One part of the wedding I can show you, was the gift I made for Stephen and Emma. You must have known this was coming? I mean what kind of sister wouldn't make something to celebrate her favorite people getting hitched?
I made a piece of "art". After receiving the gift both Stephen and Emma (and I) declared as it was without any kind of practical use but was very pretty, it must be art! I also informed them it was much better than when I was doing ceramics as it wouldn't break if it got dropped.
This "art" is essentially an urn, made from knitted wool that has been felted, then embellished. The felt was created using alpaca/wool yarn and was knitted with two strands to give strength. Knitting with two strands also enabled the colours to be blended gently. The colours selected were chosen to match the wedding colours and their bedroom decor.
The urn was knit in the round from the bottom to the top, in one piece, where an i-cord cast off was used (I bet that doesn't surprise you does it?!). After felting, the embellishments were added.
Little flowers were stitched on using seed beads and gemstones. These flowers were interspersed with sequins, secured with more seed beads.
Then I added two rings around the neck of the urn, made by using satin stitch, in hand dyed threads. The rings were then highlighted using sparkly metallic thread. Between the the rings more gemstones were added, punctuated by stitched squares.
Using more hand dyed thread, I zig zagged points from the sequins, up to the neck of the urn to draw the two sections together. The hand dyed threads were a perfect match with the colours of the urn and the gemstones I used. They really helped make the project a success, and I would use Stef Francis threads again without hesitation. I actually still have quite a lot left over from this project and I really want to learn how to use them in a more adept and complex manner.
I finished the urn by stitching on the date of the wedding on the base. I wish my date had been as neat as the one on the quilt made by the bride's mother, but then she has had many more years of practice than me. Perhaps I will catch up one day, but I doubt it! I wish I had a photo of the quilt given to the happy couple as it was very beautiful, and handily in the same colour scheme as my urn. My friend Debbie (the mother of the bridesmaid) also made a gorgeous cross stitch sampler as a gift. As Emma said, they have lots of crafty friends, and we all wanted to celebrate their marriage by crafting.
Emma was also lucky enough to have her mother make her wedding outfit, a very beautiful purple silk skirt and jacket, with a cream bodice. I am so pleased that both the jacket and the bodice will be emerging again on nights out as they are both very beautiful and can be worn again and again. I wish I had a photo that did the outfit justice. Maybe I shall ask Emma nicely and see if she will let me post a photo from her collection, as I am sure you will agree with me it is a truly special outfit.
I had a wonderful time with my family and friends this week and I shall never forget everyone sitting in a circle playing pass the parcel and battling it out at the pub quiz. It was a fabulous event that reflected a fabulous couple. Stephen and Emma, I love you both and wish you much happiness in your lives together.
