Get Yer Abbey On!

Did you watch this show?

Despite its PBS pedigree,

Downton Abbey is the soapiest of soaps, 

a category of TV I gave up more than thirty years ago

when I realized that no one would ever be allowed to be happy

for more than a season or two.

How soapy is it?

Well in season one, this elegant, (seemingly) reserved British lady...

... killed this pillow-lipped character...

IN HER BED.

It's true!

Lady Mary, she of the demure little hats,

slept with the naughty Ambassador Pamuk and somehow 

killed 

him 

dead.

Like I said, 

SOAP CITY.

BUT!

While I may roll my eyes at the often-unbelievable shenanigans

of these Brits and their servants,

I will always come back for the FASHIONS!

Just look at these ladies!

I swoon!

And what about these wedding dresses?

I love those veils!

(And btw, I think the much-maligned Lady Edith on the right

actually looks better than her Mean Girl sister Lady Mary on the left.)

But it wasn't only the wedding finery that caught my eye;

there were also a few shots of how the village had prepared for Lady Mary's wedding:

So simple, but so pretty, right?

Bunting is evidently an English thing 

that has happily become more and more popular across the pond.

I dig it, so I decided to make some for my Etsy shop!

I did an earlier tutorial  for how to do these yourself,

but if you're interested in skipping the sewing machine

 I have both a listing for a single string and a listing for three strings in my shop.

What do you think Lady Mary?

She's excited.  I can tell.