January has been flying by. Baby sister Beth has been visiting again. We spent lots of time crafting so that she would have lots of ideas to take to Alaska.

Beth's biggest project was a sweater she wanted to make for her grandbaby, Ivy. She had purchased a 100% wool sweater at a thrift shop and washed it well in hot water. We used one of Ivy's coats for a simple pattern. We marked it with large basting stitches and used our wonderful Bernina aurora 440 to lay a decorative stitch along the basting and then cut a quarter inch from the stitch. It was fun and simple and the hardest part was getting the courage to cut it.

Beth spent the evenings chatting and adding a blanket stitch around the edges.

She added a piece of felt for a pocket and embellished the front with felt flowers and leaves.

I took the scraps and made a simple bunny rabbit. I needle felted her eyes and nose and embroidered a big smile. The bunny insisted on having a sparkly skirt for dancing but if her new mom Ivy is anything like her grandmother and her sisters the skirt will end up as a curtain in one of her forts.