Vintage Wicker Doll Buggy

I was very excited to spot this doll buggy at a yard sale I drove by last weekend. Of course, I turned the car around to check it out. It is adorable and in excellent condition! The wicker is perfect, the hood moves, and the seat can sit up or lay flat!

Here it is modeled by a reborn doll my daughter Katie painted. That will be another post!

Here's a side view. The doll is 19" long, newborn size, so you can see what a good size this is. My little Andy loves to push it and it fits him perfectly!

Look at the real glass windows on the hood.

and pretty detailing on the wicker.

This handle is a working brake!

Finally, the original paper label is on the bottom. Notice it says that the carriage will hold up to 150 lbs!! I can't imagine what doll would need that, but perhaps they figured brothers would wheel around several friends?

It just needs one screw replaced on the handle, but I know my Dad can do that.

Would you have paid $30?? I was happy to get it for that!!

The Chicken Quilt Block Bonanza!

I have been very busy lately. I just can't find much free time. I did manage to squeeze in a quilt block, though. My Guild is starting a block bonanza tonight. I will be part of a group of 9 Ladies. Each month, we will swap our "kits" among each other until everyone has made a block for everyone else. We can choose any theme we want. I thought about it for a long time, till one of my girls suggested "chickens!"

I was going to make a chicken, but I couldn't find a pattern that looked good and was still within my abilities. Then I found this free barn pattern on A Bee in My Bonnet Quilts. I love her patterns and this seemed to fit the bill. I jazzed it up a bit by adding machine embroidered chickens in the doorway and loft.

They represent our 3 chickens: Shelly is the golden, Blackie the gray/black and Benny is the little rooster. (I missed the jumps on the spots- will need to trim those!)
These chickens are from Britt Designs and I just reduced the size and combined them in Embird. I love the way they turned out. Bennie is a really good likeness!

Next up: start working on Dickens Ball Gowns for the ladies and something for the boys to wear to the Ball on December 21. I am looking forward to it!

Civil War or Bust

Well, our first Civil War Event was a bust! I sewed all week to get ready. My dress and hoop were borrowed. I made Andy's little frock and drawers as well as the tunic outfit he already modeled and a simple sacque coat. Also, an apron for myself which never got worn. Maybe I'll put the whole shebang on one more time before I have to return the dress.

We got all dressed up and went to the venue, but I misunderstood the schedule and there was really nothing happening on Friday. So, it was a practice run. The re-enacting season is over for this year, so I can take the winter to make myself a dress and learn more about it. We will try again in April.

Here's the little sacque coat I made in case of cool weather. It would look better over the blue frock. It has coat sleeves, which are sewn in 2 pieces so they have a curve. I read that they are also called "shake your hand" sleeves, because your arms naturally bend in them. The dress I borrowed has them, too. I wanted to find some black narrow trim or braid to add to the coat, but I didn't have time. I can add it later. It is just a simple unlined coat with narrow bias binding.

The weather has turned to Fall here and we will enjoy a long weekend with birthday parties and a pumpkin festival! I hope you have a nice weekend, too!

The Regency Ball

We did it! We went to our first Regency Ball. I didn't post this week because I was busy getting ready. It was held in a very pretty old building. The room was just the right size for the number of dancers. We estimated 50 couples there.

 Here we are, all dressed up. My gown is the Sense & Sensibility Regency pattern. It was easy to make and I am satisfied with how it turned out. It was about an inch too big, but I just added a ribbon at the empire waist. The slippery fabric is not my favorite to work with, but I wanted something fancy. Many of the dresses there were made of cotton, so that would have been fine. Many were definitely Regency costumes, not historically authentic.

That went for men and women, though some of the nicest historically correct fashions were on the men. Here is a trio of beautifully outfitted gentlemen who are also Civil War reenactors.

This lady's dress was very pretty and I like her feather headpiece, too!

The dances were reel and waltzs, most often done in "sets" where the men and women formed lines with men on one side, women on the other. Some were hard to catch on to, but others were quite easy and fun! There was even a complicated "march" where all the couples marched around the room, weaving and combining in lines as we went.

There was a young lady "calling" the dances and instructing them, so that we would know what to do. Once the music began, each dance lasted 10 to 15 minutes, quite different from today's 3 or 4 minute tunes!

 I love this picture I captured of a young man hubby nicknamed "the young Thomas Jefferson" (no, the girl is not short- the young man was about 7 feet tall!).  We had fun deciding who the various dancers reminded us of.

Here's a view of the ballroom. The live musicians were to the right on a stage. It was a really fun time and something I would like to try again. Now, to start on a Civil War era gown!!