CONTRIBUTED PHOTO — Karen Weltzin of the Caring Center, Inc., left, accepts donations from Rita Riskedahl, member of the Central Iowa American Sewing Guild.

Every year, the Central Iowa chapter of the American Sewing Guild gives away dolls and stuffed animals during the Christmas season. As an added bonus, its members create outfits, blankets and doll carriers to accompany the toys to their new homes. The group decided to give a portion of these items to three entities in Marshalltown: CAPS, the Caring Center and the Salvation Army.

Chapter meetings are usually held the third Saturday morning of the month in Huxley (second Saturday in December). Of its 100 members, several reside in Marshalltown, including Rita Riskedahl. She’s been part of the group for more than 20 years.

“We just celebrated our 35th year as a group and we’re giving away more than 100 dolls and stuffed animals. It’s the biggest year we’ve had for donations,” she said. “We started out small four years ago with only 30 dolls.”

They take donations of dolls year-round. Members, as well as the general public, buy and donate the dolls.

Riskedahl noted that a member had pitched the idea of the project, modeling it after a similar one done in Texas.

“We’re really fortunate here in Marshall County to get half of the dolls, and then the other half goes down to the Des Moines area to be donated,” she added. “It’s up to the (agencies) on how they want to distribute them. A lot of times they’ll know what families need.”

Most of the dolls are brand-new and 18 inches tall (in the style of American Girl dolls).

“They come with one outfit, but what we do is we sew four to five different outfits to go with each doll,” she said. “Along with that, we also do a blanket or quilt for the doll and accessories like shoes, hats, hair bands and we also sew doll carriers.”

She added that after years of sewing outfits, this time around, she focused on fashioning all of the doll carriers and making most of the stuffed animals.

There are some boy dolls in the mix. And she adds, stuffed animals are offered to broaden the appeal.

There is no shortage of talented, creative people in the group, she says. While most of them are garment sewers, there are also quilters, painters, weavers and those that work with art fabric.

“We usually (make things) on our own, but in October and November we do get together a couple of times and bring everything we’ve got for the dolls and have work days where we sit and sew,” she said. “Spending time together is the fun part.”

Giving back to the community is a key component of the guild. Last June, it hosted a free mending clinic at the Marshalltown Public Library whereby people could bring their worn, torn, or ill-fitting garments to be fixed. More clinics are planned in the future.

Membership in the guild includes unlimited access to a library of more than 150 online sewing classes and projects; discounts on sewing products and services; frequent articles, projects and more in the weekly Notions email newsletter; special pricing at the annual conference; monthly online presentations by well-known sewing instructors; online classes at discounted pricing, and more.

Participants range from seasoned sewers to newbies.

“We are a very mixed group,” she said. “We have a mentor program so if you join and want more help with something, we match you up with another member of the group that would have the expertise.”

To donate to the doll project, or for more information, visit: www.centraliowaasg.org. Use the contact form on the website to send a message or go to: www.facebook.com/centraliowaasg.