The postillion was struck by lightning

Today I gave myself a day off. And so did everybody else. Hooray! I think I earned it, since the last couple weeks haven't been anything but cursing. (And moving cattle. Which was really just more cursing, now that I stop and think about it.) So today I slept in and took a nap. Good combination, since my family now seems to be made up of human beings rather than demons.

The weather continues cold and rainy, which is great. No, really! It is. This means that my rutabagas will be storing up lots of energy for winter and getting hyooge. They are already heading toward baseball size, so by the first frost, they should be softball size. I thinned the row out a couple weeks ago, and they're delicious. After the first frost, they should be really sweet and at the height of their rutabaga perfection.

Unfortunately, all this rain also means that my tomatoes are splitting on the vine. So sad. They have to be thrown out, because the cracks invite bacterial and fungal growth. Bleh.

And now, some lists.

Wedding Stuff Left To Do

1. Put the zipper in my dress and hem it.
2. Wash and frame Rachel and Bubba's wedding gift, and knit potholders to match.*
3. Make ringbearer's pillow. Very simple. I could do this tonight and do the finishing while watching Mad Men and True Blood.
4. Make two or three little bags for the bridesmaids to put lipstick, ID, etc. into. I might not make one for myself, because I'm a rebel like that.
5. Wax my upper lip! Cannot forget to do this! I'd hate for Rachel and Bubba's kids to be looking through her wedding album and say, "Mommy, I didn't you had three brothers. Why is one of them wearing a dress?"

Crafting/Sewing/Blahdiblah To Do After Wedding

1. Start Mom's Christmas present. Must find a different verse to plop in the middle, since we are not at all religious and she doesn't like it.
2. Take measurements for chargirlgenius's FGD flat pattern-making exercise.
3. Make super-awesome black and white striped shirt that I do not have a pattern for, because apparently there are no patterns for what I'm planning. Three-quarter length sleeves, boat neck raglan fitted through the body. The fabric I have is knit, and I haven't decided if I want to do a contrasting collar band yet or not. I'm aiming for apache dancer or casual Jackie O. Neckline like this but fitted through the body and sleeves.

I have a couple knitting designs and some plans for a steampunk costume and a George Sand costume floating around, but nothing concrete. I wanted to wear the steampunk outfit to GeekCon in Madison, for my first con evar. I thought it was in October though, and discovered last week that it is the week after Rachel's wedding. So out of the question! I'm going to spend that weekend . . . sleeping. Not driving anywhere or doing anything more strenuous than cleaning or writing or knitting.

_{*At the beginning of the summer, I was all, "I'm going to knit them an afghan!" except I forgot what knitting afghans in 90-degree temps was like. No way! I don't love anybody to the point of heat exhaustion. The butterfly thingy matches their kitchen and Rach has five separate entries for potholders/dish towels on her registry, so I feel safe about these choices. I'm subbing three days this week, so I know I have time to knit some domino and/or entrelac potholders. Double knitting, maybe?}

Dear friends who have much more sewing experience than me (so pretty much everybody on my friends list),

What do you recommend for lining silk satin? (Oh, yes, we have decided on a fabric and my impatient sister is raring to order.) I think for the pattern* we're using, it doesn't need to be too substantial. So it's not like I need to break out the silk organza and cotton twill. I definitely don't want to use the terrible lining fabric they have JoAnn Fabrics, which would be like flinging holy water on a vampire (or a vampire on holy water, maybe?). All the bridesmaids dresses I've bought have had some variation on a lightweight poly even weave -- the good version of the hideous lining fabric.

Would a firm cotton be good enough? The skirt's unlined, and if I needed to line it for body, I'd flatline it, so I wouldn't need to worry about the skirt moving over an underskirt.

Hang a tick, my Vogue Sewing Book says that silk organza is a good lining fabric for silk satin. What say you, best beloved internet friends?

_{*Rachel agreed that bras were good ideas.}

ZOMG, everybody, I just got clearance from my sister to buy a bridesmaid dress for $30! And no dyed shoes! This is like every bridesmaid's dearest wish come true. Of course, there's a good chance that Ann Taylor will be all sold out of the dress I want to buy by tomorrow night when I order it. I hope not!

My sister and I are also tentatively attending the Janesville Ren faire. This means I need to make a mock-up of her bodice in time for Easter so I can fit it. I know the skirt will work out OK, because we're the same height and the skirt on the pattern I'm using was just right for me.

If I have time, I'll be sacrificing the burgundy velvet I was going to use for the Natural Form dress for a new Venetian. Why? Because the friend I was going to pal around with in Victorian dress is currently in China. Yes, China. This puts a crimp in our plans, you might say, especially since she won't be back until late August, and August is much too hot for velvet bustle dresses. (Apparently I'm OK with velvet Venetians in May, though. Let's not analyze this too much.) So I'm going to look for a pretty cotton voile or linen for a dress like this, and we'll do something while it's warm. Mmm, this means a little straw hat with delicate flowers.

Additionally, the raw milk debates are closed. No, the thread isn't, I'm just not going to argue with LHoD anymore, since he doesn't know enough about any of the issues in the thread to make it worthwhile. I did, however, call him a "marmot-faced tool," which I kind of hope makes his face turn purple with impotent rage. I can't wait to see what his response is! I bet he goes away thinking that he's won the argument, and says as much.

I'm glad WhyNot didn't continue to pop back in, because I generally like her. I'm not really surprised she'd be in favor of raw milk, given her hippy-dippy-ness, but I hope she's never tempted to give it to her little girl. That could turn out badly. :(

In closing, I reallyreallyreally love the song "Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac. Yet another thing my mommy has led me to like.

One last thing: I haven't been receiving comments on a LOTS of entries, so if I've ignored you in the past couple weeks, I'm sorry. It wasn't intentional.