Knit Your Own Royal Wedding

Arrived in the post today, my copy of 'Knit Your Own Royal Wedding' from Amazon books. Complete with full and detailed instructions for the whole wedding party including outfits for guests and even a couple of corgis. Here is the balcony scene with Charles, Camilla and Harry on the left, the Queen and Philip on the right. The happy couple are in the middle watched by a corgi. I think the Queen has her hand over the corgi's eyes to protect him from THE kiss, Camilla is holding her hat on.

The coacmen can be knitted too but you will need to find your own coach.

Kate and William's Engagement clothes are included and of course a knitted Archbishop of Canterbury.

Included is a cardboard balcony so you can arrange your own balcony scene. I might never get to do all this knitting but what a fun book to have in my collection.

I bought this cross stitch kit from Majesty Magazine and it looks an easy one to do. There is a choice to make it a wedding or engagement sampler. I will put the engagement date in as I have lots of wedding samplers to stitch.

My travel documents are all in order for my trip to London for THE wedding, I even received a bottle of wine from the travel agent who booked my trip, how civilized is that?

I know I should really stay home and do all my Royal knitting and stitching, I can't even knit or stitch during the very long flight to Heathrow - no needles allowed on board - but William might notice if I'm not there. He might turn to Kate and say" where's that woman who gets over-excited in the crowd and has to be carried out".

Just dreaming again...and no, I haven't drunk the wine.... yet..

"Of Droughts and Flooding Rains"

We have just had 3 days of torrential non stop rain here which has caused floods and chaos in my area. I've marked on the map where Charlotte Emily and I live, right on the edge of the lake.
The lake does have a small opening to the ocean but the rain water wasn't runnung away quickly enough and combined with an extra high tide last night caused a lot of anxious moments. The State Emergency Service told us to be ready to evacute but in the end that didn't happen. The picture shown is fron this mornings Illawarra Mercury.

Charlotte and Emily inspect the damage this morning after the tide went out, they did promise to help with the clean up but asked for another sleep first.

This thick mess of mud, lake grasses and rubish was left behind by the tide for me to clean up. Nothing compared to the damage left behind by earthquakes, floods and tsunami's in other parts of the world so I mustn't complain and I'm sure Prince William won't be coming to inspect the damage.

All serene on the lake now, even a bit of blue sky.

The postman was kind to me today and bought me the William and Kate paper doll book I ordered from Amazon. I know I'll be tempted to cut out the dolls and clothes to play with, but no, I must keep the book intact for my collection.

Guess Who's Going to William and Kate's Wedding

I know I said I wouldn't, couldn't and shoudn't go to THE WEDDING but now I am so excited. I am going. On Friday I happened to be walking past a Travel Agent, went in just to enquire about airfares to London, minutes later I had signed and booked airfair and hotel. Perfect.

See you soon William and Kate. I leave in 5 weeks and only stay for 9 days so will do a lot of rushing around London to get the most out of my stay. William is in Nth Queensland right now but I thought it too far and expensive to fly up and see him then suddenly I am going to London for his Wedding, work that one out. I do love London and Royal parades, that is why I must be there.

Look at this embroidered map of the British Empire from the coronation of GeorgeVI 1937. The distance between the east coast of Australia and Britain looks not far at all. The fact that I am flying with an airline I have never heard of before, a brief stopover in Abu Dhabi,- the airport there is new and looks very nice- and the first leg of the flight means I will be in the air for 15 hours the second leg only 8 should not worry me... It does, I hate flying, take offs and landings terrify me and I never sleep on planes as I feel someone (me) should stay awake and check the plane is still in the air. I suffer all this for Royalty and sometimes wish I had chosen an easier enthusiasm. The hotel I am staying at is perfect for me and is in a top location.
No more episodes of Air Crash Investigation on T.V for me.

Emily is refusing to show any interest in the trip at all. I have assured her she will be staying here and well looked after by Mr. Linens and will hardly know I have gone. He will have full instructions and a training manual to study and exams to pass before I can leave my girls in his care.

I had thought I might take my beach shelter to use in the Mall on my overnight stay before the wedding but Charlotte agrees with me that it is too large and unmanageable and could cause trouble in the crowd.
I tried to avoid Wedding Fever but it got me as I suppose I knew all along it would......

Catching Up

Catching up after a busy week. Last Tuesday was International Women's Day and I was invited to a breakfast at a nearby beach suberb. Breakfast, speeches and a fashion show were all enjoyed. The only man present was the poor man whose face you can see on the right peering through the curtain and trying to fix the computer presentation while remaining invisible.

The great Dame Edna was there ( I hope it wasn't an imposter ). I'm sure everyone worldwide knows the Dame, she is the role model for all Australian women and we all aspire to be like her.

I was surprised to see her there as I know she is a close friend of The Queen and helps H.R.H organise large Royal events and there is a wedding coming up.

I need new glasses soon and hope to find ones similar to the Dames at Budget Specs.

Dame Edna noticed the kangaroo brooch I was wearing (bought at the markets $4 two weeks ago)

and came rushing over to me to admire it. We agreed we have a lot in common as we both love colour and sparkly things and think the colour beige should be banned.

I am checking out the op. shops for a cardigan like the Dames.

Doll club on Saturday but I wasn't able to go. Two of the catergories where I might have won a prize were 1. A koala, these 2 jugs were the only koala's I have. 2. A coffee cup, I only have this pretty one, not even a royal one. Now I will never know if I would have won a certificate. 3. An Oriental doll. I don't have one so no hope there.

My William and Kate cross stitch kit arrived from the U.K and I've made a start. The kit seems easy enough to stitch, all the threads came ready sorted on a card but I prefer my plastic bags on a ring method with the colour numbers written on the front. Easier to use and less waste.

I think this mother duck has done well to keep 9 ducks safe. This group look half grown and were out in front of my house this week.

Bargains Galore

Sad that a very large chain of bookstores has gone into receivership and all stores are closing down. Good news for me today as my local branch had 50% off all books and I was able to buy the book above that I have wanted since it came out last year. The soft cover version would have been even cheaper but I wanted the hard cover and bought the only copy in the store. The book has lots of old photos and over 1,000 pages. The price on the cover is the full price.
Books here are expensive and often are released months after overseas releases and I have been guilty of buying books cheaper from Amazon or browsing bookstores and then reading the book I want from the library so I take a small amount of blame for the closure.

I couldn't resist this gold teapot from the op. shop for only $2, yes the lid is missing, BUT it's a Sadler teapot made in England and Sadler teapots are very expensive and collectable so I am thrilled with my find. I have put a royal bear inside to make it a bit Royal but it would look good with flowers or a plant too.

The book in front is a coronation autograph book with steel covers made for the coronation 1953 by Steel Company of Wales Ltd. Sadly there are no Royal Autographs inside.

I am making progress with my knitted Kate doll, don't judge her and laugh I have a long way to go yet. Bought some pearl trimming today. The pattern doesn't mention pearls but It's a Royal wedding and there are sure to be pearls involved.

Took this photo this morning, don't know what the things the men are paddling are called but they seem to be getting popular on the lake. Doesn't look much fun just standing and paddling. The man on the right has his dog with him and at least the dog can sit down.

To complete this post of odds and ends we have bad cat behaviour #1065. Well who am I to stop an older cat drinking from whatever she likes?

William and Kate Stitching Marathon

I'm stitching as fast as I can but I keep finding more Royal Wedding items I must do. The knitted W and K dolls are a free download pattern I found on the net and the instructions are easy to follow. I'm not a very experienced knitter but once again enthusiasm wins over skill and the dolls will be knitted.

A keen start has been made on the wedding tapestry. I'm trying to work without a frame but think I will have to use one for the background.

To show I can manage a small social life too, I went to see a local production of the old classic Guys and Dolls yesterday. Today I went to a very early session at the movies and saw The King's Speech. What a great movie, I was prepared to be a little dissapointed because, well , it wasn't the real King, but I loved it.

A view of the local theatre, we always take cushions to sit on as the seats are so uncomfortable but the shows are always good.

Had lunch with friends before the matinee at a Thai restaurant overlooking the small harbour and ocean.

Enough of enjoying myself, back to stitching. This cross stitch kit is on it's way from the U.K. It's a John Clayton design from Heritage and will keep me busy for a while. Also on it's way to me is a Kate and William Wedding sampler kit I ordered from Majesty magazine.

World of Cross Stitcher magazine #176 and Cross stitcher magazine #238 both have Royal wedding charts. These mags. will be released in March in the U.K but won't arrive here till May.

Doll Club Win

Doll club meeting yesterday and one of the categories was a souvenir bear, I entered Pink and we won 3rd prize certificate. Well done Pink.Then trouble. Pink saw her little sister Pinkette for sale on a trade table and begged me to buy her. I said no as like Pink she is made of mohair by the same club member who made Pink and was too expensive. Pink cried. The price was reduced. I weakend, handed over lots of$$$$ and Pinkette became ours. Pinkette was a bare bear but a very kind and generous club member insisted I take the red spotted dress for her as she looks so good in it.
Pinkette is wearing a bow on her head of Charles and Diana Wedding ribbon and Pink has a bow of the same ribbon on her wrist. On Pinks feet are cloth badges frim C&D's wedding.
Charlotte insisted on being in the photo because she thinks the prize certificate is meant for her.
No Charlotte, I'm sure if it was for you it would have been 1st prize.


The two other sections for prize certifcates were; a doll holding flowers and a paperweight. I put some flowers in the hand of one of my old childhood dolls and entered a Charles and Diana wedding paperweight. No winnings here as the competitors were just too good.

I had hoped Charlotte would wander off for another sleep but no, she wants to help with my next photo arrangement.

I allowed Pink to borrow my new Kate and William charm bracelet to wear to Doll Club and next to it is a mini Kate and William cup and saucer surrounded by Charles and Diana wedding ribbon.

This is how I got Charlotte away from my display. I took the cover off the doll's house and she was instantly distracted. Easy.

Charlotte and Emily's 16th Birthday

Charlotte and Emily share their 16th birthday today. Here they have blown out the candles on their cake. Well done my beautiful girls.

The girls each received a birthday parcel in the post from their cousin Galina.

Emily is excited but a little suspicious of what might be inside, but she does love the pretty paper.

You can look now Emily, that is a lovely toy for you to play with, and look, a handmade card from Galina. Galina chose the blue toy for you because you are a blue point Birman.

Now Charlotte's turn to open her parcel. Do you need help Charlotte?

Look Charlotte you got a hand made card too and that toy is the perfect colour for your seal point colours. You must both write thank you cards to Galina tomorrow. You will have lots of fun with the new toys I'm sure.

Here is the beautiful and talented cousin Galina. Galina is a Russian Blue and very elegant. I know Galina would have come to the birthday celebrations if she could but Charlotte and Emily are both so pleased she remembered their special day with gifts.

Here is little fun filled Roxy who would love to be friends with Charlotte and Emily if they weren't always asleep when Roxy calls.

Roxy is 4yrs old and after a hard first 2yrs of life was lucky enough to be adopted by near neighbour Fay and now lives a very happy contented life.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY my beautiful girls, may you have many more happy healthy years.

GeorgeVI to ElizabethII

Today marks the anniversary of the death 59years ago of King GeorgeVI and the start of the reign of ElizabethII. The Queen, then Princess Elizabeth was in Africa on her way to Australia when told of her father's death. Above are the only 2 souvenirs I have been able to find of that cancelled visit.

The Queen arrives back in London for the funeral of her father.

1952 was the year 0f 3 Queens. Above are Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth the Queen mother and Queen ElizabethII ready for the King's funeral. Queen Mary died the next year and Queen Elizabeth lived as a widow for the next 50 years as the popular Queen Mother. ElizabethII celebrates her Diamond Jubilee next year, the length of her reign will soon pass Queen Victoria's.

Was going to find something individual to show for the King but then remembered A-yet to be explained ladder issues B-there might be a large spider behind anything on the wall C- there could be a VERY large spider behind anything on the wall so this is a bit of an overview.

The king can be seen top left on a framed embroidered cushion cover sent to me by Gina at http://patrasplace.blogspot.com/ and also top right.

Nothing to do with royals but had to share this anyway. I never much liked Gok or his 'How to Look Good Naked" T.V show and almost didn't bother to choose his book at the library. So glad I did, his story is so interesting and I will watch his T.V shows now with a new respect for him.
I recommend his book to anyone and will be sorry when I finish it tonight.