I know y'all were dying to see an update on my latest cross-stitch project, the Peaceful Countryside scene by Charles Wysocki. So there you are. I've got all the cross-stitching done and started in on the backstitch and other details. I meant to take a photo when I finished all the cross-stitch, but as always I found a few areas that I'd forgotten along the way.

When I uploaded the photo from my camera, I noticed I took a photo exactly a month prior of my progress. I didn't think it would take me so long to complete this one because there are huge swaths of color in this project, which makes for a very quick stitch. But then Kurt was coming home early every day (and you'll hear no complaints from me!), and there were also days that I just didn't get around to stitching. I already have in mind the next one I want to do... Art will like it! But it's a surprise till I start it, so there.

Anyhow...

Don't worry, Fi... Kurt has informed me that the only cap he's going to wear with his khakis is his ship-issued ballcap. He really hates the garrison cap, which is the long fabric hat thingy (sort of like what soda jerks used to wear back when pharmacies had soda counters, but in fabric, not paper), but I think it looks pretty spiffy. The cap in the previous post is called the combination cap, and it's what my father wore, day in and day out, when he was in the Navy, since officers and Chiefs wear roughly the same uniforms.

The khaki uniform is actually a casual one; it's their day-to-day working outfit when they don't have to get dirty. If dirt is involved, then they wear their coveralls (here is a photo of Kurt [on the left] and his brother modeling their coveralls).

For more dressy occasions, they have their service dress blues and service dress whites. The Navy is the only branch in the US that has summer and winter uniforms; white is summer and blue (which is really black) is winter. Everyone hates whites because you look at them funny and dirt magically appears. Then again, Kurt is a dirt magnet....

Here's the service dress blues for a Chief:

They have even spiffier uniforms, like the dinner dress uniforms, and those are the pricey ones. But no, they don't pay for tailoring or altering or anything like that. We get an allowance every year for maintenance of the uniforms, as well as an allowance when someone makes Chief or is commissioned as an officer because it's quite expensive to get all new uniforms. That allowance is supposed to cover alterations and tailoring, like getting your pants hemmed or having your patches sewn on.

But the only "free" uniforms you get are when you show up to boot camp when you're a recruit.

That said, I'd rather have the patches sewn on like they are nowadays. Kurt's only been in 13 years, but that's long enough to see a major change in uniforms. When he was in boot camp, his dungarees (a chambray blue shirt with navy blue work trousers) had his name and everything else stenciled onto it, which didn't make for a very professional look. Also I believe at first they were still wearing the white "dixie cup" hat with the dungarees instead of a ballcap, and that dixie cup begins to yellow from the exact moment that you buy it. So it's a good thing that the regulations are changing.

My only concern is getting rid of whites altogether. I know everyone in the Navy absolutely hates them, but it's so sharp to see a ship pull into Hawaii or San Diego with its crew all in white, manning the rails. Plus it's what makes the Navy unique. The Army, Marines, and Air Force all have the same uniform year-round. Next thing you know, they'll be changing the rank-names to what the Army calls them! No more Admirals; next we'll have Generals, so we can all be the same. ;o)

I never can remember Army nomenclature. People will ask me what Kurt's rank is, and when I say, "He's a Petty Officer First Class" (soon to be Chief Petty Officer), they look blank and reply, "What is that in Army terms??"

Um. I don't know! Sergeant?? Tech Sergeant??? Who knows?? Who cares?? I'm a Navy wife; I'm not supposed to know!

I just looked it up on Wikipedia... A Petty Officer First Class is a Staff Sergeant; a Chief Petty Officer is a Sergeant First Class.

Now you know.