Grace's dress

Two more days 'till the Vintage Ball!  I'm so excited!  Last week, I finally finished Grace's dress.  I had worn this dress before, but the sleeves were too tight and I couldn't raise my arms over my head (which is very necessary for English country dancing), so I only wore it once to a formal banquet.  Grace bought the dress from me a few months ago on the condition that I fix it up in time for the Vintage Ball.

I fixed the sleeves by making a slit on the side and inserting a triangular piece of lace.  It was a PAIN to get it to look right, but I think I finally got it right.  Because I had to take the sleeve off the bodice to work with it, and the satin stretched out while I was working with it, I had to make a little inverted box pleat at the top of the sleeve to make it look right....

The lace insert.

I also added lace to the front and back necklines.  

Doesn't it look lovely on her?  

I've also been working on my 1780's ballgown and my 18th C. stays.  I finally finished the stays... hurrah!  My dear friend Sarah (check out her blog over at because modern clothes are stupid!) has helped me so much with my dress, and it's looking lovely!  Oh, let me tell you a little secret....*her dress, which is modeled after Lizzy's white ball dress in the newer version of "Pride and Prejudice" is absolutely amazing!* But I'll let her tell you all about it!  

I promise that I will post lots of photos from the Ball!

Lucy Locket lost her pocket....

I have finally finished my 18th century pocket!  I would have finished it much, much sooner if I had just been more consistent on working on it.  I have that horrid habit of getting a project mostly done, then not finishing it for a couple months.  But I finally made myself do the last few inches of embroidery, and then bind the pieces together.  Here's the finished pocket!

Photo with needle-case and pin ball.  Sarah made the pin ball - it reads on one side "SW to AT" and on the other "Faithful Friends Forever Be."  Isn't it sweet?

My two favorite embroidered flowers.  They turned out especially well in my opinion.

Now I can carry my chapstick with me to the Ball in style!  Not that anyone else is going to see my pocket under my petticoats, but at least *I* will know how awesome it is.  LOL.

Cold Hands Warm Hearts

This year, I participated in the Cold Hands Warm Hearts mitten swap hosted by much love, illy and Sandy a la Mode.  I had never been part of a gift swap before, so I had no clue what to expect, but it was a lot of fun!  My swap partner was Polly over at this enchanted Pixie.  I was so excited when I got her package!  It was wrapped up in brown paper and I immediately started singing "...brown paper packages tied up with strings..." ("My Favorite Things" from "The Sound of Music") except it wasn't tied with string, just packaging tape.  LOL  Anyways, Polly sent me...

 cappuccino...

 

and mittens....

aren't they just darling?  I just LOVE them!  Just what I was hoping for, and they have the cutest little velvet ribbon bows ever!

Yes, I'm wearing 3/4 sleeves....it was 66 degrees Fahrenheit when I took the photos yesterday.  66?  On December 15?  Seriously???  And we haven't had any snow yet...  :(

Happiness is...comfy mittens, a warm cup of cappuccino, and a beautiful day.  Perfect.

Just HAD to include a goofy photo.  :D

There was also a card....and some British chocolate in the package, but I couldn't take a picture of it.  Why?  Let me tell you a secret....*I ate it already.*  Hey!  Don't look at me like that!  I really did share...one piece....but that's still sharing, right?  And I gave my sister the really cool stamp from the UK that was on the package!  I'm not a pig, really!

Thanks so much, Polly!  It was wonderful!  And thanks to Sandy and Ilene for hosting the CWHW swap!  I look forward to doing it again next year.