HI everyone,
I have a safety feature on my blog that lets me know when someone “New” is trying to post something. I have to “approve” those posts before they will be shown on my blog. That’s what happened to Anne’s comments… She used a different name other than her regular comments “name” and it added a “pending” note to me letting me know someone “new” was trying to post something. We had Kristoffer over today and then after he left, we called Rebecca and Karn and talked to them for 3 hours!!! By the time I got something done on Bailey’s dress set, it was after 11:00p.m. and when I got to my computer for today’s post, I saw Anne’s comment was “pending”…so I approved it and it showed up, but I’m so sorry, so instead of making you all go back and read what it was about, I just decided to copy and paste it right here…
From Anne in the UK:
Sorry I haven’t been in touch everyone. I travelled with a very bad head cold which settled on my chest. It made me very tired but I have been visiting quite a bit as well.
On Tuesday my granddaughter arrived from NZ. She is travelling around Europe so visited here on her way to Edinburgh. We only had two nights and one full day with her but we were able to visit my sister and my niece Amanda. She hadn’t seen any of her English relatives since she was 12 (she’s now almost 25) and I think was a bit nervous but she found she got on REALLY well with my brother and SIL. They are all academics and while they aren’t all in the same field exactly, it all overlaps so they were able to converse well together. I think she wished she had spent longer here. My contribution was telling her all her father’s secrets lol.
Today I will be on my own as John and Gill are going to a birthday party. It is in a field out of town with people John doesn’t know well and I not at all and thunderstorms are predicted for today. I decided to stay home and if the storms don’t arrive I may just wander down to the shops here. If it does rain I will be able to find plenty to do at home!
On Sunday a nephew is coming over for a visit with his partner, he lives in Liverpool. John’s family a spread around a lot. He has two sons who live here in Sheffield but apart from Matthew in the west of England in Liverpool, Ben lives in Inverness in the North of Scotland, Joanna lives in Plymouth in the South of England (those last two are almost as far apart as you can be in UK) and his youngest daughter is currently in Melbourne, Australia.
In the next couple of weeks John and I are planning a visit to Grantham in the midlands where he and I grew up and still have cousins then we hope to go to Wantage/Oxford to visit our only surviving aunt, Mum’s youngest sister and more cousins.
I will check in again and I do have a couple of photos to send. I am not very good taking photos it is usually Sam who does that but she isn’t here lol.
By the way, the weather has improved in spite of the promised thunderstorms. It is much warmer and I haven’t had to where my coat this week!
Have a good day
Thank you, Anne, and we are all so happy to hear from you and know you are having a nice visit.
Okay now, let’s see… where did I leave off…
Oh yes, with that lovely looking “imaginary” hat and shoes picture…
Here is what I was thinking of… the hat is made and the dress needed some more “prettiness” to me…
During that LONG phone call with Rebecca and Karn, I did a little hand stitching of the red trim onto the bottom of the dress. It’s one of those things where it looks VERY PRETTY in person… and in my pictures… maybe it’s just okay…
I hope you like it because I’M NOT TAKING ALL THESE HAND STITCHES OUT!!!
The straw hat I made was a bright shiny red braid and the buttons I had on there were just a bit on the matte side, so I switched them out with some brighter shinier buttons.
Bailey is liking it but it was late when I took these pictures, so they aren’t the greatest…
The dress is almost like a circle skirt…
Now… to the hat… It doesn’t have a flat area for the ribbon/trim to go against, as it’s sort of shaped like a bell. I wanted to use this navy blue piece of middy braid, but it would NOT lay flat against the side of the hat…
You can see in this next picture where it stands out… I needs to be something flexible or something cut on the bias… then it would work.
So I tried something different. I used my braid that I make the hats out of and ruched up a piece in navy and one in white…they are still connected to the yardage I have and I haven’t cut them off yet… just wanted to show you “kind of” how each color would like and get your opinions…
The navy IS darker than the middy braid I showed, but it’s NOT as dark as it looks in my pictures.
I’m hoping tomorrow’s post will be about the shoes…
See you then,
Blessings, Jeanne
So nice to hear the update from Anne! I’m glad she’s having such a wonderful time, and getting to see so many family members. The older we get, the more important that becomes. We just never know when “the last time” we saw someone will actually Be the LAST time we see that person!
That is really a pretty trim you used on the dress, Jeanne. If you have lots of it, I’m hoping you might use it on a dress for one of the 18″ dolls sometime, too. Probably not Molly (even though she’s 18″ and the trim is red [my Molly’s favorite color!], but I think it’s a little too fancy for her) but I’m sure you’ll figure it out!
I prefer the white trim on that hat–I think it’s more summery-looking.
I cut out a little dress for my Dazzle from the pattern that came with her. I did make a photocopy of it so I’m not cutting into the original. Live and learn! We’ll see how it goes. Not sure when I’ll start sewing it, as I do have several other projects in the “queue”!!
Hi Charlotte, happy Monday. You always have a lovely dialog to begin our
chat with Jeanne.
I agree, I like the white trim on the hat too.
I hope you will finish the little Dazzle dress and let us see. Brilliant to photo copy the pattern!
Back in the days of olden, we would hold it up to the sunny window and trace it. Remember that?
Thank you, Rosemary. Yes, I will be sure to post pictures as soon as I have her tiny dress done. I didn’t get into the sewing room at all today, though. Maybe tomorrow.
Yes, I do remember tracing things against a sunny window!! Now if I trace, I use tracing paper or tissue, and I have a clear clipboard so I can hold it up to the light if necessary!
I learned long ago that, especially for things that have tiny pieces, such as doll clothes or stuffed animals, it’s best to copy or trace the original pattern. It’s much easier to trace another sleeve (or ear, if it’s a stuffed animal) than to spend hours searching for the piece that disappeared, and takes less time than contacting your sewing groups to see if anyone else has that pattern and would be willing to trace off that piece for you!! Ask me how I know.
Hi Jeanne! That’s wonderful that you got to print out Anne’s comment and put it here for us to read. It will be quite a relief to her! I’m sure to se that she won’t have to write it all over again! She certainly is making good use of her time and is doing g a lot of visiting, which I am sure is what she wanted to do in the first place! It is good to hear from you, Anne, and to see that you are having a wonderful time!
Bailey looks so cute in her new dress with the new “fancy” trim, but I was envisioning a totally different type of hat, more like a red hat with a brim. I like both trim colors, but like Charlotte says, the white looks more summery, but that is because the navy band looks black on my screen, not navy. It just depends on what she is wearing with it.
Happy Monday everyone!
We are having rain and more rain. Which is better, rain and cool temps or sunshine and stifling temps?
It is so good to hear from Anne, I am so happy to read it here.
I have grand girls and my daughter for a visit this week. Good times, Lauren is 7 and Sarah is 10. They are beautiful.
I have other grand children from my younger daughter, I do not know if I told you this, but three years ago they informed me that I was not part of their family anymore. Some tiny disagreement of really no importance, roiled my son in law. Nothing I can do. I have been seeing a pastoral counselor and I am just coping.
ANYWAY, Christina and the girls are here and I wrapped their birthday presents in glittery roses I think wedding paper, and hid them in the kitchen cabinets. Hahaha fun.
Jeanne, this dress is so cute and I love the hat. The embroidery is very sweet and appropriate! with the buttons! I am excited to see the shoes.
I hope all of you have a happy day. Here, it is dripping rain. Yesterday we drove out to the new house and the girls loved it. My son in law, Jason is a dear too. He is at the beginning of a two year process of jaw realignment to improve his breathing, He has braces now.
Coping with relationships, or lack thereof, sometimes is the best we can do. Yesterday we had lunch with son Sean and his family and son Jason and his wife Stephanie. It was delightful. We had just had a long conversation with our daughter in Maine a couple weeks ago so she sent her dad a text message wishing him a wonderful day. David’s oldest daughter passed away a few years ago from blood clots but his second daughter is alive and kicking in Oregon. It saddens him that he never hears from her but that is a decision she made many years ago although we are not sure why. All I could tell him, from reading her Facebook page, is that if you don’t worship her she has nothing to do with you. There are always posts telling her how great she is and how lucky they are to be her friend. Saddens me too. Of his three children she was always my favorite. She had a dear friend she went to school with for years. They were inseparable. Her friend grew up, went away to college and got on with her life but they still kept in touch. Sadly his daughter was still grinding axes from childhood misunderstandings and confiding in her friend. Finally one day her friend said for Heaven’s sake stop revisiting the past. It’s over and done with and you have been wrong about a lot of things. Poof!!! No friendship any longer. His daughter said if someone wasn’t being supportive of her, she had no place for them in her life. We pray for her.
It was very nice to hear from Anne and all she’s been up to. She’s very very busy with wonderful family visits.
Bailey’s dress is adorable. And your pictures of her are so cute. She looks happily mischievous. I’m sure she’s excited to be the model.
I’ve been so busy with downsizing in our home. 50-some years of things. My husband is tackling the garage and so far I’ve worked on drawers and closets. We have boxes sitting around that we’re filling up for donations. Some things make me wonder why on earth do we still have this thing?! 😂
Thanks so much to Jeanne and Anne for the travel update. Very glad that Anne is getting to see her relatives and able to do some shopping as well. Hope that nasty cold can get checked out to make sure it hasn’t turned into pneumonia. Interesting to hear about the Inverness connection to the north. One of other person’s greats lived in that area before emigrating to Canada, and into the United States. The old family stone cottage is still there and now a bed and breakfast. Always wanted to visit. 🙂
I’m not so sure about the hat braid. Seems like a stark contrast, but that’s just me. Perhaps, a patterned bias fabric in the same colors might look nice. Hard to tell for me as my monitor is showing the hat kind of pinkish. I’m sure it will be lovely when finished. Bailey looks very pleased and anxious for some tiny shoes. 🙂
I finally finished my week one Sew Along project. Now onto week two, which is also behind as I’m supposed to be on week three. Trying to catch up here, but I’ve been so into pulling weeds/brambles that sewing has taken second place. This week, we’re going to hit the 90’s, so hopefully, I can spend some time inside and get caught up. 🙂 Not going to like the pleasant weather change to heat at all.
And, my RR Abigail, has finally left HK and heading to the US hopefully. The other package from RRGalleria, has been sitting in NY for what seems forever. No further updates from tracking. I’m sure everything will arrive eventually, but not a clue as to exactly when.
Have a great week everyone!
I heard from Maru and Friends the other day that the tariff issue has been settled and all the previous orders will be arriving by the end of July and they are taking orders again. Since I have two Maru Minis I ordered in December and January, I’m a happy camper. I never tried one of those sew along things since I thought you had to keep up and I never know what my time is going to look like. Hope you take pictures of your efforts. I’d love to see them.
Well, that’s good news about the Maru group. It still hasn’t been clearly stated about what is happening with the China company, RRed. But, they have figured out a way to get things shipped with a new company. It is much slower and updating is rather a pain to follow, but when I checked this morning, my Abigail is now in LA. Much closer than my missing in action package that was last still in New York. So waiting is the game.
Looks like I may be in the minority, but I base my decision on how something looks to me overall when I look at the total outfit. I like the navy braid on the hat. I love, love, love the trim on the skirt of the dress. I find that on tiny clothes there is a limit to what you can do to embellish and still keep an outfit from looking cluttered. Using some kind of trim around the skirt is usually my go-to. The trim you used is gorgeous and I sure wish I had some of it. I like the change in buttons.
So good to hear from Anne. Sounds like she is taking a tour of the UK and seeing tons of relatives. I’ve been to England and Wales but never made it to Scotland or Ireland. Our time ran out because we did Europe too and only had a month. Can’t tell from her comment if she is getting over what she has or it’s getting worse and has she checked in with a medical facility. Although I must confess that my friend in Scotland tells me things that make me not sure you always get the best advice even doing that. Her teenage granddaughter had a terrible urinary tract infection for weeks and saw a doctor(?) regularly. Finally after it wasn’t responding to other treatment, she was referred to a pediatrician. Evidently you can’t go to one first. Only then could she get the antibiotics she needed and she got over it quickly after weeks of misery and missing a lot of school.
This past two days I have started changing my dolly girls’ clothes from Easter/spring to summer attire. I’m taking it slowly and just doing a few a day. I’ve finished my Little Darling, L’il Dreamers, Tiny Betsy and Heartstring dolls. My new set-up of the storage drawers is working great and does make the job easier than the stacked boxes I used to use.
Can’t wait to see the little red shoes that are on the horizon.
I also as picturing a sun hat with a brim instead of a cloche. Between the white and navy trim, I also refer the navy as it doesn’t detract from the dress. The white pulls my eye up to the hat. Personally, I agree on a bias cut of the seersucker fabric for the hat trim to blend the two pieces together. The dress is darling and I love the trim.
So good to hear from you, Anne. It sounds like you are having a marvelous time. I hope you have gotten over your cold by now.
Dear Jeanne, she is so pretty. She is Red, White, and Blue-tiful! Happy July 4th, almost.
I think you may have just named Bailey’s outfit, Dorothy!
Bailey is looking cute, I bet she can’t wait to get her red shoes.
I wondered if that was the problem Jeanne. Thank you for printing the message.
We had a lovely visit with Matthew and Anna. We met them in Hathersage which is a pretty village in the Peak District (the National Park in Derbyshire). We had lunch at the David Mellor Centre (he was a Sheffield lad who became a famous designer) then went to Longshore Hall. There is a series on BBC called Springwatch which is all about wildlife flora and fauna. This season it was filmed from Longshore. The Hall itself has been converted to apartments and is private but the grounds and views are lovely. Then we went home and Matthew shared the cake he had made for his dad for Father’s Day. They were only here for the day but I will see Matthew again on 28th when my sister is putting on a party for my birthday (which has been and long gone!).
I think we will be going to Grantham on Saturday to see Joan and Colin my cousins. In July we are hoping to go to Wantage to see my Aunty Sylvia and as many of my cousins as we can. Then John wants to go to Plymouth to see his daughter and my niece Joanna. I think Ben might come down from Inverness, but I don’t think we will be going up there.
I’ll have to go it is getting late and we are going into Sheffield City this morning. I will check in again