Calm Flow, finished

I only had a very short time for stitching this morning but I was determined to finish Calm Flow today and finish it I did.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Usually I savour the final few stitches, linger over them. This morning I didn't have time to linger. If I was going to finish Calm Flow today, I needed to get on with it. So I got on with it.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

As I was driving to work, I felt very dissatisfied. When I have spent time with a project and enjoyed it, as I have this one, the final stitches are special. This was different. I did not feel that I had honoured our final moments together. All the beads were stitched in place but I felt that I had deprived myself of something special.

Oh how weird, earlier this evening I heard someone quote a line from a film. Whilst I was typing this post the film 'Enter the Dragon' is on the television and I heard the same line "It is like a finger pointing at the moon. Don't concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory." I concentrated on the finger. I missed the heavenly glory.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Fortunately the moon will rise again. Tomorrow I will spend my 'stitching time' savouring the beauty of Calm Flow and the time we have spent together.

Happy Stitching

15 Minutes and 24 Beads

This week Mary blogged about 15 Minutes and Three More Stitches. Mary is trying to stick to a rigid schedule of 15 minutes stitching a day where as I have set myself a more flexible target of doing 'some' stitching each morning before I leave for work. Mary is using a timer and stops stitching when the alarm sounds, even if there are only 3 stitches remaining. I am not the disciplined, I am always tempted to add one more bead and then one more!

Making time for a little stitching every morning is really moving this project along and the end is so close I can taste it.

When the clock told me it was time to stop stitching this morning this was all that was left to do.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

If I had only three stitches remaining, I could not have brought myself to stop. I estimate there are 24 more beads needed to complete this.
will I finish tomorrow?

Happy Stitching

What Lies Beneath

In the days leading up to the wedding I tried to maintain my schedule of doing a little stitching before leaving for work. On one level, it keeps my current stitching project moving along but more importantly, stitching time is me time. It sounds terribly indulgent, but it has become very important for me to take a little time each day that is purely about what I want to be doing.

With Jon leaving early for work I was able to fit in an hour stitching some mornings and made good progress. When I finally packed away my frame in the big clean up before the wedding I had completed the couching. Things like this are important to me. I would have been uncomfortable putting my stitching away if I had not reached a satisfactory break point.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

It was more than a week before I set up my frame again but for once I didn't miss it too much ;-)

The spaces between the couched lines are filled with Tataki-ume - one or two beads placed at different angles without space between the them. RANDOM!

My brain is not wired for random; when faced with random it tries to establish a method.

My first 'method' involved stitching 2 beads into the center, then stitching two more beads at an angle (not quite 90 degrees) to the first two beads. I continued to stitch 2 beads at an angle to the previous beads when ever possible and in filling with single beads where two would not fit. This method seemed to work well, although I ended up stitching with 1 bead, rather than 2, more often than not.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

My second 'method' was to stitch six beads around a single central bead to form a hexagon, then to stitch more 'hexagons' around the original. This began well but I very soon found it difficult to work out where the next hexagon should be and could see regular rows developing.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

My third 'method' was not really a method at all. While stitching, I envisaged my beads floating along in a stream. In many places the stream flows smoothly and the beads align themselves with the flow; orderly, regular and calm. In other places there are rocks below the surface that alter the coarse of the stream creating eddies and ripples. In this disturbed water the beads struggle to maintain their order, occasionally new patterns emerge and then disintegrating back into chaos. This is random. I thought these thoughts and stitched the beads were I felt they needed to be. Very zen, don't you think.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Well, I think that it worked! Maybe, finally I'm beginning to understand random.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Happy Stitching

I Would Like to Thank ...

This may sound a little like an Oscar’s speech, but in my final post about the wedding and honeymoon, I would like to acknowledge and thank those who contributed so much to making the whole occasion so special for Jon and I. (My next post will be stitch related, I promise.)

Hair by Euphoric about Hair
Many years ago, Laura told me she “just loves being a hairdresser” and it is apparent that that is still true today. Add to that her skill and knowledge and it is obvious she has earned her status as one of Oxford's top hairdressers and Master Craftsman.


Nails by Forever Young
Elena did so much more than my manicure and not just for the wedding itself. Regular pampering with Elena began as an occasional treat to myself but has become a regular indulgence that I would be loath to give up.


I felt beautiful on my wedding day and I would particularly like to thank Laura and Elena for helping me to feel that way about myself.

Wardrobe by The Bridal Box
I expected choosing my outfit to be a long and difficult process. Dusanka was recommended to me and her boutique was the first place I tried. As I didn't know what I wanted to wear we chatted about what I didn’t want before Dusanka collected together a selection of gowns. I tried on several very beautiful dresses but liked none more than the very first dress she had suggested. Shopping for clothes is not one of my favourite pass times but with Dusanka’s guiding me, choosing my dress and shoes was pure pleasure.


Stationary by White Fire Brides
Choosing the invitations was a long and difficult process. Jon had very definite ideas about what he wanted and it was not to be found in any High Street stationers. Eventually I contacted the Oxford Calligraphers Society, who put me in touch with Lynn. Lynn came up with a designed for hand made stationary completely satisfied Jon’s requirement for something simple but with a personal touch.



Flowers by Faith in Flowers
I'd searched online for a local florist. After viewing dozens of uninspiring websites, I finally found one that seemed to offer something more personal. From our first meeting, I was confident that Melanie was the right choice. We came up with a design for the table floral arrangements at that first meeting, but when we met at the venue to finalise arrangements it was apparent that they were not right. Completely unfazed, Melanie quickly assessed the room and came up with stunning new ideas.



Transport by Nostalgia Travel
We saw a vintage bus in town one day. I said to Jon, “I think we should hire that for the wedding.” Jon said, “I agree.” We don’t usually make decisions that easily! The bus is beautifully maintained, the driver was friendly and professional and travelling to the wedding with our guests was so much fun.


Catering by The Chequers Inn
We wanted the reception to be in the village so that we could walk home after the meal and continue the celebrations in the garden. We also wanted to support the village restaurant but more than this, we knew that Andy is an exceptional chef and would prepare a wedding feast to remember. He and his staff exceeded our expectations.





Cake by My Aunty Ann
I was delighted when Ann offered to make our wedding cake; her cakes are delicious. Ann designed the cake and I was so pleased when I saw how pretty it was. Thank you very much Ann.


The cake stand and vase are the same ones used at my parents wedding. They belonged to my Grandfather who was a master baker. Like Jon and I, Mum and Dad had a simple wedding but Granddad made them wedding cake that could have been the centerpiece of any society wedding. Four tiers, iced in the latest fashion on his silver-plated, mirror topped stand and topped with a vase of carnations and cascading fronds of asparagus fern. It must have looked spectacular. I believe it was the last wedding cake he made, as he died just a few weeks after their wedding.

The fact our wedding day was so perfect is down to these wonderful people. They didn’t simply do what was necessary; they each went that extra mile. It wasn’t their wedding day, they had no vested interest but because they care so passionately about what they do, they wanted to do their very best for us. Thank you all so much.

Honeymoon - day 4, continued

In the morning we would have a little time to explore the streets around our hotel and see a less touristy side of Paris but this evening was effectively the end of our visit and we wanted to do something special. We reserved a table with Bateaux Parisiens for dinner and an evening cruise on the River Seine.


From the moment we were greeted and shown to our table, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. Every option on the menu was a temptation and the dishes we selected were beautifully prepared and presented. A singer and three musicians provided musical accompaniment during the meal and dance music at the end of the cruise. As the evening slowly gave way to darkness and Paris is illuminated, the River is the most romantic setting imaginable.


The cruise departs from its moorings just below La Tour Eiffel and sails through the city towards Notre Dame, then passes on the other side of the island to begin the return journey. Before docking we passed by the Île des Cygnes to view the Statue de la Liberté and La Tour Eiffel. The cruise lasts approximately 2 ½ hours but it is sedate and unhurried.

As we walked back to our hotel, we paused to watch the Tower’s glimmering light show - a spectacular finale to the evening.


Merci et au revoir, Paris

Honeymoon - day 4

During the day, we spent our time hopping on and off the Metro for a whistle stop tour of central Paris.

First stop, Notre Dame de Paris.




After joining the wrong queue we found ourselves viewing the interior of the cathedral instead of climbing the towers. We should have know better as we has also joined the wrong queue at Versailles! After viewing the interior we decided we had had enough of queuing for the time being and gave the 2 hour tower queue a miss.

Jon wanted to see the Basilica. We found our way to Basilica on the Metro but, at street level we could not find our way to The Basilica. A short conversation at the Tourist Information office revealed that nothing (other than a few stones on the platform) remain. Only this column serves to commemorate its existence.


Moving swiftly on as we don't want to be late for this evenings reservation.

We didn't have time to tour the Louvre Museum but as we were passing on the Metro, I insisted that the get off to at least see it.




Back on the Metro, heading for Station Charles de Gaulle and lost in conversation.

Me: "Were are we?"
Jon: "Not sure."
Me: "Charles de Gaulle!".
Jon: "This is our stop, quick."
Me (as doors are closing): "Too late!"
Fellow passengers: good humoured laughter.
Fortunately the next stop was not far from our destination, L'arc de Triomphe.

We had seen the Arch on our first evening but Jon wanted to climb to the top, especially as we had not been up the tower of Notre Dame.

Fortunately, the queues here were not too long as we were running short of time. However, there are 284 steps to climb and I had hurt my knee when I fell over on the first day (I don't think I mentioned this before).


But the views were worth it. From here I think you possibly get the best idea of how Paris arranged.



And you get a really good impression of how la tour Eiffel towers above this city.


Going down was more difficult than going up and I got a real sense of virtego.


At the bottom we paused to appreciate the architecture.


And those who have fallen in war.


We had planned to be back at the hotel by 5.00pm to get ready for the evening. Now it is already 6.00pm. We really must hurry to be there on time for our evening reservation.

Honeymoon - day 3

First stop today was Montmartre. In a romantic city, I think Montmartre is the most romantic location. Paris is essentially flat but the butte Montmartre rises in the North with the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and seems to watch over Paris.


If I lived in Paris, I would like to live in Montmartre, with it's narrow streets, steep stairways, cafés and bars.



In the afternoon we headed for Paris' other high point, La Tour Eiffel.

You cannot miss the Eiffel Tower, it literally towers above the city. And it is magnificent!


The views from the summit are breath taking (as is the elevator ride to the summit!) and going all the way to the summit is a must.


But for my money, the best views of the city are to be had on the second floor.


In the evening, we returned to Montmartre to dine at one of the outdoor restaurants. Moules frits and a bottle of Rosé on a pleasantly warm evening, what could be nicer?