Day After Christmas

Hitty Grace supervised the preparation of a cookie platter to take to the family gathering.

 

We also took left over ham, and Jones colas.  The sister-in-laws were bringing other dishes for the family meal and desserts, too.

We drove through the fog to Chestertown.  The Bay Bridge was very erie in the fog and rain.  It was difficult to see the water below, or the other span, for that matter.

 

Hitty Grace attended in her companion's purse and it was so busy, she never had time to come out.  A good time was had by all the cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles.  And then we returned home for some rest - much needed after the busyness of preparing for Christmas and the holiday celebrations!

Merry Christmas

All of the Chesapeake Bay Hittys are preparing to sing their hearts out as they gather to sing their favorite carols.

 

Love, Peace and Joy to the World! 

 Merry Christmas! 

In Which Hitty Rosemary Gets a New Best Dress

Our person has been very busy with work and family obligations, but she has finally managed to finish the second dress in the Gail Wilson Best Dresses kit.  Hitty Rosemary claimed it, since her sister claimed the first "best dress."  She is quite happy to have a new dress to wear for Fall.

In Which Hitty Beatrix Gets A New Best Dress

Hitty Beatrix has been waiting patiently for our person to open the Gail Wilson Two Best Dresses kit and get sewing.  There is something about September that inspires her to pay more attention to her Hitty household.  The first dress was completed this weekend.  Hitty Beatrix was anxious to try it on, but then decided to save it for when the days turn chilly and she has a special occasion to wear it.  It seems much too dressy for everyday, don't you think?

We are happy to report that she has already begun the second dress in the kit.  We think that Hitty Rosemary will probably claim it!  The Wilson Hitty sisters always claim the kit dresses first!

In Which We Make a Garden Discovery

Earlier this Spring, Hitty Ginny was taking a walk in the yard and noticed something moving among the shrubs.

It was a little orphan Hickory Nut child!  

Hitty Ginny brought the little one home to the Hitty family.  We expect that Little Hickory will be add some excitement to our quiet home.

Happy Easter

Here's Hitty Ginny's picture from Easter Sunday.  She is posing for her photo in Grandma's pansies on her front porch.  She got another new dress for Easter.

We hope everyone had a joy filled Easter celebration.  Jesus is Risen!  Alleluia!

In which Hitty Ginny Has Some Bookish Fun

Deep inside every Hitty, there's a tiny bit of a desire to be like Ancestor Hitty - so wise and famous and well loved.  Today, a web-friend shared a link to Photofunia, and Hitty Ginny discovered that she, too, can appear to be a book illustration!  What fun!  Now she really wants to dress like Ancestor Hitty and pose for pictures like in THE BOOK.

In which we receive a charm quilt

On Saturday, we went to the Congressional Cup twirling competition in Jen's purse.  We were gone all day, and when we got home, we ate dinner and went to bed.  It wasn't until the next morning, that we realized that there was a package for us!  Inside, we found a wonderful charm quilt from Nancy B. and the Quartet - all the way from California.  The colors are bright and cheerful and have been reminding us of sunnier days all week - despite the fog, showers and gloom of April.  They also sent us a little matching bear.  What fun!  Thank you, Nancy & the Quartet - we are very grateful!

Did you happen to notice our new Spring dresses?  Jen cut them out and did the machine sewing a few weeks ago, and did the hems and hand work on the go.  We are happy to have some new dresses for Spring.

A Doll Show, New Sister and Other Special Things!

This weekend was quite exciting!  On Saturday morning, Jen, her husband, Hitty Grace and I (Hitty Beatrix) drove to the Gaithersburg, MD fairgrounds for the Eastern National Antique & Dolls Show.  It is a very friendly place to go.  Three people offered us $2 off coupons while we waited in line at the entrance.  We circled around the booths of the first room and checked out some boxes of Re-ment, but the sets we've wanted weren't there, so we moved on.

Then we saw Hitty Grace's carve-mother, Judy Brown!  Jen was chatting with Judy about  the wonderful items in the booth, and Hitty Grace's pretty lavender sweater and periwinkle dress. Judy admired my apron as well.  She showed us the embroidery work she brought with her in case she was bored with sitting at the show.  She is doing some very nice work and sparked some ideas for future Hitty pinnys.  While Jen was distracted, Hitty Grace invited her long lost sister, Hitty Virginia, to come live with us.  Hitty Ginny (as she prefers to be called) has her roots associated with a Hitty gathering in Williamsburg.  She packed up her trunk, which is a box that looks like a book, with patterns from Judy, a colonial dress making kit, and her mother's antique sewing machine!  She didn't have a stitch ready to wear, so we persuaded Jen that a Boneka outfit would be perfect to wear home.  Jen's husband was actually encouraging her to get what she wanted, saving us all the extra time it would have taken her to debate with herself about spending the money had she been alone! 

As we walked through the show, the Brown Hitty sisters spied a spinning wheel and deemed it the perfect find and insisted that we bring it home with us as well - it is a good thing Jen drives a small SUV!  

Finally, I found a very charming Peter Rabbit tea set to add to my Potter collection.  Now, we will definitely need to start saving for a hutch while we wait for our favorite furniture kit maker to develop a table and chairs for us!  The set looks a bit large, but I believe it is because I am so far behind the set.  I wanted to make sure you could see the wonderful little bunnies!

Today was spent sewing fabric charms into quilts.  We have signed up for the North Country Hitty Charm Quilt Charmer swap.  We mailed strips of fabric to our leader, who cut them all into squares and redistributed them to us.  We made a quilt to keep and a quilt to swap.  We don't know who our swap partner will be, but we hope sharing our work won't spoil the surprise!  If you're in the swap and don't want to see, please, don't scroll down any further!!!

We are all rather tired, having to "spring forward" this morning in the middle of our busy weekend!

In Which We Get Snow

On Sunday evening, the family settled down to watch some movies together.  First, we began to watch Eagle Eye.    It was an exciting movie, but discovering that it was snowing outside was even more exciting!  By the time the movie ended, it was snowing quite hard.  We checked the web, and sure enough, school for our Middle School student was canceled for Monday already!  Since the college student's first class on Monday isn't until 1 PM, we decided to watch another movie, Fireproof, which was a very nice movie, too.  Finally, we went to bed around 11 PM.  When we woke up on Monday morning, it was still snowing - quite hard in fact!  It was a good thing our person works from home on Monday!  It snowed all morning, and there were occasional flurries until the middle of the afternoon.  Around 4:45, Hitty Beatrix went outside for a few photos with the March snow.

In Which Hitty Beatrix Gets New Things

The Gail Wilson straw bonnet that came in the Quaker dress kit is finally finished!   The glueing was much easier than the fiddly sewing of the ruffle, but it is a very nice addition to Hitty Beatrix's collect of bonnets and hats!

Hitty Beatrix has been reading about Helen Beatrix Potter, and has persuaded her person to acquire a few new pets, Benjamin and Peter.

In Which We Get Pif'd

The Hittygirls are a most generous group of people!  One person began to "Pay it forward", and before you knew it, there was an entire database of friends willing to "PIF" each other.  Some had asked to be able to give anonymously, while others don't mind if their generosity is publicized.  We have sent one crocheted bonnet to another Hittygirl, and have some ideas for future PIF'ing.  In the past several weeks, we'vebeen delighted recipients.

We received a calendar and printies from Sylvia.

Hitty Rachel was excited by the Valentines from Erin.

Hitty Patty was quick to claim a shamrock coin and ribbon from Michelle.

Won't this new rug from Sandy be perfect for our future house?

Gail Wilson Quaker Dress

Hitty Beatrix is modeling her newest outfit.  The blouse, skirt, fichu and bonnet were made using Gail Wilson's Quaker Dress kit and pattern.  There is also a straw bonnet in this kit, which we will make next!

In Which We Finish A Quilt

Hitty Beatrix commissioned Hitty Joanna and Hitty Rosemary to complete the quilt using the Quilt Fairy charm patches that we received a few posts ago. Hitty Joanna says this quilt will be a great new staple in the Hittys' linen closet - the neutral colors will go with almost anything! Hitty Rosemary says that it also matches a certain pile of kits waiting to become new dresses for her and her sister, Beatrix.

In Which We See Signs of Spring

Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter, but it was 65 degrees outside on Sunday afternoon.  Hitty Grace put on her favorite lavender sweater and ventured outdoors to enjoy the sunshine.  What did she find?  The daffodils are beginning to peak out of the ground!  Surely Spring will be here soon. 

A Visit From the Quilt Fairy

A visit to our mailbox today revealed that we have been gifted by The Quilt Fairy.  Yes, we received an envelope containing a charm quilt kit for the Chesapeake Bay Hittys.  It contained twelve charm fabrics to piece into a nice, warm quilt for the Hittys.  We will accept this mission! 

Thank you so much, Quilt Fairy! 

New Dresses

Remember the swaps and the fabric peanuts? The Hittys did get a few new dresses from the swap fabric.  They were hoping for some pinnies and aprons, but that will have to wait for next year.  We want to think about Spring!  
Here are some pics of our Christmas dresses.  Our first model, Rosina Hittykin, is wearing a lovely Christmas floral stripe.  She had a terrible fall before Christmas that broke her resin leg peg.  It was replaced with a wooden dowel and she is back on her feet now!  As a matter of fact, she is standing up better than ever!  We seem to be such an accident prone group this winter! Our next model, Hitty Patty, is wearing a lovely heart print with  green stripes.  She is really hoping that the gingerbread fabric will be made into a pinny to wear with this dress next Christmas.  The heart buttons extend the season of this dress through Valentine's Day!

Hitty Grace is modeling a lovely poinsetta print dress with a ribbon flower at the neckline.  She says this dress made her feel in the Christmas spirit!

"Hitty" Carol is wearing a new dress from fabric found in our person's quilt fabric stash.  Her dark dress works for Chrismas and Valentine's Day!  She really would like a 50's style dress to go with her saddle shoes!

In which Hitty Beatrix has a mishap

I have been Jen's constant companion the past several weeks.  I have gone with her everywhere, and have very much enjoyed the special attention.  I was the first Hitty to get to read the newest book from Hitty Robertson, being one of the lucky 100 to get a gift from such a wonderful lady.  

Then, something terrible happened.  Jen was getting ready to fix her breakfast and sat me down on the kitchen counter.  Then she noticed that the dishwasher was full of clean dishes that needed to be put away.  Of course, she completely forgot about what we were doing and tended to the task at hand, being compulsive about such things.  Unfortunately, as she was putting away a Pryex loaf pan, her hand lost its grip, and I saw something much larger and heavier than I coming straight down out of the air towards me!  I was terrified and tried to jump out of the way, but I was struck, and then knocked to the floor!

I think I was in shock.  I was not too worried, as all my limbs were still attached - until I saw the look on Jen's face.  I believe she was fighting back the tears, trying not to alarm me.  My nose was broken!  The very tip of my nose was as flat as a pancake, and there was a spot of white where my skin should have been!  Thankfully, she was determined not to let this separate such good friends, and set to work to make me better.  She smoothed the edges of my wound, gave me a facial, some nice varnish and antiquing and more varnish.  While she had her cosmetics out, she also touched up some scuff marks on my shoes.  And, since she was feeling so guilty, she gave my underthings a nice pressing with her big steam iron.

I am feeling ever so much better now, and enjoyed watching the snow fall today from the hutch in the kitchen.  Jen worked from home to avoid having to face the potential of sleet and freezing rain in the evening commute.  As it turned out, rush hour fell between snow storms.  

So that you don't worry too much about me, I'm posting a picture of myself, fully recovered.  I believed that I've come out of this frightening experience just as good as ever - if not better.  And now, I have a smaller nose than my sister, Hitty Rosemary.