Natty Meets Her Sisters: a Celebration Check-In

This past weekend was my annual vacation to attend Celebration of Needlework in Nashua, NH.  It has been a decade (wow!) since my first visit, and every year I have too much fun (and spend too much money...).  I didn't take a lot of pictures, but I DID grab this shot of Natty and her sisters!

The large doll she's standing next to is Norma June, the pattern that was my inspiration.  As you can see, Natty is NOT as demure as she!  Also, on the left side of the picture is what looks like a smaller version of Natty's mold.  Someone on Facebook asked about how I got the full look to Natty's skirt - as this picture shows, it is primarily a result of the height of her cone body and the circumference of the skirt.  Natty's cone was a wee bit shorter than Norma's, and you can see how that changes the look of the skirt.

So, what did I buy...
1) despite the high cost of most of the GPA's half doll heads, I found one that I could afford.  This is "Sonja" by Brier Rose -

- who will be used with this pattern - "Little Dutch Girl" by GPA.  I have the right count/color linen left over from Natty's apron, and I picked up a blue floss that coordinates a bit better than the one charted (my doll is also a bit deeper blue than the one pictured above).

I like her because she reminds me of my daughter.  <3

2) I also bought GPA's "Raffaellesco" kit, which included the beautiful silk and the Deruta bead.  Totally impulsive, but so pretty....and marketed as "make your own Game of Thrones sewing set"!!  Couldn't walk away from THAT.

3) I picked up a couple pieces of fabric from Silkweaver - it is so hard to pass them up when they are right there to be looked at and fondled in person.  I've discovered that I have a weakness for some higher count fabrics - I seem to have purchased at least 2 pieces of 40-ct.  Thank goodness for my magnifier!

4) There were some new vendors there this year, one of them being Joseph's Workshop.  They make beautiful laser-cut wood pieces!  They had needleminders, thread palettes, small frames and hornbooks, and lovely ornate boxes.  And we all know how I love boxes...

This is the "bird box."  You could add a piece of stitching to the top or the inside...or both!  So I have one now.

5) Speaking of boxes, Susan Greening Davis had a larger-sized Shaker box, like the 2 I purchased (and finished!) last year.  This one didn't have an included pattern, but that has never stopped me before.... no picture of this one, but it is gorgeous.

6) There was a new vendor with buttons and trims, too - and she had the coolest "inspiration bags."  I got a wee bag of red, white and blue beads (envisioning some patriotic sorts of finishes), and a bag of purple trim bits.

I think that was about it....oh, I purchased Kathy Barrick's "Good Intentions" pattern, as I've looked at it every year, picked it up and put it down, then wanted it when I got home.  And since it seems that Olde Colonial Designs may not be selling their beautiful frames and wood products for much longer (Bob had a serious stroke, so everything is unknown at this point), I bought a frame that will fit the finished piece.  

My biggest thrill of the weekend, though, was the Saturday night dinner.  I donated an item for the silent auction, and I was worried it wouldn't be well-received.  I shouldn't have worried!  My package was one of those boxes that looks like a book (it happened to be a mermaid), filled with 7 mermaid patterns, some finishing trims and beads, a piece of Sunny*Dyes hand-painted fabric, a copy of "The Mermaid Handbook" which is just fascinating and beautifully assembled, and a hand-made scissor fob and needleminder in one of "my" boxes.  It was bid up to $275!  I was so excited.

(pardon the somewhat blurry picture...I was trying to be quick and subtle!)

So that's my Celebration 2019 in a nutshell.  I'm already looking forward to next year!