Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Dapper

Ben has developed serious opinions (sometimes involving tears) about his Sunday attire, specifically his neck wear.

For a while now, he's insisted on wearing a bow tie every Sunday.  Then he started asking for a necktie. I found a handsome J. Crew silk tie at a consignment shop for $5 - it's not easy to find nice children's ties.  I had already cut apart one of his daddy's ties to sew down for him, but I keep bypassing it for other projects.



All these ties were taking up valuable sock-and-underwear-drawer space.  I actually started shopping for one of those little tie hangers, but suddenly got cold feet about spending the money. I confess that my thrift goes by spells, and that is okay with me.  We live pretty frugally, but it's not rigidly enclosed by a budget.

In this case, I decided to see if I could mimic the features of a tie hanger:  soft surface to grip the ties and let them dangle without wrinkles.



I used a cheap-o wire hanger and made a little rectangle from old flannel and scraps of batting.  I enclosed the hanger in it, sewed down the seam and then covered the raw edge with a scrap of bias tape.  Done!  It does exactly what I want it to, and I used what I had on hand.




And here is Genevieve on Sunday afternoon.  A rare treat:  she told me I could do whatever I wanted to with her hair that morning.  So I made rainbow braids and enjoyed looking at her all day long.


This follows on the heels of a mysterious flu that she had for almost two weeks, one of the reasons my blogging slowed down. I was so worried.  Two doctor's visits and a round of blood work later, she is finally perking up and gaining back her lost weight.  Thank God!


11 comments:

Julian said...

Love bow ties! Clever idea! Your girlie is so cute! Glad she's better. My nine year old spent his spring break with the flu... not fun.
Christina

momma-lana said...

Glad your daughter is feeling better! My nephew in Florida got some horrible flu and ended up in the hospital. It was my Mom sneaking essential oils into the hospital that finally turned him around. There have been too many weird illnesses like that this winter.

I love the fact that Ben loves bow ties and the hanger you made! You'd better send him down here to Wofford College when he grows up! Many of the guys on campus wear bow ties daily. It is a tradition. Our youngest son graduated from there.

Rozy Lass said...

Such darling children! Your tie hanger is wonderful, such a great idea. I wore my hair like your daughter when I was a teen in the early to mid 70's. I expect I'll do so again as an old lady when my hair grows long enough.

Rozy Lass said...

I should either explain or change my picture. Picture is from 2008, a couple of years after that I cut my hair and have had it short for a while but am growing it out again. I miss my long hair.

BLD in MT said...

What a fine young gentleman!! I adore a good bow-tie and one doesn't see them often enough these days, I think. And what a crafty, thrifty mom he has! Sorry to here G had been sick. I do hope she continues to be on the mend.

Elizabeth Musgrave said...

Love your daughter's hair and the bowties of course.

Hazel said...

Rozy- I quite fancy being an old lady with grey plaits, but my hair is very short and not sure when I'd have to start growing it to get it long enough!

margot- so glad Genevieve is feeling better. Those mysterious viruses are nasty.

momma-lana said...

Hazel-my great aunt had a double row of fat braids wrapped around her head and I never saw her hair any other way. It came out when she was bedridden with cancer that the braids had never been her own! They were fake and she pinned them on every morning! Her hair was very beautiful that way and I remember always being fascinated with how long her hair must be. It would be interesting to suddenly have braids around your head though!

jenny_o said...

Your tie holder is such a good idea. My husband has had several tie hangers but none really works to keep his ties wrinkle-free. I'll have to show him this.

This would also work for hanging dress slacks, I think. I find that pants hangers - the ones that hold by the bottoms of the legs - leave marks, and regular hangers leave lines (even wooden or thick plastic ones). Now you have me thinking :)

Glad your daughter is improving. And she looks so pleased with her bunny!

Unknown said...

What a stylish little dude! I love that bow ties are coming back. Wish I could talk my little guy into wearing one.

Sew Blessed Maw [Judy] said...

Proud Genevie is feeling better.. Hope she continues to improve..Love her hair.. She looks so cute.
Ben is mighty handsome in his bow tie.. Love that sweet smile..
What a fantastic idea for the tie hanger. I hang hubby's ties on a hanger, and they slip off all the time.. I will have to try this. Thanks for sharing.