Fresh Crafts.

I haven't played with tapestry since I was a little girl. I still remember the first time I was introduced to it at the age of eight and we had to make a bookmark for Art and Craft using simple blocks of colour and stripes. As so many of you out there would have experienced as well, I was filled with the absolute awe and excitement that I had 'created' a piece of fabric. And added to that, one of the best moments in my entire school career happened (the following nine years never did top it). Miss Ed took me with my book mark hot in her hand around the school secretaries and then on to the school staffroom to show them my work. Can you imagine!!!

After a while I discovered cross stitch and then fancy work and so tapestry was forgotten for many years...

That is until Mum gave me Cath Kidston's new book 'Stitch' and it all came flooding back. I wasn't quite game to jump into a big project so I thought I would start small using squares of my favourite wools. Now of course I am realising that it is one fantastic way of using up leftovers as a little length stretches a lot further in tapestry than it does in knitting. And also, 8 ply wool is fine to use. Wahoo!!!

A little aside - Hugo is very chuffed as I bought him a brand new jumper in the post-Christmas sales. I think it might be his first non-hand-me-down jumper ever. And he can fit Ted-Ted in with him.

Tapestry is portable - here it is pictured at the beach. It had a lot of fun.

So too did the boys.

But probably not so much the crabs. You can just make them out as they cower in the mudflats, quaking with terror as their homes shake under the boys' thundering footsteps and searching little fingers.

Lots of love,

Kate xxooxxooxx.

The Whole Big Shebang.

Just so you know, this was before the table was loaded up with food. I can't believe I didn't take any pre-feast as it was the most wonderful sight ever (Stef is a chef so it was a matter of honour to her).

Stef and Rob's little boy Dylan with a brand new camera from Aunty Tessa (apparently purchased in Vegas!!!).

Another bride shot - how much do you love the slip showing.

Sophie (Rob and Stef's little girl - or big girl now I suppose - Stef and I met when we were first pregnant and it does seem like such a long time ago now) seeing Stef in full bride regalia for the first time.

And Dylan catching sight of Stef.

And Stef catching sight of Rob.

Rob did catch sight of Stef too and looked all in love and thrilled and had just the sort of face you could imagine but the photo was very blurry so I left it out - certainly not because he had a look of horror or anything like that.

The family.

The celebrations - I thought it was very lovely that they chose some very greedy for colour bubbles. So considerate.

Now in this photo, Stef is not only holding some very important lollies, but is also next to her very, very, very dearest and oldest friend Ellie who has a beautiful blog Petalplum. I will tell you more about her on another post. The funny thing about Ellie is that she has a packet of lollies in every single photo I took of her... and there are a few.

This is actually much more like Stef and Rob than all of the dreamy photos. I thought I had better include for posterity.

Beautiful!

So, that's the wedding coverage, I might show a few more photos of the decorations at some stage but for now, blogging will go back to normal (well as normal as I can get), everyday life with lots of crafting and hanging out with the boys.

Lots of love,

Kate xxooxxooxx.

More Wedding Preps!!!

Hanging bottles of wild flowers and those trusty tulle flowers festooned the garden. I had to be very careful of their placement as I was worried about children and lurchingly inebriated people knocking themselves out (didn't happen thank goodness).

This couch was just made to have relaxed, lounging wedding guests. I only sat on it at the end but it did make me think we need a water-proof version to be outside at all times.

Random flowers.

PINK DAHLIA IN YELLOW BOWL - that is in capital letters because I loved it so much. Those colours together with the blue in the background are my heaven.

As above.

You can imagine how much I jumped with joy every time I looked at our decorated house. Pictured above are Stef and Rob's little girl Sophie and Rob's mum Julia (all the way over from England). It was so lovely seeing her place it on to Sophie's head and they probably didn't need me exclaiming how wonderful they were doing it in a pink room but I just couldn't help myself... because it was a flower girl in white against a pink background... how often does that happen - in my house never - I never have a flower girl in dressed in white in my laundry - never, ever, ever.

The rain is bucketing down tonight and while it saddened me to take down all of the tulle flowers from the garden, I am now glad they will live another day and avoid becoming a sad pile of slush. Luckily, these posts are allowing me to live through it all again so more photos of the actual wedding tomorrow - that is, if you don't mind.

Lots of love,

Kate xxooxxooxx.

The Wedding!!!!!

Finally after months and months of build up (or at least lots of talking and drinking tea), the morning of wedding arrived... for those of you reading this blog for the first time, yesterday our friends Stef and Rob were married in our garden.
Jonno and the boys stayed with his parents at the beach and I pottered around doing the final touches.

It is very hard to photograph the veranda but we had lanterns, tissue paper flowers and little bottles filled with herbs hanging from hemp twine.

I made a little posy for Stef from wild flowers and the few last roses in the garden... and then of course some tissue paper circles... maybe a new tradition?

The beautiful bride pretending to be serious... and then not so much.

Walking down to meet her fate.

And a snippet of tulle flowers at night. By the way, I am so happy with the tissue paper bunting around the room I think it will have to stay up there until the sheer weight of dust rips it down.

This week will be all about the wedding so prepare yourselves for lots and lots of flowers, papery things and people wearing pretty clothes.

Lots of love, Kate xxooxx.

Wedding Preps...

It is hard to believe, but that friend's garden wedding taking place at ours'? Well, it's actually happening in two days.
The Christmas decorations are being replaced on the tree with bags of lollies for guests.

And tissue paper has been ripped off presents and sewn into long strips of bunting.

I really like my house in wedding mode. So much prettier and cleaner than normal - I'll keep you posted.

Love Kate xxooxxooxx.