If I Had My Own Blue Box:

This week’s video has been delayed due to migraine. Please enjoy these past videos instead. I tried to pick one for each major interest area.

I realized after I finished last weekend’s video, that I didn’t talk about my dress much. Today, I am talking about some of the dress details.

Check out Saturday’s video to see the dress.

Future Whimsy Wednesday Video Topics (when I my ducks are in a row):

• Hat FAQ (fit, decorating, trims, ties, etc.)
• Bonnet FAQ (ties, wear, weather, etc.)
• History on a budget (tips and tricks I’ve used over the years, including what not to waste time and money on)
• Why underclothes are important (fit, fabric, health)

I rediscovered this sweet image the other night. I had purchased it just prior to moving and forgot about it. I
am glad I came across it because it is too cute not to share.

This is a playful image of two kittens playing with a straw bonnet. There is no information on the back or indicating where it is from. I am not an ephemera collector. I simply wanted this because of the straw bonnet, and the kittens.
Looking closer we see a couple things. One of the most obvious is…. well … the artist was not skilled at illustrating the faces of cats. While the white kitten is quite cat like in appearance, the tuxedo kitten has an elongated face that is muzzle like. I can not help but wonder if the artist spent more time with dogs than cats, or if their experiences with cats was, well, less than affectionate.

This beautiful straw bonnet is trimmed in long blue ribbons, pretty pink blooms with plenty of greenery, and a lovely white veil that is in the process of being shredded by the kittens’ nails. The artist does a lovely job capturing just how much damage a feline’s claws can do to the delicate silk of a veil. Don’t ask me how I know.

Taking a closer look at the bonnet itself, we given a nice look at the interior decoration. Kudos to the artist.
We see the white frill or cap, likely silk net or organza. It runs from cheek tab up through the top of he brim
and back down, pleated or gathered along the way. Tucked between the white frill and the edge of the brim is
a black lace that appears to be set flat against the straw. A smidge of this lace can be seen behind the greenery as well.

Just beyond the white of the frill, nearly at its base is a black and grey line that may be bonnet stay. In this case, the stay is a thread covered wire, rather than an inverted velvet ribbon. The decorations are fairly simple, a trio of pink blooms set asymmetrically among a bouquet of greens.

You know you had a good Saturday when you roll out of bed and hop in front of the camera first thing Sunday morning, wrap dress and pomade hair and all.

A couple other things about my dress I forgot to mention…. The dress was incredibly comfortable. I was pleased with the fit, comfort, and functionality. It will make a good dress to sew in. The insert in the V worked fairly well. I pinned part of it to my stays. I am not going to do that next time as movement pulled that pin out and made puckers. I am going to tack it further down the neckline. Over all, I am very pleased with how this worked. The kerchief type fichu did not happen. It wasn’t going to stay in place. I didn’t feel the need to get out a kerchief either. I do want to make the white pelerine even more now. I also want to make a second 30s dress soon.

I was super pleased with the cap. It did slide off a couple times because I skipped the pins. How did I misplace both my hair box and my metal head pins???

I discovered the analytics section of my YouTube channel. Okay, I knew it was there but ignored it. To get my mind of the lengthy list of “stuff”, I decided to take a peek as I find this kind of numbers curious and calming.
It turns out, Friday is the most popular day to watch my Wednesday videos. I’m not really surprised there. It also turns out that the average view length is just under half the video length. This either means a number of people start the video and stop it at the beginning or people aren’t watching the full videos. I would prefer this to be a mathematical* thing and the first possibility being what is going on.
Just in case the latter is happening and people are getting bored with my videos before I am done talking, I decided to ask what you want to see more of.

It would be very helpful if you took a moment to answer my quick

SURVEY

Thank you!

*The average of 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 9, 8, 9, 8 being 4.3 verses just 9, 8, 9, 8 being 8.5, which for picking random numbers is oddly close to the stats I am getting.

I have been wanting an original metal cap for a strawberry emory or pin cushion for a while now, years. I want to be able to look at the cap itself and how it is attached. It turns out getting one to study is easier said than done. They start a little over a hundred and go up from there. So, when I saw a withered away strawberry with its cap up for sale for the cost of a pizza, I knew it had to be mine.

I got the ping that it arrived mid-day. Then anxiously awaited the last bell to go get my mail. I opened its bag and box and tissue to find….. It came with friends!

I am delighted with both my withered strawberry and its two little friends.

Ribbon sachets are easy to make using your short lengths of ribbon. You can fill them with your favorite petals, leaves, and flowers to tuck in your drawer, workbox, or pocket.

For today’s project, you will need:

• A length of silk (or other easily frayed) ribbon approx 4 times the width. For example: 8″ of 2″ wide ribbon or 6″ or 1.5″ wide ribbon.
• Matching or coordinating thread
• A fine, sharp needle
• Narrow ribbon, about 10″
• A small ball of wool or poly fill
• A couple tablespoons of flowers, petals, leaves of choice

This week wraps up a two+ month long look at my plaster millinery blocks. Admittedly, I slacked on giving you textual information for the latter blocks. Life got…. well….

Here is a look at each of the original plaster blocks together.

Coming next to Millinery Monday? …….. I have yet to decide

I will be putting my cap design on Patreon when I ink it up better and scan it.

This is where to find me:
Consider Patreon for special content: http://www.patreon.com/AMillinersWhimsy
A Milliner’s Whimsy – If I Had My Own Blue Box (History Blog):www.amillinerswhimsy.com
Don’t Paint the Cat (Crafty Blog): https://dontpaintthecat.wordpress.com
Instagram for If I Had My Own Blue Box: http://www.instagram.com/if.i.had.my.own.blue.box
Instagram for Don’t Paint the Cat: http://www.instagram.com/dont.paint.the.cat