One week till the wedding...

With only a week to go until the wedding, I'm working on making topiaries. Most of the tables will have a vase of flowers, a potted green plant and some kind of topiary. This is one I was fooling around with... it's thistle from my yard. The plants are turning dry and a beautiful dusty purple. I wrapped the stems with floral tape and then wound jute around it. The only thing I'm not happy with is the moss...  I think I'll fill the silver creamer with pea gravel and then tuck the stems in.

 

And here's the rest of the flowers I'm drying... These are some beautiful blooms a quilting buddy let me cut from her yard. In a couple of days they'll be preserved perfectly (and still a pretty green color). Last week I tried this process out on one bloom and it's dry and pretty and perfect for a topiary. Putting two or three blooms together (and using floral tape again) should make them tall and stiff enough to tuck into a pot of floral foam or more pea gravel.

Not much quilting going on here... I finished up the wedding quilt, and the table runners so not much sewing to do before the big day. Need to hem my dress still.. need to add the bustle to Jenn's dress..... almost to the finish line :)

The wedding quilt is finished

Yesterday I put the last stitch into Jenn and Jon's wedding quilt. This picture washes it out and makes it look a bit more gray than it is. The main fabric is a really pretty beige gray with rusty red and aqua flowers. It should look really nice in the blue bedroom.
No time today for a long post... lots of other stuff to finish up before the big day :)

Quilting the wedding quilt

Where have I been?! WELL... Jenn and Jon will be getting married in a couple of weeks so wedding prep has been keeping Al and I very busy. I have a list of things that still need to be done before the big day and even though I am slowly checking off items from the list daily, it's still a very long list. But we're getting there.

Yesterday I received a call from my youngest brother ... he lives in SC. He informed me that he won't be able to make it to the wedding... we knew this... with his job (executive pastry chef at an exclusive resort... yes, I'm proud of him) we knew he'd be busy on Labor Day weekend. BUT since he can't make it, he decided to send chocolate truffles... over 300 of them! Now we aren't sure how well these are going to ship ... if they'll stay unmelted... unbroken...unspoiled... all the way here but we're crossing our fingers and hoping they do. He makes the BEST desserts!

One of the items on my checklist that has been completed is the ring bearers pillow. Remember the ones from years ago... white... with satin... maybe a little lace ruffle... ribbons... WELL, that's not going to work in this wedding. Jenn's wedding will be rustic and elegant (yes, I think that is possible...sort of). Burlap... barn wood... some cream lace... vintage items... greenery.. grasses... not too much in the way of flowers unless you can pick them on the side of the road. I had my doubts about all of this until I started checking some of the pictures she sent me of weddings with this style. Surprisingly it can be VERY beautiful. 

During the past two weeks I managed to get a little time in to shop for fabric... well... if the truth be told, I was working at the quilt shop at the time but it was slow and there was this tempting bolt of purple pansies ... and there were these wonderful batiks ... and well... one thing led to another... and as you can see below, I'll be working on a beautiful blue quilt after the wedding is over. The gray background fabric is a new one to the shop (and it's almost gone). It's perfect to set off these purples, blues, teals, aquas and greens. There are about 5 different pattern ideas floating around in my head right now... maybe something somewhat modern... and easy... don't want to do too much thinking on this one. The only fabric I'm not happy with is the third one from the bottom on the right. Just a little too white for the gray. Until I took this picture I thought I liked it with the rest.

 These will be placed on the shelf for now .... another tempting pile to stare at me until I have the time.  

And finally, here's what else I've been doing with all my spare time (yes that's sarcasm!). Jenn's wedding quilt top is complete and pinned so I've started the quilting. As of this morning it's 1/4 of the way done. By the weeks end it needs to be finished so that I can concentrate on other things... like the dress I'm wearing to her wedding (needs to be shortened)... and her dress (needs hooks for the bustle)... and the house needs a good cleaning (mom and dad, my brother and my neice will be staying at my house) .. and the list goes on......and on... and on....