Three months to go!

It's three months until the wedding! I'm so close to being done with everything. We picked up our wedding bands today; they are prettier than I remembered.
I'm really hoping my wrists and thumbs will recover soon so I can get back to making the things I still need to make. I didn't mention it earlier, but I got done with my veil just about a week ago.

I found the same fabric my mom used to make her wedding gown when she married my step dad. She saved a sample of it and had brought it out when we were talking about what fabrics I might want my dress in. I am not using it for my whole dress, but I liked the idea of tying it to my mom somehow.
I sewed czech glass seed beads around the edges of the fingertip length veil, and along the comb as well. I made a similar veil for my dear friend Kasey for her wedding last September, but it didn't occur to me then to sew beads along the comb. She seemed to like it anyway. :)
Since I've been using every possible moment to make items for the wedding for the past 6 months or so, this self-imposed break has been strange for me, to say the least. I now find it really difficult to just sit and watch a movie, because I'm so used to having some "employment" as Jane Austen would say. (I'm reading "Sense and Sensibility).
I still need to make about 10 hearts, six bridesmaids' gifts, and two gifts for special people helping out.
I can't believe it's actually going to happen!

Eurgh.

I basically took the whole week off from crafting for the wedding, because I'm starting to get some pretty serious carpal tunnel symptoms. Before I gave in to my gentleman's urging to take a friggin' rest, I started stringing a long necklace for someone in the wedding who has been helping me a lot.
I started it back up today after I got off work, but as I was nearing the end of the very long string, I turned to the gentleman and said, "I'm starting to think this is ugly." As I was working, I was imagining giving it to this person. It wasn't going well in my head - I was begging forgiveness and telling the person they don't have to wear it to the wedding.
The gentleman agreed. It was an ugly piece.
So I'm trying to figure out something else, which, eh, kind of annoying. But I'd rather give nice things than give something I don't even like. I just have to figure out what I'm going to do - work with the components I have in a different way, or go in an entirely different direction.
It doesn't help that I just got done writing a story about a local jewelry maker who makes beautiful, meticulous woven pieces and I'm feeling somewhat (ok, rather) inferior. You can see her pretty, pretty stuff here.
I think maybe I got in too much of a hurry and got preoccupied with getting DONE rather than making gifts that I know I like and that others will like and wear.

Very bad, no good blogger

Sorry about the lack of posts lately! I have been a very busy little bee, with work and preparation for the wedding. I've got 95 hearts done, and I need only about 105, so I am much more relaxed about that. I have gotten several of the bridesmaids' gifts done, and I started on my veil. I am also working on design sketches for something for a couple special people who have been helping me a lot.
Today I picked up the flower girl baskets from the Amish or Mennonite lady I ordered them from. I am fascinated by the Amish and their ability to maintain a microcosm of "plainness" as they do. There are many Amish or Amish Mennonites in Southern Indiana, where my grandparents are from, and I recently discovered there are a fair number where I live in Illinois.
Esther and her husband have a small farm southeast of where I live. Their lifestyle is interesting to me. The Amish Mennonite church, like any other, has a multitude of differences throughout the world, so it's not like you can say, "All Amish don't use a telephone."
Ben, Esther's wife, was plowing their garden with a pair of Belgian horses when Dan and I showed up to pick up the baskets. I found that particularly exciting because my great-uncle Lawrence used to breed Belgian draft horses. They are beautiful, gentle animals that I can remember visiting as a child. My great-uncle also had a Chihuahua named "Half-Pint."
Anyway, that's kind of off topic, but what can you do. I am hopefully going to spend the rest of this weekend finishing my veil and being awesome.