Back in mid May 2011 I discovered this tutorial and decided I have to give it a try, despite I've never made a bonnet before - considering in the end the Opera Bonnet won the April Flowers Contest on egl, I suppose the result is not that bad:-)

A small funny fact: the bonnet actually got its name due to the fact I had several Russian and Czech operas on repeat non-stop when I worked on it, particularly Eugeny Onegin and an older version of Rusalka. I think without Dvořák and Tchaikovsky I'd never ever have finished this.
The moral of the story? Opera is good for willpower!XD

The initial state:




The 1st mock-up:


Progress:



Halfway done:


Pretty much finished:

I may add a bit of lace here and there, but I think it's very close to being finished.

The tutorial I followed to make this: http://www.darlinganddash.com/strawbonnet.html 
Materials used: Habotai silk, cotton for backing the silk, voile for the ruching, vintage net lace, cluny lace, 
                        synthetic ribbon, fabric roses
Start date: 15. 5. 2011
Finish date: 4. 1. 2012

Oh, and perhaps a little sample from the playlist:-)

Or rather, a dump of finished pieces of two unfinished series...:-)

                         
An altered Bokhara cushion and bell pull, the chart a courtesy of the amazing  Tudor Dollhouse blog. How do I love thee, oh blog, let me count the ways:-)
I'm thinking to add one chair bolster to this series, but I'm not sure yet.

                                     
 The first from my would-be apple blossom series for the bedroom... I'll probably make a cushion for the sofa, a footstool and a bell pull with a variation of this design. Maybe, but only if my will and sanity fail me, I'll add a carpet and an embroidery frame.

    Love, RosaJ

The Libochovice Castle in Central Bohemia, photos taken by my sister. To see them better, just click on them:-)