Aboyne Doll's outfit done

:) I fell in love with that paisley the minute I saw it and luckily bought more than I needed for a Towne Purse for myself, so there was enough to also make the bag for DS. The homespun was left over from DD's Cat Dancing jacket, years ago.

Doreen in Alabama

Your DGD is beautiful. You are very fortunate that you were able to do the Christmas Eve dinner with guests. The DD and family who usually come to visit between Christmas/New Year's weren't able to come this year. If DS is feeling better by tomorrow(he has a bad cold/sinus infection), we may go to MS for the family get-together this weekend which my siblings & I have each year. Emily

The combination of patterns is wonderful. Do you buy the "Acrylic base"?

Beverly

;-)

I am aware of how very fortunate I am to have all my family here for celebrations, and I love it. The clean-up after is just a bit more tedious without DH to help, he always washed, while I dried and put away.

I hope you are able to get together with your family this weekend. I will be getting together Saturday with two of my siblings, and their families, there will be 30 all together. I do not envy my DSisterIL, having that mob at her place. We are almost getting to be too many to have in any one house....

Beverly

Beverly, I bought an acrylic base for the first City Bag I made, for middle DD. For each of the other four bags I just made a base of 3 layers of mat board, cut to size, glued together and covered with the lining fabric. My experience is that the mat board base makes the bottom of the bag just as stable as the acrylic one, and leaves me with eight dollars to spend on more fabric. :)

Doreen in Alabama

If you want a washable bag, I have found plastic needlepoint canvas to be a good "stiffener."

That's kinda what I figured. Good to have it verified. ;-)

Beverly

A number of years ago (when we still had several members of the older generation with us) xmas was at our vacation home and the holiday meal got trimmed down. Three starches got cut to one, veggies went from 4 to 2, and we still were a happy crew. Dishes? The large divided 'paper' plates served just fine with smaller ones for salad or dessert and the number of pots and pans was cut 'way back. Just a thought for your family. No one missed the huge dinners we had earlier, and we had more time to enjoy each other. There were years when we numbered 13 (in a house of 800 square feet and only one bathroom), all overnight, with a couple of others coming xmas morning for the day.

Jean

We may come to that eventually, too. Right now, and while I'm still able, using the special china (my mother-in-law's), crystal (my mother's), and flatware (my silver anniversary sterling), are all major parts of the celebration. Everyone contributes to the meal, but the oyster stew is always the hostess' (my) contribution. We have made a few minor changes, like eliminating the cheese and bread course, but for the most part, each part of the Christmas Eve celebration is associated with very fond memories and we are unwilling to part with them. And I don't mind the work, just miss the helper. ;-}

Beverly

Dear Beverly, I understand how you feel about using your special things. It really bothers me that I will have to use disposables this year when my family comes on the 30th. There is just no way I can ask DH to do all that extra work this year. I've got him run ragged as it is. The children will each bring part of the meal. DH and I have the job of being Emperor and Empress. If I was able, all my china and crystal would be on the table. That's just the way it is. I have always felt that if I can't use those nice things with my family I might as well not have them. This year,I'm just glad to have my family with me. Juno

And I am also glad to have my family with me! :-)

Every year, as I prepare for the big dinner, I get out all the lovely old pieces, and I'm reminded of (and think about) the original owners. That's true for my children and grandchildren as well, we all reminisce about family members no longer with us, and it's not a sad thing, it's really quite nice. So having and using those things serves a purpose beyond just "being a thing to serve food on/in". Out family ties are re-enforced, and strengthened.

My mother had this gorgeous set of crystal, and she was so afraid of losing any of it that she *never* used it. She had a special china cabinet built, with glass doors so she could *see* her stuff, and there it sat. I still find that sad, and so I use it every year. And if something breaks, well.... at least it gets used and enjoyed! ;-)

Beverly

I feel like that too, so we use the Dartington wine glasses in the garden, the good plates and cutlary whenever we want, and think of the lovely people who gave them to us as wedding/Christmas/birthday presents over the years... As all the plates and cutlary are dishwasher proof, this only leaves win glasses and sometimes fruit dishes to wash up by hand. I may have 'posh frock' china and cutlary, but I also hate washing up! ;)

My mum's the same: the Noritaki dinner service, silver cutlary and crystal glasses come out any time she's not alone, as does the bone china tea service and the silver teapot!

I draw the line at table cloths, however. As we have an antique oak dining table and I like the wood, we use it nekkid! And I did have paper napkins this year: poshly folded gigantic bright red ones from Lakeland limited! I occasionally use the posh linen table cloth to hide something like a garden table brung in for emergencies or larger parties...

I have a secret!! Some years ago, at an estate sale, I bought a new, still-in-the-package checked linen tablecloth, very homespun looking. I washed it in the washer, and behold - it shed like crazy, but it DID NOT need ironing. I use that one for semi-formal occasions, except when I am using the posh Madeira lace placemats my brother brought from there. When it is REALLY formal, and I have to use one of the white damask banquet cloths, well, the dry-cleaner isn't THAT expensive, compared to ironing the thing.

p.s. We find that washing the sterling silver cutlery in the dishwasher on a regular basis does not save any labor because it tarnishes faster. Easier in the long run to wash two each of knives, forks, spoons etc. every day.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

My dishwasher is of the human variety. I haven't had one in 20 years. So it doesn't really make a big difference to me as far as washing up is concerned. At Thanksgiving, my DSIl is the first one to the sink to start clean up. So that's always a help. I do enjoy using my "good things" that's what they are for, the most important people in my life, family. Juno

One thing I have been doing for a while now is to use a digital camera and a digital recorder to do a sort of interview with any of the older folks. I ask them to tell me about the days when they were kids, what differences and things they see today. I use a program called Legacy which allows you to save pictures, sounds, notes and other items as a family tree. Makes it nice when you want to tell the little ones about what came before, and to remember yourself. For parties I shoot small video clips and add them in.

I've used one alone, but not for a really rigid base, just to give shape. You could try doubling it, or tripling it to see what gives you the result you want. Other things to use would be cut-up disposable containers. My kitty litter comes in big, square plastic buckets that could be cut up to make all kinds of stiffeners.

Back when baseball caps started getting so popular, you could buy a bill insert. Someone pointed out that a chlorox bottle, cut in the right shape, made a perfect bill. Since then, whenever an expensive purpose-made plastic item comes on the market and I want it, I first look around the house for substitutes.

If you ever use adhesive spray for applique or embroidery, a plastic gallon milk jug with the bottom cut out makes a great "hood" to confine the spray to the item, and keep it out of the air.

That's a really nice thing to do. You are preserving oral history. Juno

My posh cutlary (as in over £300 for the 8 place settings! We saved John Lewis tokens for a couple of years!) is glorious 100% dishwasher proof stainless steel of the highest quality! And my every day china is plain clinical white Polish porcelein made by LSA International. The 'Good' dinner service is Horsea's Contrast, in bitter chocolate with white middles and a smart black line... All the china is dishwasher, microwave and oven safe! I ain't daft... mad, yes, but not daft! ;)

The white linen tablecloth and napkins go in the washer on the boil wash and Alan irons them, so it's no bother to me at all... :)

The posh napkins: