wedding gift

Now that you know a little bit about the bride and groom, sharing the gift I made/gathered for them will make sense. But before I go any further, I want to give J &V a big thank you for their graciousness in letting me gush on about them. My family and local friends hear my exuberant talk of them often enough... it's fun to share with you, too! Since the newly weds live near a big park and often travel to the countryside for the weekend, a picnic basket came to mind when planning their present. I looked for the ones like my mother has at the barn, and finally found one that was just right at a nearby antique store. I hoped for a vintage quilt or bed spread for a table cloth/ground cover. There was only one in this little shop, but when I saw that it was in oatmeal colored linen and embroidered with blue flowers, I didn't hesitate. It was spread over a bed on display with other assorted textiles piled on top. I could tell it was in incredible condition, but because I had the kids in tow, I snapped it up before I fully examined it. When we got home, I ran out to the clothesline to shoot it before the sun went away. I photograph almost everything. Look at that crocheted trim framing it!

I hadn't even washed and ironed it yet, thus the creases. My son will tell you that I started yelling... I was jumping around in the cold, wet grass doing my happy dance... and yes, yelling and yipping. This beautiful spread, that I planned on folding up in the wedding basket, had two love birds (possibly barn swallows) kissing in the center. Eeep! I knew at once that it was part of a trousseau. A real trousseau! Since I believe in magic and romance, this pretty much took my breath away.

The other piece of linen had a little hole in the center. I cut it in half. Wince. and created two picnic napkins. Into the basket went the linens, local wine, and Gimme! coffee. I'd never seen anything like the wicker covered stainless steel thermos, so I had to get that, too! The interior of the basket was sturdy and loved, but needed a little freshening. I cleaned it with organic orange oil wood cleaner and lined it with a hand printed cloth to mimic the vintage linens.
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. I've bought wedding presents from registries... but this gift seemed to be in keeping with our friends and the spirit of their wedding. Could almost imagine this basket traveling on a steam engine long ago... congratulations and happy picnicking to our favorite love birds.