I picked up a hire car yesterday, so I have a bit more flexibility for running around. There's a small army waiting for us at the Community Centre, ready to move, arrange and decorate. We're off!
Friday, January 14, 2011
It's Tomorrow
No time for chit-chat just now. We're off to set up the church and reception venue for the big day tomorrow. Here are my tablecloths all laid out and ready to go:
I picked up a hire car yesterday, so I have a bit more flexibility for running around. There's a small army waiting for us at the Community Centre, ready to move, arrange and decorate. We're off!
I picked up a hire car yesterday, so I have a bit more flexibility for running around. There's a small army waiting for us at the Community Centre, ready to move, arrange and decorate. We're off!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Bonus Find
One of the tasks I've taken on in the flurry of wedding preparations is organising the tablecloths. I figure that I may as well indulge my love of textiles while contributing to the overall effort. Having said that, the most efficient way of covering the dining tables for the reception was to buy several rolls of synthetic curtain fabric in the theme colours. Measuring and hemming those is not exactly an inspiring task, but that's fair enough. With that mission nearly accomplished, I turned my attention to the other surfaces that need to be decorated: cake table, gift table, guest-book table, etc, etc . . . I thought I was doing quite well, having collected a variety of cloths from various family and friends, when all of a sudden an extra three tables were added to the list: two of them an unusual oval shape. So the hunt for more cloths was on.
My friend D and I spent an hour or so last night systematically searching through every possible hiding place for cloths of any kind. D loves fine cloth and handwork and has quite a collection of lovely items, which are treasured, but rarely used. Amongst them is a lovely white damask cloth which we thought might work for the signing of the register at the church. We turned this place inside-out looking for it, but so far it has eluded capture. As a bonus, though, we came across this:
This indigo dyed cloth was a gift to the family from a Japanese exchange student. I couldn't resist pulling it out of the cupboard and enjoying it's complex beauty. I've done enough rough and ready shibori dyeing to appreciate the talent and effort that goes into creating something like this.
My friend D and I spent an hour or so last night systematically searching through every possible hiding place for cloths of any kind. D loves fine cloth and handwork and has quite a collection of lovely items, which are treasured, but rarely used. Amongst them is a lovely white damask cloth which we thought might work for the signing of the register at the church. We turned this place inside-out looking for it, but so far it has eluded capture. As a bonus, though, we came across this:
This indigo dyed cloth was a gift to the family from a Japanese exchange student. I couldn't resist pulling it out of the cupboard and enjoying it's complex beauty. I've done enough rough and ready shibori dyeing to appreciate the talent and effort that goes into creating something like this.Today I need to pick up a hire car and wine glasses for the reception. Hopefully I won't find water blocking my route as it's rather unfamiliar territory to me. I'm also going to drop by an old family friend's house to pick up some tablecloths from her collection. They may or may not fit the bill, but at least it will be fun to see what's there.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Wedding Outfit Revision
. . . and the rain came down and the floods came up! The bridge from which I took a pic of the flooded park for yesterday's post, was half under water by the time we went shopping yesterday morning and fully under by the time we were on our way home. Thankfully there's an alternative route.
The shopping trip started off as an expedition to get some gumboots and umbrellas for the bridal party. The hardware stores and other usual sources of such commodities are sold out and diverting any incoming supplies to the flood relief effort. Even so I had some fun and friendly conversations with various shop assistants as I rang around in search of something to keep the girls' feet dry. I've learned that gumboots belong in the "power gardening" section. After checking the availability (or not) of sizes, I was put through to the paint department to consult on ways to turn black rubber boots into something that could be used in a wedding photo. Silver spray paint seemed the obvious answer, but getting it to adhere to the boots was going to be a challenge. Then came the suggestion from Leon at one of the hardware superstores, that he'd seen some cute gumboots at an accessory shop when he was shopping with his girlfriend on Cup Day. I'm sure that sort of tip off is not part of his job description and I was suitably grateful. A few more phone calls and we'd managed to locate the store.
Unfortunately, this family has big feet and I was the only one who found something to fit me. I decided I couldn't pass up the opportunity to wear these on stage at the reception:
I may need to hold off on the cute "I Love Rain" brolly I picked up to complete the set, though it does have a very Melbourne black trim. I think I'm the only interstate guest, so maybe I'll get away with it.
The shopping trip started off as an expedition to get some gumboots and umbrellas for the bridal party. The hardware stores and other usual sources of such commodities are sold out and diverting any incoming supplies to the flood relief effort. Even so I had some fun and friendly conversations with various shop assistants as I rang around in search of something to keep the girls' feet dry. I've learned that gumboots belong in the "power gardening" section. After checking the availability (or not) of sizes, I was put through to the paint department to consult on ways to turn black rubber boots into something that could be used in a wedding photo. Silver spray paint seemed the obvious answer, but getting it to adhere to the boots was going to be a challenge. Then came the suggestion from Leon at one of the hardware superstores, that he'd seen some cute gumboots at an accessory shop when he was shopping with his girlfriend on Cup Day. I'm sure that sort of tip off is not part of his job description and I was suitably grateful. A few more phone calls and we'd managed to locate the store.
Unfortunately, this family has big feet and I was the only one who found something to fit me. I decided I couldn't pass up the opportunity to wear these on stage at the reception:
I may need to hold off on the cute "I Love Rain" brolly I picked up to complete the set, though it does have a very Melbourne black trim. I think I'm the only interstate guest, so maybe I'll get away with it.By the time we'd tried on the boots and chosen our matching umbrellas, the situation was starting to look more serious. Shops were closing, mobile phone coverage was dropping in and out and we'd received a message that the bride and groom's home was to be evacuated. As it turns out, their place seems to be safe, though other areas in that suburb are on alert. Our focus switched quickly to stocking up on food supplies and getting home while we could.
I haven't turned on the news yet this morning. The constantly repeated images of raging waters, smashed cars and distressed people from the flash flooding in Toowoomba were really hard to take yesterday. It takes so long for real news to come through and filtering out useful information is difficult. I'm going to try to stay up to date today without overloading my coping strategies. Meanwhile there are still plenty of pretty wedding tasks to occupy me. The combination is really strange, but that's the way it is.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Photo Opportunity
It's raining heavily. We've woken to the news of severe flash floods in Toowoomba and other centres west of Brisbane. It feels very strange to be planning such a joyous event in the midst of this sort of devastation. Yesterday the picture was a bit more lighthearted--at least locally:
This riverside park was one of the possible locations for picturesque photos of the bridal party. When we drove past yesterday it was well and truly flooded. One half of the road bridge will most likely go under, but there is another bridge with a higher profile which will ensure that traffic, including the wedding cars, can get through. We are safe and sound and able to adjust our plans to the changing weather conditions, but others are not so fortunate.
This riverside park was one of the possible locations for picturesque photos of the bridal party. When we drove past yesterday it was well and truly flooded. One half of the road bridge will most likely go under, but there is another bridge with a higher profile which will ensure that traffic, including the wedding cars, can get through. We are safe and sound and able to adjust our plans to the changing weather conditions, but others are not so fortunate.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Essential Items
On the sidelines of the general preparations for the wedding, we've been setting aside items for an emergency kit: bits and pieces which might be required at short notice to patch up members of the bridal party on the big day. My big blue umbrella won't be a just in case item, though. 
I felt a bit silly bringing it with me from Melbourne, but as it turns out, it hasn't stopped raining here for weeks. In amongst all the other activities yesterday, there was the constant humming of the clothes dryer. I tried hanging out a few things that were nearly dry under cover, but soon found that they were gaining rather than losing moisture from the saturated air. I joked a while ago that I should find some matching gumboots for my wedding day outfit. Now I'm seriously considering that possibility. Thankfully there's no sign of any local flooding, but things are certainly very wet.
I felt a bit silly bringing it with me from Melbourne, but as it turns out, it hasn't stopped raining here for weeks. In amongst all the other activities yesterday, there was the constant humming of the clothes dryer. I tried hanging out a few things that were nearly dry under cover, but soon found that they were gaining rather than losing moisture from the saturated air. I joked a while ago that I should find some matching gumboots for my wedding day outfit. Now I'm seriously considering that possibility. Thankfully there's no sign of any local flooding, but things are certainly very wet.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Other Duties
I'm at a friend's house deeply involved in the last couple of weeks of wedding preparations. I expected my duties would mostly involve textiles and papercraft--as well as lots of talking, laughing, planning and various forms of organised chaos. What I didn't expect was this: 
The band for the wedding ceremony and reception is meeting to rehearse today. Last night--well after my usual bedtime--J was struggling to get the music together for them: piano, guitars and electric bass. J and her Dad are both guitarists of some talent. J reads music some, her Dad (A) not at all. I, on the other hand, couldn't play more than one guitar chord to save my life, but I do have some musical training and a fair bit of experience with Church music--in a former life, some dozen or more year ago! Without getting too technical, let's say we had the hymn for the piano and congregation in sheet music, without chords. The rest of the band needs chords, which in theory can be worked out from the sheet music. That was my challenge, but before tackling it from first principles I decided to approach my good friend Google. That provided a partial solution. Instead of working out the chords from scratch, all I had to do was transcribe them from one form to another and go through some detailed cross-checks to make sure it was all compatible. Then I held up the music in front of A and sang it through a couple of times while he picked his way through what I'd written out. We decided it sounded good enough.
In other news: I've been asked to be MC for the reception. That will involve crafting of a different kind . . . I can't wait to see what else will come up in this last week!
The band for the wedding ceremony and reception is meeting to rehearse today. Last night--well after my usual bedtime--J was struggling to get the music together for them: piano, guitars and electric bass. J and her Dad are both guitarists of some talent. J reads music some, her Dad (A) not at all. I, on the other hand, couldn't play more than one guitar chord to save my life, but I do have some musical training and a fair bit of experience with Church music--in a former life, some dozen or more year ago! Without getting too technical, let's say we had the hymn for the piano and congregation in sheet music, without chords. The rest of the band needs chords, which in theory can be worked out from the sheet music. That was my challenge, but before tackling it from first principles I decided to approach my good friend Google. That provided a partial solution. Instead of working out the chords from scratch, all I had to do was transcribe them from one form to another and go through some detailed cross-checks to make sure it was all compatible. Then I held up the music in front of A and sang it through a couple of times while he picked his way through what I'd written out. We decided it sounded good enough.In other news: I've been asked to be MC for the reception. That will involve crafting of a different kind . . . I can't wait to see what else will come up in this last week!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Getting to Know You
I've got a lot of sewing to do in the lead up to the wedding. I'm staying at my friend D's place--in her rumpus/sewing room to be exact. She and I have a long history of making things together so I'm quite familiar with her old sewing machine and overlocker. Unfortunately, her old overlocker is no more, and she hasn't got a replacement yet. Enter D's friend P. P brought her overlocker over for me to use. It's a Huskylock, 4-thread. Similar enough to the Janome I have at home to do the basics, but the controls are all in different places.
Having done that, I've got the overlocker working happily with me on ordinary seams. The skirt I'm making for the wedding, though, has a silk chiffon flounce. I'd like to do a rolled hem to finish it off nicely. So far I haven't managed a nice narrow hem with the Huskylock. I'm hoping to get hold of a manual in the next few days and see what I can manage. Failing that it will be back to the ordinary sewing machine's rolled hem foot--and a fair bit of practice for either D or me to get that hem looking as neat as possible. Meanwhile, there are more tablecloths to be cut and stitched. That's straightforward sewing and a great way to get familiar with new machines. I've also promised myself a creative break some time today. I've got some pretty paper and stamps and I'd like to make a Wedding card before things get too crazy here.
My first step when getting to know new machine is to thread it up from scratch. This time I used four different colour threads. That way it was easy to see which tension dials needed to be adjusted. 
Having done that, I've got the overlocker working happily with me on ordinary seams. The skirt I'm making for the wedding, though, has a silk chiffon flounce. I'd like to do a rolled hem to finish it off nicely. So far I haven't managed a nice narrow hem with the Huskylock. I'm hoping to get hold of a manual in the next few days and see what I can manage. Failing that it will be back to the ordinary sewing machine's rolled hem foot--and a fair bit of practice for either D or me to get that hem looking as neat as possible. Meanwhile, there are more tablecloths to be cut and stitched. That's straightforward sewing and a great way to get familiar with new machines. I've also promised myself a creative break some time today. I've got some pretty paper and stamps and I'd like to make a Wedding card before things get too crazy here.
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