My Grandmother’s Sewing Patterns…

So … my sister recently gifted me all my grandmother’s vintage sewing patterns which had been stashed up her attic many, many years ago. As my grandmother was a professional dressmaker it is a hoard of fabulousness now stored in an old vintage suitcase.

Most of the vintage patterns are in teeny, tiny sizes and so first I needed to learn how to grade a pattern to my modern day size 16 (probably a size 20 back in granny’s day). So … I picked one gorgeous dress and set about slashing up the pattern to my size. I simply love that my grandmother made up this pattern decades before me.

Behold Simplicity Miss Pattern 3464 … my first attempt at grading a true vintage pattern … a tartan wiggle dress (with matching shoe and hair bows by me). ❤️

More Coffee Dregs Art …

I love my cafetière of fresh coffee each morning. I try to have just one cup each day and drink water or peppermint tea the rest of the day, but oh do I love that fresh morning coffee. When I get home from work Lee is usually in the kitchen and has tidied up from my morning smoothie, coffee, breakfast chaos. However, he is often tempted by my coffee dregs and yesterday I got home to find this handsome fella smiling up at me! Once a creative always a creative huh?

21 Today!

The lovely barman from our local was gifted a 21st birthday present from his mum that will last him his whole life. It was his very first tattoo of course! He sat like a proper trooper and now has a beautiful tattoo with a little nod to his mum included. Happy 21st Birthday Liam!

My Mate Did It …

Something we hear quite often in the studio is “ My mate did it!” Quite frankly I am surprised at the number of people who let their “mate” loose on them with a tattoo gun. It all usually ends with a trip to a professional tattoo artist so why not cut out the middle man and head straight to an experienced and licensed tattoo artist. However, if your “mate” has inked you, and you now wish they had played with crayons and paper instead, do not despair as Lee can usually help with a bit of a re-work or even a cover up.

Lee spruced up this tattoo for a lovely young man just yesterday. He was delighted with the end result too!

My Grandmother’s Dress …

My grandmother died 20 years ago this month. She was a talented seamstress and her sewing room, filled with beautiful wedding dresses and colourful bridesmaids dresses, was a magical place when I was a little girl. Her creative skill was passed down to my mother and her three daughters.

My sisters had saved lots of her sewing stuff and they both recently donated it all to me for my own sewing room. I inherited hundreds of vintage sewing patterns, a complete collection of 1970s Golden Hands Magazine and some bits of very old fabric. In amongst the treasures was an unfinished dress in a beautiful shimmery fabric. The dress had been cut out and tacked together but needed stitching, hemming, facings and a zip. It appealed to my sense of history, family and craft to finish the dress my grandmother had started so many decades ago. Without any spare fabric to play with I bound off the sleeves and crochet a 1950’s style Peter Pan collar. I also added a blue enamel pin from that period. I probably need a brown elastic belt to finish off the look but I still love this very special dress made by my grandmother and me. What do you think?

My eyes are dim …

I am literally obsessed with glasses … utterly wonderfully obsessed! I had so many strewn around the house that I decided I need to organise them and bought a huge glasses case to keep them all in. The big, blank, black box needed to be a bit more colourful and I was desperately trying to think of something fun for the lid. As soon as I mentioned it to Lee he gave me his idea … so simple I can’t believe I didn’t think of it … what better to decorate a spectacle box with than spectacles of course!

Glorious Japanese Mask …

I have to admit to a mask phobia. Masks really freak me out. Lee has a Japanese mask in the studio which I find scary. However, even I have to see the glorious colourful beauty of this stunning Japanese mask that Lee created at the weekend. What do you think?

Jellyfish…

Walking on our beach on Friday night we came across a jellyfish just washed onto shore, still bright with life. It transpired to be a Portuguese Man O’ War which, as a lover of sea swimming, gave me a proper shudder of horror. Yet there was no horror in respect of the stunning Jelly-Fish that Lee inked onto one of our regular customers the very next day. The tattoo has really captured the grace, beauty and incredible detail of these strange creatures. This jellyfish tattoo is part of a nautical themed sleeve – still a work in progress, and I have to say whilst I absolutely love this jellyfish tattoo I really don’t want to bump into one whilst out swimming! Eeek!!

Now bring me that Horizon…

The view from our bungalow looks out over the bay and I spend hours looking at the horizon. It fascinates me how the horizon is made up of such beautifully coloured lines. These beautiful lines have been inked by Lee today in this stunning black and grey stomach piece on one of our lovely regulars. Now bring me that horizon….❤️

That’s Amore

I am very lucky to have an talented artist for my husband. Truly, I have never ever felt so valued and appreciated. Of course, when you are adored by an artist, you will become a muse for his creativity. I feel very lucky to have been the subject of Lee’s inspiration many times over. He has drawn and painted me so often that I am sure we could stage a whole exhibition called “The Artist loves his Wife.” It is very strange to see yourself through an artists eyes and when you look at the art it can be hard to believe that’s how someone sees you. I feel exactly that way about this stunning drawing that Lee created whilst we were in Rome a few years ago. ❤️