Today’s blog post asks you — yes YOU — to answer the question, “What are you working on?” Please scroll down to the comments section to tell me what projects have recently inspired you.
Be sure to check in with my Black History Month segment as well. You’ll find it just before you get to the cross-stitch graphic.
In a nutshell, here’s what I’m busy working on…
A & B — I’ve created a prototype of a shirt and pants set for the mini LOL Surprise dolls. This is one of the dolls that has been on my list of requests for a while, and although this project is underway, I’m nowhere near ready to publish these patterns on my website yet.
C — In the image at the top of the page, letter C shows some of the vintage fabrics my mother-in-law has given me. I’d like to do a “show and tell” with these, but that requires setting up my tripod at the kitchen table with good lighting. It may be a while before I ever get to this, so right now, I’m moving on to D…
D — The quilt my mother-in-law gave my husband many years ago is starting to fall apart, so for Valentine’s Day, I promised my husband I’d repair it. At first, I wanted to use some of my mother-in-law’s vintage fabrics, but there wasn’t enough white-background fabric for all the parts of the quilt that were light colored. So I’m mostly using my own fabrics, re-creating quilt squares or parts of quilt squares, and appliqueing them onto the quilt.
E — I’ve strung some yarn across the wall of my sewing room, and I’m trying to scrap bust with the tiny bits of fabric that are hanging there. It was these bits and bobs that were used to make the LOL Surprise doll’s little red and white ensemble, for example.
F — I’m enjoying the heck out of my Black History Month research, but some people and events require more fact checking than others. So if I miss a blog post in February, it will likely be due to the slow process of research. However I’m learning a lot and enjoying the celebration! The dolls you see in the letter F section of my collage at the top of the page are either waiting for me to dress them, so I can include them in February’s blog posts, or they’re waiting for me to finish the blog posts that are in-progress.
With that said, let’s learn something new for Black History Month!
Some of you may remember that I belong to my local chapter of the DAR — the Daughters of the American Revolution. Did you know that African Americans fought in the American Revolutionary War (also known as the War for Independence)?
“‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal….’ This statement comes from the Declaration of Independence, and to thousands of black revolutionary war soldiers… it was more than just pretty words; it was a promise they expected the new nation to remember” (Altman). Looking back, we now know that African Americans were not treated as citizens after the war, no matter how valiantly they fought for American independence.
Three notable African Americans who demonstrated their patriotism during the American Revolutionary War included:
- Peter Salem
- Phyllis Wheatley (Poet)
- Salem Poor
There was also an entire regiment of Black New Englanders from Rhode Island who served in the First Rhode Island Regiment. According to History.com, these gentlemen were fiercely loyal. “When their commander Colonel Christopher Greene was cut down during a surprise early-morning attack in May 1781, he wrote, ‘the sabers of the enemy only reached him through the bodies of his faithful guard of blacks, who hovered over him to protect him, and every one of whom was killed.’”
If you know of African Americans who were involved, even in a small way, in the American Revolutionary War, please leave their name in the comments section. Let us know, as well, where we can learn more about them.
Seven are mentioned in the History.com article, although some fought for the British rather than the colonists. As a citizen of the US, I focused mostly on African American patriots in this article, but I’m happy to send you over to History.com to learn more about each of the seven they’ve mentioned there.
Here are 3 ways you can help support my website and YouTube channel:
- Visit my eBay store to see if there’s anything you need there, and if so, make a bid
- Purchase one of the fabrics I’ve designed — here’s a link to my Spoonflower store
- Pray for this website to grow and prosper!
To read more about my free sewing patterns and tutorials, please visit the “Helpful Tips” page.
References:
Altman, Susan. Extraordinary Black Americans: From Colonial to Contemporary Times. Children’s Press, 1989.
Coleman, Colette. “7 Black Heroes of the American Revolution.” Web. 28 May 2025, History.com, Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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Chelly Wood and the ChellyWood.com website are not affiliated with any of the doll or toy companies mentioned in this blog post, but Chelly enjoys designing her doll clothes to fit a variety of dolls. To learn more about the doll companies mentioned in today’s post, please visit the doll or toy company’s website.