- That's a wrap 2

Retrospective (11/6)

Patch #286 Don's boat 

with thanks to Hazel for the inspiration.

Original Post 

I've always loved extra long jeans. You know, the kind that drag on the ground. It used to drive my mother nuts, especially when I was an adult. But I have persisted to this day. Fortunately, my chair wrapping episode last week

https://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/10/wrapped.html

led to an "Aha!" moment as I contemplated yet another pair with ragged hems.

Here's a before and after shot ...

along with a close-up of the front ...

and a b-side shot of the 6-stranded floss that I used to blanket stitch while rolling under the frayed ends ...

You (and I) will have to wait for some time to pass before I can report on such mundane matters as how the mending stands up to laundering and future wear.

Meanwhile, here's Don's latest contribution to our eclectic decor ...

And since I don't have a "before" shot, here's a similar piece that I found on the internet that gives a sense of how it started out ...

It's amazing what a little bit of milk paint and embellishment can do ...

I especially like the cloth-wrapped sail ...

and can't wait until we're once again strolling on the Manteo waterfront.

P.S. Here's what is keeping the assemblage company on the wall ...

- Don't think twice, it's all right

Retrospective (11/7)

Patch #285 Nobel words

Original Post 

I have been absent without leave since last Friday, the result of a four-day play date with Griffin, who memorably said of the ragged bit of cloth ...

"Don't worry Nana, you can fix it."

"Well actually G, it's supposed to look like that."

In any case, pictures were taken and have been inserted into their respective posts. Words and patches will follow eventually because I do want to fix that.

Addendum: The ragged bit of cloth became a "Liz A" nametag for FASA and WVAL in 2018.

- Are we having fun yet?

Retrospective (11/7)

Patch #284 Crepe crazy

Original Post 

- A hard day's night

Retrospective (11/7)

Patch #283 Monkey bars

Original Post 

- Axe-tually

Retrospective (11/7)

Patch #282 ACL live

Original Post 

- It's all a blur

Retrospective (11/7)

Patch #281 Rubber sole

Original Post

- Three-fer Thursday

Retrospective (10/14)

Patch #280 Hazel's swirled

I loved seeing what Hazel did to her hair in this post at Handstories 

http://handstories.typepad.com/blog/2016/10/continuing-my-mid-life-metamorphosis-.html

She called it metamorphosis, which fit perfectly with the bit of butterfly Shibori in this patch/homage.

Original Post 

I finally finished the September patches with this trio ...

For those of you coming over from Jude Hill's SunMoonStars, I've been making a patch for each day of 2016. Sometimes (okay, many times) I get behind. So when I do finish a patch, I insert it retrospectively into the original post. I've even got a subject heading titled Retrospective in the Index with 100+ entries.

So today I finished the patch for September 19

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/09/turning-redux.html

which was inspired by Jude Hill's post Turning. In the original post, I pictured a close-up shot of my antique clock reel, which coincidentally resembled a rising/setting sun ...

The original post for September 20th

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/09/golden.html

promised a take on yellow indiangrass. So I cut a stem to better see the colors ...

then found a variegated floss that would work ...

resulting in this ...

Last, but not least, I conjured up memories of my teenage peace activist years for the September 21 post about Vietnam

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/09/war-and-peace.html

My mom's family was quite conservative (as was my mom), but I took after my liberal-minded dad. Consequently, I wore black armbands and clothing embellished with peace signs quite frequently ... including at family gatherings. One uncle used to disdainfully point out that I was wearing the "sign of the American chicken," but in spite of the glowering looks and shaking heads, I persisted. I'm proud of it to this day and my only regret is that I stopped wearing peace signs after the Vietnam War ended ...

I guess I could remedy that anytime, right?

- Wrapped

Patch #279 Once upon a time

There's a song called Wrapped by Walt Wilkins that tugs on my heart with the words ...

Summer gold, Winter blue

Wherever I am, whatever I do

I'm wrapped in you

Forty-two years ago today, Don and I met on a blind date. Hours earlier, I sat for this yearbook picture ...

wearing the India cotton top that I later wore to the frat dance we went to. And while I don't have a picture of Don from that night, I know this is the shirt he wore ...

Forty-two years. You can read more about that first date in this post: 

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2009_10_05_archive.html?m=1

which was written when we were celebrating a mere thirty-five years. Oh but we were young, right?

So we're celebrating this time around with a quiet dinner at home. Steak on the grill, popovers, artichokes dipped in butter, and a good red wine are on the menu.

In the meantime, Don is working on a frame for his latest landscape in the Contours series ...

My stitching chair caught his attention somehow and he commented on the frayed state of affairs along the corded edges of the arms. "I know," was my response,"I've been thinking about how to repair them. Do you think multiple colors would be too much?"

You can figure out his answer ...

That's a Hazel Monte ship sailing along the armrest ...

Sorta like Georgia's Window  

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/07/backlit.html?m=1 ...

"What about blue?" Well, what about that ...

It ended up being a different kind of wrapping stitch in colors I've always loved. So one last look at the way we were the night before our wedding to prove the point ...

And we've lived happily ever after.