Presents..

To me!

I arrived home from work on Friday to find a package awaiting.. Inside beautiful flowers, all in shades of yellow and white. I added some Lady's mantle and some osmanthus from the garden, and filled this vessel, which now sits in my hallway, and also....





This one, which is currently cheering my living room.

These were a thank You, for having made the bridesmaids dresses for that recent wedding.

I had the joy of making, and I also got flowers! Win-win!

 Then yesterday, at work, this amazing piece arrived!



A candle tree made by an elderly gentleman, from bits in his garden, just for me!

You must excuse the background, my usual chaos reigns... 

I am impressed with the loving patience this man put in to make something just for me! He has varnished it exceedingly thoroughly, which brings out the colour of the wood.

I think it is likely to come out at Christmas, for the future. Once I have stopped smiling every time I look at it, it will go away until then!


I have had a good week! I hope your week was equally good!


Sewing?




Oh! sewing!

Only a little and sort of secret...




here is a little sneaky peek!

All will, eventually be revealed...

Lucky me!

I have had some unexpected gifts just at the end of the month here...








First, I went out with the Dance teacher, to see a show by a different dance school. And lovely Karen presented me with this beautiful print from the photoshoot day with two of the girls in those pretty tutus. What a lovely and thoughtful person Karen is! I adore this picture, and it now has a temporary home in my living room, but will probable end up in the sewing room. Yes, you can see some of the Alice costumes on the wall there too.




























 Then on Friday I was presented with these gorgeous flowers, and a thank you card from one of my clients!

I was just gobsmacked! They are really beautiful!

So, I am very lucky!





And spring is busy trying to spring in the garden too... today I found these little offerings...






































We are definitely getting there!

Hen party!

A friend of mine is getting married in just under two weeks time.. So she had a hen party. I have never been to a hen party before, but I was invited to this one! So, I went. 

She arranged a florist to come and give a demonstration, and for all of us to do an arrangement, 
We were presented with a small dish complete with a block of oasis, pre-soaked. Rolls of floral tape were out and each of us had a knife and a pair of scissors, and Sarah, the florist, brought round the various sprays of flowers and leaves we were to use.

Sarah showed us how to put little pieces of eucalyptus into the foam to make a little base for the table posy, covering the base of the dish, so it could not be seen, and then adding the flowers according to her formula.

Sarah brought along a choice of peach or slightly off white roses, lisianthus in three colour ways, and  pink peonies, which were in different stages of open, from small buds through to almost full blown. She also brought some hypericum berries to add in. 

I added the peony leaves to my arrangement, I never could quite follow a brief.. 
The lisianthus is really pretty, we had white, white with a pink border, and deep pink ones.

so here is the result.. 

I am not convinced by the hypericum... But then, I do not have to be!

After that we went to a teppenyaki restaurant which is in Stockton Heath, in the south of Warrington, where a chef treated us to a display of cooking and we all ate the resultant food. He juggled with kitchen implements, and later with eggs, including catching an egg in his hat.. 
He also provided an extemporaneous accompaniment to us singing 'Happy Wedding to you'. Then he did the cooking bit, and we did the eating bit! Most delicious. I used the chopsticks provided, this means I eat slowly..  Some of the others also tried them, but mostly used the forks which were also there. . 

So that was my evening. 

And latest new flowers blooming in my garden? 

 pretty peachy poppies...

and a pretty aquilegia.. lots of the others are over, but this one is blooming on!

I have been busy sewing today, but it is a secret project, so I can only give you a hint for now... 



This is for a special occasion, so after that, I shall share more...