Hey, look! I got a present!

Sister gave me a present this morning for no reason at all!  A giant felt acorn, and a dish to keep it in.

A grand luncheon

Last Friday our friend Carl was Chef of the Day, and invited David and me to attend a splendid lunch.  Carl planned and cooked the entire meal for 16 people.  It was splendid!  Here are some pictures.

First peek at the table

 

Carl created the centerpieces from materials in his parents' yard -- grapes, grape vines and hops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

End of Summer

 

 

 

 

Westport

 

 

 

 

  Leavenworth

 

 

 

 

Orchard and Vineyard

 

 

 

 

Mmmmm!  That was good!

 

 

 

 

The chef and his very proud parents

 

Monarch Dress

Today I finished my summer sewing!  This is the Monarch Dress (Vogue 8813).  Not finished as in completely done, of course.  I need to snip threads, tweak the neckline and find some light weight buttons for the pockets.  But I'm happy with it.  And glad to be done.

 

 

I kind of like the way the hem scallops in the front, although I don't think that's intentional.  I have to say that the smocking did not work well on this fabric -- it was impossible to mark, and the zigzagging puckered up so tightly that the pearl cotton couldn't be pulled.  So I faked it.

 

And here is a picture of my birthday present from my friend Pam, Heddie the Hedgehog!

 

 

This morning David got out our wedding album, so I decided to put up one of the pictures.  I can't believe how much hair we used to have!

 

 

 

 

 

Get with child a mandrake root

Funny, I just bought a book on John Donne yesterday, and today -- look what I found in the garden!

 

 

Of course, mine is a carrot, and very obviously a boy.  But what does that matter; impossible is impossible.

 

We also harvested potatoes this morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A pretty present for a new bride

Here are some more pretty things from Pam.  My favorite is the peach.  And also the pea.  Oh, and the carrots and radish.  Actually I love them all!

Meanwhile, I am working on "fit."  I took a Palmer Pletsch fit workshop in Seattle last week, taught by Nancy Seifert.  It was great!  I really learned a lot, even though I had taken fit workshop once before.  Now I'm putting the altered patterns in order, copying the sloper onto swedish pattern paper, and finishing the blouses I fitted in class.  Pictures soon!

Pam's newest blanket

Another pretty baby blanket, for a sweet little girl:

First harvest

Today we picked the first "fruits" of David's new garden.   Brand new baby vegetables!  And I planted the potatoes!

And yet to come -- corn!