Tatted Baby Bonnet Finished

It's finished! My darling little Tatted Baby Bonnet that I purchased from a local antique mall.  I agonized for several days on how to finish it. If you remember, the original had a row of gathered silk ribbon all along the front of it. I thought of making a row of shirred smocking, similar to that on my Smocked Pockets Tote Bag, that you can barely see along the top of the smocking. But as I thought about it, I decided not to put any extra trim on it so as not to detract from the lovely tatting. Then I had another bout of agonizing over how to attach the ribbons. At first I wanted to make rosettes, as you can see in this lovely bonnet by Jeannie Baumeister of Old Fashioned Baby. However, each rosette takes three yards of ribbon, and I only had five yards total. And I would still need some for the ties.

Then I remembered I had these lovely pearl beads that my sister, who makes wedding gowns in Maryville, Tennessee, gave me.  (That's pronounced Mar-vull, as my coworker from the same state tells me)

So I opted for a simple tie in which I turned under the edges, gathered with thread, stitched them to the bonnet and added three pearls to each. Sweet and simple.

It is now Friday morning, July 1, the beginning of my five days in a row off! I have lots of plans for stitching that I plan to share with you. I also have plans for cleaning, laundry, planting, etc., which, never fear, I will not share. It's going to be a hot weekend, getting to the low 90's by Sunday. But here in my corner of the world, the lows are still in the low 60's at night, and it is most decidedly not humid as it is in the Midwest and East. It's lovely weather all around, perfect for a long Fourth of July weekend.

Happy Stitching!