes it good for people with allergies who need to keep down the dust bunny population in their home.

Not all fabric flowers will be machine washable. It will depend on how they were made. Chances are anything glued together won't survive a washing machine. But, any fabric flower can be dusted. Or, if you really have to be careful about dust, give them away and make new flowers a few times over the year. Not only will you be making someone else happy, but you will have a new flowers and a great excuse to do more experimenting with colours, shape, styles and fabric for your flowers.

Three Ways to Try Cleaning Fabric Flowers

Try a sink of soapy water (dish soap will do) and swish the flowers in the water. Cool water should be ok for flowers which are glued together rather than sewn flowers. Blot flowers dry.

Try a spray bottle with a mix of white vinegar and water and spritz the flowers to freshen them up. Blot dry with a clean cloth. It may not clean them well, but it will help if they have picked up odours from inside.

Try a dry clean method. Put a little salt or cornmeal in a bag, wrap the bag around the flower and shake it gently for a couple of minutes. The grit of the salt or cornmeal will pick up dirt and dust and remove it. This is one way to clean flowers which can not get wet.

Shopping or Buying One is Limiting - Why Not Design and Make Your Own?

Did Your Grandmother Have Dolls in her Bathroom?

I remember these from my Grandmother's house, in the bathroom. She knitted her own from patterns that have disappeared along with most of her stuff after her death years ago. I don't know how to knit (I learned to crochet on my own) but it would have been nice to have some of her old knitting patterns. Sometimes I see interesting or unusual patterns in the thrift store but I don't buy them. I don't knit after all.

The History of the Toilet Roll Dolly

There isn't a lot of history to the dolls. In the 1960's they began appearing in North America and likely various Common Wealth and European locations too. I can only vouch for those I saw in Canada, mainly Ontario.

I expect the idea came along when there was extra yarn, some time for a new project, maybe a broken doll and the idea was born. Pretty up your bathroom. In the 1960's there were other home made fashions in the bathroom. I can think of toilet seat covers, something I haven't seen a big return on with all the vintage and retro ideas. You could co-ordinate your doll's dress with your pretty toilet seat cover, the bathroom floor rug and anything else already decorating the bathroom. Maybe that was how she really got started. Not only could you add more home made crafts, more colour and keep that broken doll around for a reason but you could ... make it all shades of pink matching.

There was likely some idea about modestly hiding that unsightly naked toilet roll too.

Specifications for Making Your Own Toilet Roll Doll Cosie

I have yet to see a vintage pattern for those old toilet roll cover dolls. That's how I started writing about them today. I'm seeing what I can turn up online.

I can find an endless supply of the little dolls at thrift stores. They are abandoned by children everywhere, so it would be a good way to recycle/ repurpose some of them. You can pick and choose from weird blue hair colour to a weird blue skin colour and the standard human shades of brown colours too.

The only thing that matters about the doll is her height and width. She can't stand too tall and tip over inside the toilet roll. She also needs to be the right width to fit through the centre of the cardboard roll from about the waist down. Mainly her legs need to be inside the roll as the skirt of her dress covers the toilet paper roll - that leaves her above the roll from the waist up.

What do you Call your Toilet Roll Doll?

I guess you could properly call them toilet roll cosies, or toilet roll toppers too. I never found out what my Grandmother actually called hers. I always enjoyed seeing them though. She never made one for me, that I can remember. Maybe she just thought they weren't really anything special. But, they were.

This is my Mother's teddy bear. I'm not sure how old it really is. But, she wasn't the first owner of this bear. My brother used to keep it in his bedroom when he was a boy. Currently, it's in his house, in the spare bedroom. I saw the bear there when I visited over the Christmas holidays. It doesn't look any different from the first time I saw it as a kid.

The bear's arms and legs are held with a thin rope which has become loose through the body so the arms and legs both dangle around. The head is a bit loose at the neck, but it doesn't dangle. The fabric/ textile over the body is a little thread bare looking, like an old, worn in carpet. Overall, I think the bear is in pretty good shape. The embroider on the face is still tight and hasn't got any damage from wear and tear at all. As an experienced embroiderer, that is pretty remarkable. The bear is stuffed with something pretty dense. It has no leaks so I can't be sure what is actually in there.

We never played with this bear. It was given the respect due it's age (and the fact that it was Mom's bear) and we rarely touched it. She had a few other toys leftover from her time as a child but the bear is the one my brother liked best. He had his own bear, bought for him. Also, a dog Mom made him. So he had stuffed animals to play with. That bear was always special. It didn't get to play with the other toys but it did get to watch from it's perch on top of the clothes dresser.

Cymruted Collectible Bears: Teddy Bear Identification by Build

The Teddy Bear Museum: Teddy Bear History

Flickr Teddy Bear Photo Groups:

• My Teddy Bear
• Teddy Bears
• Crazy Teddy Bears
• Artist Teddy Bears
• Handmade Teddies
• Girl Teddy Bears Only
• Mini Bears
• Lost Bears

My Grandmother liked to make puppets. She would work with kids in her small town (in Ontario) and put on whole puppet shows. They built the stage, sets, costumes, wrote plays and of course they made masses of puppets. There were different kinds, not just sock puppets. Some you put your hand inside and the more elaborate puppets came with strings attached. If we got to look at the puppets she would go on and on about how careful we were when handling the puppets with strings.

My Mother and I liked to sew together, we still do, in between her snowbird trips to Florida. We make seasonal decorations, Halloween costumes for my sister’s kids and we made old fashioned rag dolls, like Raggedy Ann. I still have the very first Raggedy Ann she made for me when I was a kid. The doll has grey hair. She still regrets that but at the time she was being thrifty, using up extra yarn from some other crafty project.

I still like sewing. When I was married my Mother treated me to a good quality sewing machine. I did start using it but have not done much. I like the hand sewing best. I embroider, I crochet (though it’s not quite the same as sewing) and I like quilting. I would really like to spend a lot more time working out how to use that machine and working on sewing projects in general. It is such a great hobby. So nice to have something lovely or practical to show for your time at the end. Best of all was working together, sewing with family.

I’m going to see what local groups I can find now that I’m living in the big city and my Mother is snowbirding till at least May. I have tons of fabric and yarn stashed around here and there to use up. Maybe I will create my own version of the grey-haired Raggedy Ann doll.