This is a doll quilt I made for the new American Girl doll, Julie. I related to this doll since the year is 1974 and she is a hippy like I was (or at least as much as any AG doll could be). Julie was also the name of my sister-in-law who had long blonde hair just like this doll. This pattern is one I remembered from an old quilt book I had from 1977. The original pattern was an appliqued twin bed quilt and I always thought it was a great example of the “flower power” type designs. Because the smallest blocks on my quilt are only 4 inches square, I decided to crayon tint and embroider the doll quilt rather than applique. This type of heavy crayon tinting was new for me, especially since I crayoned the whole block, including the background. I also changed the colors a bit from the original pattern (below) and added green sashing strips. To finish off, I hand quilted around most of the elements with colored thread to match the background tint.
I also used wall stickers to decorate the outside of a trunk which I already owned, and wallpapered the inside with butterfly scrapbook paper. The outside was then painted with a couple of coats of acrylic to keep the stickers from peeling. Now I just need to make her some cute 70’s style clothes.
