My mess of a studio still waiting for the clean up fairy to come along ! Although usually on a Friday night I often have a big clean up so I give myself a big surprise on Tuesday morning because by then I have managed to forget I have had a clean up............strange but true.
I love the size I must admit although the bigger the studio the larger the potential to get into a serious mess. I have had this studio for six years and all my previous studios have been really small, so here I have room to spread out and to create and this studio has the most wonderful natural light. The view outside is of blond brick wall but I can see some blue sky if I take the time to look up through the buildings. My shop and studio, (you can see into the shop and from the shop into the studio) is in a Victorian house and the shop is in the front two rooms and hallway and my large studio is I guess in what was once two bedrooms at the back (as the walls have been removed it's a bit hard to imagine).
You can see my old sewing machine, straight sewer only - no ziz zag or reverse but will sew through your finger if you let it ! which is the only one I use as most of my millinery work is hand sewn so I only use a machine on the easily accessible parts of a hat and I also make things like the navy scarf/headband there on the mannequin (this is the one I handmade for a customer during Spring Racing Carnival - I was making her one in black silk but only discovered that is was not black but French navy at the last minute !!!) I was literally putting in the last stitch and the long tail of the scarf fell on my jumper - which was black - and this is when I discovered that they had sold me the wrong colour at the fabric store and I had in fact made a dark navy one!! So nothing else to do but head back to the fabric store for the correct colour - I should rely more on my instincts as I noted when I spread the fabric out on the cutting table to cut it, it did look like charcoal and not black and I thought to myself 'oh, that's a nice charcoal black...'...well, will double check next time but not the sort of thing you want to have happen when you are so flat out busy. I have a huge set of steel frame shelves (they cost a small fortune to have put in place and are they ugly!) this is where all the feathers , straws, felts and silk flowers are all kept in their separate colours.
This building is set between two big buildings and this little house looks a bit squashed in but I am so glad it is still here as I would hate to be in a modern concrete building (box). I also have a storage room and big kitchen and off street parking - perfect...all that's left is for me to get creating. That is my abandoned chair there as I have run off to the computer again !
This is the latest Ivory Sun Hat I have made for the shop and how lucky was I - just had enough of this lovely vintage straw trim to put around the crown - with one bobble left over !
8) The finished item ! (hopefully looking very 'southern belle' rather than KFC 'Dickie bow')
7) Add elastic so the creation won't blow away !
6) Tie tack the two tops (loops) of the bow into place and the two ties using cream for the brim (no ugly black cotton on the underside of the brim).
5) Position onto the hat hold in place with some pins, sew from behind and under the head fitting of the hat...tricky but easy if you know how. No need to overdue this bit as just a couple of stitches either side of the center is all you need. One of the old ladies I used to work with in London said that you needed 'fairy fingers' to do some parts of millinery and I have yet to find a better description.
4) The finished bow.
3) Next add the center of the bow stitch in place at back.
2) Workout the position to make sure that the join of the band underneath is hidden under the middle of the bow.
1) Start with the two loops for the top and then add the ties, hand sew all into place.
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