Bell

For all you Downton Abbey fans I recommend your next viewing pleasure.

I just finished the 2005 BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Bleak House.

I adored the characters, the intricate plot and Gillian Anderson was outrageously good.

Oh, and be prepared to cry something fierce towards the end. 

Victorian England —- so bleak.

Glamorous DIY Black Lace Mickey Mouse Ears

Inspired by the lovely Olsen girls and some very expensive French-designer lace ears I set out to re-create a version for my trip to Disneyland.

I bought florist wire, black lace & two black head-bands from my local craft shop and got to work:

• I used a bowl to shape the wire and twist it into a circle - I made my circle larger than the Olsen’s because I’m not pairing my ears with a media event; it’s all about fun at Disneyland
• I cut out the lace circles for each ear - my tip, fold over the lace and don’t cut alongside one edge - you can use this to keep the lace together and make it more stable while you sew
• Poke a hole through the lace portion that’s still attached and poke your wire frame through it
• Adjust the lace so it’s even on all sides and pin
• Get your needle and sew away - it took me an hour to hand-sew each ear
• I attached the ears to the headband by twisting the remaining wire around the band - Use pliers to get it nice and tight
• To finish them off I wrapped black ribbon tightly over the wire (about 6 wraps to make it nice & stable) and glued the end in place.

I was thrilled with the results and so was my beautiful friend Anna. We got a few compliments at the park and longing stares from teenage girls.

We finally own a genuine wool Hudson’s Bay Blanket.

Even though it has a couple of moth bites and the stitching along the edge is fraying this was the one I had to buy amongst the 60 on ebay.

Richard D. Mann was once an owner of this 100 year old blanket - I like to think of him placing it across the bottom of his bed, then venturing out into a crisp Canadian winter, in Northern Ontario.

Next to Richard D. Mann’s name I’ve stitched my school name tag.
Richard and I love the same HBC blanket.

Oh, yes and it’s been Sean French approved!

Ps. I found out a common misconception is the number of points (stitched lines) represented the number of beaver pelts in a trade. Nothing so romantic. The points are designed to show the weight and size of the blanket, plus they’re easy to see when the blanket is folded on a shelf.

I totally remember when this first “think different” commercial came out. Loved it.