A doll, a wedding dress and a story that continues

We gave our only granddaughter, Rachel, an American Girl Doll for Christmas.  This is Rebecca.  I sewed a few clothes for her, but being the season, I did not accomplish as much as I had wanted to.  I also found it more difficult than expected.  The pieces that you are sewing together are quite small and can be frustrating.  That being said, I did sew this outfit; a top and denim jeans and an over the shoulder purse. 

Rebecca also got a visor.  I sewed a nightgown out of flannel that I had made crib sheets out of for Rachel when she was a baby.  The bathrobe was an old nightgown of mine, pink and silky.  I never did wear it much as I tended to slide out of bed.  There was also a sun dress that all went into the box and was mailed for Christmas.  I took careful measurements of the doll as I had planned to make one more outfit without having the doll around. 

So, my model is my own teddy bear.  I really don't have that much attachment to the bear; he just belongs to me.  I bought the fabric for the wedding dress, and lace over skirt, but the beads that I sewed on the dress came from my daughter's own wedding gown.  I knew I had saved these for a reason at the time she got married and had alterations made to her dress.  I just had no idea at the time what I was saving it for.

The veil just fell into place also.  The beads on the headpiece were also from my daughter's wedding dress.  They just fit perfectly onto a barrette.  The veil...well that actually comes from my own wedding veil from 1966. 

The veil had been in my mother's house and I had totally forgotten about it.  It was in a white box and my mother had written on the box that it was my veil.  Fast forward 34 years.  After my mother passed, my brother and I took what we wanted from the house.  The rest was going to be auctioned off.  Now imagine this.  My mother's house, the house where I grew up, had a full basement, two full floors, and a completely and fulled packed attic.  Unless we would have spent 2 or 3 months going through everything, I might have found the veil.  In fact, I did not even know my mother had saved it.

So a few years ago, my dear childhood friend, Connie, said that at the auction (which I did not attend) she had seen the box with my veil and she won it at the auction.  And then, bless her heart, she gave it to me. 

So, of course, part of that veil was perfect for Rachel's doll.  And so, history carries on.