Whitman Bridal Cut-Outs #1966 - 1965

If the Heavenly Blue Wedding (posted 24 Feb 2011) represented my Sunday Best, Whitman Bridal Cut-Outs were my Work-a-Day wedding set.  Even as a very young child I recognised that the HBW belonged to another era.  It had the unattainable remote glamour of a Hollywood movie.   The dolls in the Whitman book by comparison were completely part of my world.  They were as familiar as the people in my neighbourhood and the set is a classic from the decade.

Strangely enough the dress that I have always found most appealing in this set is not one of the wedding outfits and does not even belong to the bride.  It is this simple shift dress worn by the Bridesmaid with its pretty scalloped edging and lovely creamy colour.

I also love this mauve dress belonging to the flower girl.  She is the about the same age I would have been when I was first given this book.  This dress is so similar to some I used to own - I had a pink one almost identical to this.      

What saves this set from being unremarkable for me are the slightly unusual poses of the female figures.   They have a definite sense of movement and fit perfectly into the Swinging 60's.  They look like models posing for a photo shoot.

   

Cross Stitch Project

My cross stitch is progressing steadily.  I was worried when I went back to work after starting it on holiday that I would end up having no time to do it, but I fit in a bit here and there while watching TV in the evenings.

I was going to leave working with the beads for last but I would curious to see how difficult they would be to thread as they are so tiny.  My fears were well founded - with my failing eyesight it took me ages just to attach these few - I think it will be a good idea if I do some now and then while I am working on the basic stitching so that I don't end up with an overwhelming number of them to attach at the end!