This is the summer of many plans. I spent a week in Fancy Gap, VA with girlfriends and Craig. He spent the week riding on the Blue ridge Parkway (250 miles!) and I enjoyed finishing up a few sewing projects.

 I first completed a pillow sham that I started a month ago. It's a small pillow sham made from blocks that were from kits at the Ocracoke Island museum. The week I spent there, and at Manteo and Kitty Hawk, were important to me and I wanted to finish the sham as a remembrance.

I also sewed up a "Practical Bag" that I will keep and use myself.  I rarely do that -- always end up giving things away.    And this one is uncharacteristically flowery.  I like it.

I finished four bags that I definitely want to give as gifts, probably to parent volunteers or at Christmas to co-workers.

Finally, I finished Zelda, the Gypsy doll that I started when I was teaching 3rd grade.  I used to read my kids the story Babushka's Doll by Patricia Polacco.  The story is about a little girl who misbehaves and then the grandma goes away and leaves the little girl alone to play with the doll.  The doll misbehaves and teaches the little girl a lesson.  Anyway, I loved that story and was making a doll to go with it, so when I read it to my 3rd graders it would be special.  I love this doll.  She is an Elinor Peace Bailey pattern, and she turned out really good.  Here she sits in the window by where we sewed.  See the mountains in the background?