Friday, April 29, 2011

Did You Watch?


Were you up in the wee hours of the morning like I was? It was enchanting. The bride was breathtakingly beautiful. And who wouldn't like this kind of revelry on their big day?

 

The dress!! It couldn't have been more perfect for her. I love the bodice and sleeves. You still get the look of strapless that many brides today prefer with the elegance of the neckline and sleeves. Lacy but airy.


I loved so many of the details but I adore her sweet, symbolic bouquet.  Here is the copy from People.com

Symbolism was key in the small bouquet Catherine carried, designed for her by Shane Connolly. In addition to the flower sweet William, the bouquet included lily-of-the-valley (for return of happiness), hyacinth (constancy of love) and ivy (for fidelity, marriage and affection). Also key to the arrangement were stems from plants grown from sprigs of the bridal bouquets of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth.
You already know I love lily-of-the-valley.


How adorable are these? Can I order about a half dozen? Love, love, love the flower girls. Or bridesmaids as they are called in royal circles. Her sister's gown was gorgeous as well. You would never see an attendant in white in this country.


This was one of my favorite moments. This footman had no idea what to do with that 8-foot train. He finally unceremoniously dumped it on the ground! Don't you know the "Royal Protocol Officer" about stroked when he saw that!


No matter how royal, no matter how planned; children will be children. How cute is that? And the fairy tale Prince and his Princess really are regular folks who get caught up in the moment.


Finally the second most anticipated moment after the dress. The kiss. How sweet and I love the expressions on the children's faces. The little one couldn't care less and the older girl is excited to be a part of the very romantic day. A sweet yet grande celebration. How wonderful that with today's technology over 2 billion people could celebrate with them.


What did you do this morning while you watched? I brewed my favorite tea, bought on my own London trip, a year ago this week. I only have a few pots left. I love it. The same brand available in this country doesn't taste the same. Not sure why, it just doesn't. I also made these wonderful scones. I substituted chopped dried cherries instead of cranberries. Yummy!! Good thing, since I was in the kitchen baking at THREE THIRTY, AM!

After I enjoyed the festivities right up to the kiss, I took a nap. Hey a girl has to keep up her energy. Especially since she is Mimi all weekend while Mommy and Daddy have taken a quick teeny vacation. No I didn't wear a tiara or a hat. Speaking of hats.....


What was she thinking? On what level does any of this work? I could say that the openwork of her dress was intriguing, but that is the nicest thing I could say. So the only hat I wore, was a bedhead.

Enjoy the rest of this royal day and let's all


EAT CAKE!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

A "Kewpie" Doll


I loved this outfit when it first appeared on AS&E's cover of issue #93. Imagine my delight when one of baby's stitching "village" let me know that she was working on it for princess. I could hardly wait to get it. I love Dawn's interpretation and it is darling on princess. Thank you again Dawn.


The many faces of Evamarie.


The back is just as sweet as the front.


This is her studier face, seconds before she grabs for the camera. She weighs 22# and is 29" tall.

I always want to know how a pattern fits a real baby/child. That is the reason I always tell you the size made and how much my particular model weighs. To help you determine what size to make for your model.  Dawn made the AS&E 12 months which is probably the same as an 18 months in US sizing. In ready to wear she wears an 18 months in most things, 24 months in others. I hope that information is valuable to you when you make this darling outfit for your "Kewpie" doll.

As adorable as she is awake, who can resist this.....



tired, tired baby. FYI, if you need a baby shower gift- that little glow in the dark seahorse is the ticket. We call it baby crack. Don't even think about putting her to bed without it.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Easter Blessings


Well wishes at Easter. First, thank you, to all who emailed, facebooked, texted or called to see if we were all right. Yes, we are fine. We are soggy, but fine. Many did not fare as well due to the Good Friday tornadoes in our area. So please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they try to rebuild their homes, business and lives after some devastating storms.


In the face of distress, Easter arrives with its tidings of joy and renewal. We will take it. I hope you and those you hold dear are rejoicing in Easter blessings.


As promised, here are pictures of princess' Easter dress. Nothing fancy. A simple cute little bishop. I had planned an additional dressy dress, but that didn't happen. There is just too much going on around here. It is Children's Corner bishop pattern made with an aqua gingham from Bessie Mary.  Smocked with "Somebunny Loves Me" from Creative Needle January/February 2008 I believe.


It has been a while since I have done any picture smocking. My skill is a bit rusty, but the results are cute bunny faces peeking out across the yoke.


The buttons are not really the right size. Don't anyone tell Cindy Foose that I neglected to obtain the correct sized buttons before I started. They were the only ones that were the right color when I went to finish the dress last week. I piped the neckline as usual. I doubt I will ever do a bias binding without piping again. It is so much easier than without the piping. Believe me.


Best of all is seeing it on our precious model. Is that Easter Bunny large and in charge or what? She is busy looking at her mommy instead of the camera but as you see, she is unfazed by the large, scary rabbit with a bad fashion sense. She knows it is all about her.

Rejoice in Easter faithful reader, life is good.

 
Do not abandon yourselves to despair. 
We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.
                                                          Pope John Paul II

Friday, April 22, 2011

Let's Get Cookin!


My daughter had a project recently that she conscripted her mother's help. It was a kids nutrition program. So for door prizes we machine embroidered some ready made aprons and made chef hats to match. It didn't take near as long as we feared and the results were well worth it.

 
First posted at Making It Fun

For the chef hat we used a tutorial on the blog for Michael Miller fabrics called Making It Fun.


The only changes I would make to the directions are it takes more than 35 pins to form the pleat/gathers. Not sure where that arbitrary number came from. The other change would be where the directions tell you not to press the creases out of the circle that becomes the top, I would press them out except for the creases at the very edges to mark the quarter marks of the circle. It is really too difficult to press the top once the hat is constructed. Our chef hats are made from a twill. If using a heavier fabric like that, make sure you have at least a size 90 needle in the machine. Otherwise your needle will not get through all of the layers.

Just something fun and quick without a whole big bunch of time or cost. The aprons were half price at Hobby Lobby, so three of them for $5.

Hope you have something fun to work on. I have the baby's Easter bishop finished and will post pictures tomorrow. Actually it has been finished for several days. A record for me.
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