my dottie angel frock

 



You know who dottie angel is, don't you? She lives over at mossy shed and has the most beautiful crafty life. Here's a little video to introduce you: Click HERE Please

THE Tif Fussell

 

I've admired Tif Fussell for an awfully long time. You can find her on Instagram @dottieangel. So when I found out that she had created a pattern of her famous dottie angel frock for Simplicity Patterns, I was first in line. In fact, this may be one of the few sewing patterns that I've bought lately for which I actually paid full price. That is how much I love this girl!

the frock

 



the pattern



a  classic dottie angel pose
dress ~ made by me
neck-hiding turtle neck ~ J Crew
leggings ~ Capezio
orthopedic clogs ~ Yes!!! Effing ORTHOPEDIC CLOGS! ~ Merrell

This project was lots of fun and very easy to make. I used some plaid that I found in the discount bin. I think it may have been school uniform fabric which makes me very happy.

And I recycled the plaid for the pockets and tie from THIS dress.

I raised the neckline both front and back and replaced dottie angel's adorable apron pockets with plain old square connie snow pockets.

That's what I like about this pattern, it is super simple to personalize.

my ever increasing backside all tied up with a bow!
ah..the joys of middle age

 

THANK YOU SO MUCH TIF. I LOOOOOVE MY FROCK!!!!

And speaking of things that I Love,

because I subscribe to the New York Times,

I received a Google Cardboard NYT/VR.

Virtual Reality. My Favorite Kind of Reality These Days. Click HERE for the details.

I am completely Bonkers over this thing. It is Exquisitely Trippy.

 In fact, sometimes I actually trip while looking at it.

 Wish I could let you in on it but you'll just have to either come over to my house or get your own.

Thank you New York Times and Google.



Well....I think that is Quite Enough of moi en plaid for one day.

Therefore.....

 

I'm heading over to Patti's Visible Monday to see what the kids are up to over there.

~~~~~~~~~~

And even though this has nothing to do with Anne's 52 Pick-me-up prompt of green acorn I'm going to visit her as well just cuz I like her so darn much.

Imaginary Ancestors

Evelyn Cameron ~ the Photographer

 

Every time I wear this dress I get the same comment - Little House on the Prairie.

I stitched up this schmatte with black and white gingham fabric and Kwik Sew pattern 3065 from the discount bin at FabricLand.

It's a dress just for knockin' around the house and going to the grocery store. Breezy. Cool. It covers a multitude of sins. I added pockets of course.

All this talk of Prairies reminds me of my Ancestors.

I used my 10 day free trial on Ancestry.com and found out that my great grandfather Henry James Snow left Cornwall, England in the late 1800's. His family had lived in the same region of Cornwall for centuries (if your name is Snow and you live in Cornwall, well, Hey Cousin!)  Henry James left. Who knows why. He made his way to Liverpool then on over to Canada and continued west to the Montana Territories where he married the Canadian born Frances who gave birth to my grandpa Ernest in 1887 and a few years later his brother Louis. I cannot even imagine doing something so brave.

 My idea of hardship is getting assigned a middle seat on the airplane. 

 

There are no photos of my great grandparents as far as I know.  So I like to thumb through Photographing Montana by Donna M. Lucey and pretend that these are my ancestors.

This book tells the honest story of settlers in the Old West. The author Donna Lucey found the photographs and diaries of settler Evelyn Cameron in a rattlesnake infested basement of an old house in eastern Montana in the 1970's. 

 

 

Sheep herder family 1905

 

 

Grandpa????

Class Photo 1907

 

 

Young girls at a July picnic in 1913. Oh those hats!

 

Cowboys have Always been Cute

 

Jetta Grey with tame wolf cubs

 

Taming a suburban cockapoo in 2015

 

Because I can't tell the front from the back of this dress I embroidered a little daisy on the back. Lakshme approved.

 

If you like true tales of strong and brave settlers I can also recommend:

 

Nothing Daunted by Dorothy Wickenden.

And two beautiful films made in the 1970's:

 Heartland, the absolutely heartbreaking story of a young widow in Wyoming

and the gorgeous Days of Heaven starring a very dishy young Richard Gere.

Both movies were filmed in Montana in the United States and Alberta in Canada. This was pretty darn easy for the filmmakers since so much of the landscape around there has not changed much since the early 1900's.

 

 

I believe that this post qualifies me to become one of Bag and a Beret's

 HOT HARRIDANS READING 

That Melanie is such an Advanced Reader that she needs TWO pairs of glasses!!

You should also check out the very Hot Val.

 

I'm also headed to the reunion at Patti's Visible Monday. See you there!

And I'm joyfully taking my embroidered daisy over to Anne's 52-pick-me-up Sunflower/Joy.

 

Get An Ugly Girl To Marry You

"If  you want to be happy for the rest of your life.

Never make a pretty woman your wife."

Do you know this song by Jimmy Soul? It was a Big Hit in 1963. Of Course it was.

You can listen to it HERE

 

via PINTEREST

 

I come from a long line of SUPERB Housewives.

Some of them were actually very Pretty.

Generations of Spotlessly Clean Rooms,  Fabulous Homemade Dinners, Chubby Scrubbed Faces, Weed Free Gardens, Immaculate Table Manners. That is the Female Tradition in my Family. And I'm pretty certain that was the plan for me.

However, My Natural Inclination is More towards Bohemian Loft Apartments, Smoky Blues Bars and Stay-Up-Late/Cake-For-Breakfast Parenting.

So I've spent my life feeling Sad and Resentful when I'm keeping House

and Giddy but Guilty when I'm Out and About.

I'm not alone here. Am I????

Anyhoo...You are Not my Therapist. PINTEREST is my Therapist!

So here is My Take on that PIN up there.

 

black linen blouse ~ thrifted
cotton dirndl skirt ~ made by moi - Yes, there are pockets
orthopedic sandals ~ Ecco

 

I Have Cherries in My Bowl.

That sounds like a Blues Song.

 

Rainier Cherries. YUM! Thank you Pacific Northwest!

Close-up of my crummy sewing. I avoid button holes like I avoid parallel parking.

I wore this skirt to a party where a 9 year old girl asked me if I made it myself. I guess that pretty much sums up my feeble sewing skills...recognizable by Children!

Jonathan is my long-suffering husband.

 My Mother-in-Law gave me this charm from her bracelet. She had a charm for each of her six - yes - SIX Sons!

~~~~~~~

And now a brief tour of my soon to be painted kitchen.

 

toujours la francophile

 

My Heart is in Montana
My arteries may be clogged
 

 

Roses from the garden. Martha Stewart Living. I'm trying...

 

Still life tableau by the kitchen sink

 

Lucky Little Pig
I NEVER EVER eat Pigs. They are my Friends.

 

 

Some people inherit Money or Art or Jewelry or Property.

I inherited my Grandmother's Bakelite Handle Kitchen Utensils.

See what I mean?

 

"Say Man!! I saw your wife the other day! Yeah, and she's sure is Ugly-y-y-y!!!"

"Yeah, she's ugly, but she sure can Cook, Baby."

joining the fruit salad over at Mis Papelicos
retroactively joining 52-pick-me-up