the perfect day

We’re married now, Mr. and Mrs. R. Richard Brown. Despite mediocre weather, the day was superb. The only hiccup was my slip – it kept rotating around under my dress, making the strap hang out. Otherwise everything went perfectly! We had a great group of friends come support us. We had delicious food, a positive atmosphere, and lots of fun. Thanks to everyone who helped with cookies. And thank you for showing us so much love!

weee!

This is my final post as Miss Gwen Shriver!

in just a few days I will become…

MRS Gwen Brown!

weeeee!

see you in a week.

less than a month now

The official countdown begins, although I’m not officially counting down. My grandmother sent up the cake-topper from her wedding over 50 years ago. I’m not sure I’ll be putting it at the top of my cupcake tower, but it will definitely be present.

The lady appears to be missing a bit of her chin.

no front loading washer for me!

Realized that I had more unwashed wool than I had originally thought. Sunny day, nothing to do. Let’s wash us up some fleece. I wanted to get some of those large mesh laundry bags so I could do multiple fleeces without having them get mixed up. Unfortunately Target only had one. So I put the remaining BFL/Border Leicester in the bag and dumped the rest of the Columbia into the washer without a bag. Seems to be fine. I don’t understand why the tips of the Columbia are so yellow or how to get them washed. The cut ends are super clean!

P.S.  It’s party time!! I’m making pompoms. Weee!

wedding bells news

It’s happening in just less than two months. I’m glad I’ve had this time to mentally prepare and whatnot. Pennsic was a bit of a road block to a lot of our preparations, but with that out of the way, we’ve moved forward successfully. The day after we returned home from Pennsic, we spent the entire day rearranging the furniture in Rich’s apartment. He takes his couch/futon to camp, so we wanted to take advantage of the living room being mostly empty. We’ve made room for some of my furniture which consists only of one chair, a coffee table, and spinning wheels.

As for planning the wedding itself, we had nearly everything taken care of before Pennsic except for a photographer. It was really difficult to find someone who was available and affordable. I didn’t think we’d get out without spending at least $1,000. However, through the grapevine, we reconnected with someone I knew from high school. She actually remembered me from when she worked there. We’re going to have a video done too, which I hadn’t considered before. And in a week or so we’ll meet with the caterer to discuss menu and cake!

Just a few days ago I finally decided on a head-topper. I really liked the look of the birdcage veils or little hat/veil thing rather than a large fluffy veil. My mom put together a few different things, but I just felt uncomfortable. In the end I decided on a birdcage attached to a headband since I have short hair and combs do NOT stay in! I found it at [Psalm117]

Also, I purchased an overnight carrying case to use as a card box from [Great Lakes Vintage], another Etsy shop. It’s actually a lot bigger than I had anticipated, even though I had a measuring tape in from of me at time of purchase. At the end of the night, I can just close the box and take it home! And then it’s reusable later. I’m not into this single-purpose-chatchka-lying-around-the house business.

this and that.

It’s raining today. Can’t say I’m too bummed about being at home instead of at Pennsic. Tomorrow is my last day at work. At 1:00 I will leave and drive straight up 422 to Cooper’s Lake and stay there until Sunday afternoon. Next Sunday.

I had to run some errands before coming home to wash my blankets and sheets. Otherwise my packing is mostly complete. In one box I have all of my garb and accessories. In another box I have towels and sheets. And finally, I have a project basket, which is bigger than last year. I didn’t try to pretend by using a smaller basket.

The wedding plans are coming along so well I haven’t done anything in a while. My mum and I did go to the florist last week to put together the bouquet. It’s going to be green hydrangea and green kermits. Yes, the flowers AND the leaves will be green. My cousin had a little photo display at her wedding of she and fiance as kids with photos from their parents’ weddings. I thought that sounded neat, so Rich and I went looking for baby pictures. Guess who this is. And no, It’s not me.

oh, that silky wool

The Frock Camisole has been finished for some time. I think the straps are already stretching. Every time I knit something body-sized it always irritates me. Whatever it is, it just doesn’t fit right, it sags, it’s lumpy, it’s bulky. Whatever. Blech.

I had quite a bit of Silky Wool left over and since I really enjoyed the light green, I decided to knit a bit of lace with it. Specifically the Eloping Garter by Abigail van Roode (rav link/also on Knitty.com). I couldn’t imagine myself wearing one of those ghastly fluffballs that are worn by most brides. Besides, I’m a knitter!

It’s being worked on in relative secrecy. Rich is aware, but hasn’t seen it. I know he doesn’t read my blog, so I’m not overly concerned. Should I make two? One to keep and one for him to toss? If someone takes it home will that appreciate all the work I’ve put into it? A quandry.

preview!

While at the Great Lakes Fiber Show this year I purchased two pounds of Corriedale lambswool and I’ve been dyeing it. Actually I might have dyed all of it. Some I’m keeping and some I’m selling. So here is a little preview of what will be added to the shop next Wednesday.

And we’ve been getting some things accomplished as far as the wedding planning is concerned. The location is settled, and that is the Buhl Mansion in Sharon, PA. We also have a theme of sorts… primarily it will be a 1960s cocktail party with a circles and squares decor developing. Color scheme of blue, turquoise, lime green. Invitations have been chosen. The dress has been tried on and determined precisely correct. At Michael’s we found a kit of paper flower pom poms, brought to you by Martha Stewart. I bought the blue kit with additional packets of green tissue paper. They’re fun, easy, and big!! Those will be hanging from the ceiling in some configuration. Things are coming together! I almost can’t believe it! Weee!

the dress

As requested by Valerie, I’ll do some sharing in regards to the hitching. Since the man and the dress are the only two things settled at this point, I’ll show the dress. I found it on Vintageous, a website with a great selection of clothes and accessories. She had just added it on Thursday and when I saw it, I knew I couldn’t wait around to think about it. It’s a late 1950s, early 1960s dress (http://vintageous.com/v5623.htm).

Looking for the right garment for this occasion did not concern me. When I was in high school, I loved searching out dresses for dances and accessorizing them. At no other moment in my life was I even remotely stylish, but I could manage a semi-formal event. The boy and the dress had never been a problem. Apparently that remains true for this also. My co-workers weren’t overly excited about it, but they’re all 50+ and likely rather traditional. Plus I don’t care what they think.

we’ll see how that goes…

Where I’m at right now:

1.) This summer I’m planning a wedding and planning for Pennsic.
2.) To save money and clear it out, I’m trying to use up my stash and not buy more fiber.
3.) And, as it has been mentioned before, I’m NOT a great multi-tasker.

What does this mean for you, the reader, friend, and customer? First of all, I’m not sure how often I’ll be updating my blog in the next few months. We’re planning to get hitched in October, so that gives me 4-ish months to make the arrangements, which I think is completely doable. Speaking of, I hadn’t planned on talking about it here, but if you are interested I could drop a few details on occasion.

Second, using up my stash means odds and ends will be for sale including… LOCKS! That’s right. It’s been months since I’ve had any locks available. But I just bought that Tunis/Lincoln/Cotswold fleece and have the whole thing washed (Power Scour rocks!). In fact, I dyed some yesterday: