Levittown resident Celia Mordente may be 88 years old, but she seldom allows her hands to go idle.

"I just couldn't sit doing nothing," Mordente explained.

Mordente began crocheting long ago when her children were young; however, during the past five she has had four displays at the Levittown Public Library.

"I started with household things and even made tablecloths," Mordente said.

In those five years Mordente decided to design and create her own crochet doll ensembles using 11-inch craft dolls. Mordente's son, Tony, took her to an arts and crafts show, where she noticed there wasn't much in crochet.

"I said 'I can do better than that,'" Mordente quipped.

Tony challenged her to do so and off to the craft store they went. Mordente gets her inspiration from theater, films and children's book, but also creates her own original outfits as well.

"I have an idea in my mind and as I go along, if I don't like it, I can change it," Mordente said. "That's the beauty of crochet."

To Mordente, crochet is a lost art. It is a quiet, peaceful art that brings great joy to her.

"There is nothing as great for your self-esteem as accomplishing something you choose yourself," Mordente said. "For me, crochet is the perfect craft. It is versatile, inexpensive and practical."

According to Mordente, all you need is a crochet hook, yarn and some time on your hands. What began as a way to pass time has turned into a fulfilling hobby for Mordente, who now lives with her son and his family in their Levittown home. To date she has created 135 dolls, and all from memory.

Mordente's favorite creation, unfortunately, wasn't on display at the library this time around. It is Cleopatra entering Rome with her three exotic dancers. She got the idea from the 1963 film starring Elizabeth Taylor.

"If I can say so myself, it's fantastic," Mordente commented.

These dolls aren't clothed in dresses alone. Mordente outfits these dolls from head to toe with matching accessories. Hats, petticoats, handbags parasols and shoes adorn these lifeless models.

Mordente crochets for herself. Her work is not for sale, although her son brought some of her creations to a local doll shop and they were roughly valued at $175-$200 per doll. He then brought over his mother's remake of Audrey Hepburn's outfit at the end of My Fair Lady when she is wearing the pink dress. Mordente explained the ensemble's ornate detail with pride.

"If you never lose the child in yourself, you can do anything," Mordente said.

For more information contact the Levittown Library at 731-5728.