Part 32 (1/2)
Dolly laughed harder than any of us. The fainting couch arrived just in time, because the old girl couldn't breathe and laugh at the same time.
”Do you think she's all right?” my father asked as we walked away. ”She's talking to herself.”
She was talking to Dante, of course, her debonair suitor, sitting at her side, kissing her hand.
”You'll talk to yourself, too,” Aunt Fiona said, ”when you're a hundred and three.”
I urged them toward the dance floor. ”Go ahead, you two. Take advantage.” I turned away so my father could put his arm around Aunt Fiona without feeling guilty. I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about them as a couple, I just knew that Harry Cutler had seemed more alive lately than he had in years. Mom would surely approve of that.
Nick got an old stuffed chair in good condition from the storage room for me to sit on, while he sat on the arm and knuckled my nape, s.h.i.+vering me to my toes.
Dante stood in the middle of the dance floor and made a sweeping motion with one hand that sent the band's music fluttering as if in a cool breeze.
The bandleader raised his baton, and they played ”Hawaiian Wedding Song.”
I sat forward. ”That wasn't on my playlist.”
Dante took the hand of a beautiful young woman wearing the wedding gown from The Philadelphia Story.
My throat closed, my vision blurred. ”Nick, Dolly's not breathing.”
He ran. I called 911, my hands shaking, my emotions mixed. I didn't want to lose her, but how could I take her away from her love?
The way she and Dante waltzed and looked into each other's eyes, you'd think this was their wedding day.
Members of the Circle of Spirit moved to the side. Many saw Dante and Dolly as I did. Those who did cheered and raised their broomsticks to stir the air. As they did, my tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs and laces flew from their bobbins like colorful streamers rus.h.i.+ng forth to circle and curl above and around the young lovers.
Dolly laughed up at Dante. Utterly romantic.
He kissed her and kissed her.
And she disappeared from his arms.
I glanced over at the fainting couch. Nick was cradling Dolly, talking to her, and I could see her nodding absently as she turned toward Dante on the opposite side of her.
Fiona and my father came to me. Fiona had, of course, seen what happened.
”Walk me over there, will you?” I asked them.
”How are you, Dolly?” I asked when I got there.
”Full of antic.i.p.ation,” she said, and she winked.
A Tip for the Vintage Handbag Lover PEt.i.t POINT SCARLET FLORAL ON LUSH BLACK.
Purchased at the Cottage in Amesbury, Ma.s.sachusetts, a bag that came from a former handbag museum in Maine, this structured handbag is startlingly beautiful in full black with a gorgeous red floral centered front and back.
At nine inches high, it's eleven inches wide at the top and twelve inches wide at the bottom, covered by a black trellis-like background, front and back. The trellis is either pet.i.t point or applied with a fine, thin band of pet.i.t point-like trim. I can't tell which.
As far as the pet.i.t point, front and back, the center is a top-to-bottom oblong trellis that takes up one-third of the bag, the trellis itself centered by a Jacobean bouquet of three red flowers, each with a black center. Either side of the trellis is plain black.
This handbag closes with a swirling, floral clasp that is one and one half inches wide and three quarters of an inch tall, as beautiful and ornate as a gold floral broach.
Inside, the bag is lined in black satin with a zipper pocket and an open pocket. The zipper pocket is lined in pink tricot. There is no maker's name in the handbag. The straps and bottom are likely a quality mock leather. The flat bottom is twelve inches wide and four inches deep. It has four gold feet.
I haven't been able to find this specific bag in either Anna Johnson's Handbags: The Power of the Purse, Judith Miller's book Handbags, or anywhere on the web. However, judging by the embroidered purses of this style, with a costume jeweled clasp, and taking the tricot into consideration, I'm dating it as coming from the sixties or seventies.
This handbag can be seen at
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Make Your Own Clutch AN ENVELOPE PURSE FOR THE NON-SEWERS AMONG YOU.
Pick out an envelope, either a number ten, business-sized envelope, or an envelope that came with a greeting card. Try to pick one with a wide overlap. This will be your pattern, so it should be a size that you'd like to carry as a purse.
Take the envelope gently apart and lay it out on a piece of self-binding fabric or leather-black, natural, colored, your choice-just make sure it can be cut cleanly without the need for hemming.
After your leather envelope has been cut out, fold it the way the envelope was folded. Purchase fasteners at your local leather or fabric store that you think will add to the charm of the design. Make sure they're small enough to fit the width of the overlap. Rather than gluing your leather envelope clutch together, use fasteners, about a half inch apart, or closer, to attach the front.
To fasten the envelope point to close your leather bag, choose snap fasteners, Velcro, or magnetic fasteners. If you use Velcro, make sure the sticky side will adhere to leather.
Floral pieces of leather can be added with the fasteners as centers for decoration. The fasteners alone could also be applied in other locations and designs to give your clutch character.
An alternative to the design is, of course, to sew the leather envelope together for a clean look. Try sewing it with contrasting thread.
A sample can be seen at
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Turn the page for a preview of the next Vintage Magic Mystery by Annette Blair Death by Diamonds Coming soon from Berkley Prime Crime!
One.
Women dress alike all over the world: they dress to be annoying to other women.
-ELSA SCHIAPARELLI Vintage Magic is my shop for designer vintage fas.h.i.+ons and designer originals. When I arrive every morning, I can't believe I'm looking at my dream come true.