It's Snowing!

Br-r-r-r-r! It snowed while we were at Lake Tahoe for NieceStitches' wedding.

A light dusting which looked pretty coming down, and looked strange on the plants and ivy.

Now, I have to tell you that snow is not my best friend. I grew up in Iowa, but have lived the last 28 years in northern California. I am most pleased with the climate where I live. As I said in a previous post, I am not a skier. I consider winter sports to be sitting by a fireplace, reading a book, and drinking hot chocolate.

This shows dear DaughterStitches and MrStitches (also accompanied by SILStitches--out of the frame) clearing the snow from my car in the morning. It was so nice of them all to do this for me. And I didn't mind this snow too much; it wasn't much of an inconvenience. But that's enough snow to do me for a while!

Wedding at Tahoe

I know it's been way too long since I've posted. A lot has been going on!

KittyStitches had a spell in the vet hospital, using up yet again another one of her nine lives!

But the big news is that my NieceStitches got married! The wedding was at Lake Tahoe (Squaw Valley, to be precise), and it was so beautiful. Bride and Groom are perfect for each other. The wedding was so beautiful, and there was even a nice, gentle snowfall during the reception! You can see some photos of the wedding at my SisterStitches' blog, Frayed Edge, which can be found on the sidebar of my blog or here.

This is DaughterStitches and myself at Squaw Valley, sitting in this funky big chair!

Not being a skier myself, I found certain things about Squaw Valley interesting, like chairs made of skis!

And what appeared to be parking meters for skis!

I guess this is where you "park" your skis if they aren't so expensive?

Photo Blocks

One of my responsibilities for my son's wedding last month was to arrange the rehearsal dinner. So I decided to make my own table decorations for the dinner. I found this idea at the Alpha Mom Once Upon a Holiday blog. This particular blog entry was by Marie LeBaron THANK YOU, MARIE!!!. You can get the whole step-by-step tutorial at that location, so I'll just talk about how I made my version.

My son helped by supplying the blocks, and for sanding and rounding the corners on most of them for me. I primed and then painted them in a kind of wine color, as that was the bride's color choice for the wedding. The sizes of my blocks ranged from about 3" square to 6" square, and one oblong block that I used, too.

After the paint was dry I used very fine sandpaper to roughen up the edges and corners a tad bit, but I wanted the older, weathered look.

I used ModPodge to apply photocopies of my photos to five sides of the cubes. I have some old wooden thread spools that worked well to hold the cubes up off the newspaper while they dried. On my first, trial block, I used a couple actual photographs, but decided I wanted a thinner paper. Copying the photos on a copier worked, but

I used an ink jet printer. That meant the ink reacted with the water in the ModPodge, which made the photos appear a little "fuzzy." Might be an interesting look, but I decided I wanted the photos to be clearer. So I took them to a copy shop that used a laser jet printer.

I applied several coats of ModPodge, lightly sanding with fine sand paper between layers. I used some fine steel wool to smooth the last layer.

These blocks were a fun decoration at the rehearsal dinner, and a good conversation starter. They got passed from one table to the next during the evening. After the wedding, I cut felt squares the size of the various blocks, and glued them to the bottoms of the blocks. Now, if the bride and groom wish, they can set these on a book shelf or table for a decoration.

The wedding, September 5, 2009

Here is a photo (finally) from the wedding. It was taken on the steps in front of the cathedral. Oh look! I just noticed that you can see part of Katie's train behind everyone on the right side of the photo! Her train was nice and long--very beautiful, and her veil was the same length.

Anyway, on the left is beautiful DaughterStitches, then me (MissesStitches) and MisterStitches, then the bride and groom, SonStitches and DILStitches, DIL's wonderful parents, and DIL's beautiful twin sisters.

The ceremony in the Episcopal cathedral was beautiful, with so many good friends attending, as well as most of our families. (Poor NieceStitches was busy saving lives as a nurse, so she couldn't come, sadly.) It means so much to me when friends and family come together for a celebration like this. People really do go to a lot of trouble and expense to attend, and I appreciate that.

And the reception was so much fun! I didn't know that I still had enough energy to dance so much! (My body complained loudly the next two days.) Dancing is so much fun, though. We had a big group of people on the dance floor, all dancing together. Little BabyStitches did her share of dancing, too. She was the flower girl, and enjoyed herself quite a bit that night.

More photos to come.....

Mr and Mrs SonStitches

I am so very, very happy. SonStitches got married on Saturday, so now I have a brand new daughter-in-lawStitches! I love DILStitches so much, and have been waiting for this day for a long time. The wedding was beautiful, in Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, and the reception afterward was so much fun. Weddings are always such a good time to see family and friends, who come into town for the occasion. DaughterStitches was a maid of honor, SILStitches was a groomsman, and BabyStitches was the flower girl. It looks really strange to see my son with a ring on his hand! Both our kids are married now, both to wonderful people. We couldn't ask for more. Really.

When I get some photos, you can bet I'll be showing a few off here. Check back later.

Wedding!

I am so happy to be telling you that tomorrow my dear SonStitches is getting married. I don't usually talk about personal, family things on this blog, but the wedding has been very big in my mind, especially the last two weeks.

This is one of the projects that I've been working on for the wedding: ring bearer pillows. There are two ring bearers, and I offered to make the pillows (I'd made the pillow for DaughterStitches's wedding a few years ago). The wine/burgundy color matches pretty well the bridesmaids' dresses.

Our granddaughter, BabyStitches, is going to be the flower girl. I've added some wine colored trim to her little white dress, and made a headband for her to (hopefully) wear during the ceremony (unless she pulls it off)! Photos to follow, I promise.

There have been some more craft projects that I've been working on for the wedding, too, and I will share them with you later.

Family started arriving yesterday, a lot more today, and I can't wait to see everyone!

Suffice it to say for now, that I am very excited about the wedding, and I'm so happy that SonStitches is marrying KatieStitches. She is a wonderful woman, and I love her dearly.