A gift of crochet

I was, quite simply, overwhelmed by the generosity of a friend made over the last year through our respective blogs, when early this year I received an email from the TheGrangeRange asking if she could contribute anything to my wedding day.

I thought long and hard about Geraldine’s generous offer of her time and skill when she could have been busy creating for herself.

My other half had made his feelings known to me that he really wouldn’t appreciate turning up at our venue to find it the latest setting for Kirstie Allsops wedding show alongside his other nemesis Cath Kidston.  ( I can’t think why. I personally would have loved to have gone down this route!) If I had mentioned crochet and wedding in the same sentence I’m not sure he would have turned up.

Geraldine and I have never met in person, although I hope this will be put to rights over the summer, but I thought I knew enough of her work to trust that what she made would be a fabulous addition to my plans for a simple but elegant setting for our day.

We batted some ideas backwards and forwards across the net and settled on something along the lines of these napkin rings that I found on folksy.

No patterns existed. I knew from her blog, that Geraldine would be able to work from the ideas we had seen. I left it up to her to decide how intricate to go. I was very aware that I had 60 guests and didn’t want her to feel she had taken on something too vast and tying.

I visited Texere yarns in Bradford and choose their own Texere linen yarn in a few colours. I wish I had remembered to take a photo of them before I sent them off!

And then, a few months later, I received an amazing parcel in the post.

You will not be disappointed!!

You wait until you see these.

It came in this box
Wrapped up like this.
And inside

I was blown away

Aren’t they utterly amazing?

The venue had lent us 60 white cotton napkins in advance of the date.

I was hoping that my guests would also see these as wedding favours. I can tell you they soon disappeared into my ladies handbags!

I had stamped my guests names on these parcel tags, with their food choices stamped on the back.

My mum and I spent a very pleasant afternoon assembling these.

Then we were ready to pack them up to go to the venue

I didn’t get to see them again until I saw the tables all laid out, just before we sat down for the wedding breakfast. So elegant and utterly tasteful.

I cannot thank Geraldine enough. Please pop over to her blog TheGrangeRange. She is currently planning a fantasy garden yarn bombing of her husband’s GP surgery and is looking for contributions. She has many suggestions and links to patterns here.
I am busy crocheting birds and flowers which I will hope will go a little way in returning her generosity.

My husband (get me!) now sees crochet in a completely different light.
Thank you Geraldine.
Love, Lucie