A Texas Sweetie is Going to Receive This!

Awww…I love this! And take a look at those darling Christmas fabrics! Carol from Texas will be donating this in League City! Thank you Carol!!

Here’s what Carol said:
“I really want to make more! This was so much fun. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to make a difference! I didn’t know if I would have time to get this done but I decided that no matter what, I was going to do it. I am so glad that I did. What a wonderful program you have started!”

Donations in Virginia Beach, Virginia!

YEA! We have donations going to some sweethearts in Virginia! Thank you Jodi for your generosity! And I love that your little girls loved them so much, too! That’s great!!

Note from Jodi:
“I was thrilled to find this site and make a few outfits for Charity!  I had originally intended to make 5 outfits for charity, but time got away from me, so I was only able to make 4.   The first outfit, I made in some left over fabric from a tote project.  It was immediately confiscated by my 3 year old for her doll.It has two tops.  My 5 year old helped me make the Mary Engelbreight outfit. She then took the purple and torquise set for her doll!  So, now two are finished and will go to charity.  I might squeeze out one more, but my hopes are not good!  Thank you for such a fun project!   IT is good to know there are at least two more girls who will be able to dress their dolls.

2 More in Florida!

Thank you Connie for sending in your experience and donating what you made to 2 little girls in Florida! Your story is touching, and I thank you for sharing it.

Here’s what Connie said:

“I am so glad to have found out about Twirls for Girls.  I am recently divorced, and it has been hard to get into the Christmas spirit this year.  Making these outfits for Twirls for Girls has certainly helped me get into the Christmas spirit, and now I am actually enjoying this Christmas season.  I am hoping to make at least one more outfit to donate, but if not this year, I will get a head start for next year.

Thanks so much for this great organization!”

-Connie in Florida

5 more for Californ-I-A!

Oh, this is fun! We have 5 more sets of doll clothes being donated in California! I love Desiree’s experience, too! Here’s what she said,

“Here are two pictures of the 5 outfits I’ll be donating very soon to Toys for Tots. I’m so glad I can put my new obsession (aka the I Can Make This website) to good use. I even got my 2 1/2 year old daughter to help a bit with some pinning on the twirl skirts. She also advised me to, “Add the shiny ribbon, mommy,” onto the peasant tops. Gotta get them started with the donating young! I also found the other 3 outfits in my dolly stash of sewing I did last year. I know that other girls will enjoy them much more than I can. I loved the American Girl dolls when I was little and we could never afford them, so I hope Toys for Tots and all our donations will help some special kids holiday wishes come true!”

-Desiree in California

Another one going out to Louisiana!

Awww….you’re going to love this one! Thank you Aimee for sharing your experience and donating this to a sweet little girl in Louisiana! I’m glad your daughters could see you doing this.  They will remember that! And you’ll definitely want to make one for each of them, too! 🙂

Here’s what Aimee said,

“Well, I did it!  This was my first charm square sewing project and what a fun project!  My youngest daughter, Grace, sat with me as I put together this little twirl skirt with some fabric I had.  She and Rose, one of my other daughters, just loved the skirt and now want their own!  Grace is 2 1/2 yrs old and Rose is 4 1/2 years old and this was one of those moments when I was able to sew for such a great cause AND do it with the ones I love at my side!!   Thanks for the opportunity to be a part of such an awesome campaign!  I will be donating it in Louisiana!”

Loved this letter…

With permission from Cindy, I’m going to post a portion of a letter that I thought you’d also enjoy reading. Thank you Cindy for sharing your experience!

So…. (or should I say sew…..) yesterday, I rode on a 10+ hour drive to my parents house with my husband driving. It was pouring rain most of the trip…

I had brought some fabric – but the bag was literally SCRAPS.But – I sat in the car and managed to cut out about 20 squares. I was SO SO SO surprised at how often the pieces I had that were wide enough , were EXACTLY wide enough – I trimmed them, but by just a little.

AND, often I’d have just barely enough to get an exact number of squares.

THEN – I got so irritated with him – and so bored – that I started doing the piecing BY HAND. Yep – thats right – I pieced together about 12 squares by hand!!!! I held it up at some point to see how it looked and my dd in the back was soooo excited and said, “it’s so pretty mama!”  She didn’t even know what it was, or what it was for.

I will probably keep this one for her American Girl Kit Doll (since the hand sewing really isnt the best – since she saw it, AND, since it happens to match Kit’s sweater set!)

At one point while doing it, I thought “this is a lot of work, it surely wouldn’t cost that much to BUY a doll outfit” but then I remembered that the POINT is about having something hand made – and I really really really do think there is a lot of value in that.

So – whether my MOMS club is in or not – and whether or not I find my REAL bag of calico remnants (Im afraid it went with my Goodwill donations) Im gonna be making a few skirts to donate!”

4 More in Fort Worth, Texas!

What beautiful sets Rachel F. in Forth Worth, Texas just created! Don’t you just love that red bandana fabric in two of her skirts? How fun!
Here’s what she said,

I just finished making four twirl skirt and top sets, what a wonderful pattern.  They look so nice.  I remember my mom making us doll clothes, but although they were well loved, they were very basic, nothing I would have wanted to wear.  When my 2 year old daughter saw these sets she said “pretty” and wanted to try them on :).  I had to explain they were for baby dolls and wouldn’t fit her as she tried to put her feet into the skirt opening.  We don’t currently have an 18″ doll so the clothes aren’t modeled and the two black tops blend into my table, but these really are four complete sets. 

 I’m so glad I found your website, I always want to help others and volunteer, but with a two year old and limited time, I’ve often felt lost as to how to give back.  When I found your site, I felt that this was something I could do that might make a child’s Christmas brighter.  Thank you for giving me this opportunity.  I will be taking my donations to my nearest Toys for Tots location tomorrow and will hopefully be able to make a few more skirt sets to donate.”

Rachel F.
Fort Worth, TX

Just in from Colorado!

Thank you Jennifer in Colorado for donating this set! It turned out so cute!! Here’s what Jennifer said,
“My grandmother would be proud! She was a doll maker, collector, and seamstress. All my dolls growing up had handmade clothing made by her!”

A dozen skirts from a sweet 12 year old!

WOW! 12 little girls in Connecticut are going to be so happy because of a donation made by 12 year old, Emily.
Emily told me that she pieced the skirts together while her stepmom, Carla, ruffled and serged the strips together. She said she had a lot of fun mixing and matching the fabrics together. Kudos to this 6th grader for helping to make a difference! Thanks Emily for sending these in…and showing your fashion show of dolls modeling the sets! 😉

This letter made my day…

…and I asked the writer of it if it would be ok to share a portion of it with you. I’ve never “met” or had contact with Lindsay before, but I want to thank you Lindsay, for taking the time to write this and letting me share it with our audience. It’s just a little reminder of what one aspect of this is all about.

I saw the announcement for your Twirls for Girls event and I think it is a wonderful idea. I am definitely going to participate as soon as I get my machine back from the repairs shop.

I also wanted to let you know that the little post that I saw on Boutique Designers and Buyers (board) has totally changed my attitude this morning. I was half-way finished with a ton of Christmas sets when my machine died. I was just beside myself – not only was I already running behind getting Christmas sets up on Ebay….but I was worried about how not listing for Christmas was going to effect my Ebay business and that sort of thing. I got the machine back last night, after having been without it for a week, but the problem wasn’t “fixed” and it locked up again after running for only 30 minutes. Believe me, many tears have been shed since my sewing machine is really an extension of me, and I didn’t want to “ruin” the business I had created on Ebay.

Then I saw that you guys were doing Twirls for Girls and it hit me that I had the WRONG attitude this holiday season. I do have 5 Santa applique tees finished, and I am going to register with Toys for Tots through Ebay so that 100% of the proceeds of those tees will go directly to them. If not being able to finish my Ebay Christmas sets in time to get them up before December is my biggest worry, I am the luckiest person on Earth. I have the most wonderful son, and I can’t imagine not being able to give him everything he could possibly want for Christmas. I’m hoping that my donation through my Ebay tees and Twirls for Girls is going to help another mom somewhere feel the same way — that she’s the luckiest person on Earth. I just wanted to tell you Thank You. As silly as it sounds, Twirls for Girls has already helped ME this holiday season. 🙂All the best-
Lindsay
Fancy*Pants*Customs