Normality resumes (for a little while at least)...

We have just said goodbye to the last of the wedding guests this afternoon, so normality is starting to resume.

Thanks again for all your sweet comments, I intend printing them out and putting them in my wedding box (when I find a pretty one) with all my other mementoes.

As mentioned in my last post I have made some progress on Their Song. I adore the colours in this piece and it grows quite quickly too. This weekend has been icky weather-wise and it is expected to continue, so I hope to make a lot more progress before it's over.



I see other people have been having trouble with the word verification feature when trying to make comments on people's blogs, so I have turned it off on my blog too.

Hope you are having a good weekend!

Thank you

...for all your wonderful comments and best wishes on our recent nuptials. Here are a few more photos from our big day.



The day started off with rain and fog, but by mid-morning the sun was starting to peek through. In the end we got our ceremony and photos in the garden, and that made us two very happy campers.

It was a mad rush of a day - setting up our function room, collecting flowers, spending three hours at the beauty salon and then rushing home to get dressed before the photographer arrived at 4pm.

I nearly cried when Ronnie came in, he looked so smashing! So we had some photos together in our upstairs room against our red feature wall, and then we all trotted off to Kaitoke for more photos in the gardens.

We did things a little untraditionally because of the late ceremony (6pm) - such as photos first and greeting the guests as they arrived. However, this worked wonders for my nerves... as I had no chance to be nervous and had a ball of a time!

The ceremony was lovely, and the only person to fluff their lines slightly was the celebrant - she called me Ronnie! (Some of my Kiwi readers might recognise the celebrant from this weeks Woman's Day magazine, as her daughter - a local personality - got married the week before).

After the ceremony we had a few more photos before heading off to the reception. We had speeches, then a carvery dinner and followed that up with the cutting of the cake, and a DJ. It was a great night, and we eventually arrived home about 12.30am.

We aren't going on a honeymoon at this stage because of our fledgling business, but hopefully we might get away later in the year. We did go and see the Monet and the Impressionists exhibition in Wellington on Monday (I'm not a great art fan, but it was a brilliant exhibition), and yesterday we went to the golf driving range to hit balls about. Today DH is back at work, and I'm trying to take it easy until I go back to work next Monday.

I have made some progress on Their Song, so will be back soon for a stitching update.

The big day...

...was a very, very wonderful day!



More later!

A gift for Suzanne

Last year Suzanne was let down in a birthday exchange. We all know (or can imagine) what it's like to be let down in an RR or exchange, so I was only too happy to help out when Edgar asked if I would like to be a replacement stitcher.

I stitched Lizzie Kate's - Good Things Come To Those Who Stitch and finished it into a small cushion (I'm severely lacking in the finishing skills department!), and included some fabric, ribbon, pins etc.

I received a nice email from Suzanne tonight letting me know she loved what she had received. I was glad to be able to stitch for you Suzanne, and I hope you enjoy your new goodies.

Thank you Nicola

I came home from work today to find a piece of mail for me (I love mail!), I opened it up and found this very beautiful card from Nicola. Thank you so much Nicola, I am very touched that you took the time to stitch a card to wish us well on our big day.

Of course someone had to get in on the action...



The wedding is only a few days away now, and the rain is pouring down. We are getting married outside, so I am getting disheartened. February is usually hot and dry, and we did not consider Plan B until last week when the rain started. Oh well, fingers crossed.

We've been trying to take it easy in the lead up to the big day, so I got a bit of stitching in over the weekend. I am loving stitching this. I was jumping around a lot with my projects, but I think I'll stick with this.



Thanks for all the comments and your friendship, it means a lot to me! :-)

Have a wonderful week.

A new start

One that doesn't involve a winter theme (that some of you have picked up on... lol). It is Their Song by Blackbird Designs.



This week has been so sad with what has been happening in Australia. As well as the devastation to lives and homes, there is also the wildlife that has suffered.

So in honour of the amazing wildlife Australia has, I thought I would put together a mosaic of some of my Aussie wildlife photos.



Better still, in Australia you can actually get hands on with some of the wildlife!







If you want to help in some way the Red Cross, Salvation Army and Wildlife Victoria are collecting donations.

Also, the lovely Karen from The Stitching Post is collecting donations of fat quarters and skeins of DMC to help the crafters who have lost everything.

Have a great weekend!

Late summer knitting...

What do you do when the temperatures are in the 30 degrees Celsius range? Why start knitting a scarf of course...

I didn't feel like stitching on Thursday night (I had a visit from the frogs), so I picked up my knitting which I started in 2006 - and the frogs visited that too.

I have had this green wool stashed away for six months or more - so I figured it was a good excuse to start something new...



This wool feels so soft and thick(and is a nicer green than the photo lets on too). I can't wait to finish it and for some cold weather to come so I can wear it. There are rumours that tomorrow may go as high as 40 degrees Celsius in Masterton (over the hill from us), so it's gonna be a hot one here too (not scarf-wearing weather at all... lol).

I am not really a knitter - so if anyone knows of any good knitting websites, I would be very interested in improving my skills and knowledge (thanks in advance).

Depending on what hemisphere you are in, I hope you are staying warm/cool and are having a lovely weekend!

Itty bitty jellybeans

I LOVE the Silver Needle. They're speedy, friendly and receiving your order is like receiving a gift.

I got a number of freebies in my latest order too - a colourful pen, a Christmas freebie chart and four tiny (but flavoursome) jellybeans!



If you are in need of some warm fuzzies check out this adorable article about a hot koala and a cold bucket of water.

This weekend is a long weekend, yay! It's off to a good start - we've got no plans (bliss), we've got an offer on our house (yippee) and the weather has warmed up again (wonderful).

P.S. A couple of belated answers to questions left in comments -

Judy commented on the Hokey Pokey Lugana I am stitching Woodland Santa on. She wanted to know what colour Hokey Pokey was, you can see what real Hokey Pokey looks like here.

Also, Leena commented on the red flower in my 3 January post - it is a Pohutukawa (New Zealand's very own Christmas tree). Unfortunately, they only flower for a few weeks - but they are gorgeous while they last.

Thank you Kathy :-)

I am so touched to receive a beautiful embroidered handkerchief and wedding card from my friend Kathy. I knew something was up when she emailed me to ask me what the initial of my new surname would be! :-) I will definitely be carrying this with me on the day as my something blue. Thank you so much Kathy!!



We had our rehearsal on Friday night. It was a lovely warm evening, the garden was looking beautiful and we had a lot of laughs. It's hard to believe it's now less than 3 weeks away (how did that happen!?).

I haven't managed much stitching lately, although Woodland Santa has grown a little...



Have a great week!