They say that in college your social life is controlled by the computer that randomly puts people together with room-mates. Well, I’d like to give that Mac in my college admissions building a big ole kiss for putting my room right across from Rosemary’s in 1988. I remember with awe when I saw her beautiful pink room with drapes made out of curtains (the cleverness of it all) with big pink cabbage roses turning her dorm-room into an English garden.
Rosemary has been a wonderful friend through thick and thin and has influenced my life in so many ways. She is kind-hearted and smart and valiant and funny and beautiful and currently a week away from giving birth to her first child. A girl. And it must have something pink that I made.
And my arms just aren’t up to it right now.
But here comes Alicia Paulson to save the day and her delicious blog Posie Gets Cozy
You have seen Alicia’s blog, right? It is a treasure trove of beautiful little moments captured in writing accompanied with some simple stunning photos. A love letter to life. She has made me fall in love with blue–which is a miracle, since I’ve for some reason hated the color for about 20 years. That is how much you just want to soak in her honey-infused world. I swear, just visiting her blog, I smell lavendar in the air. And please go out and buy this month’s issue of Romantic Homes for more pictures of her world.
And Alicia created this pattern for the Bella baby dress.
Hurrah for crochet! I can hardly wait to start it!
When I was a little girl, my mother used to scold me by counting out the ways that I was naughty and it always began with “#1: you’re naughty…” and the counting would always begin with her thumb… And yes, I was naughty–like the time I decided that my mudpie recipe had to include only the finest soil from just planted rosebeds or when I ruin a pair of new red tights by stretching bubblegum over the knee in search of ways to blow bubbles…or ruining her best white pillowcases to cut up into new outfits for my Raggedy Anne.
Well, I’ve been very naughty in the upkeep and feeding of this bloggy. But I will blame it on sickness and just being out of sorts. And worst of all just being in too much pain to knit. And that’s when it occured to me that, good heavens, this bloggy isn’t called “good kniternoon”, but “good crafternoon” and that there are so many other delicious crafts that can call my attention and for heavens sakes, I can do those! Why, I have a vintage quilt top that has been waiting to come out for years! And things to paint, and yards upon yards of yummy fabric that is just itching to be turned into something gorgeous.
Although I don’t have any crafts going right now, I’ll share with your the biggest craft project of my life–my wedding. Yes, I’m finally getting around to posting pictures about it. I have really long wedding posts that I’ve been working on that are more for Anita Jones, my craft mom, more than anyone else, but I hope you all get a kick out of them when I do post them.
There are so many ways to get married. How to “theme” your wedding, blah, blah, blah. Well, all I knew is that I wanted a whole lot of Django Reinhardt to play and to get that sort of vintage feeling with a twist of Woody Allen city-ish feeling in there. Well, eleven months from when Eric proposed we came up with this. It worked for us. We just decided to use the word Cole Porter created–swelligant–to lead us in our decision making. You know, a litte bit of sass and gosh-darn homey goodness on the backside of glamour.
Please note, I really hate having my picture taken, so I just mugged for the camera. And Eric and I really don’t have many photos of us other than a few from photobooths in our early courtship days. But this is my favorite picture from the wedding. I just makes me so happy and gosh–forgive me, I’m just gushy with love for my sweetie. Make that husband sweetie.
And here is a kinda better picture my dress. I bought my dress off of eBay for $160. Vintage from the late 1930s. Take that Brides Magazine and your $5,000 dresses! Yeah!
It had acres of crepe back satin in the long long train. Which I must give props to my sweet little nieces for doing such a fine job wranging with it. Go flower girls!
So, let’s get to the craft–here is how I was crafty at my wedding:
Here is the veil. I created it from using vintage fur and shoe clips from the 1920s.
I have been a bridesmaid 10 times. TEN TIMES, PEOPLE! Even though it might have been tempting to dress them in orange and purple plaid taffeta formal dresses with lace cowboy boots, I just asked them to pick out a black dress and I would give them a matching accessory. Enter the world’s fastest knitter and four amazingly gorgeous handknitted lace wraps. Surely, you must think I am crazy to outsource knitting for my wedding, when I love knitting. Yeah, crazy like a FOX! My sanity was worth it.
I also made my garter using vintage lace I bought at the Alameda Flea Market and a nice vintage blue velvet ribbon. And I had to wear read shoes. A nod to my childhood obsession with red shoes and my dear friend Rosemary who led the way with wearing red shoes for her wedding too. Worth the $20 I spent on them–thank you eBay!
So, that’s it for craftiness and more wedding slush that I should be allowed three months after the wedding.
But I’m back and be ready to see more posts that have non-knitting in it. 2007 is the year that craft goes beyond the knitting needles and I explore other favorite crafts–from jewelry making, to knitting, to cooking, of heavens knows what.
