Something Old And Something New

And Maybe Even SOME Progress!

Dear Readers, You MUST be thinking that I have Forgotten about the Wedding I am supposed to be planning in my Doll World. But let me assure you, nothing could be Further from the truth! Pollyanna and Daphne have been hard at work researching Gown Styles.... and they have even convinced me to bring home a Bridal Magazine or two to help with the Inspiration that seems to be lacking! As for setting a DATE..... you will just Have to forgive us, but we are Still trying to track down Arthur's FATHER! He was last heard to be chasing rare butterflies on Mount Kilimanjaro, but nobody has heard from him in a while. Celeste thinks we should just go ahead and plan the Wedding without him (she would perhaps rather NOT see him....) and Arthur and Pollyanna are starting to believe they may have to do just that. So we shall see..... it looks as though the Soonest they could get married would be sometime in November...... and that is only IF Pollyanna can get a Gown made in time....... and ALL the OTHER Wedding Party members too.... did I Realize what I was setting myself up for? I am not even sure whether some of the dolls' clothes are removable........ oh dear..... this could be complicated..........!

But for NOW, Pollyanna and Daphne are studying the LATEST Styles...........

There are some STUNNING Gowns that would be an incredibly difficult thing to make in mini....

But with some of the MOST FAMOUS Designers present....

we could perhaps get some great tips....

There is Certainly a LOT to consider.......

And some VERY Beautiful Gowns.......
that Might be Just what we are looking for.......

What do you think......?

So While you are thinking....... I have ALSO been working on the tiny bits and pieces for the Cupboard House. In particular..... I spent an Entire Day cutting and fitting and gluing the Muntins (those vertical dividers) for ALL the windows! It was VERY fidgety work as they really had to fit precisely and there needed to be one on the inside and the outside of the window, both top and bottom...... here you can see the kitchen window completed!

And a view from the outside.... I just LOVE these windows! They actually go Up and Down!

And once they were all done....

I temporarily attached them (with Museum Wax) to the House....

I am Very Happy with the way they look!

And even with the way they look on the inside....... because the front of the cupboard is so Thick there is a lovely Deep window embrasure..... I will need to line it with a sort of extended window frame......

And Another little bit I have been working on is the Plumbing for the Kitchen of the Cupboard House...... specifically, I have tried to make some tiny faucets in a Victorian style.......

Here you can see my first attempt......

It is made with wire and jewelry findings and Sculpey all glued together and painted.....

The only problem is that they are JUST a BIT too BIG! So I tried again with Smaller parts......
Here you can see the Sculpey (black stuff) on the wires and glued together before painting.......

And here you can see the two sets together to compare the size.....

I ALSO started to make the pipes for the Hot water tank...... but I am not sure they are right either...... and I need to add the intake and the outflow pipes... as well as a drain faucet...... so I MIGHT have to make some changes..... and I need to figure out EXACTLY where the pipes GO so they are cut the correct length ....... so you see I have a ways to go with this part.....

Here I have glued the smaller faucets onto the sinks.....

I set them low as there will be wooden hinged Covers on the sinks.......
.

And here it is in the Kitchen.....
I can't Believe so Little improvement took so MUCH time!

But I am SO glad I have completed the windows.....

they make the Cupboard start to Feel like a HOUSE!

And Now that they are in place on the Cupboard House......

there is Space again in MY House......

to start filling up with more projects!
Maybe I WILL get started on a Wedding Dress.......

Something Old IS Something New

Weddings In the Air

To Tie The Knot

Is it any Wonder that with all the Media interest in the Royal Wedding, even the Brides-To-Be in the Mini World are caught up in the excitement? Magazines and TV shows are filled with the details of Royal Weddings in the past.... and speculation about this latest Wedding is on Everyone's mind! WHAT will the Bride's Gown LOOK like???? Well, Pollyanna is NOT immune to the Romance and Excitement of a Royal Wedding! That it is happening while she is planning her OWN Wedding just adds to the fascination! The BIGGEST question has to be What the Bridal Gown will look like.... and we cannot know the answer until the Wedding Day! But we can WONDER...... and we can read the magazines.... and we can think about the different styles of Wedding Gowns.......

Will it be Modern or Traditional? Will it be simple or elaborate? Will it have a Long Train or be sleek and short? Will it be silk or satin or covered in intricately Knotted LACE? And of course, as she wonders about the Gown of the Future Princess..... Pollyanna must also inevitably think of what sort of gown SHE would like to have. And of course, her Mother, Joanna is here to help her with her plans! Joanna remembers visiting the Lovely Old Dollhouse when SHE was young... and she remembers a trunk or two in the Attic that had old gowns and bits of lace from generations before... so they go have a look........ This is one trunk that Pollyanna has NOT searched through!

And oh, MY! LOOK at what is inside! This is a Treasure Trove!

Just LOOK at the Beauty of this piece of LACE!

"And this one too" Exclaims Joanna!

"And just look at the workmanship on THIS piece" exclaims Pollyanna!

"It looks HAND MADE!"

Dear Readers, you MUST forgive me if I bore you with a great many pictures of some scraps of lace that I have been collecting for Ages! I came across these pieces while looking for material to send to my Sister. To tell you the truth, I had FORGOTTEN about many of these pieces! Including the piece Pollyanna is holding..... crocheted by YOURS TRULY in my teens... but more on that later! First I must show you my collection! And I must confess that I really know very little about the different kinds of lace... or even how to tell if it is hand or machine made.... But I ADORE the delicate patterns and minute workmanship of lace......

(Please remember to click on the photos to enlarge them!)

I know the evocative words like "Chantilly" and "Brussells","Tatting" and "Open-work", "Bobbin Lace" and "Crochet Lace" and "Fillet" Lace...... but I really have NO idea how to describe the differences!

Here are a few tiny scraps of some very lovely old lace.......

And these little squares are what I THINK is "Fillet" lace.... (correct me if I am wrong!) and each little square is only about one inch to a side..... aren't they sweet? I have no idea where I got many of these.......

And here is a lovely old handkerchief with a wide border of lace... stitched patterns on a ground of netting ..... which wraps around the entire handkerchief with no apparent seam!

And a fragment with a very interesting pattern...... this looks to me as if it MIGHT be "Bobbin Lace"..... only because the little leaves are "woven" in a way that I imagine would require a bobbin to produce......

And this is a rather large piece with a pattern worked on a netting ground....... it looks like it was once a shawl or "fichu" to wear over your shoulders....

And another similar type.... and I'm ALMOST certain that this was a part of my Mother's wedding dress... a lace jacket over the bodice....... My Mother was not afraid to re-purpose her Wedding Dress after the Wedding!

And another very elaborate piece that I think must be "Bobbin Lace".... but I really am not sure at all!
Yet another lovely pattern.... maybe a tiny bit too large a scale for a miniature Gown......

And another piece worked on a netting "ground".

I do not have much of this.... maybe just enough for a Veil?

And More......

And this is SUCH a delicate piece......

But I think Pollyanna does like this piece of HAND Crocheted Lace.........! You will laugh when I tell you that it took me a minute or two to recognize this lace! But I remember experimenting with making tiny crocheted "doilies" for my dollhouse back in my teen years... and I made a couple of lengths of lace trim as well! When I saw this, I had to hunt for my tiny crochet hook and try to see if I remembered how it was done.......

Here is a close-up....

And here is the newest piece of tiny hand-crocheted lace..... along with the crochet hook....

See how lovely it looks on Pollyanna?

And while we are at it....

Let's see how she would look if we dressed her in a Gown made from the handkerchief......

Tell me TRULY.... can any of you imagine Cutting up this handkerchief to make a doll gown?

Or should the gown be made of simple layers of chiffon.....

Maybe with the crochet lace for a border at the hem.......?

Or perhaps a fancy lace over-dress layered over the chiffon.....?

Or should the gown be a mass of frothy tulle? And a cloud of tulle for a veil?

Or should it be layers of gauzy netting stitched all over with flowers and pearls....

So Old Fashioned..... with a very LONG Train.....???

HOW on Earth can one DECIDE?

So while we are all awaiting the Royal Wedding.... some of us are more than a little curious about the choice of Gown... and whether it will INFLUENCE the choice made by Brides to follow! And perhaps you can forgive SOME for Dreaming about Weddings... Royal or Not!

There ARE Weddings In The Air!