sewing in Cambodia

Penny.....You are such a wisp of a gal...like a fashion model...you could wear anything! I had NO idea until I went to your pages that you look like you are into biking too. Very interesting! Anyhow....fun for you to be able to wear your Grandmas gown. I always wish I could have. I have my Great-Grandmas, Grandmas, Mothers...and now my own because none of those fit...I was too big! Now, I am in the process of re-creating my Great-grandmothers gown in my size....for no particular reason...just because I had always wanted to wear it. So it's interesting this subject should come up. Oh, and now that I have lost so much weight...I can wear the original...but it's so fragile that I don't think I would. Joy

No one could fit into my mother's dress and the tulle on it was disintegrating anyway, so she cut out the satin and saved it. Because it was in panels, neither of us had a good idea of what to do with it for a number of years. Then when I was pregnant with my second DD I thought I'd make her a christening gown of her own (first DD was christened in my christening gown-a present from my godmother). So, I made a gown and hat from the satin. Actually found lace to match (the satin had yellowed) and mum was very pleased to see the satin put to good use. And as an aside, today is my 11th wedding anniversary. Don't know if either of my DD's will want my gown (the butt-bow on it dates it precisely to the 1990's) but I've kept it just in case.

-j

My dress is made from soft twilled silk - underwear fabric, in fact! It had 4 HUUUGE skirt panels - ideal for making a Christening gown out of, and that *is* what I'd intended to do... However, Mum's christening gown, made by my grandmother and also sent round the world for various cousins and their babies, is still alive and well 75 years after first use, so we used that. Very sweet he looked, too.

maybe DGD will have a baby one of these days (she's only 7 now) and I will save my wedding dress to see if we want to make a christening gown then. DD did not care for my dress (not frou-frou enough) so wore her MIL-to-be's dress.

As to christening gowns, the one that was passed wround for decades seems to have disappeared; I never saw it nor wore it. DGD was christened in the dress her mother and two aunts wore, with a vintage cotton batiste slip I provided.

Jean M.

Happy 11th anniversary!! May there be many, many more. Emily

"julia" wrote

Happy anniversary! You may be very surprised about your gown. Daughters Love mom's wedding gown. When it comes time for the day so many of them really do want to wear mom's dress no matter how datred we may think it is. My dress screamed

1950's. Didn't matter to my daughter and doesn't seem to matter to my granddaughter. My mom didn't have a gown. She got married in the only good dress she had. There is one custom that has followed in my family though. I have my grandmothers wedding veil or what is left of it. She made it herself and then used it as mosquito netting on her baby carraiges. I carried a piece of it my wedding day and each of my daughters and daughter-in-law carried a piece when they were married. My oldest daughter had a small purse , she carried on her wedding day, made from it, The remaining piece of veil will be divided among my six granddaughters. We are a family that is very big on traditions. Penny please do post a picture of you in your wedding gown. If possible one of your grandmother too. Juno

"I.E.Z." a écrit dans le message de news: snipped-for-privacy@ptd.net...

I purchased mine from a small private clothes museum in Alton/ Arelesford Hampshire Uk. It's a 1932 double sided satin bias cut, off white gown made for a girl who was going out to India to get married and as it had a small mark on the front where it had been over cleaned in one place, luckily just under where I held my bouquet, I was able to but it for the princley sum of £32, back in 1986 I should add. Beautiful Dress. I also borrowed my great grandmother wedding viel which " every bride" in our family has used my sister ended up using it as a stole/ wrap as she was much more modern than my Wallis Simpson moment. I will try and post a picture of it on my site.

Claire in Montréal, France.

Pogonip wrote: >

Lucky you! I got such a good deal on the 5000 I decided to jump.

Today's session with DGD was fantastic: We embroidered a beautiful mid-size rose bouquet on the back of her denim jacket, and added her name to the front yoke; put a lovely pink-purple lily arrangement on the front of a periwinkle T-shirt; put her name in variegated thread on the front and the large rose bouquet on the back of a white fleece jacket. She was amazing: after just a couple of demonstrations, she was editing her chosen designs, threading the machine, hooping the garments (with some help), and changing out the top threads. She even diagnosed the problem we were having with the continuous-bobbin-thread not winding properly (seemed to be a problem with the bobbin, when we put a different one in it was fine). Maybe I'll put you in touch with ~her~! ;-)

I am so proud of her! :-) And she and her Mom were thrilled with the look of the "new" old clothing items.

It's like computers and vcrs. The kids have never lived in a world without these tools, so they just learn how to use them without ever thinking that there is a learning curve or that it might be difficult. That seems to be the trick. If a 3-year old can do it, anyone can, right? We older folk just need to get over that little bump.

Thank you! :)

Thanks Juno. I love the idea of tradition, but if my DD's don't want the gown , or want to do something else with it down the road, that's fine with me. It's there for them just in case, but I'm not going to be disappointed if they don't want it. Actually, I think it would be great if they wanted to alter it or maybe use part of it as the base for another item of clothing or hold onto it for (gulp!) grandchildren! (Feeding my 9month old mushy banana as I try to type this...I can't see that far down the road yet from here!!).That's a nice tradition with the veil. I made the christening gown precisely to give my DD's something of a 'family heirloom' that would connect them to my mother. Tradition has to start somewhere I guess. :)

-j

What a wonderful day! You are so lucky to have DD nearby and be able to spend days like that with DGD, who will forever remember the day, too. Emily

Although I'm not intimidated by technology, I'm just delighted that DGD picked up all the intricacies of "editing" so quickly. I've been programming our VCRs' since the first one in the mid-seventies (remember those, weighed about a hundred pounds?), and after getting my first computer in '89, I learned (as the need arose) to open it up and install/change components. I am a prime example of trial-and-error-learning. ;-)

Indeed I am, and believe me, I know it. Yesterday I spent two hours at the grandchildren's piano recital. DGS played "Sonatina in C" by Frank Lynes and "Lazy Days". DGD played three pieces and sang the vocal refrain while playing the last one. Amazing! I took everyone out to Baskin & Robbins after. :-)

I've certainly had fun with it, and enjoy teaching my gray-haired compatriots that they're not too old to learn a trick or two. The most fun I've had was telling my local techies that I used a hammer to install a network card. Which I did. It was too narrow to get in there, and the edge of the card nearly split my fingers, so I used the handle of the hammer to press the card into the slot. So, technically, I did use a hammer to install the card. ;-)

Hey, whatever works! ;-) I've used some not-so-gentle persuasion myself, trying to get PCI cards into those d___d slots. And trying to run data cables through and around....

That's because we women are natural problem solvers. Don't tell me something won't work, when I know I can make it work. That's my motto. Juno

You're singing to the choir, sister! ;-)