And Now There Are Four

{Note: I started this last night. Then I had to go eat dinner. Then we watched Netflix. Then I stitched. And read. And went to bed. Ergo, it seems I wrote it and posted it on two different days. Which I actually did.}

Oh, gee. Here it is, after 10 pm. We haven't eaten dinner yet--we just got home from Barrage, a fabulous concert performance. These twice-a-year performing arts events are made free to the public by the gift of a local couple.

The EGE's just finished feeding the cats, and I just did a run-through of what I'm going to take to wear at the family wedding Saturday afternoon in Ft. Worth. Well, not really in Ft. Worth: in Weatherford, which is right outside Ft. Worth but not nearly as well-known, except Connie, the wife of my ob/gyn, says Money magazine named Weatherford one of the top five (ten?) places to retire. Really. Neither one of us could figure out how come. We think it must have something to do with cows, but that doesn't seem right. Cows and retirees? Huh.

Anyway, so I've had this idea of what I thought I'd wear, a real puzzle because I'm always totally baffled by anything that contains an oxymoron: "dressy casual." I'm thinking our niece was just delighted with Mr. Wedding Planner Person. Let's just confuse the crap out of everyone, shall we?

It can't be both dressy AND casual. It's got to be one or the other, and if it's a blending of the two, what exactly are you expecting? Maybe you'll get a crowd like the one at the performance tonight, where some of the men had on jackets and ties, and at least one guy had on an old gimme t-shirt and a pair of sloppy-baggy overalls. Or maybe you're going for cocktail dresses with Chuck Taylors.

Or maybe this bothers no one but me. That's probably closer to the truth. Whatever. I have The Perfect Autumn Outfit. Well, perfect for a 4:30 wedding on a Saturday afternoon, when I'm not sure if it's outside or in and I'm totally baffled by Dressy Casual. I hope The EGE gets photos, because I sure didn't take any in the run-through. Imagine, if you will: full calf-length brown cotton Ralph Lauren skirt (last year at Goodwill, looks brand new, less than $2.50) with a full tiered orange skirt underneath (clearance, Dillards, many years ago, $19.99 (regularly $90)). This one shows maybe 1/4" inch under the brown one. Burnt orange Born sandals (new last year; we won't go there). Beaded and sequined (with beaded fringe! bling-y!) sleeveless bright orange top, $5 sample from a tiny shop in the garment district in Manhattan (no dressing rooms, grouchy women proprietors--you don't try on, you just grab and buy). Olive cotton wrinkled (totally wrinkled on purpose) long jacket thing--very cool. And a totally fabulous orange and green glass bead necklace made by Roz Stendahl. And you thought she just painted and drew and taught color theory. Silly you. That woman can do everything.

Anyway. All of this is neither here nor there. I wanted to show you the gray sweatshirt (#2) you saw looking like this:

Too bland, too borning. Now it looks like this:

Then--finally!--we move on to #4, which I finished yesterday. It began as an olive henley. I wrote more about it over at CreateMixedMedia.com, where I'm writing about the process of working in a series, using these tops as an example. Sure, I know this isn't Real Art, but it makes talking about art seem less formal and intimidating to relate it to stitching. At least that's my hope.

So here it is:

And if you toggle back and forth between these two photos, it looks like I'm stitching. Endlessly amusing. Well, it is if you're me.

And now we're off to Dallas. Ft. Worth. The buzzing metropolis of Weatherford. With cows!

XO