Well, happy New Year...

Well, happy New Year...

only a few months late!

I've been busy, okay? May 6, I'm doing a "concertina" with my music buddy, Margaret Martin Kvamme, organist supreme (left). So I've been practicing and rehearsing to get in shape...again. It will be at the Presbyterian Church because, duh, they have an organ! It's only 45 minutes long and will take place after church. (picture by Roger Kelley Photography)

I love working with MMK. So when she suggested we do this, of course I agreed.

Also, we are moving to a smaller house (less housework, capische?) so I've been trying to figure out what to take -- very little -- and what to leave -- everything else! Books, music and dolls (which includes sewing) go. And the cat, of course. Gums (short for Montgomery) could not be done without. But nearly everything else is on its way to Recycleville. Or Freecycleville, should anyone care to come pick stuff up.

I'm not even sure the piano is going. I've had it since I was 15 years old and it has moved from Cincinnati where it was built to Panamá (City of) in the Republic thereof to our second and third houses in the Zone, from thence it sailed to New Orleans, then trucked up to Seattle to the folks' house, then up to Queen Anne to my apartment where it lived for 30 years. When I got married, it moved yet again to San José and now I must decide if its old bones can deal with another truck ride and a drier climate and survive with its soundboard in one piece. Doubtful. But how to say goodbye to such a faithful old friend? Ah, well. I'll think about that later.

I did make this little afternoon dress for Ms. Gene Marshall (a swap item) from a lilac silk and cotton blend blouse of my mother's that I have kept all these years because it was such a pretty color. I paired it with the print of black, white and lilac tiny flowers with olive green leaves for a bolero, hat, and purse. The hat is made reversible with a crown of print and brim of lilac on one side and vice versa. Then I took a piece of the print and frayed the edges, gathered it down the middle to make the rosette. To cover up the raw edges in the center of the rosette, I sewed on one of the buttons from the blouse, a lovely lilac real mother of pearl button and then put a little iridescent bead over each of the four holes in the button. It looks like a cockade, don't you think? I sewed a little pin-back on it to pin up the brim to the crown. Since the hat is reversible, it can be turned to have the print cap and plain brim showing with the print side pinned up but I think just the mother of pearl button or maybe three of them overlapping would be better to decorate the pin. I should have thought of it then, not now!

My husband usually does the photo part of this blog but he was busy and couldn't take this photo before I had to mail off the outfit. Can you tell? Heh! I think so! Compare it to the one above, which WAS taken by my sweetie. Pretty obvious why I should have gotten him to take this one! 

It be late, so I will say good night and see you a little later.