Tis the Season for Stitchery: The Making of My Wedding Dress Update #2

Hello friends! I have some big news to share today—I have started beading the panels of my wedding dress. Which means that I've completed the stitching and I'm on to the fun part. I have realized that doing this sort of handiwork must sound so tedious to some, but the remarkable thing is that when I do this, I am so overjoyed with the outcome that I have to forcibly make myself get up and do something else!

The beading actually goes pretty fast, in comparison to how long it took me to stitch each panel- I think it's probably 2 hours to bead as much as I'm currently doing on each panel, which is nothing compared to about 10 hours of stitching on each panel. (This works out really well for me right now, when it's subzero outside and being busy with a needle and thread is the perfect way to spend a Sunday!). You might notice that I decided not to do the reverse applique—it just feels more like me this way. I love it.


I learned the basics of beading at the workshop, and I've consulted my Alabama Studio Style book a few times. But I also figured out a way to bead, by which I mean the actual orientation of them, on my own which differs slightly from the pattern of my design. I like how the smaller medallions look a bit like stars, and how the sparkles suddenly transform the dress into a Dress (or it will once it's put together). So exciting!

In other exciting news, my good friend Katherine gifted me a most amazing quilt last week. I was overwhelmed, to say the least, upon receiving it—what a remarkable thing it is to have something that she spent so much time on. I love that she has a quilt that I made for her, and I have one that she made for me. Somehow, it makes me feel like we don't live so far apart after all. The quilt is living in our living room so it's within arms reach when we need a bit of warmth.