I Have A Finish! ~ Thanks A Lot

At last I have finished a design I picked up in 2010! Otherwise being preoccupied with life for the past few years, I have found some time to complete a Shepherd's Bush kit called Thanks A Lot. It's a small piece and doesn't take much time to do. Funnily enough, the time I've had to complete it has been because I've been sick this past week off work. Only a cold virus, but enough to warrant staying home.

Thanks A Lot - Finished 30 June 2017 

So this little piece was really easy to do and one you could do in maybe two to three solid days stitching. Comes complete as a kit, all you need to do is work out how to finish it (framed, pincushion, etc).

SHEPHERD'S BUSH - Thanks A Lot kit

Made with silk threads, some variegated, some not, and a cute button to attach when finished.

Can't say when my next stitching project will take place but this cheeky little finish has been lovely to finally complete. It was a bit strange picking up the needle after so long and getting into the rhythm again, but such a joy to do.

Take care my friends, and happy stitching !

I Do... I Did

©Images by Michelle Pragt of In Photography

Hello friends! Catching up with you to share some details of my wedding day.
It was a gorgeous day in March, which is the start of our Autumn/Fall season. The sun shined and there was a slight breeze, with a temperature of 27 degrees celsius. Not a drop of rain in sight. The Mornington Peninsula area appealed to us both, which is basically our backyard and a much loved region. We had decided to hire a semi-rural, five acre property for the weekend of, over three nights. It accommodated some of our family/friends who were coming from further afield, as well as my fiance (at the time) and I. This allowed us to have pre-celebrations the night before, preparations on the wedding day, our ceremony, photos, and an informal cocktail reception after, all on the property. We also went to a nearby winery for some photos of just the two of us.

Being a private property, council had capped numbers for this type of occasion, to 30 people only. This meant that we could have just immediate family and a select few friends to share our day. In one way it made it very intimate and meaningful. We wanted the day to be relaxed, which was definitely achieved. Saying that though, it was still a formal enough wedding.

I had my niece (who we didn't realize, was pregnant at the time - she's due late November) as my Bridesmaid. My husband had one of his good friends from country Victoria as his Best Man.

My niece's daughter, at 14 months old, was 'honorary' cuteness and walked down the aisle with her mother.

The whole day went by without a hitch. My father, who's in his mid 80s, gave me away. That was so special to have him there beside me.

Our ceremony wasn't too formal and our vows had a little moment of humor added from each of us. Something about me snoring mixed in with my husband's vows, and a mention of camping and how regular (or irregular) I would go away with him, in mine. Just to make the moment a bit light hearted.

My husband's two daughters were our witnesses on our marriage certificate. We thought it was a lovely gesture and especially as both were 18 and over, legally they were able to do it.

So when all official duties were over, it was time to enjoy ourselves and share our first hours as husband and wife.

Then some location shots at a nearby winery called Winbirra.

It was such a wonderful day and we both loved it!

At the end of the day, after being well fed by our caterers, we had the scrumptious cake to devour... It was a red velvet, with white buttercream icing, done in a semi-naked look. Decorated by our wedding florist, Hello Blossoms.

Our wedding suppliers

VENUE ~ MerricksNorth Retreat

CELEBRANT ~ EmmaTomlinson

PHOTOGRAPHER ~ Michelle Pragt: In Photography

FLOWERS ~ HelloBlossoms

WEDDING HIRE ~ Wedding Hire Melbourne

CATERING ~ GoingGourmet

DRESS ~ Maggie Sottero: Winstyn (Raffeale Cuica)

HAIR/MAKEUP ~ Bessie Seal

CAKE ~ Cake Matters

We honeymooned in NZ near Queenstown for ten nights.  Fell in love with a town we stayed in for four nights called Arrowtown. So, so cute!

Now it's back to reality and we are rennovating my house, which we are living in. Stitching is still taking a back seat in my life. I have lots of gorgeous projects to tackle in the future though. Just sitting there waiting for me to pick them up. One day...

Six Months Until 'I Do'

It's six months today until I get married! We have rented a house for three nights, which is where we will stay for the weekend of our wedding. We will be able to: prepare for the wedding, have the ceremony, enjoy a cocktail reception afterwards, and relax with family/friends, all at the one place. Some guests will also be able to stay at the accommodation together with us. It will be a small, intimate wedding of only 30 people. Just immediate family and a few friends. The property is on five acres, and has a pool and tennis court. It used to be a rural farm and has been converted to current style accommodation. It's very private and countrified. Perfect to relax and enjoy the celebrations of a weekend long, wedding.
A lot of things have been booked. Apart from the venue, our celebrant, photographer, caterers, flowers, and of course the all important dress have been selected. Even our wedding rings are ready! My dress has arrived in store, and I go for my first fitting on the 19th of this month.

flower bouquet from Hello Blossoms - our wedding florist

Raffaele Ciuca - where I've bought my wedding dress

My stitching these days has had to be put aside. I will definitely get back into it one day. My time at the moment doesn't allow the luxury of my hobby. There will be a chance in the future for me to be able to pick up needle and thread again. I look forward to when this day will come.

Happy stitching, my friends!  

Shepherd's Bush Fold

As a big Shepherd's Bush fan, I'd be expected to join the 2014 Shepherd's Bush Fold, wouldn't I?  Yes, well I did succumb to the temptation and finally joined through The Silver Needle recently.  Last Thursday I received my first and starting kit in the mail.  As well as a few other SB kits to make the purchase even more exciting.
They always package things so nicely.  It seems a shame to open up the package.

Here's what was inside...

Fours kits, including the Fold kit.

First kit in the Shepherd's Bush Fold - A Full Heart

 A Tisket, A Tasket

Bee Blessings

Wisteria Snowman

In my last post I mentioned that I had purchased some stash at The Silver Needle's New Year's Eve sale.  I'll try to post some photos of what I got next time.  Sorry that I haven't got around to doing this yet. I'm lucky to be posting this one, as tomorrow I'm heading off with my fiance to visit his parents in country Victoria for Easter.  So I thought I'd post this while I had the chance.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter break and gets the chance to catch up with family or friends.  I'm sure there'll be a little chocolate mixed in there somewhere.  Happy Easter and thanks for stopping by.

A Mother's Xmas Gift

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had an enjoyable welcome to 2014. May it be a happy, healthy year, full of lots of wonderful stitching moments for you.

I wanted to share with you a present my mother made for me for Christmas.  She is 80 years old and she stitched this beautiful little kit called C Is For Kitty-Cat.  It's by The Sweetheart Tree and comes with everything needed to stitch it up, including all the beads and charms. My mum finished it off as a small little cushion.  Made even more special as she has stitched it herself.

THE SWEETHEART TREE ~ C IS FOR KITTY-CAT

She knows how I love my cats and I was completely surprised she had made this for me.

My life is still busy.  I'm sharing my time between my place and my fiance's.  He has two teenage daughters that live with him most of the time.  Their situation needs to be considered at the moment, so I wait for the day when we can live in the same house and have a normal life. Then I hope to have at least a little more time to dedicate to my stitching again.  Or, I long for when I retire.  Plenty of time to stitch then!

I did do some needlework buying over New Year's.  This is the first time I've bought needlework for quite a while.  Not that I need anymore, but why should I let that stop me.  The Silver Needle had their annual New Year's Sale on so I took the opportunity to buy a few things at 25% off.  I'm just waiting for the package to arrive in the mail.  Probably another week or so.  I'll make sure to take some pics to show you what I bought.  Always exciting to see what people buy, I think.

I still haven't been looking at any stitching blogs lately.  I do apologise for that.  I've recently bought a laptop computer so I hope to have more access time to it than when I was using a desktop in another room.  I love how a laptop can be taken to anywhere in the house.  So I can sit in the lounge room while the TV is on and use the computer at the same time.  Wonderful!

Kath was so kind as to let me know about the upcoming Shepherd's Bush Fold for 2014.  Hadn't heard anything about it til then, so thanks for letting me know Kath.  Think I'll have to join up for that one but I'm not sure about the shaker style sewing box as it sells for $160.  Bit extravagant for my liking.

So this is where I finish my post.  I hope everyone has a wonderful year of amazing stitching.  Thank you for your lovely comments as I do appreciate them so much.  It's nice to know that people are still interested in my blog.  Take care and happy stitching!