theraineysisters knitting and so much more

Sally is travelling and I have the summer doldrums, so not much to post.  I did start a new discussion thread on The Rainey Sisters Ravelry group though — called Knitters that Sew.  A lot of us do both and a conversation in another thread turned so much to sewing that we decided it deserved its own discussion.  Now THAT thread is talking about knitting!  Go figure…

Anyway, I was going to share this story in that thread, but thought I might as well tell it here, too.

We adopted our second daughter in the summer of 1995.  It was the most wonderful summer of my life!  I took the whole summer off to be with the new baby, and had my 5-year old daughter to help.  We had so much fun, and it was a special time I will always treasure.

Hanging at home gave me time to do the crafting stuff that I love.  I came up with an idea to make a Moon and Stars jacket – a black velvet jacket adorned with lamé celestial bodies: moon, sun, stars, comets, planets, etc.  To say it was “over the top” is an understatement!!

I decided to enter it in the Minnesota State Fair along with several knitted items.  It won a blue ribbon – yay!  I also won the sweepstakes for my St@rm0re Jacket, Eris0rt.  Because I was off all summer, and the fair was incredibly cheap back then, I took the girls several times throughout its ten-day run.

We would hang around the fair, eat corn dogs, and go visit my entries in the Creative Activities Building.  Bliss.  One very busy day, we were in the CA Bldg walking next to the case where my velvet jacket was displayed.  It was so crowded that we were creeping along in a slow line looking at the entries.

The woman next to me said to her friend [about my jacket], “That is the most hideous thing I have ever seen!!”  Right about then my oldest daughter said, “Look!  There’s your jacket, Mama!!”  The woman turned to me and said, “You made that, didn’t you?”  “Uh huh.”  She was horrified and embarrassed, but I told her that I knew it wasn’t for everyone and that she had made my day!  I got a huge kick out of it and it still makes me laugh.  Of all the people to be standing next to!

I also learned NEVER to say anything bad about anything on display at the Creative Activities Building within earshot of anyone else!!  You just never know!!

PS to Stashdragon: I wore the Eris0rt Jacket as my main winter coat for years!  It started to wear thin on the left shoulder where I’d hang my purse.  Now I only wear it occasionally to keep it from wearing out.  The velvet jacket does not get worn as often, to be honest!! 😉