Toni's First Communion - Page 5

DSD2 · ‎01-09-2016

@Enufstuff what a beautiful girl you are. You look so angelic and your veil is gorgeous.

Toni is stunning as always. I love that her satin sash appears to match her shoe laces!

Her green eyes and beautiful shade of red hair are perfect.

Thank you so much for sharing these with us.

Enufstuff · ‎03-12-2010

@stellabystarlight Thank you so much. I'm glad that Toni brought back your First Communion memories.

Dotted Swiss was very popular in the 50s. Many girls must have been wearing it back then. I'm sure you must have been beautiful in your dress and veil.

If you have access to a picture, I would love to see it. I love looking at vintage pictures.

Many of those vintage fabrics are no longer sold at places like Joann's. I look online and buy vintage fabrics when I can find them, along with vintage lace and trims.

For the next re-creation of a dress that I wore at 6 years old, I could not find taffeta. From a vendor in China, I found brown silk charmeuse with pink polka dots to make one of my favorite childhood dresses, for Toni. Silk will have to do.

stellabystarlight · ‎03-31-2010

@Enufstuff I will have to look to see if I can find my first communion photo. It was May, 1958. I have always loved dotted swiss.

Enufstuff · ‎03-12-2010

@lynnie61 Thank you very much. I love that your favorite First Communion piece was not your dress, not your veil, but a little white purse with flowers on it. I would have loved something like that. It sounds adorable. We didn't have purses with our Communion outfits, but I always had a new one for Easter, from the time I was about three.

In almost every picture of when I was young, I'm either holding a doll or a purse. There is a picture of me at 3 years old, wearing a cross body purse. I always remember having one, from the time I was very young. I was 7 in third grade and a "Ditty Bag" was all the rage. It was a canvas , drawstring bag, with a flat bottom. Mine was red. We saved the charms from gumball machines and sewed them onto the bag. I don't remember what I carried in a purse at that age. It was probably a hankie and milk money and a couple of pieces of candy.

By the time my three girls were two years old, they always had a little purse with their Easter outfits.

I'm glad that PT helped your knee. Arthritis has given me knee problems for 25 years. I don't take any medications for it, since they can cause kidney damage and my kidneys are already compromised. During Covid, I tore the miniscus in one knee and that was when I began the cortisone injections. When my knee is really bad, I wear a brace.

I'm sorry that your husband lost the vision in one eye. He sounds like my mother, not wanting to go to doctors. Like him, she was always thin and never weighed more than 96 pounds.

She began having eye issues and edema in her legs. By the time she went to the doctor, she was diabetic, with kidney failure. Diabetes was rampant in her family, with a father , sister and brother having it. My grandfather lost his leg.

She was so adamant about testing us as children. I don't know why she wasn't testing herself. Unfortunately in the next generations there were a few cousins who got it as children. One cousin lost his leg and he had a stroke and passed away at 49 and his sister, a week older than I am, passed away five years ago. Yesterday would have been her birthday. One of my great-grand daughters got it at only three years old, but I think that is more from her mother's family, since her grandmother and great- grandmother both have it. The poor thing has ended up in the hospital, so many times. She is 10 now. None of my children or grand children have had it yet. Fortunately.

Anyway, my mother's neglect of herself left her with needing eye surgery, that helped, but she had kidney failure and she passed away at only 63. She loved her dolls and passed her love of dolls to me. I have many of her dolls.

Enufstuff · ‎03-12-2010

@Witchy Woman Thank you very much. I would love to see one of your First Communion pictures. Could you post one?

I'm sure that you must have been very pretty in your dress and veil. How lovely that your mother made your dress for you.

I have to have my son help me to post pictures. He is my resident IT person. He built my computer for me and he can fix anything.

I can relate to your feeling shy and self-conscious about your height. But I am at the other end of the spectrum. All through school I was always the smallest and the youngest, always at the end of the line. I always wanted to be taller. Most of my classmates were almost a year older than I was. I was only 4'11" in high school. I did reach 5'1 1/2" but in recent years, have lost more than 2 inches in height.

lynnie61 · ‎04-28-2010

@Enufstuff I probably liked my veil as much as my purse but something on the dress was itchy. Maybe it was itchy lace. I remember the day that we went out to breakfast, in my dress and veil. Nice memories. Had family and some extended family there. It was nice to "special" that day.

I was not super great at sewing, but I know we all made denim purses from an old pair of jeans. Probably around 6th or 7th grade. Decorated with some iron on patches. I cringe at the thought, but we thought at the time it was pretty cool. I sewed a pant suit in sewing class, but that was mostly the end of my sewing days. I did get an "A" on my pant suit. Today, my love is purses and totes even more.

I love your love of dolls and rescuing a Toni doll. Keep the great Toni pictures and stories coming, it makes a lot of us smile. Have a great week. Your talent is so special.

Enufstuff · ‎03-12-2010

@lynnie61 I know exactly what you mean about that itchy lace.

In the 50s, I think that it was made from a stiff, scratchy nylon. I remember the lace trim on slips really irritating my skin. I always needed an undershirt under a slip. Tags on clothing were another irritant and I don't want to even think about the wool slacks or mohair sweaters that gave me rashes. I'm just too sensitive to so many things. But, I can wear merino wool and cashmere. I love that many clothes now come without sewn in labels.

I have to ask you about your little purse with the flowers. Were

the flowers under transparent plastic? A few years ago, I was collecting some vintage straw bags. Some natural color and some painted white. Some with lucite handles, very early 60s style or even late 50s.

Some of the white ones have seashells, starfish and coral on one side, under a transparent sheet of plastic. They were made in Florida, probably sold to tourists. They are so cute.

I can envision your little purse with silk flowers, maybe pastel colored daisies, pressed under clear plastic. Adorable.

I have a picture of myself at 14 holding a straw purse. I think that it had rolled leather handles. It is the shape and style of the purse that Sophia always carries on "The Golden Girls.". Her bag seems to have handles made of wooden beads.

Your denim jean purses brought back a memory of when I also made them. I had a little gift shop in the late 70s and everything was handmade. Those little bags were one of the things I made and with the patches too. They were cute, back in the day.

Your pant suit must have been very good for you to get an A.

I always loved to sew and made most of the dresses that my three daughters wore. I made some for myself too.

I still love all my purses and have way too many D & B bags and totes and many Vera Bradley and some others. When we went to Italy in 2006, I bought a small Gucci bag. I think that I only used once or twice.

When I was working, I carried a tote most days. Now I mostly carry a D & B Zip Zip, not too big and not too small.

In the summer, I like to carry bags that are lighter in weight,

especially if I go somewhere and expect to do a lot of walking.

I'm happy that you enjoy seeing Toni in her outfits. Now, that I have that creative spark back, I'll be making more, before my vision gets too bad to sew anymore.

Enufstuff · ‎03-12-2010

@Gorgf What lovely memories you have of your First Communion and Confirmation. How wonderful that you still have your gold cross from your Great Aunt. The gold engraved bracelet was a lovely keepsake to commemorate the event.

I still have a gold cross from my grandfather, from when I was very young. He passed away when I was 7 years old.

Enufstuff · ‎03-12-2010

@ECBG Thank goodness you did not break something when you fell. Things like that happen so fast.

It is a good thing if you can avoid all those stairs.

Rest and get better.

lynnie61 · ‎04-28-2010

@Enufstuff Yes, my communion purse was a small square purse, and the flap had a clear hard plastic with small flowers underneath. I remember violet and yellows and white flowers. Maybe two flowers. I loved it. I'm going to google it to see if I can find a picture. It just had a small handle to carry on your wrist.

I am currently carrying a zip,zip! I only have three Dooney bags. Love my Vera totes for travel, but don't usually like prints for my handbags, but love the accessories and their totes.