Small World

Today I had a conversation over a cup of tea and a latte about - amongst other things - blogging and bloggers. My companion and I discussed the merits of blogging and how it changes things for people in lots of positive ways big and small. As bloggers ourselves, we talked about how blogging had been a positive force in our own lives, having since we started, improved our creativity, made us notice things we may not have noticed before, honed our writing skills, revealed talents we didn't know we had, provided motivation and inspiration and given us access to community, enabling us to connect with many like minded people who have enriched our lives in all sorts of ways and who, if it were not for blogging, or the internet, we may otherwise never have known.

We had such a lovely conversation my companion and I, not just about blogging, but all sorts of other things too, that nearly 2 hours flew by without so much as a second's notice - as it always does when one is having fun.

I admit, I was nervous, for this was a "blind date" of sorts. I wasn't sure if I would be able to say a single interesting thing, and was worried that my companion would wish she hadn't driven the 5 miles out of Oxford centre after the business which bought her to these parts today. But you see, I have "known" Tracy for ooooh ... perhaps over a year now (?) and so I needn't have worried one jot because there was no need for awkward, icebreaking 'small talk' or 'getting to know you' type of questions. Its a bit strange really but I've seen it described so, many times. Infact, meeting this lovely lady face to face was like meeting someone I have real coffee with quite regularly! It didn't feel at all as if we'd 'not met' before ... Infact, by the time I had walked the short distance back home after our meeting, I had already thought of a trillion and one things I should have said or asked or would have liked to find out or follow up ...

Tracy, it was a joy to meet you today, and I hope we can continue our many conversations next time .. and I really hope there is a next time.

Sew Poorly

I've been laid low with a horrid ear infection! I thought it was just a little swelling, but by Thursday last I was in such pain that in tears I called the surgery to be told that they only had an appointment the following Monday (today) and that the whole of the West Oxfordshire medical team were "training" for the whole of that afternoon!! I swear it would be easier to get an appointment with Dr Who in his Tardis these days! Anyway, I think the receptionist took pity on my tearful whimpering and, after I explained the problem, managed to fit me in with a doctor before said 'training' event! I came away with a bottle of antibiotic eye drops (yes EYE drops) to drop in my ear, and thankfully, they seem to have done the trick! Apparently the pharmaceutical company who makes these drops, couldn't be bothered with the time and expense of re-licencing them for ear purposes ... not that that decision was reflected in the price!

I'm not the only one who's had some 'medical' attention. While the aforementioned doctors were 'training', a nice man came to my house to service my sewing machine. Yes, came to my house! I couldn't bear to drop her off in a shop and wait the prescribed two weeks for her return, and so it's lucky that I found out about this man.

Look a the state of my needle plate! The nice man had a special file, so it's smooth again now, but these divvets were playing havoc with my sewing as you can imagine! They're there because I had a nasty habit of pulling the fabric through from the back which bends the needle, and then all it takes is one pin to cause a crash, and then a crater.

And look what happens with a blunt needle ... really I had no idea!! The strip on the left is blunt needle syndrome, and on the right, nice new needle perfection.

Meanwhile it's been busy busy busy here, and will continue to be so for the next three weeks. On the table, I've got my ongoing shelf stock makes, a party dress, a corset (for sale), another party'ish dress, and oh .. did I mention my day job.... it's the big conference the week after next .. the one for 500+ people that I was hired to organise ... eeek! The overtime is going to get me one of these ...

So I don't mind too much!

Something Different ..

Here are some things I was very lucky to 'acquire' during my recent shift at Antiques on High - They are vintage, from the 1970's, collars and cuffs which have been hand embroidered with proper mirrors by craft workers in India (or thereabouts).

The collars and cuffs are embrodered onto thin cotton, within printed pattern lines as you can see on the detail picture above. I am supposing that you cut them out with a seam allowance all the way around, and then sew them on, with seam allowance tucked under, to your chosen garment, which I think should also be white as with the best will in the world, it would be hard to entirely hide the white fabric which holds them.

Aren't they exquisite? This green one is my favourite. Here is a detail of the back. The thread used is a thick woolen type of thread - or should I say thin woolen thread?. What I mean is that it is thicker than the usual embroidery floss, but thin like darning wool. All of them have a yellow and black chevron design incorporated, I wonder if this has a special meaning?

I guess those who like to embroider, could make these quite easily to their own design, to sell, or perhaps even for gifting to crafty friends or family members.

These lovely panels need to be cleaned. Very very carefully, by hand, in cold water and on a sunny day!

On the Shelf

I have been busy busy busy! Sewing stuff for my 'shelf', and also stuff for myself!

A selection of red things ...

A selection of brown and gold things!

Dress one - nearly finished, here's a sneaky preview - Dress 2 is currently on the slab, oh ... and then there's Dress 3 - a remake! And I haven't even started on the winter wardrobe yet!

Shopping Anyone?

Yesterday was my first shift at Antiques on High in Oxford, where I have a shelf in the Craft Gallery selling my wares. The shop is a 'co-operative' where antique dealers and crafts people pay a small amount for space to sell their treasures and work one day per month per 'shelf'. It's a great way for people to 'share a shop'.

I thought you might like to come to work with me! No? ... OK .. you do some shopping, I'll show you around...

What about starting the day with some sewing ... there are buttons, and pin cushions, equipment and thimbles, but you might need deep pockets! that little duck down there is made of silver and costs £395!! Worth every penny i'd say!


Fancy a cup of tea? Perhaps there's some cake in one of the tins? Lots of pretty cups and plates to choose from ..

Need some party accessories for later? Choose from bead encrusted bags, divine vintage stones, funky enamel brooches, even collars for the gentlemen and spats for the ladies ..


Glass of wine anyone?? Pick a glass...

Or perhaps just another cup of tea, in a teapot found at the bottom of the South China Sea ... Can you see the barnacles?

When you're Christmas shopping this year, remember, that all antiques and vintage treasures are ...
GREEN!

For more delicious vintage pics from 'Ants', click HERE.

Scrappy Do!

Over the weekend I decided that the time had come for a clearout! Look away now, if you are of a nervous disposition with an aversion to mess!

This was just the start!! It took two days to tidy ...

This isn't my ironing pile ... this is scraps and old clothes for 'restyling' which previously lived ontop of my fabric cupboard.

After a mamoth shredding and sorting session on the sofa, I ended up with a basket of clothes for mending or alteration..

And a basket full of 'spare parts' - that is to say, old clothes chopped into manageable flat folding pieces ready for re-cycling, including a substantial pile of jean pockets which I am planning to make some sort of pockety organiser with, and a collection of Jimmy's old t-shirt fronts from which one day, I plan to make a quilt. Perhaps in time for grandchildren - i'm not anticipating any of those in the near future (obviously!), but the way things are right now, it'll be another 20 years before I get round to it!

My fabric shelf is tidy - can you see the colour theme? Things are easy round here, black, red, white or leopard, with the odd rogue colour thrown in very occasionally - usually if somebody gives it to me!

I have a pile of re-usable notions.

Some scrubby soap parcels made from left over soap shavings from the last batch of soap I made, and some scrap dress net. I have discovered that dress net is a marvellous exfoliator in the shower.

After all was done, dusted, folded and sorted, the pub next door very kindly put on some fireworks to celebrate! Which was nice..

Spoils of London

I've long heard tales of the mythical Goldhawk Road in London... a mecca for allsorts of sewing types, including most of the costume makers of the West End, so when Mr Marmalade and I spent the weekend in London a couple of weeks ago (already!!), we navigated our way through the mostly closed underground system to Hammersmith, and walked the rest of the way through Shepherds Bush then up to Goldhawk Road, and OH MY!!! Such a fabric paradise I had never dreamed possible! I had only intended to spend a couple of hours there at most, but by the time we arrived back at our hotel in London Bridge, it was gone 6 - we arrived at midday!!

Fabric shop, upon fabric shop, roll upon roll of beautiful silks, and linens, row upon row of suiting, pile upon pile of other unusual types of fabric - neoprene, pvc, leather, shiny stuff, furry stuff, stretchy stuff, textured stuff... amazing! I wanted a piece of EVERYTHING, but with a restricted budget, here's what I settled upon - needless to say, none of it is what I set out to get - silk...

I fell in love immediately with this Italian design, British made, wool/cashmere suiting. I wanted 1 metre tops, but the shopkeeper persuaded me to buy the rest of the roll! At just under £8./metre, I wasn't complaining and ended up with 3.5m! I will use it to make male corsets - my very next project!

This is powernet - used to make bra's and foundation corsolette's for dresses. It is expensive most everywhere I have looked - the most I have seen this on sale for is £40/m !! I bought this metre for £6.50 but it is a medium weight which may explain the cheaper price tag.

This is suiting lining - polyester. Lovely pattern which doesn't photograph well. In one shop it was £4.50/m, across the road it was £16./m! Bizarre. This will be used to line the aforementioned male corsets.

I couldn't resist this stretch polyester leopard print with green spots which I will use for lining purposes. I'm old enough to remember the Bet Lynch Glory Days, so will opt out of the evening dress option for this though I do think it would be nice!

The same fabric again, in 'traditional' colour. Again for lining. this was £2.50/m

The best - or possibly the worst - thing about Goldhawk Road is that it is very very easy to reach from my house ... A bus, train, tube, is all I need, as easy as a hop, skip and a jump. Oh dear .. oh very dear...

Shelf Life

I have been very very busy lately. What with finishing off Katie the display corset, and installing her into her new home. Plus work and other sewing bits.. the time just seems to whizz by in a matter of seconds. I am feeling quite overwhelmed.

So on Monday we 'moved in' to our shelf in Antiques on High, in Oxford. There is very little parking in Oxford, so we had to carry her all the way accross town which raised a few eyebrows I can tell you!

I've been making some accessories to keep Katie company on the shelf - not as many as I would have liked, but time is of the essence these days it seems, and come 4'oclock, when the light starts to fade, I have to start wrapping up in the sewing room for the day.

But I am very pleased with what I've managed so far. And here is my little shelf in the Craft Gallery.

Still looking a bit sparse I know. I have to decorate the shelves a little more, make a decent sign, and fill up with a few more bits and bobs. I have already got 2 corsets to sell and another in production. Hopefully all will be done by next Saturday when I do my first shift working in there!

While I was settling in on Monday, a gentleman came in with some vintage bits which he'd found in his mother's house while clearing it out. Look at this beauty!

I was quite taken with it and gave it a full examination to see how it was made, with notes, and photos. It's from Dickens and Jones, I'm not sure which year - probably the 40's or 50's.

Katie is in very good company in her new home. Next door to her, is a lady who makes stained and fused glass gifts and jewelery....

And on the other side is a lady who dyes silk and then makes it into scarves and accessories. In her day job, this lady is a designer for Per Una. These lovely silk things are what she does in her spare time!

On the far wall, there are watercolours of Oxford scenes.

Opposite, is a lady who dismantles broken vintage jewellery parts, and makes beautiful new jewels.

Then over in the far corner, there is another artist, who paints pictures, and cards, and ceramics.

There are a few more people in the craft gallery, but as you can see, the light isn't brilliant and these were the best photos I could manage! Will try harder next time...

Facts and Figures

Well I did receive some interesting questions from you so here (at last) are my replies answered in a kind of 'relevant' order because surprisingly, or perhaps not surprisingly, the answers are all connected in some way ...

Dubgirl wanted to know "a bit more about your pagan beliefs and green issues". As this is a part of me which underpins every decision I make in life, then it's the first answer. Yes, I am Pagan and have been for all of my adult life, and perhaps some time before that, depending on how old a person is when they become an adult! In my early 20's I discovered that there was a 'name' for what I believed to be true about Life, The Universe and Everything. By my late 20's I had found myself a teacher, and committed the next 10 years to intensive study in the Druid tradition. My personal definition of Druidry is this:

"At the centre of Druidry is the quest for inspiration. This is sought in the beauty of nature, music, poetry, art, dreams, mediation and the wisdom of our ancestors and the ancestors of the land. Druidry helps its practitioners to find deep personal healing and growth, and through this, connection to spirit, to the earth, to nature and to life. Druids usually live within the boundaries of a strict personal code of ethics, and for most this will include being vegetarian or vegan, and living as lightly as possible upon the land in order to cause as little impact on both their immediate environment and therefore the wider environment, as possible."

You can read other people's definitions (including mine) HERE.

Paddymade, wanted to know about my tattoos....

I have 6 tattoos. The first was done when I was 22 or 23, and at the time when I defined my spiritual path as pagan. It's a simple celtic knot at the top of my right arm. It symbolises infinity and the never ending cycle of life, death, rebirth.

The second was part of a profound earth initiation rite which I did after the first 5 years of my aforementioned study. Each 'module' (for lack of a better word), took the student through each element - Earth, Air, Fire, Water - in that order. This tattoo on my spine is an Adder, - a snake native to this land, Britain's only venomous snake, and symbol of earth magic, fertility, regeneration, darkness and healing amongst other things. This is my favourite tattoo and it was done by a lovely lady who understood perfectly the reason for it's being, and how to flow the energy correctly. I have two tattoos on my lower back which symbolise air (freedom, thought, inspiration, truth) and water (emotions). I have not yet had fire done - not for any particular reason, I just haven't got round to it. I also have a feather tattooed behind my left ear - this is part of the 'air' tattoo and symbolises the ability to listen - an important feature of air. I also have a tattoo on my left foot - it is a fun tattoo, a swallow resting on a branch done in the "old style" which ofcourse is quite new! I had it done in Italy with Italian Connection, it's a tradition of ours to be pierced or tattooed at the same time, so in someways, that foot tattoo symbolises a great friendship.

BillieJane wanted to know who my role model is ... hmmm... Well, I'm not like other girls! Ofcourse I have my 'idols' (in the loosest sense of the word), Audrey Hepburn being one, Sophia Loren another, and Vivien Westwood too .. but I don't consider these women to be role models really. The only role model I would say I had was a real woman, my aforementioned teacher. I met her 13 years ago, she was the Druid Preistess at our wedding, and it was after this that I asked her to teach me. At the time, she exuded an air of peace, tranquility and a solid, grounded confidence which, as an extremely angry and unhappy young woman, attracted me. She was a good teacher. I learned more than I could ever have dreamed possible, and I am deeply grateful for that.

One of the things which didn't go down brilliantly in my 'training', came out when I went through the 'fire' stage. This was all about exploring the fire in one's belly, the motivation behind all intention, and ofcourse passion. A passion which came through was sewing - I know, you would never have guessed! And sewing corsets at that. I was told that this was a little "superficial", so I put it off for a while. But it wont go away! So i'm going with it, and Twiggy asks "If you could make a corset for anyone in the public eye, who would it be and what would it look like?" ... Hmmm.... I think Helena Bonham Carter with the help of her husband has already done that look for me in Sweeny Todd, so I would say that there is no celebrity I would make a corset for. The people who I want to make corsets for are real women who say "I could never fit into one of those" or "I wish I had the figure for one of those" ... ALL women have the figure for a corset, trust me!

MummyBooBear asked what my 'top five soundtrack' is. VERY difficult question as I have always loved all kinds of music but in chronological (ish) order:

1. "I Want to be Free by Toyah" - caused much torment to my parents and defined my 'teenage attitude' and also later, was one of the 'anthems' enjoyed in drunken moments (of which there were many) with the queen of all Toyah fans, Italian Connection.

2. "Hong Kong Garden" by Siouxsie and the Banshees - the pop idol who defined my 'look' at age 14, she's the reason my hair is (still) black - it hasn't really changed all that much!

3. "Vagabonds" by New Model Army, when Mr Marmalade and I got together this was the band which was ..

4. "Death or Glory" by The Clash - reminds me of Jimmy and his skateboard -it was featured in the brilliant skateboarding film "Lords of Dogtown"

5. "Venus in Furs" by The Velvet Underground.

Fancy Elastic wants to know what my party trick is ... I would say 'shoes'.

And last but most definitely not least, Ginny asked "If your house was on fire and your family/animals were all safe, which one thing would you want to save from the fire?". The answer to that would be my trusty Mac as it has the rest of my life in it's memory banks! Really, the most important thing would be the photos. Everything else can be replaced one way or another.

Phew! I think I need a lie down now!