A labor or love and a test of patience

I got a beautiful Grandson back in September. December rolls around and we have been unable to find the child a stocking. We have shopped every store we can think of and have still come up empty handed. I really wanted to make him one to match his Mothers. Hers had been made from antique linens, as had my other daughters. Since I was fresh out of antique linen and had no desire to look for any, we neared Christmas without a stocking.

My DH (Dear Husband) was out shopping one day and called to ask if we had found a stocking yet. To which the reply was, "no".
"Quit looking", he said, "Ive found one"!
He arrives home with a beautiful pale blue "Baby's First Christmas" stocking.

Well...It will do for this year, even though it doesn't match the others, but we are still in the market for a stocking. That's when I entered Create For Less's 12 Days of Christmas sweepstakes. (Have I told you that I am the luckiest person I know?? I win something almost every month!!)

"What did you win?", you must be asking yourselves.

I won a stocking kit! It matched the others we already had and I couldn't have been more excited! That is, until I opened the package! There were 150(!!) pieces of felt that had to be embroidered, beaded, sequined (some had to have all three!) and stitched together, BY HAND!! I started immediately because; a) I was afraid I might lose interest before I finished it, and b) I figured it would take me a year to complete it!!

Days, weeks, raw fingertips, and strained vision went by and still I persevered. Finally, on the morning of January 18, 2011 (not quite a month after I started it), I finished it!!! I took an extra step, in that I lined it upon completion.

My Daughter made the comment that she felt sorry for any Grandchildren that came after this one.She said she was certain that I would NEVER attempt anything like this again. I told her she was probably right.

Im looking into glitter pens and furry red stockings for any that come later!'

Show and Tell

This week I wanted to show you a few of the really special antique sewing related items I have been given or bought over the years.

My DH (Dear Husband) bought these for me from an antique store in Hernando, MS

My Mother bought this for me because we both love the fashions of the 40's.

DH picked this up at Goodwill! The copyright is 1927!!!

This is a tiny sample of the (over 400!!) antique buttons I bought 15 years ago!

This is a cutting board (not completely unfolded) that was gifted to me from a friend. It had belonged to his mother who hadnt sewn in 40+ years. He also gave me a "steamer" from the 60's.

This is the final piece. These belonged to one of my best friends Mother (shawl) and Mother-in-law (dress). The shawl is from (at least) the 1960's, the dress from the early 50's. There is some sagging of the skirt (at the waist) because my dressmakers mannequin can not be adjusted any smaller. The skirt is pinned on.

For Mama and Lauren

My Mother is the very best seamstress I have ever known. Bar none. Yet according to her, her Mother was the best seamstress she ever knew. I remember watching Mama sew when I was a kid. She never struggled with it, or if she did, I never saw it.

In the 70's, Mama and Daddy started attending "Cocktail Parties". These were fancy events where you didn't want to be "seen wearing the same thing twice". Given our limited funds, Mama made her dresses.

Flash forward to 2006....

My eldest daughter, Lauren is getting ready to go to prom. We have shopped every store in a 50 mile radius for something "no one else has". No luck. I'm telling Mama the problems we're having and she says she wants to send Lauren something. One week later, one of those "Cocktail" dresses arrives in the mail. Lauren is beside herself! She cant believe that she has a "vintage" dress! I am beside myself because I cant believe that this dress is: 1)not dry rotted and 2)so well made!

We glued rhinestones onto it and added them to the straps (something my Mother had wanted to do but never gotten around to) and Lauren had something no one else had....a vintage gown, and a testament to her Grandmother's talent.