peg leg trousers and a blouse

I am away in London today running a few errands and seeing old colleagues for lunch. I might even go and draw somewhere interesting in the afternoon. Alternatively I could go on the hunt for that elusive spring/summer jacket that I've been looking for ever since I consigned the last one, faded and ragged, to the bin. Or I could go to Gap and get the husband the coat that he has been eyeing up but which he hasn't found in the right size yet. He, like me, is a pretty average-sized person so whenever something is popular, it always runs out in our sizes first. Annoying!

I thought I'd bite the bullet and show you a couple of things I've mentioned before, namely the sewing project from last week and those pesky peg leg trousers that I keep prattling about but never photograph. Well, here they both are in all their combined peculiar/androgynous glory. Sorry about the rubbish photos - I am not brave enough yet to get the husband to take pictures of me whilst I prat around in silly clothing so I'm doing it on a timer or in the rather dusty bedroom mirror.


The blouse is the sewing project from last week, and was inspired by the one from Jackson, Johnston and Roe that I blogged here. I haven't decided yet if I will sew tiny opaque white buttons to the placket or leave it as is. Amateurishly, I made the pattern up myself, so the fit around the shoulders isn't perfect (it's a bit funnel-necky on someone as square as me) and it's a b***** to take off! Oop! Maybe I'll get better with practice :-) But it was fun to make. I have never made a garment with sleeves before so at least I've learned something!



In order NOT to look like a bloke, perhaps some heels might be in order, but I'm in socks here. Never mind if I look like some random from the 1920s or 30s - I love these pictures of girls in menswear and workwear, from Wikipedia and The Selvedge Yard.

the weekend

was wholesome. We went on a pleasant 6 mile amble between the villages of Cavendish and Clare in Suffolk, and took in a few antiques in Clare. I nearly bought an oversized tweed 1970s jacket suit for £12 and a Scandinavian enamel milk churn but in the end I bought neither, which only serves to increase my thrifty wholesomeness I think. It was all very Constable and bucolic, and the weather made for some interesting light in my photos. All that farmland makes me yearn for something a bit more wild, though. Something a bit more Welsh? I haven't adjusted any of the colours because I'm on the computer with the colour problems so sorry if they are a bit off. That said, the light really was weird on Saturday.





On Sunday I finished off my little sewing project and puttered around in the garden, which has gone BOOOOOMPH!! in the last week (yes, that is my onomatopoeic word for 'the goddamn bindweed has shot up and is strangling my lavender etc.'). I also made some lovely Finnish style gingerbread biscuits and a tasty fennel risotto. Achievement!

Aliens

Wow. How did it get to Friday already? That animation job didn't materialize in the end because of copyright issues with the style that the client wanted. So I've been finishing off this Dorling Kindersley job and doing some sewing (I'll show you next week). Here's a snippet from the UFO book spread (it makes a lot more sense when the text is dropped into the beams of light because each beam tells a different alien story):


It was good fun to do. I hope I get more work like this because it's easy and enjoyable. I love being paid to have fun!

What are you up to this weekend? I think we will be going for a walk and a pootle around some villages in Suffolk. Hopefully this time I will remember to bring my camera! Have a good one x

One Hundred Days no.94

I love how my neighbours yell at their insane dog as if he understands what they are saying.

and... more chairs!

Remember this post about some Bauhaus swivel chairs at Pigeon Vintage? Well, I just found this seller on eBay in Germany who sells similar chairs for a lot less than £325. Nice!

Image from the seller.

One Hundred Days no.93

A quick one today. Remember to eat your greens or your tentacles won't grow nice and long.

Tucker

It looks like I'm going to be stupidly busy until Friday - yet more work is about to land on my desk with a tight deadline, and it's animation as well, so I'll be up into the wee hours on Wednesday night at least.


So I thought I'd leave you until Friday with a link to a shop that I wish I could afford something from - Tucker by Gaby Basora. I don't normally do loud prints, but something about the cut of the blouses and the casual retro chic of the shirt dresses gets my attention.




All images from the Tucker webshop.

One Hundred Days no.92

Oh dear. I seem to have been stumbling at the last hurdle with these drawings. This is how I feel after the weekend I've just had. Lazy drawing. Sorry.

the weekend

was a bit mad. We had a wonderful time at Go Ape - it really is worth having a go, even if you aren't all that confident with stuff like heights or swinging between trees and climbing rope ladders. I love that kind of thing so it was perfect fun for me. We went with a bunch of my school friends and their partners and spent the rest of the weekend eating, playing Cluedo badly (ever tried it drunk?) and drinking too much. I am exhausted and a bit fluffy today as a consequence.


This week I'm doing another Dorling Kindersley book spread, this time on famous alien abductions. I am really enjoying drawing UFOs!

Hope you all had a good weekend. I need another one right now...

Happy weekend!

I'm afraid I'm too busy with work today to write or draw anything here. Please forgive me. Tonight we are welcoming weekend guests to our house who will be going with us tomorrow to swing amongst some trees in Thetford Forest. I am looking forward to climbing trees and behaving like a boy with some of my very best friends. Then we will have a big party in our tiny house, cook dinner and make a mess. We are calling it a 'house-cooling' party: a last hurrah before we move on.

Hope you have a good weekend.

The Old Cinema

Bleurgh. I have been empty-headed all week, sleeping poorly (I have been itching and thrashing at night - what's that all about?) and at a bit of a loss creatively. I haven't got much to say for myself, I'm sorry.

The husband and I went to a local pub last night to watch my darling Tottenham beat Manchester City 1-0 to gain a Champions League spot for next season. It was the sweetest victory we have had all season, but I was quaking in my seat for pretty much the whole match. Sorry if you haven't got a clue what I'm talking about, or if you couldn't give a s***, but I just had to write this down, I was so happy :-)

So, have I got anything good to tell you (other than my football news which, to me, is good!)? I just came across this shop in London called The Old Cinema which labels itself as London's only department store dedicated to selling antique, vintage, retro and upcycled furniture. The pictures on their website certainly make the showroom (in Chiswick) look worth visiting, with art exhibitions on the walls and a huge amount of stock to drool over.

There are pieces from a wide range of eras, mostly 20th century, but some of it a bit too, uh, retro for my taste. However, here's a small selection of the things that I liked. What did I choose? The usual suspects for me - industrial steel furniture (there's LOADS of it!), lockers, desks and haberdasher's cabinets. Am I getting boring?




(top image left) French soccer lockers, £625; (top image right) steel and brass lockers, £480; (above) Danish rosewood desk, £1050; 1950s draughtsman's desk, £1200; oak haberdasher's cabinet, sold.

I also liked some of the lighting, especially the anglepoise desk lamps. Ah, if only I had loadsa money, eh?

I've just received a commission with a very tight deadline so I'm off to work for the rest of the day. I will post a new drawing if I have time!

One Hundred Days no.91

I'm busy on an illustration job today, so here's an onion for now :-)

One Hundred Days no.90

Another thing involving vinegar...

the weekend

Image above from www.highpeak.gov.uk

Hope you all had a good weekend and (here in England) Bank Holiday. I spent it up in Birmingham with my family. Lots of marvellous things were achieved: we went shopping, attended a charity fashion event for which I made a promotional film a while ago, went on a random family jaunt to Buxton, and, most importantly of all, I wore those peg leg trousers I wrote about a while ago. Yes, I was brave enough. OK, I was in Buxton - hardly the place to exhibit ones sartorial edge - and got a few weird looks from passers by who must have thought I was wearing pyjamas, but I enjoyed it anyway.

We went to Buxton because the husband and I spotted a few magnificent townhouses in need of renovation that were for sale at very affordable prices. Buxton is not at all in our first choice of area, but we have been spreading our search very wide in order to find a house that suits our requirements. My family has been in the business of buying and selling property for a long time, so we all piled into the car and went off for a day trip and to nose around some houses. There were houses with turrets, B&Bs, eight bedroom townhouses, blocks of flats... it is amazing what you can get there:


I had a day of fantasizing about running a bed and breakfast business (the bottom two images) - imagining how I would decorate the rooms with clean whites and simple furnishings, imagining the delicious breakfasts I would serve... and then I thought about having to do all the washing and cleaning myself and thought better of it!

Alternatively, this beautiful grade II listed townhouse in Ruthin has just come on the market and I am drooling buckets over it. It has original shutters in one of the downstairs rooms (can you see them in those right-hand windows?), four bedrooms, four attic rooms, sitting room, dining room, kitchen, huge pantry AND a good sized garden. All in need of a whole load of renovation. I want!