Remembering TY Princess Bears

We were in Washington D.C. when Princess Diana died. The four of us went with our Grandparents for a ten day vacation. We found out about the car crash when we arrived at the RV park and Grampa bought a newspaper.

While in DC we passed Embassy row, and there were so many flowers piled along the road that the entire street was actually closed. On September 6th, we sat in the RV and watched the funeral on TV.

When TY brought their "Princess" bear out, it was all the rage. The world went mad over these little beanies, with people paying hundreds and hundreds of dollars for one. Our Grampa even bought one a few months later, paying a lot more than the original $5. They kept it on a shelf under a plastic dome, and we would always look at it when we went visiting. Well, Sarah and I have always been interested in them as it is one of the few world famous events that we remember. But, we never really expected to be able to get a princess bear ourselves.

A few months ago, I found one at a thrift store, perfect condition with the tag still in a plastic tag protector, for $1! We were thrilled! So now she sits on my bunk bed where I can enjoy her. Then, yesterday, Sarah found one at a rummage sale for 50 cents! Now we both have a "souvenir", even if it is 13 years later!

Crocheting Like Bette Davis

A few weeks ago we watched the Bette Davis film, "The Letter". Although the movie wasn't very good, one thing really interested me. In the film, Bette Davis crochets lace to make a bed cover. I was in raptures by the second time they showed her doing it. Wow! When the movie ended, I told Mom that I just had to learn. Even if I only ever did one project, the time and trouble would be worth it.

The next day we went through all the books that we have on the subject and I found a pattern that I liked. By the end of the week, I had decoded the pattern and my first "motif" was finished. (My first one is on the bottom right of the first photo) However, I couldn't figure out the correct way to do the center ring that the pattern builds on. I struggled with it for four days before finally figuring it out. (Actually, we were watching another Bette Davis film at the time. Dad says that she must be crochet inspiring! ) So, I finished three more, all out of white cotton thread.



Then, when we were at JoAnn's a few days later, we found some crochet thread made of 100% viscose from bamboo. Sarah is a nut for bamboo anything, so I got six spools to practice on with the intention of making a scarf for Sarah's Victrola. If I have to practice for my bed cover (or piano cover - I have't decided yet!) I may as well get a project out of it. ;o) I now have ten motifs made out of the bamboo thread. I have done four an evening for the last two days. At this rate, to make the 1,000 that I need for a bed cover, it will only take a year to complete! Here is a little video showing Bette Davis working on her lace in the film. It certainly inspired me!

". . . although creation and man have been spoiled by sin, there is left over in creation a glimpse of what God created in the first place." - Edith Schaeffer

Fabric Shopping

Yesterday we went fabric shopping out in Amish Country. We found a lot of really nice fabric (which is never hard to do). This is our favorite fabric store. They have tons of cotton prints, a bunch of flannel and some fleece. Actually, there is a line of fleecy material called "minkee". Sarah has gone absolutely nuts about minkee. Now she wants an entire quilt made out of minkee! It would be cuddly, that's for sure, but SO hot!

I have been looking for ages for fabric to make a nice blanket for the crib in my future nursery. Well, they had this gorgeous line of flannel that I fell in love with and decided that I just had to have. It is all muted colours, blues, greens, yellows, and pink. We are going to make ragtime quilt out of it, six inch squares in a crazy quilt design (can you call a "crazy" quilt a "design"?).

Well, we sure have a lot of sewing projects planned now. I am a new fan of the serger, but Mom informs me that everything can't be sewn on the serger alone. Oh, well . . . I'll post photos as soon as we sew some!

"Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul. My God, I trust in thee." - Psalm 25