FairieMoon

Final Hitty 4 Haiti Auction...

We had some late arrivals for our Hitty 4 Haiti auction, so after a brief (although probably not brief enough) break, I am proud to share with you the final items that have been donated to raise money to help the people of Haiti.

 

For this auction we have two items. The first is a lovely Victorian dress donated by Elizabeth Rollins. It was made from a very delicate and fine cream colored cotton voile and has been embellished with beautiful embroidered roses and tiny pintucks.

 

 

The back features tiny buttons and hand crocheted buttonholes for the sleekest of fits!

 

The second item included in this auction is a gorgeous hand stitched crazy quilt donated by Dr. Maggie.

 

She obviously spent many hours and much love adding each little detail.

 

She has asked me to add this artist's statement. Please read on, but be sure to see the included photos at the end of the statement!

ARTISTS STATEMENT

 

    I've been doing crazy quilting for about 15 years.  Now I work mostly on commission and have a few pieces in museums around the country.  The concept of a miniature Hitty-sized Crazy Quilt to be included with this Auction for Haiti Relief appealed to me greatly, and I'd like to tell you about the making and the meaning of some of the completed piece.  It was made to be included in the HittyGirls Auction to raise money for the relief efforts in Haiti in February, 2010.

 

    All ribbons used and all flosses used for stitching are pure silk and were hand-dyed by me for the project.  The front of the quilt has pieces of silks, in a color range of red - fuchsia - orange - yellow, with black trim.   The backing fabric is a 100% pure cotton quilting fabric and was what kept drawing my eye for the color theme used here.  While what we think of today as Victorian colors are drab, true Victorian colors are bright and vibrant.  Victorians used silk ribbon sparingly, mainly as accents, because it had to be imported from China and was thus very expensive.  To be able to use so MUCH black ribbon to use it for ruched edgings instead of the more common embroidered seam treatments was a mark of opulence, and signified a prosperous household.  The buttons used in the centers of the flowers are genuine mother-of-pearl and came from my grandmother's button box.  The heart in the lower right corner has beads of what the Victorians called "French Coral".  These are glass and made in France. 

 

    In making this piece, I considered not only the colors themselves -- bright, cherry, happy colors, filled with sunshine and smiles, much like the people of Haiti, but also the meanings of the symbols included.   The heart -- means not only the form of romantic love that we think of at this time of year, but also the open love between people in different parts of the world.  The sun in the upper right hand corner is happy and beams down his warmth and affection to all of us, a symbol that while we are in different parts of the world, we're all in this together.  The small bouquet of flowers would mean one person extending out love and affection to another openly and freely. 

 

    The piece was made by using a piece of unbleached muslin as a foundation and all pieces were attached and embellished by hand.  There is NO machine stitching in it at all.  Finished size is 5 x 7, so it will either be an accent piece for your favorite doll's house, or could be placed into a standard sized mat and frame, or could be used on the cover of a scrapbook or journal.  As in real life, the possibilities are endless.

 

    It was my joy to make this piece for the auction.  May it bring smiles to all who see it, and love to those involved with the project, and peace and healing to the land and people of Haiti..

Your quilt is truly beautiful Dr. Maggie!

In fact, both pieces are exquisite and would make nice additions to your treasured Hitty collections!

This auction will be listed to run for three days and will start tomorrow night at 7 pm PST. Please stay tuned for links and updates!

If you like Victoriana...please take a gander at the post just below!

Hittys 4 Haiti Auction Update

For those of you following along at home, the Hittys 4 Haiti auctions ended last night. At first count, we raised $2068.16. That amount will probably go up a little bit after I add in the extra cash I collected to help pay for fees and shipping.

Also, I received two last minute donations that will be offered in a separate auction later this week. Stay tuned for more information.

Congratulations Hittygirls! All of our hard work really paid off!

Auction Number 7 -- Presenting Hitty Haiti

***It has come to my attention that I have not informed you about where your auction dollars will go if you should win one of these fabulous packages. We decided to donate 100% of the sales to Partners in Health.

***I also neglected to tell you that thess auctions will be posted starting at 9pm EST/6pm PST on ebay. They will be listed with an interval of 15 minutes between each auction.

We have come a long way with this project! It feels like I have have been working up to this moment, this day of auctions for about 6 months when in reality I think it has only been three weeks. This is an exciting moment for me!

I've posted pictures of Hitty Haiti on Hittygirls, but I have purposely not posted any clear photos of Hitty Haiti here, on my blog. While most of you have probably been looking the photos on Hittygirls, I am hoping that a few of you will be seeing her now, for the very first time.

She is very special and will be sent out into the world to her new home and new adventures with more love and generosity than you can imagine.

And so with this preface...I now introduce you to Hitty Haiti! I think for the most part the photos will speak for themselves.

 

 

Hitty Haiti will come with her very own 1930's signed edition of Hitty Her First Hundred Years complete with its coveted color plates and vintage grass basket.

The dress and pinny she is wearing above was made by Kay DeMattai. She can wear the pieces separately or together. This dress has a cozy blue cardigan and beret, donated by Kathie B., to go with it.

 

 

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's look at Hitty Haiti herself.

 

Hitty Haiti was carved from a basswood blank that was cut by John Atkinson. She measures exactly 6 1/2 inches.

 

Hitty Haiti was carefully carved and sanded. She has a wonderfully smooth texture which brings out the fine wood graining on her face.

 

I wanted to give her a traditional look, so I gave her the traditional Hitty hairstyle and color along with her simple but smiling eyes and she is wearing her genuine coral beads around her neck, just like ones Phoebe Preble gave Hitty in the book.

 

 

 

While keeping her face and hair traditional, I wanted to impart a little piece of myself into her design and so I gave her boots similar to those I've carved on other dolls along with "lace-trimmed" thigh highs.

After she was sanded and painted, I sealed her with several coats of matte varnish and strung her with two strands of strong, heavy, clear elastic, giving her very tight joints but lots of mobility for posing and dressing.

But that is enough of Hitty herself, let's look at some of her things.

 

 

Hitty Haiti's fine batiste unders were donated by Vickie A. and Martha C. The feature Hitty's name cross-stitched across the bodice just like Hitty's signature unders in the book.

 

The delicate pink china tea service above was donated by Anne R. and the pink afghan by Nancy S.

 

This dress and bonnet, which I fondly call the Elizabeth Bennet Ensemble, were donated by Josie F., and the coordinating lacey shawl was donated by Nancy S.

 

The antique looking Cherry Print dress above was donated by Maria W.

 

Hitty's fresh-looking fruit dress (made by Fung Hicks) and matching straw hat were donated by Denise H. The hat fits Hitty perfectly!

The sailor dress on the dress form was made and donated by Pauline N. It coordinates nicely with this sweet little mug made by Sam Dunlop and donated by Sue G.

 

 

This cozy pink lap quilt was donated by Sherry S.

 

 

This delicate batiste nightgown was made and donated by Mary-K W. Notice the sweet hand-stitched pin tucks at the hem. The lacy blue shawl around Hitty's shoulders was donated by Nancy S.

 

Hitty's lacy, hand-crocheted purple dress was donated by Jenny R.

 

To keep Hitty warm, she has several winter woolen coverings. The purple shawl and cap above was donated by Teri P.

 

This fabulous hand-knit sock monkey and cozy velour cape with diamond buttons were donated by Tree S.

 

This long felted cloak and bonnet were donated by Sherry S.

 

This quilt is a replica of the quilt in the Real Hitty's collection in Stockbridge, MA. It was donated by Kimberly H. It features Hitty's name embroidered delicately along the top edge of the quilt.

 

Sitting on this cushy armchair, Hitty can snuggle her dolly and read her a bedtime story in front of the fire. The chair was donated by Julie D.

 

Hitty's dolly, a hand-carved antique oak clothespin, was lovingly carved and donated by Abbie A.

And finally, the antiqued blue settle bench, below, with its secret compartment under the seat, was donated by Meghan M. and the tapestry floor covering by Maria W.

 

Isn't this just the most delicious collection ever? I am so excited to be able to present it to you.

If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment below or email me.

Auction Number 6 -- The SURPRISE Auction

The winning bidder for this auction will receive...

...you are ready aren't you?

I hope I've built up enough excitement...

...perhaps I should wait a few more days...

No? Well, okay...

The winning bidder for this auction will receive...

 

...a Bitty carved by TC Vollum!

If you don't know her work, you will want to check out her web page. She carves the most charming and whimsical little people. Not only that but she creates the characters and writes the stories for her weekly web comic strip Ellen and Pink.

The thing is, TC does not often sell her dolls, and I can't think of a time when I have seen one of her Bittys (which measures less than the requisite 6 1/2 inches) for sale. So this is a pretty special offer.

However, the little TC Vollum Bitty is not the only thing you will receive in this package.

 

She comes with this little unfinished doll house filled with unfinished furniture for you to paint and arrange into a suitable home for her.

 

The furniture fits in the house cozily and includes a couch, a chair, a coffee table and a sheepskin rug, but that still is not all you will receive this fine day...

 

 

She also comes with her very own teaset, a teddy bear and a cedar chest containing a few extra articles of clothing.

This is an auction on which you will not want to hesitate to bid. I expect the bidding to be fierce, but keep in mind, this is as close as you can get to a once in a lifetime opportunity!

 

 

 

This package has been generously donated by Holly K., Gale L. and Erin K.