two crafty dames : deeply fabulous vintage-inspired handmade fashion

Feeling at home in the Artlife Centre for Community Arts & Lifestyle courses!
Pretty aprons, cute bunting, and my nan’s treasured antique Singer sewing machine.
Thanks to Pictures by Clair for the lovely photograph x

Carly and I have been having the most fabulous time teaching our sewing class at Artlife these past few weeks! Suffice to say we were pretty darn nervous on our first day but we soon got the hang of things- our students are just darling and absolutely thirsty for sewing knowledge! It is a privilege to share what we know with these wonderful women who are so eager to learn and create.

However it’s with a tinge of sadness I write this post; the morning of our last class, 23rd July 2011, my beloved Nan, Nellie Lorraine Wright, passed away at the age of 90. The feelings that come with losing a loved one are always inexplicable, but it is just impossible not to smile when you think of her. My nan was such a firecracker, sharp as a tack and so quick to laugh. In her heyday she was strong as an ox and had the resilience that can only come from having lived through the war years and the depression. She was resourceful, a brilliant cook and so deft with her hands, a talented knitter, seamstress and crocheter– in fact she taught herself to crochet by examining existing stiches, because she couldnt figure out how to decipher the crochet patterns! (Oh i am a girl after her own heart)!

My nan taught my mother Lynda to sew, and she in turn taught me. So on the day my Nan passed away, I was so proud to turn up to the day’s sewing lesson, shoulders back and a smile on my face, ready to give the class my best and to pass on the skills and knowledge she had learned from her mother before her. Isn’t that a wonderful legacy?

Love you always, Nannie x

In Memoriam
Nellie Lorraine Wright 1920-2011

Left: I love this photo of Nan in “the wash house”.  Check out that vintage washing machine!
Right: 2 year old Paula with Nan & Pop

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