Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Miss Sarah Kelie's Photo Shots!

The last few days have been to hard to resist! I have gone out and taken some pictures of Savannah and Sarah's picnic that they had on Saturday! It has been lots of fun!
Anyway, here are some pictures of Miss Sarah Kelie!

Sarah fetching the water



Sarah and Savannah
A picture of Sarah's tea cup at her last tea party!

Here are some underpinnings
Her petticoat
And her pantaloons
Oh, and you can't forget her apron!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

A little, little house...

This is one of the best doll houses I've ever seen...
I had to show you some pictures of it because it's too amazing to pass up. You can go here to see more (and bigger) pictures. Please do go and see it!

I found it here on Thoughts of a Shieldmaiden. She has some more pictures on there that I couldn't find on the other site. Thanks Earwen!
It is a miniature of Bilbo's house, "Bag End" (from the lord of the rings)! It is absolutely amazing!!
"The house under the hill..."

Bilbo's bedroom
Bilbo's writing desk

The Bath room

An authentic hobbit door with the door knob in the middle. =]

The kitchen (so incredible!)
The (well stocked) Pantry

Frodo's bedroom
The Parlor (looking into the dining room)
It inspires me to make a doll house! I love the rugs and the writing desk!
And the bath room is so cute! ok, I love it all. =]
Yours ever, Marguerite

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Alice Tumuhairwe

Today, I took some pictures of Alice out in the yard - which, in some places, is more like a jungle. Well, to a person who is only about 16 inches high... it would be a jungle. =]
This is a little basket that I got on my trip to South Carolina! It is handmade (the same way it's been made for hundreds of years in Africa) from Sweetgrass which is native to Africa.
A couple nights ago I made Alice this outfit out of a small rectangle of fabric that I had in my scrap bag. It is cotton homespun with absolutely no seams or hems or anything. I simply just folded, wrapped and tucked. =]
back view
The scarf on her head is just a long rectangle folded so the raw edges don't show. I brought it from behind her head, tied it once on top and then laid both ends over the back and tucked them in the bottom and Voila! An African ladies attire.
This is the piece of yellow yarn (that she usually wears on her head) tied on like an arm band. She decided for today that simple seemed suitable. =]
Here are some pictures that inspire me. I've always loved traditional African dress. It's so colorful and exciting! Although most of these pictures are black and white. hmm... Oh well.
Sometime I'd like to make some African Jewelry for Alice!
Have a happy day!
Love, Marguerite

Sunday, June 14, 2009

With the Spring comes...

...Gardening! Here are a few photos of Alice (left) and Emaline (right).
Here Emaline and Alice are working in their Mother's shared flower garden. They both love to garden and when they get a chance to visit with each other at the same time it makes it so much more enjoyable.
Although they are not wearing their finest... they believe you can look fashionable even when gardening.
Alice loves to garden in her bare feet. There's nothing better than sinking your feet in the rich, damp earth in the Spring.
Pulling weeds...
Trimming off last years dry bits...
Getting the soil ready for planting...
This is Alice's "everyday dress". She loves plaid (which is a highly fashionable thing in the 1860's) and she is usually seen wearing more than one print at a time. It is made out of a cotton plaid, has a fitted bodice that buttons up the back, bishop sleeves with no cuffs, and a gathered skirt. Her apron is a gathered half apron made from cotton calico.
This is Emaline's "everyday dress". It is cotton calico with a fitted bodice that fastens up the front with hidden hooks and eyes, drop shoulders, bishop sleeves with cuffs, gathered skirt and a little stand up collar. All very fashionable things in the 1860's.Her apron is a full apron made out of cotton with box pleats on the skirt to show off the pin tucks and embroidery all down the front. The straps criss-cross in the back and there are long ties connected to the waistband to make into a lovely bow.
This is a petticoat that I made by hand out of a cream colored muslin. It is gathered into the waistband and has three "growth tucks" at the bottom. Growth tucks were used a lot in the 1860's mostly on children's clothes so that when they got taller they could let the growth tucks out to make the skirt longer. However, they were also used for decoration. So, I suppose that is the case here. =]

Well, that is all for today. Summer is coming so fast, I can hardly believe it!
I am so excited about the upcoming festivities of Summer!
Have a lovely day everyone!
Love, Miss Emaline