Little pieces

Felt.

I made this large piece two years ago.  

 It had lovely areas of overlapping colours and I knew I wanted to stitch it. 

But its too large a piece with too many similar sized areas for an overall design.

I've been looking at it for ages wondering what to do with it. So I cut a little square off it and set to work.

Perhaps theres a bit too much stitching..but still...its only a start.

 I like the details.

The colours speak to me of my childhood home. 1950s colours.

So after the first one I tried another.

Just four inches square.

I like this better.

I left more empty space where the 'joy' of the woolly combinations  is visible.

I have a lot more squares cut ready to sew. A close up shows why I love felt.

Here are two I did a couple of weeks ago,

Sorry the details are the wrong way up.

Each of these pieces is about 4 inches square. 

My mood is much better this week. Thank you for all your comments. It wasn't the hot weather making me low, I love it these days, (but not too hot)  Its just because my husband is working away a lot for all the summer so we can't go and paddle in the sea. When the weather is lovely it just underlines it.

My finger is still sore..arthritis. Old age.

Anyway ....this coming weekend , for the very last time ....

ART AND GARDEN.

Millbarn, Goosefoot Close, Samlesbury Bottoms, Saturday and Sunday. 

Its a super garden with artists and crafts people, refreshments, the river, and I've been having a stand there almost from the start about 10 years ago. It will be sad not to go again. Its been fantastic. Lets hope for good weather .

Its your LAST CHANCE to attend!

So I've been quite busy getting ready for that, but not as busy as I should have been. 

Our embroidery group who meet in the studio at Millbarn, are having an exhibition in four and a half weeks and my pieces are not yet made. I have one or two things available but in the absence of a theme I can't really decide what to exhibit. I certainly have to make at least two more. I should be in  a panic but I'm not. 

I will be in two weeks when nothing has changed....

Normal service

After the incredible excitement of all the flowers and the wedding last week, I've been quite calm this week. 

I have a sore finger..maybe from cutting stems? 

Its very swollen and painful and I wish it would go down. 

I put an order together for The Found Gallery, Dunbar. 

It was rather overdue so I was glad to get it off to them.

A few hearts

 and some 'flames' of various kinds,

some pastel paisleys

and three of my 'sprig' brooches. More expensive, very time consuming.

 I must say a big thank you to everyone who commented on my last post. I am well aware that I didn't reply to very many and I'm sorry. Some are 'no reply' 

All the comments are read and enjoyed and very welcome. 

Its strange how as temperatures soared my mood  plummeted.

Ah well. 'This too will pass'.

Swings and roundabouts.

Floribundaceous

When our friends told us about 18 months ago that their daughter was getting married in Samlesbury Hall in May 2013, I offered to help decorate the hall if they would like me to. 

So from then on I thought of flowers a lot! Last year we all went off to the wholesaler to decide what we might like, Anna wanted lilac and lime. 

A year later and here we are. By this time I was committed to everything floral for the wedding, bouquets, buttonholes, corsages table centres, top table decoration.

I had many sleepless nights beforehand. I suppose my lack of professionalism made it difficult for me to judge certain things, especially quantity. I probably used too many flowers!

On Wednesday morning I drove to the wholesalers about 20 miles away (its the only one anywhere near who will allow non-professional florists to shop there) and picked up the ordered flowers. I nearly fainted when they said they hadn't got all I'd ordered, but they said they'd deliver the next day.

So I was up early the next day for the delivery.

Very early! In fact it was a time I thought there was only one of in a day .

I leapt in at the deep end and started the big important ceremony and  top table arrangement.

It was big and has a lot of flowers!

Many pictures: on the kitchen table......

 ...close up.....................lovely spray roses....

 ....viburnum...tricky woody stuff.......

 and a photo in the garden.  My garden has never had so many blooms in it!

 

Next job, the table centres.

We'd bought cream enamel jugs for this and I had no idea how they'd turn out but I waded in.

Here they are outside 

I was thrilled with them. But I had a ton of 'material leftover and I knew I wouldn't use it up in the little stuff so I filled up two old wine boxes for outside.

At three o'clock I filled my car with great difficulty, it was a squash, and drove to the hall.

I took the shortest route down country lanes where the cow parsley was almost above the hedges, the oak trees were in full spring growth and the fields were filled with buttercups. 

The sun was shining too for a change.

This is not my car but on this occasion it would have been useful.

I put the 'big' arrangement on the table in the chapel where I have to admit it looked fabulous. Such a relief.

Here's the grand hall before the 'do'. Samlesbury hall is one of those places that has an atmosphere of its own, just perfect in its Elizabethan 'rightness'

The big wine boxes went by the door. Another friend, Jenny, had made swags above the door and over the table in the chapel.

The jugs had to sit in a little quiet room until the next day with all the tablecloths and napkins.

Then I drove home and made a start on the buttonholes, corsages and bouquets.

I was delighted ( again!) with the way the bouquets turned out. 

The brides was white in the middle and lilac and green around the edges with spiky Veronica poking out. It was VERY heavy. I should have warned Anna not to throw it as it would have killed someone! It stood up all by itself. I'm sure a professional florist could have made the centre a bit more prominent but it didn't matter. Viburnum, ranunculus, lisianthus, hypericum, spray roses, veronica, statice, all went well together.

The bridesmaids were wearing green and their bouquets were slightly smaller with predominantly green centres and white edges. 

I finished them next morning with organza ribbon and pearl pins .

And guess what? I forgot to photograph the buttonholes (6 and a spare) or the corsages (three and a spare). 

I went to bed at just after midnight.

The plan the next day was to take these things to the men who would take then to the hall in a taxi but when I called there I offered I drove them to the hall.

It was lovely to be there and it gave me a chance to see what the tables looked like with the jugs. I only had my phone with me so the pictures aren't great.

I popped into the chapel where the staff were just decorating the chairs.

 I didn't see the ghost!

Here's the only 'White Lady' at Samlesbury Hall last Friday.

I hope they don't mind me stealing their picture. I'll add more as I find them. 

By all accounts they had a lovely day.

I've pinched this photo of the ceremony from above from one of the guests.

And this one from Natalie, one of the beautiful Bridesmaids.

We went in the evening to a lovely Ceilidh where we danced folk dances we thought we couldn't do anymore, ate fish and chips from paper cones and had many compliments about the flowers.

Oh and this..both the bride and her mother are in Rivington Ladies Morris team Anna put her trainers on and held her train up and danced the first dance in this glorious setting.

I enjoyed myself. I hope it makes a good blog post!
I just have one question..how do Florists get their fingernails clean?

A sows ear

This is some TRULY HIDEOUS felt I made last Friday at the felt group.

 I thought I'd have a go with some colours I don't usually like and when I realised it wasn't going well I added some small pre-felt shapes which didn't seem to help but I had a cunning plan...

 I used them as a basis for some stitchy fun and eradicated as much of the nasty purple background as possible.

Its always a bit of a gamble because I don't know what I'm doing till I do it. I read the term 'Stream of consciousness' knitting' today so that's what I'm  calling my technique. 

I should have known it already  since we read James Joyce at school (Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man) but I hadn't thought of applying it to stitching. It exactly fits what I do.

 This is even less purple.

Sometimes I do a bit of Stream of consciousness snipping too. 

Spot the difference between the below and the picture at the top. 

I've made it brooch sized.

Limited Edition.

 I think it might be a plan.

I'm hugging myself in my sewing room today as I was given this lovely little thread stand on saturday. Aren't I lucky? I've wanted one for aaaaaaages but they are very hard to find here in UK. I still could do with a few extra shelves but it will do for now..more than 'do. '

I can always drill some more holes along the top and add more dowels.

I now have a spare Martha Pullen thread stand which was also given to me, as I'd gone on about wanting a thread stand for ages.(Thank you Sue)

I don't need it now so  if anyone would like it please contact me. It will be yours for the cost of the postage. It is in a large box but is fairly lightweight. Click HERE to see what I mean. As it was a gift to me, I feel I should pass it on as a gift. I think I need to limit this to UK readers. Email me if you're interested.

Now on Sunday straight after Church  there was a fundraising event which I would cheerfully attend every sunday! 

'Tea At the Ritz'

Well obviously we weren't at the Ritz but in the school hall, decorated beyond recognition, and rather early in the day we had a beautiful afternoon tea. 

 We had little delicious mini cornish pasties, smoked salmon and cream cheese blinis; teeny sandwiches; scones with cream and jam; malt loaf; mini cheesecake; and a light and fluffy mini pavlova. All washed down with lashings, yes lashings, of tea. (Or coffee if you are my husband)

My friends came too.

The school Mums all dressed in black and white and served us beautifully. I think the only difference between the event and the actual ritz was the noise level!! 

Much excitement and lot of children who had their own special menu and lashing of juice instead of tea.

 

 The source of all this yumminess was THIS PLACE which I really must visit to sample their Whinberry Pie. We used to have it at school dinners when I was little and it gave you navy blue teeth, but the flavour was amazing. We called them Bilberries and they grow wild on the moors here but are terribly hard to pick.

They deserve a crown ............I made one but it looks a bit like a strange monster.

I'll stick to the brooches.