except without the half-naked male models. and more personal

I come from some pretty crafty stock, and as luck would have it, I have married into a very talented family. You've seen a little of what Jon's older sister, M, can do, and I'm sure you've heard of Madelyn's craftastic endeavors. No? Well I'll let her share her stuff with you as she wishes, but know that it's pretty legendary, all across the country.

Three nights before our wedding, the apartment was a veritable sweatshop (Hello, have I EVER finished a project with time left to spare? Ok, that was only because everyone was on my case). Jon's immediate family from California and Ohio had flown in that day, so his sisters and Steve dropped in to lend a hand.

They got to work helping Jon and I get the escort card situation going, which in a shocking development was complicated (that's another several posts all together). But then Madelyn suddenly disappeared. Then M. Then A, and finally Steve. Apparently there was a convention going on in the bedroom and Jon and I weren't invited.

They were gone a LONG TIME. We were wondering if someone had fallen into a coma and the others were trying to revive him or her but didn't want us to be alarmed. Just what could they be cooking up in there?

His and hers personalized t-shirts.

Apparently, the iron-on lettering was NOT cooperating, and Madelyn had to call in for backup to try and get them to behave. They just couldn't get them to cooperate. So they decided to fill in the blanks with marker. How I would have loved to have taken a peek into the room and seen them all crowded over the shirts, scribbling furiously.

This is the most even coloring I have seen in a very long time.

Jon and I wore the shirts the next day; I had to change for my Mehndi party, but he kept his on. Not a single person made a comment about the shirt until I pointed out that my sisters-in-law made it and one for me. More than three people at the party remarked that they had just assumed the shirt came from somewhere like Abercrombie & Fitch because it looked trendy and distressed. I love that people think that, yet no one else would be able to buy anything like it anywhere.

Detail of the front upper left chest.