A Sewing Holiday

Rosen by Ferdinand Georg Waldmuller, Austria 1843

Isn't this art amazing? The artist was born in the 1700s. The metal vases are painted in great detail with reflections and embossing. The roses are ready to shed a few of their petals. Beautiful.

I have always wanted a day to do exactly as I liked, so the day before Christmas I sewed, and completed another Mother-Daughter dress set from cotton flannel. The clear buttons have a silver backing, which make them look like jewels. Mother and daughter looked like special princesses with their dark hair and white dresses.

The fabric store is not within a convenient distance, so when there was not enough fabric for the ladies dress, I had to piece the bodices . I did this by sewing equal amounts of fabric scraps on two pieces and then placing the pattern on the fabric and cutting it. If you are interested in making pieced fabric for sewing clothes, it is not actually necessary to have matching pieces. One side of the bodice or skirt can be different than the other.

Small pieces on the sides under the sleeves.

A matching doll dress would have been nice but every scrap of white flannel was used, so today, I made this doll with muslin. It is made like the old fashioned handkerchief dolls which do not require stitching. The head is stuffed with polyester fiberfill and tied with string. The hands are also tied with string. I hot-glued the hair and bonnet and drew the face with markers.

I machine stitched a border of eyelet lace on the hem of the dress. The bonnet is a piece of the eyelet gathered lace, tied with ribbon under the chin.

This doll is made for a girl's bed, and is placed on top of the bedspread after the bed is made. I have painted the face of the doll and applied some clear matte decoupage. The hair is a skein of brown embroidery thread, cut to make long hair hanging over the sleeves, glued with hot glue.

You can also make a boy-doll with this tying method, by tying the fabric into trousers. Here is a tutorial for pioneer handkerchief dolls

http://homemakers-journal.blogspot.com/2011/07/pioneer-handkerchief-dolls.html

 

I received a lot of buttons for Christmas, and a new blanket, which would be considered a "throw" or lap cover. While in a store with my husband last week I touched it and remarked how soft it was. This morning the blanket was on my bed. It is the one in the picture with the doll I just made.

The mood of the season is lovely and it reminds me how important it is to apply a good mood in every season, and not just times of celebration. It can be tempting to be discontent when there are no events to look forward to or when there is no particular drama in one's life. To train the mind and the moods to be stable and inwardly happy in whatever gloomy weather or bad news there is, is quite an accomplishment. For many people, it takes a lifetime to learn, but I believe the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5-7 (three chapters), when carefully considered, teach how to regulate moods. It show us what to think and how to respond.

There does not have to be a big let-down after a holiday. Each day is a special day, in my opinion, and can be memorable, depending on what is done with it.

If you ever need to see more cheerful faces in your life, try making a doll with a smile.

 

 

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