Sign O' The Times

Thanks For The Wishes!

Thanks for all of the wonderful Happy Birthday wishes.  Patrick had a few gifts (a bracelet and necklace) for me when I got home.  I had a nice, quiet, and special day.

A Wedding in the Family

My brother, Gregory, got married Saturday, I had to get a photo of the sign in front of the church.

I think Greg and all the guys look great. The smallest one is my nephew, Donovan, who was the ring bearer. Lenny is another brother.

Here's Greg and Margaret at the ceremony.  They both look great even though the photo quality isn't.

Here they are jumping the broom.  It's an African tradition that used in many African-American weddings today.  The broom could standing for setting up a household or sweeping away the old.

I love this photo of my sister Lisa and our nephew, Donovan.  He's an active little guy who keeps my sister, Valerie and my brother-in-law, Ron busy.

You can check out more wedding action at the photo album.

Then and Now

Here's a photo of most of my family in July,1972.  Dig that wallpaper!

Front--Greg (6), Me (9), Lisa(4) , my cousin Junior, (8) and Lenny (4)

Back--Grandma, Larry(8), and Mom

We lived in New York City then.  Grandma and Junior, my mother's first cousin, came up to visit us from the South. I love how annoyed the twins are with Junior jumping in front of them. We had so much fun that summer.

The wedding was the first time that the six of us (Valerie was born in 1973) were together since my mother's funeral in 1996.  While it made us all sad Mom wasn't there physically, and some tears were shed, we could feel her spirit.  It was a lovely, if very hot day, and the ceremony was beautiful.

I've never seen Greg so happy.  I wish the best for Greg and Margaret in their new life.

Girls--Valerie, Me, and Lisa

Guys--Larry, Greg, and Lenny

Etc...Etc...

This weekend, I had to get this photo of  the statue of jazz great Dizzy Gillespie while I was home.  Gillespie was born in my hometown of Cheraw, SC.

I even managed to get some knitting and crocheting done.  I actually finished the Bonfire Shawl while in Cheraw. 

Here I am showing it off at tonight's Barnes and Noble meeting.

By the way, I'm wearing my orange Picovoli tee to match the shawl on purpose. Block as I may, the neckline won't stay flat, but otherwise, it turned out well. I need to rip out the row of single crochet and redo it someday.

It was a quick and easy crochet and the Koigu worked up beautifully.  I would have chosen my usual pinks and berries if it were for me, but I grew to like the colors more and more as I crocheted along.  I think Gay (the LYS owner) will love it, some knitters have already brought the pattern, and I may teach a class for it.

I'm also test knitting a sock for Beth with the wonderful watermelon yarn from Vicki. 

I'm ready to start the toe. It's looking great, and I'll have a photo next time.

Shop Not Drop

In local shopping news, part of the new Tanger Outlet near the coliseum will open this weekend. I prpobably won't go for a while, but I glad Charleston has one so I won't have to go to Myrtle Beach or Hilton Head to outlet shop.

Comments

[Laura]

Vera. I don't know how old you are but you look so young and so beautiful in the pictures showing off the bonfire shawl. What a great post showing your family and the wedding pictures. I just love it all. :)

[Brenda]

Weddings are so beautiful, thanks for sharing the pictures.
You look absolutely stunning in your new shawl!

[Erica B.]

Congrats to your brother! Did I miss a B'day? If so, happy belated!

[Sharon]

Oh I do love a wedding...even vicariously. And Vera...you are stunning in orange! You're probably stunning in a gunny sack, but make it an orange gunny sack. It's your color.

[Jessica]

Great family pics. :) The shawl is beautiful! How many skeins of koigu did you use?

[julie]

Congratulations and thanks so much for sharing the photos of the wedding party. (By the way, the bridesmaid dresses are lovely!)

The shawl is gorgeous, further strengthening my resolve to someday knit or crochet myself a shawl in Koigu. Those colors are fabulous!

[Bron]

It's wonderful seeing pics of your family. :) Congrats to your brother - they look very happy.

That shawl looks great on you!

[Beth]

The photo of Lisa with Donovan is priceless! What a ham he is! :) I love looking at old family photos.

[Emily]

Thanks for sharing the wedding pictures (Maragret's dress is wonderful - I love the lacy jacket layer)! And the Bonfire shawl is amazing! The colors really work well together and look great on you.

[Lisa]

Hey! I was at B&N last night, but I didn't spot ya. Probably cause I was there at 5. :-\ The shawls is just beautiful!

[wendy g]

Thanks for sharing the wedding pictures on such a special day. You look great in the wedding pictures and in the shawl.

[Paula]

Thanks for sharing the great wedding and family photos. That is a beautiful shawl. You do look nice in those colors.

[Julia]

Wow, Bonfire and the Tee look fabulous together. The shawl is really beautiful and the title fits! About the neck on the tee, perhaps you could try a Bonne Marie trick and sew some grosgrain ribbon to the back side to help manage the edge. It worked with all my Eyelet Cardis. Lots of fun family stuff, thanks for sharing. Oh, we hav ethe biggest (tanger) Outlet Mall in the US just south of Austin in San Marcos. I love it too much.

[Christina]

Happy belated birthday! The wedding pictures are fantastic. Everyone in your family looks so young and gorgeous! The shawl came out beautifully too. Beautiful colors.

[jess]

congratulations to your brother and his new wife! I love the wedding pictures. :)

I really like the shawl colors! it's going to the shop, right? I do think those colors look great on you though! :)

[VaxGirl]

What a beautiful wedding and great pictures! I did not realize you lived in NYC. We must have been neighbors. I was 15 in '72, going to Catholic School. My mom lived her entire life in Manhattan!

[Karen Carter]

Vera, I just love your family photos...they remind me of my own family. What a beautiful shawl. Can you tell me more about it; pattern source, yarn, etc?

[Cindy]

Hello Vera! A Happy (late) Birthday to you! I love the shawl - the colors are glorious.

Cindy

[margene]

Your family is beautiful! Love the pictures of now and long ago. The wedding looks marvelous, traditional and like everyone was so happy...just as it should be. May the bride and groom be happy forever.
You look great and the color of shawl is just smashingly beautiful on you! Nice work.

[Beverly]

You all look great and so wonderfully happy! Beautiful day.

Your family photos brought back great memories. We used to go to NYC for the summers when we were kids to spend the summer with out family.

The shawl is great with the bright colors. You look great in those colors.

[Pam]

But the real question is: Did ya knit at the wedding???? :)

[Dana]

Weddings are so awesome. Congrats to the families. Love the shawl! I might take that class if you do it. Been wanting to do some w-melon sox myself... they are so cute.

[Stacie]

Thank you for sharing all of the wonderful pictures. Your shawl is fabulous!! Congrats to your brother :)

[Karla]

Hi, Vera! I loved the wedding photos! It reminded me that I need to send a 1st Anniversary card to my own brother and sister-in-law who will be celebrating August 6th!

You know, I loved seeing the 70's picture of your family (forget the wallpaper...dig the clothing styles of that day!). To see you all "then" and then to see pictures of you "now", it's just mind-twisting to look back at that 70's picture and imagine those little girls grown up...little Lisa all grown up with her own child now, little Gregory all grown up and taking a wife, your other siblings grown up...wow. Also sad to see your mom in the 70's picture, but not have her in the present day pictures. That has to be hard for you. I assume your grandmother had passed away, too? And I wondered about your dad. It's just sad not to have the "older generation" around and realize that WE are becoming that "older generation" in families! Ack! (I'm only 38, so I'm not THAT generation yet. But I know it's around the corner.)

Thank you for sharing the lovely photos. There's nothing like a wedding to bring joy to life. Except the birth of a baby... ;-)

[Dorothy]

Beautiful family, beautiful bride and groom and especially beautiful you in your shawl. Those colors look great on you. You can just see the love oozing out of your family and Patrick's flowers are oh so sweet. You're a very lucky girl!

[Holly]

Congrats to Greg and Margaret! It looks like a wonderful wedding. It's very neat to see the 'then and now' photo.

Your shawl looks wonderful, I'm sure it'll be great on those first cool ('cause I don't think charleston ever gets cold, by most peoples standards) fall nights. :)

[Lisa]

Thanks for the "sock" side welcome LOL :)

[Theresa]

What a great post! I'm just winding down my hectic day, and it was wonderful to see all your pictures and read about your family. The shawl is gorgeous!
Which B&N are you in? I've been to the one in Mt. P. near the Chili's, but that's it.

[Alida Sharp]

what wonderful photos of the wedding! and I love the bonfire shawl it is simply gorgeous!

[Kelly]

Wow I actually feel like I was at the wedding! Beautiful pictures, and a really nice story that you shared. I was crying when I read how long it had been since you all had been together. It's nice that you were all there, and getting along. I love the shawl, and the colors you picked are very pretty.

[Sheri]

The shawl is gorgeous! The Bride and Groom look very happy, as does the little guy. I agree with others, that color looks great on you.
Enjoyed reading your blog. We're practically neighbors!
Sheri in GA

[Leslie]

Howdy Vera - I just came across your blog. I too live in the SC. (Greenwood). You live in one of my favorite places in SC. I don't get to visit often but I always enjoy mtyself when I do. Aren't families wonderful? The shawl is gorgeous and the color look fantastic on you.