Christmas Princess Bride Barbie

I made Christmas Princess Bride Barbie in honour of my friend Judée who has just announced her engagement to Michael.

Once a couple decide to marry, a million questions arise in regards to the actual wedding.

Where?  A tropical island getaway, something quick at City Hall, a short ceremony in your living room, a hotel ballroom, under a tree at a public garden, a cathedral service by candlelight or an Elvis chapel in Vegas?

Who should be on the guest list?  The list can range   from just two witnesses pulled off the street, to only parents and siblings, to anyone who can afford to join you in Paradise, to all your Facebook friends.

What will the bride wear?  A navy blue skirt suit, a Steampunk ensemble in black lace with tall leather boots, a sarong over a white bikini, a soft  silk shift with floating chiffon  panels, or a $10,000 gown covered in crystals and beads with a long train and a veil?

For Barbie, the answer is easy. All of the above.

Barbie's Sari

Our Prime Minister went to India with his wife and children on an official state visit.  They were photographed in glorious Indian clothing.  They had brought lots of Indian clothing with them.  It seemed they had a  new  outfit for every event.

One quote,  "too Indian, even for an Indian" sums up the reaction of many people.  Many said it looked like he was attending a week-long Bollywood wedding.  Some said when he went to a temple he was dressed like a bridegroom.  It was all, I'm afraid, a bit much.

Barbie's sari is a lush purple brocade with a beautiful purple silk blouse.  Her hair is gleaming and sparkly with metallic streaks to echo the blue of her always understated eye shadow.  The gem in her ring is large enough to be seen but not too blatant a display of wealth. 

Barbie is always  appropriately dressed for every occasion and never guilty of cultural appropriation.

Barbie Welcomes Fall

It's here, it is finally here!  No more hot torrid weather, no more nights too hot to sleep, no more biting insects, no more days with excessively high temperatures!  No more checking for snakes in the garden, no more weeding or mowing.  Autumn has arrived.

Of course, this means summer is over but we shall not mourn. Let the leaves change colour and fall.  Let the days grow shorter.  Bring on Thanksgiving and Hallowe'en.  Heck, even November has its moments.

Barbie is dressed for fall in a light blue, unlined coat.  Her hair is loosely covered by a scarf so that her glorious tresses will not be tangled by the blustery winds.  Black wool pants keep her legs just the right temperature and her gold blouse adds a touch of glamour.

Is this not better than the perpetual question of summer?  "In this heat, how little can I wear and still stay within the law?"

Black and White Ball Barbie

It is almost impossible for any ball to rival the splendor of Truman Capote's Black and White ball held at the Plaza Hotel in 1966.  Truman Capote was either celebrating his successful book In Cold Blood or working to further his social ambitions.   He invited many very famous people but then asked them to wear masks to hide their famous faces.  Although supposedly a private party, the guests were met at the entrance by phalanx of reporters armed with flash cameras.

The menu for the midnight meal included such delights as  scrambled eggs, chicken hash (the hotel specialty) and spaghetti and meatballs.

The orchestra played catchy tunes and the dance floor was filled.  One lady's designer dress failed her and shed beads when she danced so she sat out the evening. 

Barbie has celebrity enough to be included on the guest list of the most glittering and exclusive ball and she has a dress all ready in case you want to invite her.  I promise the sequins will stay on the dress and not fall on the floor no matter what the music.

Barbie's Souvenir from China

 China is a wonderful place to visit.  The crowds at the most popular tourist sites defied comprehension.  I don't think there were as many people in the city where I grew up as there was in the line to view Mao's tomb and the Forbidden City.

The Great Wall was a revelation.  There were few people in the section we visited but the views were breathtaking and the climb strenuous. 

The whole country was extraordinary.  The fabulous aquarium in the shopping center, the people meeting friends in parks to dance to the music on the boom box, to sing difficult choral music, to play traditional instruments in small ensembles, the pandas, the efficient and pristine transit systems, the occasionally weird food, the death-defying hot pot, it was all wonderful.

The tourist markets were just what one would expect, full of cheaply made goods in noisy, crowded spaces.  Barbie did barter for and buy this umbrella.  I'm not sure why.  It won't protect her from the sun or the rain but it is pretty.

Barbie's Christmas List

There are many, many necessary tasks to complete before Christmas arrives.   It very helpful to make check lists so that nothing is forgotten.

Grocery lists, housework lists,  Christmas shopping lists, Christmas card lists, menus (a menu is a list) , and most important of all, the wish list.  What do you want for Christmas?

A wish list can be started at any time of the year and is open to constant modification as your whims dictate.  Have no doubt.  This list is for whimsical items only.  It may be that on Christmas morning your gifts include practical necessities like winter boots or bathroom towels.  Your family knows you need those things.  Does your family know you would love a purple scarf with sequins on the hem?  Does your family know you would love a package of sparkly paper, a rainbow stamp pad and a unicorn stamp?

When I was twelve I gave my parents a list of fabrics with yardages.  Two meters of pink velveteen,  1 1/2 meters of blue flannelette,  black corduroy, navy bottom-weight cotton, heavy calico and so on.  My father was skeptical that fabric was a Christmas gift but that's what was in all the gifts I opened that year.  I was so excited and spent the whole school break hunched over the sewing machine.

This year, I asked for fabric again.  Barbie is wearing a new dress made from one piece and behind her are two more examples of my treasure trove.   Don't you love gifts you don't need but really, really want?

Festival of Lights Barbie

Winter Solstice is the longest night of the year and in 2017 falls on December 21.  Winter is a very difficult time in northern climes.  It is depressingly dark, freezing cold and food can be very scarce.

While nothing we can do hastens the passage of the Earth around the sun,  people use sympathetic magic in an attempt to speed the return of long light-filled days.

Decorating our homes with sparkling lights (ostensibly to celebrate Christmas) is really a form of sympathetic magic.  We are trying in vain to lure the sun back.

The ancient tradition of burning a Yule log in the fireplace is based on the same idea.  Thinking that like engenders like, people would build a ceremonial fire in an attempt to bring back warmer weather.  Sometimes, now, we might just eat the rolled cake that represents that solstice fire.  Not everyone has a fireplace and that chocolate icing is delicious.

Barbie thought she'd hang lights on herself.  It may or may not affect how long winter will be.  It will certainly affect how great she looks. 

Ken Celebrates Canada 150

Canada Day in Ottawa was marked by huge crowds trying in vain to get onto Parliament Hill to watch the show. 

I volunteered at the Museum of Nature in the fossil gallery.  I think I talked to a million visitors, many of whom were there for the very first time.  My husband walked up to Major's Hill Park to enjoy the buskers.  He stopped at a booth where a group of Sikhs were teaching people about turbans.  When he met me after my shift, he was wearing a beautiful red turban.

For Sikhs, turbans are symbols of equality and dedication to a life of truthful living and  a high moral standard.  While a turban serves to keep a Sikh's long hair clean and tidy, it is not a hat but a two meter length of cloth that must be wrapped and unwrapped every day thus serving as a reminder of a Sikh's core values.  The colour, size and shape of a turban hold no specific meaning.

Tersh's bright red turban is very festive looking and perfect for Canada Day.  Ken also wanted to celebrate so he got one too.

Marathon Barbie

Marathon Barbie

In honour of Canada's 150th birthday, the annual Ottawa Marathon will be a run across Canada.  Each water station represents a province and I am the  captain of Team Saskatchewan.  We will be sporting  corsages of wheat tied with green and yellow ribbons to honour the provincial flag.

Runners from around the country voted  Ottawa Race Weekend the Best Race of 2016.  They loved the big crowds of spectators, the wicked fast pace of the 10 km (I’m quoting) and the enthusiasm of the volunteers. Apparently there was an impressive vibe (still quoting).

 

Organizers are anticipating about 43,000 runners in the six events and 2,500 volunteers.  My team of 40 stalwart souls is a seasoned group of elites.  We'll be there at 6 AM pouring a couple of thousand cups of water and  rehydration drink.  

Look for Barbie at kilometer 11.  She'll be wearing this dress and waving her stalk of wheat while she cheers.  On marathon Day, we are all winners.

 

Procrastinating Barbie

Truth in advertising.  This was going to be Valentine's Day Barbie 2017.

The outfit needed a heart-shaped necklace and nothing I owned was quite right.  Unsurprisingly, I didn't get to the store before all the Valentine's Day merchandise had been put away.  I hate shopping and go to great lengths to avoid it.  People who like stores are  people who are successful shoppers.  If you go shopping for a red shirt and you find one that fits, is a reasonable price and suits you, you experience an exciting glow of achievement and you will repeat the exercise.  If you go and don't find what you want, are dismayed with the image in the mirror when you do try something on and then suffer from sticker shock when finally you find something you might buy, then you become a reluctant shopper.  Reluctant shoppers procrastinate.

But wait!  Mardi Gras was two weeks later and with some additions this would be a great dress for a masquerade ball.  Um, missed that deadline too.  I would need to make a mask entailing sparkles and glue and tiny sequins.  Tomorrow, I'll make the mask tomorrow.  Reluctant crafters procrastinate too.

Barbie always does everything thoroughly and long before the deadline but if she were a procrastinator, this would be her dress.

Hopsacking Barbie

It's funny how fabrics, colours,weaves and patterns come into vogue and disappear again.  Hopsacking is a case in point.   It was originally used to transport hops, an essential ingredient in beer.  I found a reference that said hopsacking was used for men's suits but I remember it from the sixties, when it was printed with wild patterns and sold for women's clothing.

In grade 9, home economics was a required program for girls.   The sewing teacher gave us a choice of patterns for a jumper and told us to buy a length of hopsacking.  I bought a pattern for a drop-waisted jumper with a circle mini-skirt  and a length of brown corduroy that was not suitable for the pattern.

There were 24 girls in the class.  We shared the 6 sewing machines, the 6 tables, the 6 ironing boards and irons.Most of the class was spent waiting for a turn to use something.  I didn't get a chance to lay out my pattern at school so I took it home.  The suggested layout didn't work with a fabric with a wale so I brought it all back to class and the teacher did the layout for me.

I had access to a sewing machine at home so I did most of the sewing there and just sat and chatted during class time.  The project was progressing well until I got to the zipper.  We were supposed to do a lapped application.  I followed the instructions carefully, removed the basting and sighed.  I ripped it all out and did it again.  And again. And again.  I accidentally tore the back seam allowance with my seam ripper.  I showed my teacher who sighed and put the zipper in for me. She did a great job.  I don't remember my mark on the course.  I wonder if it was higher because the teacher did such a good job or lower because the teacher did the job.  No matter, I wore that jumper until it was threadbare from washing.

Barbie followed the instructions, bought an appropriate piece of hopsacking and made this.  All by herself.

A Christmas Carol Barbie

Barbie Cratchit

On December 23rd, we attended a performance of A Christmas Carol at the National Arts Center.   A newsletter touting the show described  sets and costumes uniquely all in white.   I was unimpressed as the NAC had done a white costume and set staging of Pride and Prejudice a few years ago.

But I was wrong to doubt.  To begin,  an actor with a white cane took the stage.  He told us he had 9% vision (hence legally blind) and illustrated his level of sight by asking us to cover one eye completely and then to peer through a tunnel formed over the second eye with our other hand.  The rest of the cast walked among the audience carrying large baskets filled with illustrations of the sets and costumes.  As we passed the beautiful sketches around, the actor explained that while the drawings were in glorious colour, we would see the show in white as someone with limited vision might.

Then a second actor took over the stage. He told us (through an interpreter) that he was deaf and mute.  He demonstrated how to applaud for a deaf person (hold both hands at about ear level and rotate them) and he taught us the sign for one person and the sign for everyone.  His movements were beautiful, graceful, elegant and eloquent. 

Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.

And then, for the next two hours, they made magic.

Barbie's romper

Last summer rompers were seen everywhere.  They look great on Barbie!
 














Lucky me, blue rompers were the required gym uniform when I was in elementary school;  completely impractical in the loo and they fit no one well. 

You have to be a fairly good actor to carry off a beach romper like this with aplomb.  What was the costumer thinking!

Edwardian Barbie

Edwardian Barbie

Have you ever stopped to consider how long it takes to make an article of clothing?  Previous to the invention of sewing machines, most people only owned two sets of clothing.  (So why do we say 'Sunday best' when it was really 'Sunday better'?)

The dress Barbie is wearing is lined and interlined.  There is a foundation garment to give the skirt support.  The braid is hand-woven and the lace is hand-made in Belgium.  This garment represents many hours of careful work by a team of seamstresses, weavers, lace-makers and apprentices.
 
Barbie is going to a Harvest Ball this evening. Her new dress is a testament to her dressmaker's skills.  The gown will make it clear to all that hers is a family with a large disposable income and a high status in the community.

After I took the photo, I cleaned up all the leaves.  Unlike Barbie, I do not have staff to take care of the grounds.  I  just have a lawn and a billion leaves.

Hallowe'en Barbie

Hallowe'en is a minor festival in Canada;  I say minor because it is not a statutory holiday.  Otherwise, it is a full-fledged celebration with special decorations, traditional food (if popcorn balls and candy apples can be called food) and elaborately planned parties.

The origins of Hallowe'en are found deep in antiquity in the Celtic festival Samhain.  It was believed that the veil between the living world and the world of the dead was thinnest at summer's end making it possible for the dead to walk among us.  If one met you and you did not treat them well, you would be sorry.  (Trick or Treat!)  A disguise would serve to protect you from malevolent ancestors with a grudge.

Orange and black feature heavily: black cats, orange pumpkins carved with scary faces, old crones dressed in black, inky shadows, the glow of the autumn moon and the flames of candles.

Barbie is going to a  Hallowe'en fancy dress party in her beautiful orange and silver gown.  Note the very trendy short underskirt and the towering hair style.  Barbie does not need to hide from ghosts.  She likes the attention.

Hoop Dancer Barbie

I visited the Victoria Island attraction, Aboriginal Experiences, with a school group.  The best part of a very interesting afternoon was the performance by a very accomplished hoop dancer. This is not the hula hoop of the 50's craze or the wooden hoop you may have used in gym class.  This is not the hoop and stick small children used to play with either.

Modern hoop dancers use willow hoops to represent aspects of nature such as animals, birds, the sun and the moon.  Tony White Cloud, the father of modern hoop dancing, used 5 hoops but at the annual competition in Phoenix, Arizona dancers use 24 or possibly more.

This dance is not often seen at traditional powwows but is saved for events attended by non-natives.  Le Cirque de Soleil show Totem features it.  Barbie's outfit is more Cirque than traditional native dress and her hoops are metal not willow but you should see her dance with them!

Sixties Synthetic Knit Barbie

Sixties Synthetic Knit Barbie

For millennia,  the materials  used for clothing were natural sources including animal hair (for example, camel, goat and sheep), fur (mink, rabbit and ermine)  and silk (from the larvae of a moth).
Natural plant fibers such as cotton, linen and hemp have a long history too.

In 1880 or so, Joseph Swan invented a synthetic fiber using cellulose as a base.  Other cellulose-based fibers (rayon and viscose) were developed in the following decades.  In the early 1930's, Wallace Hume Carothers invented nylon.  And then, in 1941, John Rex Whinfield and James Tennant Dickson invented the first polyester fiber.

The synthetic fiber industry grew quickly.  Crimplene  was very popular.  It was available in many knits and colours and popular with both men and women.  It was a dream to sew with and had a beautiful hand but did not breathe so fell out of fashion as lighter fabrics were patented.

Crimplene was the signature fabric of the A-line dresses that helped define the mod sixties.  I wore  a blue one with a dog-eared collar in a school photo.  It wasn't mine and I didn't have permission to borrow it but it was such a pretty dress.  Nevertheless, when I took that dress,  I was completely ignoring one of my cardinal rules, "If it is not yours, don't touch it."

Barbie is wearing a garment made of a synthetic knit from the sixties.  It is very flattering and it actually is her dress.

Barbie in Red

Barbie in Red

Listen to some of the synonyms for red:  scarlet, claret, burgundy, vermilion, carmine, crimson, maroon, garnet, russet, cerise.  

And listen to the names of the substances used to produce the colour red:  cinnabar, cochineal, fuchsine, ruddle, madder, annatto, realgar, red lead.

And think about the colour red, vibrant, alive and imbued with the concept of the strength of muscle and blood.  It is associated with freedom in Jenny Joseph’s poem Warning, the siren song of  the feisty Red Hat Society.   We see red when we are angry.  We blush red when we are embarrassed.  Women paint their nails and lips red to attract the attention of men.

Red beacons, red warning signals, red sky at night, red as a beet, roses are red, red is the colour of my true love’s hair.  Scarlet O’Hara, Will Scarlet, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Red-Headed League and of course,  red-haired Anne of Green Gables were all part of my youthful reading.  

I have a red car.  It is old and faded now but the colour blinded me when I went to the dealership to pick it up.  The next day, I drove it to work and got my first and only speeding ticket.  I know the police officer pulled me over because of  the screaming red paint.

Red demands your attention and Barbie revels in it.

Vow Renewal Barbie

The national divorce rate in Canada is about 40%.  Conversely, and rather obviously, 60% of marriages in Canada last a lifetime. 

  

June is the traditional month for a wedding.   The month of June was named after Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage.  Couples married in June will be showered with blessings. I know this is true because I was a June bride and we have been blissfully happy together for 37 years.

June is over now and Barbie has decided to renew her vows publicly.  It will not be an elaborate event.  Family and a few close friends will gather to witness the ceremony and to join the happy couple for a sumptuous feast.   

Oh, and they will get to see Barbie’s new dress with the darling lace jacket and intricate beading on the bodice and self-fabric belt.