The dress... or then again, maybe not

I found the perfect little christening dress for Brownie at Next...


...but it's sold out. Gazelle preferred one we'd found at Debenhams anyway. If I could sew well enough, I would try to make her a little white dress in silk and give it a satin ribbon trim with a organza apron and sash and little organza puffball sleeves, and if I thought I would actually finish it on time I would knit a little lace cardigan to go with it... sigh. I know I'm not that great on the machine (only sewn a cushion cover) or that fast on the needles (I started a neckwarmer last week Monday and I'm still only halfway through). Ah well, such is life.

I've just ordered the card blanks and envelopes for the invites. Plain white squares from Liz's crafts. Planning to print the text on them in black - Garamond font set in italics. I've been thinking about what Gazelle said about the colour scheme... I probably should keep it nice and simple. We could have a white chocolate cake... or even a red velvet chocolate cake. I'll have to have a long talk with Kels about that, as I know she's not particularly keen on red velvet chocolate cake... but they look so pretty... when they're done well that is. I mean, even if we didn't have a big red velet cake, Bakerella's cake balls are just too cute not to be attempted!


I dare you to disagree abut them being absolutely delightful... LOL! FYI, Bakerella is the lady reponsible for 'Cake Pops' - please correct me if I'm wrong. If you have no idea what they are, you need to take a minute to find out now! If you know me well, then you'll know that they combine two of my favourite things... lollipops and cake. :D

I've just realised it's 2.20 in the morning, I should be asleep, not ogling cakes and sweet treats. I need to be up in a few hours so I'm off to bed, but not before grabbing a chocolate brownie from the kitchen.

Ciao for now

Finké x

Christening...

Hunh?

To put it in conteext, remember in my last post I said I'd gotten married... well surprise... 5 and half months ago I gave birth to a little girl and now we're getting her christened. I'll fill you in on more details later, but for now, what you need to know is that she's getting christened along with a family friend's son. So, my friend Kels and I met up this morning and started talking about these things (the christening is in a months time) and so far we've got a colour scheme...



It's really two colour schemes in one... the first three colours are for her little boy, Nar (he's a Liverpool Fan) and the last three are for my baby girl, Brownie (I'm an ice-cream fan). What do you think? Kels hasn't seen it yet, so I can't wait to see what she thinks.

Thinking about the colours, it would be nice if we could have dessert that match these colours on the day... Neapolitan Ice-Cream cake and Strawberry Shortcake of some sort... That would look so cute. Of course I'd need to practice them before then. Good thing I've got a cake afternoon coming up.

I've got to draw up invites, so Nar's colours would be used on his invite and Brownie's on hers, but they'll follow the same design and have the same info. To be honest, the original colour scheme was red, pink and white. The yellow and brown made their way into the colour scheme because the hall we're using for the reception afterwards is yellow, white and brown. I figured including them in the scheme would mean they don't stand out so much... That and Nar wants a chocolate cake. Bless him, his two requests for the day; Liverpool FC colours and a chocolate cake. Gotta love the children.

I digress... so your thoughts on the colour scheme. Too many colours? Too much/not enough contrast? Let me know.


Thanks,

Finké x


Update: Gazelle, thinks that 5 colours is too many and that I should drop the pink and brown. I definitely can't drop the red... but do you agree that I should drop the brown and pink? Which colours would you drop if any?

AWOL... again

Wow it really has been a while.

Well there are a few reasons for that. I got married and moved home and started growing my hair again. Yeah had another run in with a barber. That was about a year ago. I also started a new blog, (Goode Stuff) with my husband who occasionally spurts forth some real gems... LOL.

Ooh and after a ridiculously long hiatus I've actually picked up my knitting pins and started knitting again (last night). Ha ha!

I'll be around a little more often, but if you miss me... all 2 of you in the world (LOL) then pop over and see me at www.ethnic-rose.co.uk!

Ciao for now

Finké x

I'll miss you Grandma

You know I said I was going to craft all throughout advent? My Grandma died on the 30th November, exactly two years to the day my cousin Emmanuel died. So I made the pair of earrings above (on the 1st Dec - not the clearest pic, I know... I'll get myself a new camera in the new year) and then set off for Nigeria (on the morning of the 3rd) with my Mum and my sister. Just got back today. It's been a long week and a bit, but I did get to catch up with my family which was nice as I haven't seen them in 3 and a half years. A lot of them are planning to come over for the wedding which will be brilliant, but I still wish my Grandma could be there too. My Mum suggested holding a minute silence for her which I think is a brilliant idea... so, I'm going to take a little bit of a break to sort my head and my life out, which I've been meaning to do for a long time now, I guess this was the push I needed... No one knows what tomorrow brings.

I learnt a lot about my Grandma which I didn't know before... I'm probably post my own mini eulogy for her in a few days time... but until then, (and beyond), may her soul rest in perfect peace.

Christmas is coming...

OK... so here's the deal... Steph's left for Japan on Friday... I made her a chunky knit beret before she left! I'm going to miss her :( ... but on a positive note, I've got the wedding planning and advent crafting bug again, so I've have been stocking up on supplies... (like I really needed any more anyway) ... I'm real cool for the moment.

Last year, I planned to make something for every day of advent and I only tool the time to make a hat, just the one. So this year I'll determined to do it properly this year... and to motivate me I'm going to try and blog daily to record what I've done. So if you read this, (in other words Kelli and Chloé) please e-mail me if I miss a day. ;)

I have to admit, some of my projects are two part projects... you'll see what I mean when I do them. So far, my advent craft list consists of edibles, wearables and packaging...

I saw these tags on Kelli's blog and I am so going to do those on one of my craft days! Back soon... need to find where I put my little circle hole sticker thingies :)

Unauthorised absence

Last time you heard from me I was a little down. Stuff happened and I'm ok now. I know I kinda disappeared off the radar for a couple of months. I've been up to my ears in work and not had time to chill or make anything... much. Well, in the last two months I've made Gazelle a scarf, tweaked a old notebook cover into a reading book cover (hooray for hair bands and pretty buttons)...

... baked petit fours with Chloe...


... and made 3 birthday cakes - all chocolate (only remembered to take a picture of one but according to Gazelle I'm perfecting my chocolate cake... YAY!!!)


OK, and that's it.

As I said before, I've had a few clients from the freelance web side of things, so recreational activities have had to take a bit of a back seat. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the work I'm just tired... lol. So just for the record, here's a list of stuff I've planned to make that I haven't quite got around to or finished just yet...

1. Lily's cardigan
2. Kelli's hat - no pattern, chunky knit beenie
   
3. Janet's scarf - bronze coloured cabled chunky knit
   
4. Gabby's hat - Green fair isle tam
   
5. Gazelle's neckwarmer and ribbed knit beenie
6. Jade's scarf
   
7. A hat for myself (don't you just love Knitty)
   

I've bought all the wool, just waiting for my circular needles to arrive. :D The only problem with the above list is that Christmas is coming and I've promised myself that this year everyone's getting hand made presents, which means I better get a move on.

Off topic, the wedding planning took a bit of a break too... I spoke to Marsha (the wedding planner) today and we're meeting up next week, which means I've got 7 days to sort out that wedding wiki I set up. My best mate's moving to Japan in a few weeks time, but is coming back to be my bridesmaid next year, so I need to try and sort her outfit out before she leaves, or at least get some meaurements. The phrase "biting off more than you can chew comes to mind". Hmmm.

Back soon - I hope

Inside

Looks like I've started writing again. It'll probably get edited over the next few days.

Finké

---

Inside

Yet again I'm on leave of absence
Too tired to stay and play
And as my weariness unfurls
I'm scared to face another's face
And so I sit to dip below my consciousness
Yearning for her...

She who once led, who I once sought,
Who is now out of reach
Just past my fingertips
She teases me with song in sleep
In which we soar and laugh and fall
I feel her breath upon my face
But when I wake she's gone again,
It would seem, to taunt him...

He who manoeuvres deep within
Speaks frowns and almost words.
He understands yet knows me not
But to his words I cling
As we both have particulars
We can not discuss...

So we sit in silence
Just the one of us