I am going up to London again tomorrow to see how much Amelia has learned and grown in the week since I saw her. I will be taking up the christening robe which has been in the family since about 1850. The lace and embroidery are exquisite and I am dreading having to iron it. And I'm not looking forward to dressing Amelia in the many petticoats and yards of silk, even though I'm sure she will look very fetching. The parents of the first child who wore the outfit had maidservants and a nurse to do those things with much greater skill than I possess!I'll be back in a week, don't have too much fun while I'm away!
What fun.
ReplyDeleteOh come on, e, I know you probably paint the town red every night!
ReplyDeleteAnd here I am just thinking about saying goodbye to my daughter (always tough) and going back to Devon tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteTraditional christening robes are wonderful things; when my daughter was born, there wasn't one in my family so I decided to make one. Well, more than that, really - a gown, a matching petticoat and a bonnet. As well as having heavily embroidered panels, the pattern called for 25 yards of lace trim, which, having attempted to gently machine on to white lawn, I soon realised was going to have to be sewn on by hand. As a result, we had to put the baptism date back a bit, so I could get the sewing finished.
But we all loved the end result. The robe, petticoat and bonnet are all stored away in tissue paper right now. Waiting in the wings.
Have a happy week and see you soon.
By the time my firstborn was christened at five months, both the Holmes family (actually rather hideous) elaborate silk gown was too small for my bonny bouncing girl, as was the lovely lawn and lace gown in which I was christened (which I think had been my mother's) so instead I borrowed a Doyle family heirloom dress in finest Irish linen, bedecked with lace, which would in fact have been an 'ordinary day dress' back in the nineteenth century, but looked just the business as a christening robe in 1993. For various reasons, my Boy had to wait until he was three before he got dunked (not that he'd have fitted into any christening gown at any stage, he was such a whopper), by which stage he was old enough to decide for himself that he MUST wear a [clip-on] tie for the big day (and no lace!!). And #3 was too chubby at 9 months for any of the family garments so sported a gorgeous white dress from Monsoon and looked gorgeous. I'm hoping at least one of the heirlooms will be put to use by the next generation, but ... who knows.
ReplyDeleteCome home soon, M. Your readers miss you!!