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. 

In case anyone's feeling generous...

They would go so well with my 1780's gown for the Vintage Ball this year... 

Would you like to dance?

I just fell in love.  With the most wonderful music ever.  I'm very partial to Irish, Scottish, and early American folk music, and I was recently introduced to an Irish band - Altan.  I had never heard of them before, but the first time I heard their music, I just fell head over heels.  I need some of their CD's now so I can listen to their music while I'm doing homework!  Whenever I listen to their songs on Youtube, I just want to dance, but I don't have anyone to dance with me.  :(  But anyways, here are some of my favorite songs.  Enjoy!

Thanksgiving

Yesterday was wonderful!  Because my grandparents were out of town for Thanksgiving, and no other relatives live nearby, my family had several people over who don't have family around here.  While some people went out hunting, that was too boring for me.  That, and I was too lazy to go find where my camo and blaze orange has been stored away, as well as the fact that my gun wasn't sighted in.  So, out came the targets and my .22 and my muzzleloader. Well, I shot my .22 and had a lot of fun filling a old Dr. Pepper bottle with lead.  

And then, while checking the target, we heard a squirrel in the woods behind the target.  So what else did I do, but go stalking it.

Sadly, it got away.  I saw it, but I didn't have a good shot.  It was hard for me to admit defeat, that the squirrel escaped, but I finally swallowed my pride and went back to target practice.  I then got out my .50 caliber muzzleloader to sight it in. Have I ever mentioned that I love my muzzleloader?

Ain't it a beauty?  I just L.O.V.E. this picture of it - looks so old-fashioned doesn't it?   But this next one is really, just plain awesome!

Sorry for the poor quality of the photo; my brother couldn't get a decent picture so I had to cut a frame from the video he got.  Well, my cheekbone is a bit sore this morning.  That gun has a bit of recoil to it!  I'm going to finish sighting it in later this afternoon, so hopefully I'll have some better pics to post later!

Ever have one of those days....

...where you feel like you just really, really, need a hug?  Like so bad where you want to stand on the rooftop or in the public square and just scream at the top of your lungs "I NEED A HUG! WILL SOMEONE PLEASE VOLUNTEER??!!"  Yeah, I'm having one of those days.  :(  I'm gonna be okay, but I sure don't feel like it right now.  It's a combination of lack of sleep, a cold and dreary day, loneliness, discouragement, and stressing out about school and finances.  And on top of that, I'm have a serious case of "I miss Jamaica" and "I need a good talk with my little bro."  (In case y'all didn't know before, I have an "adopted" little brother in Jamaica.  He's soooo awesome.  And protective of me.  And as hilarious a 16-year-old I've ever met. Meet Zebe....

....but anyways, that was a slightly random tangent.  And now I can't remember what I WAS going to say.)  Ummmmm....so yeah.  I need a hug.  And my little bro is too far away to give me one.  And no one else will volunteer.  Somehow, I think this is slightly related to my singleness.  Will the loneliness ever go away?  I can honestly say that I'm learning to trust God to bring the right man at the right time, but it doesn't make the waiting easier per say.  Ok, so time to end my ranting and raving.  

And now, to completely change the subject.....

I went Christmas shopping this past week, and I ended up buying matching hats for Mommy and myself.  Here's a few random pics.  I love my hat, but excuse the photos.  Self-take pics aren't the best.  

100% wool felt.  I know it's hard to see, but isn't the bow on the side just darling?  Mom really liked it, so I'm happy.  :)

Now, thanks y'all for putting up with my ramblings.