Thank you for all your comments, emails, text messages and phone calls.  In case you missed my recent disaster, you can read about it here.

BTW it was only one dress that got shredded.  A few people thought both dresses got eaten.

Jude’s (Happy Birthday, Jude!) comments:

What the “H” happened?  Somehow the dresses got to close to the big eater…and it gobbled them up.  How did you even manage to get them out??????  You could have lost an arm trying!  I am so sorry!!!!  You probably did a really good job on them and took special care and pressed every seam as you sewed.  This is a nightmare you can not wake up from!  Will you have to redo the entire back????? Will you have to get more material???????  BTW…any wine left in that bottle????

To answer her questions/comments:

1. The paper shredder is right next to the table I was using to display the dresses.  A pile of newspapers was on the table so I moved closer to the shredder side to avoid to possibility of ink rubbing off onto the dresses.  The simple truth is that I’m old enough to know better than to tempt fate (or shredders) and should have turned the paper shredder off myself before I got the dresses out.  Period.  The complex truth is that I’m a dumbass and full of pride so I didn’t think anything bad could happen.  We all know how that turned out.  Pride lost.
2. I held on to the dress for dear life and managed to pull it back out.  Adrenalin, baby.  The “reverse” button was right next to my hand but I didn’t think to press it.  I probably could have picked up my car with one hand with the strength it took to yank the dress out.
3. I ALWAYS take special care when I sew.  I hate to rip out any kind of stitching be it sewing, knitting, cross-stitch, or embroidery.  And yes, I did press every seam as I sewed!
4. After work (and dinner with Mr. Aitch) I stopped by the local Joann Fabric and guess what?  They still had the same fabric for the dress AND it was 60% off so I bought enough to redo the back.  Sometimes it is easier to start over than to repair.  Actually I’m keeping the original front.   I can still use the unshredded part for some other project so it’s not going to be wasted.
5. No wine but I had a beer with dinner.  Does that count?

One person told me I should have done bodily harm to the person who left the shredder turned on.  That would have just made another mess to clean up.

I will post pictures of the dresses when they are finished.  Buttons, matching bloomers and everything.  I promise.

Remember this picture of the yarn for my secret knitting project?

Blurry iPhone photo

I have finished the knitting part of my secret knitting project and have less than one yard left of the red yarn.  Cutting it close, heh?  But I still have to do the finishing.  That part always takes me so l-o-n-g.   I really hope to get that finished soon.