Photos of 'The' Wedding

Marc and Alix had planned this for months right down to the minutest detail and the planning showed.  the day was excellent with lots of love, laughter and fun.  The setting was idylic in an Arts and Craft style house overlooking Windermere.

View of the lake from our bedroom window and of the house from the garden.

Not sure who was the most nervous as they waited for Alix to arrive.

She didn't keep them waiting long and grinned her way down the aisle.  Her father looked as proud as punch.  Sorry the photos is a bit blurry it was a difficult shot as everyone wanted a photo of her.

Signing the register;

The happy couple relax a little now that the formal part is over.

The bridesmais Joanne and Michelle looked beautiful too.

Didn't they scrub up well, the four men in my life - from left to right, Marc, Keith, Syand Matthew.

Me, Keith and the dratted fascinator.  I am just the right height to poke the feathers into peoples ears and eyes.  I took it off as soon as the formal photos were finished much to the relief of anyone standing next to me.

Simon and Julie, Sy looked much happier now that he'd given his speech he could relax.

Cutting the chocolate wedding cake.  Two friends of Alix made the cake, one tier is the traditional fruit cake the other two are sponge cake, one chocolate and one vanilla.  The photo doesn't do it justice but it tasted delicious and most of it was eaten only a small amount was left to take home.  We've just had a piece with a cuppa.

Marc relaxing  on the terrace with Alix and below with Matty, think the alcohol might have helped a bit.

The day ended as beautifully as it started. 

Where does all the time go?

So what have I been doing to loose all this time - well baking for a party of 80+ guests.  My son's partner Julie turned 30 on the 14th August and she had never had a party so Sy, Julie'smum and myself set off to bake.

This was only part of the days work I ran out of storage space and ended up putting stuff in my sewing room.

But the big smile made it worthwhile.

That was on the Saturday on the Sunday we had a BBQ for the rest of the family that couldn't make the party so it was a non-stop weekend.  

On the following Wednesday we set off for two days at the FOQ.  The show was wonderful, I was of course, far to late to book a workshop but I did get into Maggie Grey's lecture on 3D embroidery.  It was very entertaining and I enjoyed it but wished they'd been less of other peoples work and more of Maggie's.

Now anyone who knows me knows that I don't particularly like rusted fabric.   However, the display of rust work from the Prague Patchwork group was absolutely magnificent.  It was so astonishing that I bought their CD.   This is a sample of their work.

And now for a photo of my new Baby......

 The Accuquilt.  It works a bit like the card makers' Sizzex machine with metal die cutters punching out shapes from fabric.  I hope to do great things with it. Keith says its my birthday, Xmas, Easter and all the Saint days presents rolled into one for the next five years.  We'll see.... but I love it so far. Two days aren't not enough to do justice to the show but my poor suffering dh, feet and pocket had had enough

To day is mine and Keith's birthday, yes its the same day.   I got the Accuquilt as my main present and Jan Messant's new book "Celtic, Viking & Anglo-Saxon Embroidery" for my birthday.  Keith got a bandsaw which doesn't arrive until next week.   The book is lovely, very well written and illustrated, so much so that I sat down and read it from beginning to end in one go, very unusual for me I'm the 'dip into' type.

Tomorrow evening the family (well at least 12 of them) are gathering for  our birthday dinner at an inn in a nearby village.   Keith and I are looking forward to that all I have to do now is finishing the washing, ironing and tidy the house before all the guests arrive.

"The" wedding is also getting close, final suit fitting tomorrow as well as the family dinner.

I trailed all over town looking for suitable headgear to go with my wedding outfit and couldn't find anything suitable.  But within an hour of walking into the FOQ I  found Janie Lashford'smillinery stall, how appropriate was that.  We had a long discussion on styles and tried on several fascinators finally settled on this kit .  Now all I have to do is make it before next Friday when we set off for the Lake District for the wedding on )Saturday.  On the Sunday (the 5th) it will be our RubyWedding but I doubt we'll celebrate as I really need a rest.

At last bought my dress for 'The' wedding

It's take me ages to get round to buying an outfit for Marc and Alix's wedding next month but at last I've done it.  Typical me I found it when I was looking for something else.   Strictly speaking I didn't find it the kind shop assistant ran round in circles looking for suitable dresses for me.  I was looking for a suit but ended up with longish silk dress with beads round the neckline (just discernable in the photo) and round the edges of the cap sleeves.   I also bought a short cream collarless jacket which turns it into a wedding outfit fit for the mother of the groom.  This morning I had to go back into town to buy suitable underpinnings, shoes and bag to match the outfit.  Alix is relieved I've finally got an outfit, she had an image of me turning up in jeans, tshirt and flip flops.

I turned my first attempt  lino cutting samples into a book cover.  I covered one of the 49p plastic folders Sainsburys sell for their recipe cards.  They are just the right side to store postcards,  They have two slots cut in the front cover of the ring binders which act as a lock so the book doesn't open out.  I've covered quite a few in the past and have several of them filled with fabric postcards.   I bought six on Saturday to take to our next Dippy Day later this month where we are all going to make a book cover using different surface design techniques.  Should be interesting and will post pictures if I get the chance.

This is my next project for stamping fabric.  Our lesson objective was to make a stamp with movement this one started off as bark but not sure what it'll turn out like.

More goodies from the postman, the two postcards are from BQL's monthly challenge and the single one from Art4Mail.   BQL's July challenge was to make a postcard, think August's challenge is a lap quilt.  The Art4Mail challenge I spoke about in an earlier posting.   Helen and Jo's cards are very different, Helen has concentrated on feather quilting Jo on raw edge applique.   Gwyneth's challenge techniques for her card were 1, painted fabric with silk or watercolour paints, 2 pleated fabric, 23geometric block 4 quilt with a curved line and 5th couching.   Hasn't she done well.

I'm going to theFOQ....

I didn't think I'd be able to make the FOQ this year with 'The Wedding' coming so close but we rearranged our timetable and are taking a couple of days out to go.   I'll be there on Thursday and maybe Friday if anyone else will be there those days. 

I've been saying for some time that I needed to sort out my threads.  I keep them, colour coded, in plastic boxes but the boxes are overflowing.  Everytime I need a thread I end up in a tangle of threads because I'm too lazy to wrap them up properly when I put them back.   Keith sorted me out though - he's made me these two thread racks and I spent hours yesterday playing with colours.  Problem is I still have at least half my threads still in the boxes but at least they don't have loose ends anymore.   I can now see at a glance whether I have the right colour or now.

Large Rack (144 threads) embroidery threads.

Small Rack with cotton threads

Blog comments

Not sure whether other bloggers get comments in a foreign language but if so do they know how to translate them.  I'd be grateful if someone would tell me how to interpret the ones I get as I'm not sure whether they are good, bad or indifferent and its frustrating.

Jan's rose is in full bloom and smells as good as it looks.  Don't know what its called we dug it up from her garden when she went into care and the house had to be sold.   I thought it had died because we moved it at the wrong time and last year it got moved again when Keith got his new shed.  This year however all is well.

I've now had time to play with my lino cutting tools and actually finished the first lesson and made a start on the second.  

This was the first lesson where we just made marks on the lino.  I found it really difficult to make circles but have now got a new cutter so hope this will make it easier next time.

My printing still leaves a lot to be desired the silver leaf is very blotchy.  The - wait for it... "artists monogram" well that's what Dijanne Chevaal calls it is also a bit blotchy but I'm sure I'll do better next time.  I tried using acrylic paints to transfer the stamped images to fabric but not all of them were successful.  I found the screen printing inks I had worked better.

I saw this link on Elizabeth Creates blog and thought It looked the sort of thing I could do while watching tv or travelling so I set off to make the basic pillows.   I actually finished one but I'm not comfortable with unfinished seams, guess its being brought up with a grandmother who liked the back of things to be as good as the front.  I haven't really learned to loosen up so my pillows have all the seams inside the pillows.

I'm going to do some quilting on them, perhaps embroider the odd flower etc then think of how I'm going to join them.  I like the idea of an art journal cover and will probably make a few signatures to include within the covers.   Watch this space.

Been buying books again

I just couldn't resist Jane Dunnewold's new book 'Art Cloth' when I saw it advertised, then I saw Inspired to Stitch, Digital Quilting, Art Quilts and the list went on.  I drew the line at these four.  As yet I've only browsed each book but they look interesting.  Inspired to Stitch has some really beautiful photos of work from twentyone artists.  I think I'm going to enjoy reading them all.

I have also done a little sewing.   When all the excitement of the World Cup was on I loved the 'Rainbow' countries theme and decided to make a journal page using the colours of the rainbow.   I had a 'brights' jelly roll and chose the seven colours from it and started cut it up into strips.  It sort of grew on its own.  In my mind the colours would blend from one corner to the other but it didn't turn out like that.  There wasn't really enough of any one colour in the jelly roll to do this so I just sewed the strips together.   When it was assembled it looked like a dogs dinner, very disappointing so I cut it again, diagonally.  Then again in wavy lines.   Naturally as I reassembled the pieces none of the lines matched up because there wasn't any seam allowance.   The resultant rainbow piece was too big for a journal page so I cut it again, this time in half and made a cushion.

I took these photos late evening so they don't look quite as bright as they actually are.  I'm showing both sides of the cushion here. 

Keith also has been busy making thread stands.  One of my friends asked if he could make her one like her husband had bought her, then another friend also wanted one so I thought I might as well ask for one too.
Here's the result.

They are made from elm and each spindle is slightly different.  It was a learning experience for him but we did ask him to alter the top on the one on the right hand side.   It was much fuller and rounder and looked a bit rude!!

I've received several goodies through the post this week:

This Art4Mail group are running a creative challenge swap are running whereby you choose 5 numbers from 1 to 50 and you are issued with a technique to match your numbers.   This is Charlie Davidson's card who chose 1, 7, 17, 27 and 37 her techiques were piece something, pleat/origami something, ribbon or trim, something organic and unusual textures.   I'll leave you to sort out which bit relates to which technique but I will tell you the organic bit is pumpkin seeds underneath the crochet.

The same group are running two continuous atc challenges one based on colour and the other the alphabet. I've completed only two of them, Red and L is for.

My Red cards (left) are red fabric covered in red sheer, quilted in red metallic thread.  Red trim was then applied and I embroidered red stalks and attached pink flowers.   My "L is for" card is L is for line.   I stitched lines of embroidered on the background, stitched a line of ribbon down with embroider, the angelina was embossed with a swirling line to which lines in various directions were then added.

I've signed up for two quilting course one in August with Dijanne Cevaal and one in September with Faye Labanaris.  I'm really looking forward to these.  One other course, which has already started, that I'm doing is Lino Cutting with Dijanne Cevaal.  I'm a bit late in starting as it has taken me ages to find the correct materials for the course but they have now arrived and next time I hope to show you some fabrics stamped with my very own stamps.

Whitby weekend

This weekend I'd arrange to meet my friend Sylvia and her husband in Whitby.  The four of us have lunch together every couple of months but this time we decided to take in the Queen Bee Quilt Show inWhitby with lunch.   On Friday Keith announced that he thought it would be a good idea to go down a day early and have some relaxation time before the show.  I quickly booked us accommodation in a pub in the old town of Whitby and shoved some overnight stuff in a bag and we left.   It was a glorious ride over the moors, the weather had been beautiful for some time now but it looked as though we could have rain soon.   In case of rain we packed waterproofs, sweaters and boots.   Naturally it was a heat wave...

We had to park the car down near the harbour as there isn't any parking in the old part of Whitby.  The old part is typical fishing village type with narrow winding, cobbled streets with alleyways (snickles) leading off to other narrow, winding, cobbled streets.  When we found the pub I was delighted to see that it was the one photographed to use in my 'Green Door' journal page for the Contemporary Quilters challenge in 2008.

We were at the top of the pub, some three storeys high again fairly typical burgerage type properties with narrow fronts leading to long narrow buildings behind.  We looked down on Church Street and across to the Butter Market whose bell rang every hour!!  We decided to walk down to the pier before finding some food but we left things a bit late as all the restaurants, cafes and pubs stopped serving food around 9pm.  It had been such a lovely evening we'd lost track of time.  Even though it was getting late there was still a queue of people waiting to be served at the famous Magpie cafe.  Unfortunately they had bookings, we didn't so we settled for fish and chips from the local chippie, which were delicious.  A stray cat also enjoyed some of our 

fish as did the seagulls. 

We checked the car in the morning to see how many parcels the seagulls had left us and found none, much to Keith's relief.   The small fishing boats were just heading out with customers for some fishing.

We had a couple of hours to spare before meeting and pottered round Whitby looking at the shops and up the winding alleyways to our hearts content.

Naturally you can't come to Whitby and not see the 199 steps up to St Mary's Church and Whitby abbey or the whalebone arch

at the top of the West Cliff. 

By now the temperature was rising and we were really feeling the heat.  Some people had the right idea and were swimming in the river.

It always amazes me that flowers can grow in some of the most unrewarding surfaces.  We saw these blooming on the sides of the steps leading down to the beach near the pier in the photo above.

We headed off to the pier for an ice cream and a drink before going to the quilt show.  Now I like piers but have the parts that are planked as I'm always afraid they'll move and I'll fall through.  Seeing the sea below always makes me feel a bit dizzy so I avoid them. They do however give me ideas for designs.

The quilt show was small but really interesting and all the quilts and wallhangings were really beautiful and very well made.  There were a few traders so naturally I had to buy more fabric.  I bought three Jelly Rolls, I know I wasn't going to buy any more but I just love the colours when they are altogether like that.  I have absolutely zero resistance.  Wendy and I spent a couple of lovely hours browsing, purchasing and talking to old friends.  However the heat in the hall became unbearable to us and two hours was as much as we could cope with.  We met up with the boys and set off to walk down the cliff side to enjoy a lovely lunch of, yep you've guessed - fish and chips.  Nowhere does fish and chips as good as Whitby.