In this electronic age of e-mail, beepers and cell phones, very few hand-addressed envelopes make their way to the red-flagged mailbox at the end of the driveway. An electronic message simply cannot generate the warm feelings awarded by an old fashioned handwritten letter.
Posted in machine embroidery, techniques, uncategorized, wedding
kiddie wedding fun
For our daughter’s 2006 wedding at our home, the guest list went round the full “circle of life,†from infants to the elderly.
All were welcome, but, especially for the smallest guests, accommodations had to be made.  In order for little ones and their parents to enjoy themselves, extra planning was required. It took some effort, but in the big picture, it was not a major expenditure of time or money.
Our first consideration was seating for our 8 youngest guests, ages 0-4 years. Reaching out to local friends, we borrowed enough high chairs for the babies and booster seats for the toddlers. The high chairs were wrapped with gold organza bows, just like the adult chairs.  The booster seats were strapped securely onto the regular adult seats.
minister’s baby
Posted in baby accessories, bags, embroidery blanks, machine embroidery, wedding
Gators 13-LSU 3
Following a college football team offers so many opportunities for wholesome family fun. Some of our happiest family memories are set on Norman Field, in Gainesville, tailgating before a Florida Gator football game. For away games, we all crowd together in our living room, cheering, moaning, eating and chasing the babies away from in front of the TV. As was often said in our small town local newspaper coverage of each neighborhood, “A good time was had by all.”
There are also creative opportunities to pursue in the sewing room. The pictured embroidered terry cloth is actually a Martha Stewart dish cloth, repurposed as a tailgating napkin. When I see items in our team colors, I usually buy up everything on the shelf. So our tailgating box has a huge stack of these napkins, embroidered with a free “hungry gator” design offered many, many years ago, and text that names all SEC opponents and various other teams against whom our team has played. The opponent’s name on the napkin instigates a lot of “Remember LSU 2008? 51-21 Gators! Wasn’t that a great game?”
note wash station on left, at tree
When we have messy food, such as barbecued ribs, a paper napkin just won’t do the job. Wet, these napkins, are much more effective against sticky foods. There is some distance to the bathrooms and running water, so we always take several jugs of water, some with liquid detergent added. I wrap a piece of elastic around a tree, tuck in several Gator hand towels and hang a bar of soap from a ribbon.  This gives everyone, most importantly the cooks, easy opportunity to wash hands before preparing food.
frame style #1Â NOTE: The numbers were all the same color, a bright pink, not the neon pick shown her nor the red in the next photo.
At our daughter Rebecca’s home garden wedding, I gave a lot of thought to just how to number the tables. I decided to stitch the embroidery in the wedding colors and frame them. They are large enough to be read easily and yet took up very little table space.
First, I went to an outlet store and purchased the gold frames.  I was unable to find 15 exactly the same, so I just selected frames with a similar look. When looking for their table, I thought no guest notices or cares that the frames are not all identical.
second frame style
Next it was important to make certain that the number design would fit into the frame. Double digit numbers were a challenge and even in a reduced size,  really hugged the edge of the frame. They also required a smaller floral design.
The floral designs are from Sue Box. Absolutely everything she digitizes is spectacular. From her fabulous Golden Classics collection, one or another of the Briar Rose subcategory of designs was embroidered on every table number. The ribbon outline was stitched in gold metallic to accent the gold in the color scheme.
