Wedding quilts, wedding flowers.

Gosh, what a long time since I last posted, and what a lot has happened in the past six weeks. Sorry for the silence: various reasons and I will try and recap, though I may split everything up into several posts.

When I last blogged I was scurrying to get the Wedding Stars quilt together before going on holiday, my friend's daughter's wedding to take place shortly after our return.

A deadline is a wonderful thing (in retrospect) and I managed to get the top stitched and pressed, ready to take with us to Cornwall, where I purchased a lovely blue check flannel for the backing at Cowslip Workshops in Launceston on the way home.

My friend Chris, the bride's mother, will be longarm quilting the quilt shortly and I will show you some more photos when the quilt is bound and ready for delivery.


We had a week of beautiful weather on the Roseland Peninsula to relax and enjoy some family time, with long walks every day, bar one, along the South West Coast Path.

Not bad for England in July: as I write this now we have had torrential rain all day, so I am feeling sorry for all the holidaymakers (especially the ones camping) who are trying to enjoy the last week before the schools go back...

And one shot of glorious West Country hydrangeas, just for the colour - we can only grow pink ones on our chalky soil.

Back to the wedding: having known the bride since she was born, (Jane, Chris and I met when expecting our first babies, all born a few days apart, twenty six years ago) I was privileged to help Jane prepare the flowers and dress the venue, a lovely old barn.  It was a perfect place and blessed with perfect weather on the day.

Here are a few pictures: very Country Living magazine, I hope you'll agree!

Not only did Chris make the most beautiful wedding dress for her beautiful daughter, she made this lovely quilt which picked up the pink and light blue colours of the bridesmaids' dresses.

 For vintage-style bunting, see my tutorial here.

And here are some close ups of the flowers:

 

 

OK, probably too many shots of the flowers, but I just love them.   And as I helped Jane, I was struck by how like making quilts it was, making up the little bunches and bouquets and doing the larger arrangements: it's all about colour and texture, selecting flower and foliage to contrast and complement within a chosen palette.  

For a seasonal note Jane included poppy seed heads and sprays of blackberries as well as lavender from her garden.  Jane doesn't make quilts but I'm sure you'll agree, she makes fabulous flower arrangements!

One photo of the amazing cake, which tasted as wonderful as it looked.

And a final posy; it is so nice for me to remember that special day in pictures, especially as summer is now almost over, I hope you'll forgive me the indulgence.  

More quilty stuff in my next post!