We were enjoying a quiet morning around the house when Hitty Dauphine decided to sit down in front of the fire and read a short story. She perused our vast library and decided upon The 100 Dresses by Eleanor Estes. I was pleased because this is a favorite book of mine and one I've had in my collection since I was a teenager. Not only that, but it has been on my mind a lot lately because our friend Kirsten over at Tollipop has a lovely 100 Dresses project going. It is a worth a visit if you haven't already! AND, if you haven't read this book, Hitty Dauphine and I highly recommend that you check it out of your local library and give it a read. It is a shorty, but goody.
Anyhow, there was Hitty Dauphine, in front of the roaring fire reading her book when she suddenly jumped up, the little scamp, and ran off into the bedroom yelling, "I have to check something." So, being the good Hitty mom that I am, I let her have a few minutes before I followed her, full of curiousity, to see into what she was getting herself. And what should I find, but Hitty Dauphine counting her dresses.
Upon seeing me, "I have only 16 dresses!" She cried.
"Seventeen, if you include the one you are wearing dear." I gently corrected.
"But that is a far cry from 100 dresses." She said.
"You want a hundred dresses?" I asked incredulously, knowing that she has a far bigger wardrobe at her personal command than any of the other Hittys in our house and wondering where she thought I would get all of these new dresses she pictured in her mind's eye.
"Yes. We need to make 100 dresses just like Wanda Petronski." She replied as if this was the most obvious answer in the world.
I wasn't going to give in so easily. "Well, Wanda drew her dresses; they weren't real." I countered. "And what would you do with 100 dresses anyway? We don't even have room to store them." I thought I had gotten her with this one because, really, only movie stars (and maybe some sisters) have so many dresses.
She thought for a little while. She really isn't a bad sort and she could see for herself that 100 dresses might be a bit glutonous for one wee Hitty. "I think we should make them and I could keep some, you could give some away or trade them and then sell what is left over." Okay, well that wasn't so unreasonable and what I didn't want to tell her was that I had been trying to figure out something I could make for Kirsten's 100 Somethings project. This was a little bigger in scope than I had hoped but given enough time, a doable thing. "Okay, we'll think about it." I hedged a little.
"Would we have to make all 100 dresses, or could we start counting at 18?" I asked idly.
"Oh," she said very seriously, "YOU would have to make all 100." See, that was what I was afraid of, 17 dresses is 17 dresses less than a hundred a very important and distinguishable difference... "But...I might let you count the dresses in my collection that you've made yourself." She said. "Let's see what we have."
And then she proceeded to put on a fashion show. I mean, a girl does need to know what her core pieces are.
This lovely dress is a creation byHitty Couture. It features an exquisite Liberty of London cotton fabric with delicate ecru lace at the neck.
This pretty pick dress was created by Fung Hicks, who makes all kinds of lovely doll clothing.
Okay, finally this dresses was made by me, we can count this one! (Oops, I can see some gathering stitches that need to be removed...oh, my goodness, and she expects me to make 100?)
This cute little Halloween trick or treatee was made by Kay DeMattei.
This beauty was made by Elise Buhn.
The two smocked dresses in this picture were made by Nancy Hauk. The two blue dresses in the foreground were made by my friend Fung Hicks and the one Hitty Dauphine is wearing was made by another friend Kathleen Weber.
Here is a closeup of the one Kathleen Weber made me. It is gorgeous and includes a little chatelaine at the waist.
The dress Hitty Dauphine is wearing in this picture was made by Fung Hicks. The dresses, left to right, were made by Kay DeMattei, Jenny anderson and myself (Oh yay! Another dress we can count. How many is that now?)
Both of the lovelies above and below were made by Fung Hicks. The one above is a Hitty classic!
Aren't you glad to see that we are finally decorating the Weathertop tree!
This sweet little frock and bonnet were made by Elizabeth Rollins.
And finally, the crowning glory...well, they are all lovely, lovely dresses, but this one is our fanciest... This lovely dresses and smocked organdy pinafore was created by Nancy Hauk.
Have you been counting? How many dresses do I get to count against my hundred dresses?
Only two?
So, what I propose is this...that I will make approximately one to two dresses a week until I have made a hundred of them (of course there may be weeks that I make no dresses due to vacation or illness). Yes, it could take me over a year but I intend to aim at completing this project by next time this year or early 2010. I will try to present them to you on Wednesday and will create a photo album so that you can keep track of where I am in the process. I will announce here if I intend to put any of these dresses up for sale.
If you are interested in knowing more about the 100 Somethings project, please visit Kirsten at Tollipop. I am just one of many who intend to join her in her project so please stay tuned.
I hope you enjoyed Hitty Dauphine's fashion parade. Happy Advent!
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