Our Wedding Gowns

Wedding fever is over, all too short but here are a few treasured photos to remember the day
 I am in the yellow silk fifties dress.
Would you believe it too 1 week to make the wedding gown a joint effort between me and my daughter

But I am most proud of my mothers dress and her hat which I revamped from a charity shop find.

Giveaway - Little Lamb Cushion

At CsevenM we are celebrating the opening of our e-commerce store, offering selected pieces for the home and wardrobe.
To mark the occasion we are offering One lucky winner the opportunity to win a fantastic "little Lamb Cushion" 

To be in with a chance of winning, simply visit the Csevenm Online Store here,  leave a comment, telling us Who is your favourite nursery rhyme character and why? and enter your name and email address for news of the store opening.
This Competition will end in September and results will be announced in October
Please note this Giveaway is only open to UK residents only

Wedding Fever

Wow my last post was over 2 months ago. You may be wondering why? or maybe not!
Well the past months have been frantic.

1: My job is all consuming, this is due to it being a new project and everyone is crying for blood.

2: I was invited to a friend wedding, which meant having to drop everything to make my wedding outfit. My friend also asked that I be the hairstylist for the day.  The wedding took place on the 20th April, a glorious sunny in South Devon. I will be posting highlights of the day and my dress here later.

3: My sister is also getting married, in May (AHHH!!)  and as the resident dressmaker of the family I have been asked to help my daughter make the wedding dress, she is the designer. Would you believe it we have not started the dress, that's because my sister wants to loose as much weight as possible.

I have however finished my niece dress and I am halfway through my mums dress, now this was a challenge, more about that later. Oh did I mention I have started my dress and I have to help my daughter complete her dress. and I am also the hairstylist for the day, this has involved many trips to London  to style cut and prepare everyone's' hair for the wedding, the great thing about this is the wedding is taking place in Barbados, at least I will get a sun break.

4: I have two rustic waistcoats a clients, one for the groom and the other for the best man, all to be completed by the middle of may as I am due to fly out to Barbados on the 23rd May.

OK back to work. If you are around I will be posting update here or at least I will try.

Lesson 7 – Cry with Someone. It’s More Healing than Crying Alone.

Reflections on life based upon the book “God Never Blinks” 50 Lessons for Life’s Little Detours by Regina Brett

“We need to stop hiding our tears and actually share them. It takes a strong person to cry. It takes a stronger person to let others see those tears. We need to be tough enough to be tender, no matter who is watching. (Regina Brett)

Some of us learn from a very age that it is wrong to cry, it is seen as weak, out of control, feeling sorry for yourself.
How often have you said or heard a parent say to their young "big boys don't cry" or "It's OK don't cry"





Crying is a natural human emotions a from of relief from tension that makes us feel much better

Crying also has practical function, It helps lubricate the eyes keeping it moist, helping to protect from dust, and flushes out the eyes when it becomes irritated. 




Crying is a from of communication, a universal form of expression, overcoming languages barriers, bringing people together at funerals, birth and weddings helping us to bond with others, expressing sadness, providing support and comfort.

Crying with someone shows you have a sense of what they are going through, that you are listening, It allows the other person to feel safe, free to express and release pain, not be judged

So today 

You have a friend you have a shoulder to cry on

First Sale on Wow Thank You

I am so excited as last month I had my first sale on Wow Thank You, an online market place where UK based artist list and sell their handmade items. 

This cushion cover is made from Laura Ashley fabric. I have several more Laura Ashley prints available, to complement your home.

The Husband Store

My sister sent me this, I wonder if she is trying to tel me something.

A store that sells husbands has just opened in New York City, where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates:

You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the value of the products increase as the shopper ascends the flights. The shopper may choose any item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building!

So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads:

Floor 1 - These men Have Jobs.

She is intrigued, but continues to the second floor, where the sign reads:

Floor 2 - These men Have Jobs and Love Kids.

'That's nice,' she thinks, 'but I want more.'

So she continues upward. The third floor sign reads:

Floor 3 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, and are Extremely Good Looking.

'Wow,' she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.

She goes to the fourth floor and the sign reads:

Floor 4 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good Looking and Help With Housework...

'Oh, mercy me!' she exclaims, 'I can hardly stand it!'

Still, she goes to the fifth floor and the sign reads:

Floor 5 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, Help with Housework, and Have a Strong Romantic Streak.

She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor, where the sign reads:

Floor 6 - You are visitor 31,456,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store

Two Tailor Made Skirts

There is something really special about having a skirt tailor made for you. It means you can choose the style that suits not only your body shape but also your personality.  You also get to choose the lenght and the colour, now you know you cannot get this with mass produced skirts. 

The brief was to make two skirts for a client who only wore trousers, and wanted to branch out into skirt. The client saw me the Cambridge Fair and fell in love with my skirts, and decided she wanted  one tailor made skirt, she eventually choose these two.

The first skirt was made in this beautiful silk and wool mix stripe fabric. The fabric was cut on the bias giving added interest to the final finish of the skirt. 

The lines were a nightmare to match up, but I am happy with the result.

 The skirt is a fit and flare design, so it fits on the hips and gently flares out just below the hip line. Because this is cut on the bias, the flare has a swishy finish at the hemline

I have made two of this skirt for myslef and they always get a warm reception, based on the style and the fabric I choose. I think I am due another one maybe for the summer instead of a winter skirt.

The second skirt is a riding skirt which I have already blogged about here  This was made in a beautiful forest green wool fabric, sorry my pictures does not do the fabric or the colour justice. 

I love this skirt, its full of drama and so romantic a really fun skirt.

This skirt was the original

 I would love to hear which skirt you like, the fit and flare or the riding skirt

My Modern Riding Skirt

Women riding habits was first introduced int he 16th century, before this period women wore their everyday clothes for riding. 

Riding habits was made in the style of a mans attire, consisting of a fitted jacket worn over a long skirt, top hat and gloves. The riding skirt was designed with a double knee pocket, designed to fit over the upper pommel of a side saddle.  the extra length of skirt or train  was carried in the left hand for mounting or swagged behind and buttoned up on the right hip for walking , Women riding habits were not only functional,  but also tells the story of women place in society, the attitudes, prejudices and restriction that existed during this era. 

Reproduction of 1810 riding habit as worn by in the 1999 film version of Jane Austen'a Mansfield Park 

In later years the riding skirt evolved into  a single knee pocket style know as the half apron skirt, which was worn button around the waist for walking and to cover a woman legs when riding. 

MY MODERN RIDING SKIRT 

This is my version of the riding skirt, based on the Edwardian design,  This riding skirt fits over the waist and hips flowing elegantly from behind. It consist of a simple pencil style to the front and has more fullness in the back.

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I think this is a beautiful skirt and you know something I have made three of these and haven't got round to making one for me, maybe one day.

Partying at 50

Last weekend I was invited to celebrate my friends 50th birthday at Veranda a restaurant  and bar in the centre of Brixton, which doubled up as a nightclub later in the evening  This was chosen by her daughter who wanted to give their mother a nightclub experience, because at 50 she had never stepped foot in a nightclub. . 

We started the evening with a selection of cocktails, as I was driving I chose a virgin mojito, basically a mock cocktail with no alcohol 

The food was delicious, beautifully presented and packed  with flavour, traditional West Indian cuisine served with style and flare, which did not disappoint. We all ordered various dishes from the menu. My friend ordered achee and saltfish, a Jamaican traditional dish served wrapped in filo pastry. I had a delicious filtered sea bass, but my eyes popped when I saw what the other guest had ordered, licking my lips I wish I had chosen their meal.

My friend chose curry goat served in a tuile basket, rather than a splash on a plate. 

The carrot cake and ice-cream desert looked yummy, but I was too full to indulge 

Later in the evening the diners table weas moved to make room for the dance floor and there is where it went down hill, the music was great, but the floor was taken over with 20 plus which was great for her daughters, but I felt like a fish out of water, wishing I had the courage to get up and shake my stuff, but feeling stupid and old stayed with my friend and danced on the couch, you know only moving you upper body and foot tapping.

My question is when do you become too old for clubbing, and where do grown up clubbers go, or it all about the 20 plus 

No 6 of 45 Life Lessons

“You aren’t going to convince me and I’m not going to convince you, so let’s agree to disagree.” 

This quote set the tone for Regina Brett 6th life lessons

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

I think the quote “You aren’t going to convince me and I’m not going to convince you, so let’s agree to disagree.” shows great maturity and respect. It's not about failure or surrender, its about respecting each others point of view. 

Winning an argument is a process of forcing others to accept your point of view, which means you are giving little or no merit to what the other person has to say. 

Listening and respecting others point of view is hard when you are convinced you are right, but its a good lesson to learn.  

What do you think this quote says to you?

Lesson 5 of 45

I came across this lovely piece on Fab after Fifty website. To celebrate growing older, Regina Brett age 90 put together 45 lessons life taught her. 

Here is lesson 5

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

Credit cards are a great invention. But if not handled with care, a life time of debt awaits. 

Carrying a balance on your credit card simply means you are throwing away money on credit card interest, if you add the interest that accrues on the balance of your debt into account, over time that your credit card debt quickly grows. This often means that you may be still paying off that pair of shoes you bought in the sale last summer.  

Or worse paying only the minimum means you may never pay it off in full, as annual fees and compounding interest can keep this bubbling along for years. 

Credit card agreements say that if you’re late in paying the minimum amount for two months in a row or twice during a one-year period, you can face an annual interest rate of 25 per cent or more. Just think of the number of shoes you could have bought.

 Also paying on the due date means your payment won’t be credited to your account until the following day. Not only will you pay interest for the month, but you may have to wait an extra month to restore your interest-free period on new credit card purchases.

Oh and if you miss a few minimum payments you interest rate can shoot up, that’s because you’re seen as a deadbeat who’s likely to default. 

The great advantage of paying off your credit card in full means you won’t ever have to pay the 3% to 3.5% monthly interest on any outstanding balance that remain in the card and your bank balance will be so much healthier