DIY #2

Remember the linen I said I bought while I was in Edinburgh? well the little pile on top of the photo with the rosebuds on are a set of 4 linen hankies. Did I say all of this already? I don't remember, so I'll say it again. I was thinking I could embroider each bridesmaids name on their hankie and pop it in their bag with some other things. So for once I thought I'd start a projct straight away rather than letting it sit in a box for a year. However, as my embroidery skills are generally mediocre, I wasn't going to put needle to linen straight away, I thought I should practice first, and heres the result.

Its a bit scratchy in places, but overall not bad? I think I might make the thread thinner for the real thing, I used some embroidery thread I had lying around to try this out, those ones where they come 6 threads together, I used 3 together for this so I'm going to take it down to 2 for the real thing. For anyone who wants to know, I printed off the name in a font I liked (scriptina - free from dafont ) pinned it to the back of the fabric once it was stretched in the hoop and traced it with one of those fabric pens that disappear after 24 hours, and then used back stitch to sew it. It wasn't rocket science but I'm quite pleased!

May you grow old together...

Every post I've thought about writing over the past few days has seemed rather trivial. The reason for this is that I've just realised (I'm slow, I know) that two of my favourite bloggers are much closer to their DATE than me, and are actually, properly getting married soon. I know this isn't my fault in any way, I just feel that posting about bits of lace, and flowery thoughts isn't really important. So I thought instead, I'd just send out my own personal early congratulations to them both. Tea and Whimsy and Accordions and lace are two very together ladies who have put so much thought and emotion and love into their weddings, that I know they will be just wonderful. I can't wait to see the pictures and news from your big day's - for A&L its 2 weeks away, T&W about 6 - and I just wanted to wish you both all the best. I hope married life brings you each much happiness!

p.s. trivial posts about lace will return, I promise!

Oh. My. Giddy. Aunt.

I just found this on Etsy. how amazingly beautiful is it? useless, in Cumbrian weather terms, but bea-uti-ful. yum. shockingly lovely.

parasol: lado on etsy

hydrangea update #2

The slowest, most boring update in the world, but I started so I'll finish. One bush is now almost entirely open. And oddly, two different shades. this photo, both heads are on the same bush, some a vivid electric blue, while some are lilac.

Unfortunately (for the wedding, not for the garden) some of the bushes seem to be lacecap hydrangeas, like the one below. pretty, but not useful.

So thats where I'm at. that and lusting after crazy cat ladys pinky red hydrangeas over the road. Now I'm on decent terms with her (she was feeding my cats for quite a while, even once she knew they weren't strays - I'm stupidly protective of my boys) I'm considering asking her if I can dead head her hydrangeas later in the year. last year they went an amazing red colour.

Mainly I'm just posting this so I can show of the pretty photos the new camera is capable of taking! I know no-one except me cares about the hydrangeas...honest...

Almost forgot...

Its so much easier to come home, when you have this to come home to :)

I'm baa-aaack...

We've eaten lots, drunk more coffee than I care to remember, and walked for miles. Thanks for your recommendations, we've been on wedding research trips, climbed very high monuments, meandered round the botanic gardens, met old friends, and I've shopped my little socks off.

I spent about an hour in a barnados vintage shop on the Grassmarket (thanks Peonies for the tip:)) going through a hamper of linens and lace talking to the lovely lady in there. I came out with this lot:

Most of its just because it was pretty. One or two of them, with pretty bits of embroidery on, I thought I could sew into pinnies with cute front pockets on, but the reason its on my wedding blog (yeah, I know I don't always talk about my wedding, but meh) is because I found this sweet set of four linen hankies with rosebuds embroidered on them. I thought I might embroider the bridesmaids names on them or something and put them in their bags maybe... (this list of DIY projects grows by the day!) and maybe do the fourth one for Mum. even if I don't, they'd be nice stocking filler one year...or another pinny...

I also went in Paperchase. Oh what a mistake. I can't cope with stationary shops, they're an addiction to me. I deliberated over my purchase in there for 2 days. I bought a linen covered photo album as a potential wedding album. The package we have with lillian and leonard is digital only, so we get lots of images, not in an album (which we like, this isn't a bad thing - before we were getting not so many pictures in an album) so I suddenly realised that I get to pick an album of my very own :) - I like photo albums. Cue looking at all those silvery shiny sparkly covers with 'wedding' and horseshoes and love hearts on the front.

No.

So I bought this.

I deliberated over these for quite a while like I said. they had different sizes and shapes and colours. I was very tempted by the purple, but like James said, the linen colour is more weddingy, and I might hate purple in 20 years. so I went with linen. The size was sort of decided for me by the shop, who only had it in A4 in the type of page I wanted, but it was cheaper than the massive square one, so I'm down with that. Like I think I said before, I want to do a sort of guest book thats incorporated afterwards into this album, so hopefully I can put messages from my aunt, next to a picture of my aunt - for example - So I wanted large enough pages that I could mess around with the layouts, and so that we can print up some of the images larger too if we want to. I actually had to ring my mum about this album, I must have sounded like such an idiot in the shop:

me: 'is it mad that I want to buy a photo album for the wedding 15 months in advance?'

mum:'no...'

me:' its just so pretty and nice and doesn't have horseshoes on. Do you think I should?'

mum: 'you're a big girl now, you can make this decision yourself'

me:'ok.....'

Seriously.

In my defence, its really pretty, and if I find an even better one before the wedding i can use this for my first babys album or something - now thats preparation.

Finally, we went to the shop in Morningside that I've been talking to about paper for the stationary. I expected James to do what he usually does when I enter a shop, and stand in the corner only offering opinions when expressly asked. but no, he offered them! he got involved, he took card of shelves and showed me it. I've had several sample packs from them - basically they sell papers and card, including a wide range of recycled papers, and ribbons, and tools, and envelopes, either just a sheets, or they do kits of stationary designs. They will cut/print for you, and the guy was generally the nicest most helpful person ever in a shop. So we ummed and ahhed for quite a while, picked up envelopes and put them down and so on. A groom came in who had apparently been in the day before doing what we were doing then, looked at us, and told us that he had spent 3 hours choosing theirs. That scared me. So we hurried up. We bought some card in cream and a sort of burgundy colour, a lovely insert paper which is apparently made in a bucket in india, so no two batches are ever the same (it was this fact that convinced us just to buy enough sheets there and then - he said he would return it anytime in the future if we didn't use it!!)and some envelopes in both colours.

We're going to make up some trial invites etc in the two colours to see what we like more. I was so chuffed James got in on this, he'd not been bothered before, but its hard to see paper online, so the shop was great. I can't recommend them highly enough, the service was great. If you're wanting to make your stationary yourself, give them a call.

So thats my trip to edinburgh in a weddingy nutshell. I had a wonderful break, but I'm glad to be back. more tomorrow I think.

me myself and I.

sorry I'm not being very communicative at the moment. theres a lot of things suddenly going on around me, and I'm taking my time to sort it all out in my head. These aren't bad things, in fact in the long run they're really good things, its just a shock to me right now. I'm not really able to talk about it yet, as its not my news to tell, so I have to keep schtum til the weekend at least. I also understand that not many of you will probably care, as despite posting lots of things that I like on here, and personal ideas, I've not given you anything of myself, which I think I should maybe rectify now. I don't know where to start, and I don't want to turn this into a diary entry, so I'll just tell you random things which come to mind about me.
I'm an only child.
I like cookery and home improvement programmes (Hugh fearnley-whittingstall might actually be an idol of mine)
We're trying to grow some of our own vegetables this year.
My cats are my babies :) until I have real babies :)
I love weaving because of the pattern, repetition and watching a cloth being created in front of me. But I hate my current apathy towards it all.
I could eat pudding all day long.
I'm keeping a scrapbook of pictures and samples for decorating our house with.
I hardly drink at all, but I love a pear cider. One gets me happily drunk.
I cry when I think about walking up the aisle to the altar.
Only one person in the real world knows I'm blogging.
I love pistachio and tiramisu ice cream when I'm in Italy.
I literally CANNOT wait for the new harry potter movie.
Last week I tried to care for a baby sparrow we found in the garden.
I like my steak rare.

Anything else? Answers on a postcard - the comments box will do - if you want more from me.