The Brownie Apprentice

​​Ember, the little brownie apprentice to Granny Flare, is showing off her new clothes.  Little does she realize that my choice of her dress was based on my great grandmother’s wedding dress. I put out on Facebook that I needed some ideas how to clean this 100 year old wedding dress (and I do appreciate the input I received).  In the meantime, I have since washed it and it has been laying around for me to decide just how I am going to keep this piece of history without looking like I am setting up a memorial in my house (*lol).

​As I was looking at the wedding dress I realized I never really looked closely at it before.  The sleeves were a two-tone contrast of material and texture and all of a sudden I was inspired to capture this type of sleeve.  I hadn’t seen anything like this style before and thought it would be perfect for my little Apprentice.

​I find it is interesting how something as simple as a dress can tell you something about a person.  Yes, my great grandmother was shorter than I.  But then being the second tallest girl in my school growing up, everyone was shorter than me.  I never realized truly how small of a waist she had.  She certainly had the small 18 inch waistline required of her century.  Also, the detail in the dress of the pin-tucking and lace enhanced a very basic design - taking it out of the ordinary for her special event of her wedding.

​Her dreams were just beginning to start with a new life as a married woman.  Not knowing, I am sure at the time, that she would leave her home in Kansas and end up several states away in Montana.  This little style of a sleeve took me on an adventure in rediscovering my great grandmother.  I also could create a part of "my" dream by making my little Apprentice come to life with a touch of dreams from long ago.