Our baby chicks are 2 weeks old today… and my, how they are growing… feathers are sprouting everywhere. Here they were the day we got them…3 days old… (sorry about the glow of the heat lamp…)
[If you click on any picture it will enlarge.]
…and this is them today…my hubby was changing the shavings in the brooder box and they were all flocked together in the corner…
Before we know it, they’ll be in that gangly, gawky stage but that passes pretty quickly…
While they were sprouting their feathers, I was working on drafting a pattern for the new 50’s dress I plan to make. If you missed it, this is the pattern I’m going to try and copy…
Here is my first draft for the dress bodice…
YAY…everything fit together like it was supposed to…
I don’t know if you can see it or not, but the fabric is a pretty periwinkle blue and has these little tufts about every inch or so all over the fabric. Almost like what’s used for the white insert and the collar.
Okay, it’s “imagination” time again… you’ll have to squint your eyes and see if you can envision how this is going to look…
I had only gotten this far, when I saw Eden snooping in the shoe drawer and she pulled out these 3 pairs of shoes and asked me to show them to you all. She doesn’t know which pair to pick… and asked for your help. The picture on the dress pattern shows white shoes, but we don’t have to use them…It will be a little bit before I have to decide shoes, so maybe I’ll show them again with the whole dress finished…
That’s what I managed to get done today… I hope it’s enough to keep you interested…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
The little chicks are doing so well, Jeanne! Are they still in the house? Do they make much noise? That last little chick is going to be a real beauty when she grows up!
I love what you did with the pattern! At first, I thought it would be kind of ordinary looking, but you have amped it up, making it fuller and in such pretty colors! Are you having a big bow/sash in the back too?
As far as the shoes, well, let’s see, they all work, but I have to tell you that back in the 50’s you really didn’t have a lot of various colored shoes, so what was used was mainly black and white patent for dressy occasions—–if that matters at all! 🙂
HI Linda,
Yes, the chicks are still in the corner of the living room. They sleep a lot of the time, but they are pretty quiet most of the time… every once in a while you’ll hear them cheeping all at the same time… and running around…you hear that a lot!
Yes, most definitely there will be a big bow in the back!
As I look at it on my cutting table, I’m leaning toward the white… it just sort of goes better than the other colors, but like I said, I need to wait until the dress is hemmed and she has on a new pair of anklets and then decide.
Thanks Linda,
Blessings to you, Jeanne
Your baby chicks are getting much bigger. It will be fun to see when their real feathers emerge.
Love your dress pattern drafting skills! It looks great so far! I would toss out the green shoes and go with either the pink or white – probably just the white. I think once the dress is complete, you’ll know which shoe looks the best.
HI Karen,
Yes, out little babies are turning into toddlers now, I guess.
Thanks for your compliments on Eden’s dress so far.. still a ways to go, but I like it too!
Blessings, Jeanne
Chicks look great, Jeanne! You and your husband are good nannies for them.
You really have a strong gift for the clothing you make. The fabric is just melding so well with that pattern. It’s so pretty. The end result will be another creation that you can add to your Pretty Dresses Accomplished list.
For coloring, I’d choose the pink shoes although like Linda said, there probably wasn’t much variation of colors. No matter, it will be fun to see how it all turns out.
HI Becky,
My hubby is the caretaker, and I’m just the babysitter when he’s gone…they are fun to hear cheeping in the house.
What sweet comments on my dress so far, Becky… thank you very much.
I probably showed the shoes too early and will have to decide when the dress is closer to being finished…
Thank you,
Blessings, Jeanne
How long until they go outside to the chicken house? So fun to see them.
The little dress screams white! Linda’s right about the 50’s. Black or white shoes. White gloves too. And a small hat. I remember mine was sort of u shaped with little attachments on the bottom inside to hold on the head. Outside covered with flowers/trim.
HI Joy,
I’m not exactly sure when my hubby will get them out of the house. They will go to the back of our shed first and then we’ll watch them grow and weed out the ones we don’t want, sell them and then he’ll transfer them to the big coop. Unfortunately we’ll have to sell our big hens that we have now… you can’t really mix new and old hens…they pick on each other. We rotate them about every 3-4 years to keep good layers.
Okay, so gloves and a hat… I’ll have to see about that…I remember those kinds of hats too… I’m going to have to go look at my mom’s pictures… thanks for the memories…
Blessings, Jeanne
That would be an easy hat to make, I think–a strip of fabric, rounded on the ends, probably stiffened somewhat with fusible interfacing, and either edged with lace or having concentric rows of lace, and then the ribbon sewn to either curved end, and tied under the chin. Very 1950s looking!!
Speaking of the 1950s, if that is the look you are going for, definitely the white. I was born in 1946, and I remember the 1950s well. Dress shoes came mostly in white or black (or black patent); towards the end of the 1950s, a “new” color was introduced: bone. School shoes were usually black or brown, or sometimes a darker red. I can still remember the first pair of red shoes I had–such excitement!! I had to have corrective shoes, so rarely had any “pretty” ones. To this day, I love red shoes!!
If you’re not going for a vintage look, then I prefer the mint green shoes; although that pale peach is in the print, it’s so soft, it kind of fades into the background.
Your little chicks are so sweet. They must be a lot of fun to watch grow. At our county fair each year we always go to the Petting Barn first and there are always baby chicks etc.
Wow, you certainly got a lot accomplished on Eden’s dress in a short time. I love the periwinkle fabric, that color of blue is one of my favorites. I think black patent or white is what children typically wore, but I like the green shoes, they’re so different.
My mom remembers hats like Joy mentioned. She still has a couple of them, one is a big picture hat the has little u shaped covered attachments that sit right in front of your ears to hold it on. I wore it to a retro dress up homeschool function years ago. I think Eden needs a white straw picture hat with a bow of the dress fabric and little white gloves. She’ll be all ready then for a spring Garden Party. * hears Ricky Nelson’s “Garden Party” playing in the background* I grew up with my mom’s record as did my daughter so we both love vintage things.
HI Laura,
It is very fun to see them grow… every once in a while, I’ll come in the living room and Rebecca will have a chair pulled up beside the box and she’ll have a little chickie on her lap cuddling her… sweet as it gets!
I’m hoping to get a lot more accomplished on Eden’s dress today. I love this fabric too… not only is it very sweet looking, it’s super fine, almost like a lawn and makes wonderful gathers… tiny and very close together.
Oh… I remember “Garden Party.” I should google that song and listen to it again. I sort of had a crush on Ricky Nelson… *sigh*
Thanks Laura,
Blessings, Jeanne
Thanks for the chicken pictures. They grow so fast. It’s fun to see the wing feathers starting and the variations. Having several breeds makes it even more fun.
The dress is going to be lovely. The skirt looks just right. I like Linda’s sash comment, and you do make beautiful bows. I really like the white inset at the front and the texture of both fabrics. I remember the hats Joy mentioned. I also remember how they felt when they were a little tight and how nice it was to take them off? I remember too tight earrings too. Do you have black patent shoes? It would be nice to try those too. Thinking back, I believe the girls in my 6th grade class did have flats in at least some colors — pink, red, and I seem to remember silver.
HI Marilyn,
Yes, our chickies are growing pretty quickly. George was just talking about moving them outside to the back of the shed, maybe this next weekend. They’ll still have a heat lamp on them as it will get too cold in the night…
I think I might make my bow “pre-tied” and just have it hook underneath with velcro, that way, the winner won’t have to worry about tying it. Some ladies get stressed out over bows.
I do have some black patent shoes and will have to give them all try before I decide…
I remember those “pinchy” hats too… sort of gave you a headache…
Thanks Marilyn,
Blessings, Jeanne
Impressive dress! I absolutely love it!…even IF it’s not completely done, yet! 🙂 I always seemed to wear white sandals or slip ons with my ‘spring dresses’. Black came out when white didn’t ”seem right”…. but – I really like the pink. 🙂
Thank you Mary,
I’m glad you like it even when it’s only half way done… yay!
I have a pair of white sandals for my AG dolls but they are sort of modern and probably wouldn’t work… I’ll figure it out…
Thanks so much…
Blessings, Jeanne
Love the shade of blue in the background of the fabric…and your adaptation of the pattern is even cuter than the picture! As a girl my Mother said I couldn’t wear blue..but as my hair got “blonde” I took advantage and wear lots of blue. Mary Ellen will be so cute in it! I like the white shoes or patent leather would be good too. It’s coming together so quickly!
Thanks Kathie,
I like this fabric color very much too… I looked at lots of pictures of 50’s fabrics and decided this one was pretty close to what was used back then… I think the dress would look pretty on Maryellen too, with her strawberry blondish hair.
I’m hoping to get the sleeves and the collar done this afternoon… hopefully!
Thanks so much Kathie,
Blessings, Jeanne
Time appropriate shoes would be white or black but my eye gravitated to green immediately.
HI Jan,
Well, since the shoes won’t come with the dress set, I guess I only have to worry about what it looks like in my pictures. The winner can wear whatever shoes they want to put on their doll. Maybe I’ll show a few different colors in my Ebay listing… hadn’t thought of that.
Thank you Jan,
Blessings, Jeanne