this and that moments of stitching

Usually, when I sit down to put a quilt top together, I can just get it done.  Sit and stitch.  I think.  I pray.  I meditate.  Conversations happen.  But not this time.  I could not seem to settle in front of my sewing machine.  It could have been the lack of my helper or the ducking of the flying buttons that were being attacked by the Pirate King Malarkey.  But ten minutes here and ten minutes there do add up.

The quilt top is put together.  More nine squares are done for the next quilt.  And I have started the back.  Sometimes it is just about that ten minutes.

simple shift

I had found a shift all cut out on my worktable that had not been worn about the time that I made the brown silk dress.  I tried to have it done for adventuring.  I wear shifts under long dresses or sleep in them.  I actually need to dye about four currently.  They start out white and never seem to remain that way.  Between tea and mud.  But I now have a new white one and I could not be more pleased.

I had a lovely dinner with family and friends.  Watched surfing and ate seafood enchiladas with a blackberry ginger margarita.  I tried surfing on Sunday.  The waves were small and more like a washing machine the sets.  My left shoulder gave out early but after not having surf in Florida, I was happy.  Maybe I should have thought about the 11 foot board instead of my favorite 9 foot 6 inch one.  But that is life on the Gulf coast.

the dress I wore to the wedding

Dress clothes are still an issue for me.  Most of my dress clothes have zippers down the back and I cannot zip them without help.  My shoulders are healing but not quite that much.  The range of movement and strength is so much better then it was.  Though, if I take another superman fall anytime soon, I will be hurt again.

I decided that I needed an autumn silk dress for the wedding I went to last weekend.

My Beloved surprised me with earrings earlier this summer.  I love acorns and oak leaves so I decided to match the earrings to the dress I would wear.  I did not find an exact match but I found a nice complementary brown in the silk I was looking at.  He obviously did really well since I made a dress to compliment the earrings.  These earrings are packed in the tent currently so I am repacking a tent this weekend. 

The silk worked well for the beach.  The humdity was such that I was able to lay it out in the tent and the wrinkles came out.  I felt pretty which is really what counts.  I could wear this dress all the time.  I just might.

receiving blankets

For the small boy that is expected, I also made receiving blankets.  My Beloved helped pick out the colors.  I really like how they turned out.  The funny thing is, we use Small Mister's blankets like these on car trips.  They work really well for vehicles or shawls if you are getting out in the rain.  I may need to make some more for us.

The babe's Dad came back and said his wife and mother-in-law loved them.  Remember, they are from Angola.  So the Grandma was asking about me, "She is white?"  She did not even think a white American could have these skills.  It made me laugh so hard!  Preconceived notions get you every time!

for tomorrow

I have been invited to a wedding in September.  It is really a we but my Beloved is going to go do track time so I am the only going.  Which also means, I have been invited to the wedding shower.  It could be a very strange shower because the age range of the attendees is going to be very wide. 

I have a couple go to wedding gifts that no one every thinks to put on a registry but always come back and say "that was the best!"  For the wedding, I am going with tools.  But that is a month away.  Tomorrow is the shower.  I got a white platter and dish towels, and if the bride reads this, oh well. 

I, of course, could not do something as simple as wrap the present.  I made a cloth bag for it.  My Beloved said it can be a laundry bag, which is the idea.  He teased me about not embroydering their names on it.  Not for a laundry bag silly man!

I have decided to take a surfboard to the wedding and I am camping.  Yes, I am odd.