Big Bertha...

Hello lovelies!

Many of you have asked to peep inside my little hideaway so I've dedicated this post entirely

to Bertha... my little hideaway studio

Let me tell you her story...

Six years ago we bought this little cabin to have as a summerhouse at the bottom of our garden with the view to me being able to move off the dining room table and do a little sewing in there also...

When she arrived I have to say  I didn't immediately fall in love with her as she was 

this huge blob of ginger staring back at me from my kitchen window and stuck out like a sore thumb in my lovely garden full of flowers!

We had had to clear a large area of our garden to accommodate her and our lovely garden suddenly

seemed very barren and very angular if you know what I mean!

You see I'm a curvy girl in more ways than one and straight lines and geometric shapes really don't sit well with me...

I like a little prettiness and plenty of soft floaty edges...

We were advised for the first summer to just paint the inside but leave her ginger until the following year...

I wasted no time...

Five coats later of brilliant white I still only had a beach combed look inside as the wood just seemed to soak up the paint like a guzzling teenager drinking fizzy pop!

So now, not only did she look a sunburnt ginger on the outside with a faded white glow on the inside but she had the most dreadful smell of paint!

We gradually moved some things in there during the first summer and she became affectionately known as our 'Gingerbread House' at the bottom of our garden...certainly not the little retreat I had dreamed for hours about!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roll on six years later and just like the Ugly Duckling, she has now blossomed into a beautiful swan who I LOVE spending time with!

Like me she is now bursting at the seams in more ways than one with so many things...

She is packed to the rafters with vintage loveliness!

I have so many gorgeous things surrounding me whilst I work in there...

buttons, lace, fabrics, books, beads, cottons, wool, patterns...you name it and I'm sure you'll find one in there somewhere!

My Mum's cabinet houses all my little treasures and trinkets which I love delving into for some inspiration...

My two vintage beauties share the space along with the modern ladies but they all seem to get along nicely which helps for a happy family :)

As a presenter now on Create & Craft TV I have loads of shows to prep for with a variety of subjects to cover so Bertha is now my little work studio where I am often seen at 6am or even 10pm sitting in my PJ's whirring away on these little beauties!

I love sitting watching the sunlight stream through the windows as I work and listen to the birds chattering away...

Bertha is now nestled between loads of beautiful flowers at the bottom of our garden and is such a joy to visit at the end of a long day out at work...

My comfy armchair awaits to rest my weary bones with a glass or two!

Even on days when it is miserable or very rainy I love just sitting and listening to the rain beating down on the roof (it reminds me of caravan holidays when I was younger!) 

I drift and daydream and  lose so much time going through my vintage gems...

But then on days when I need a little quiet to simply sit and sew Bertha is always free to help me out...

I know I am doubly lucky to have two work spaces to choose from....my Vintage Workshop and Bertha.

Like many of you I also worked on my dining room table for years with children around my feet and with limited snatched minutes in between hubby's football matches and school runs which is why I smile every time I work in either of my two locations.

Do you have a special place to craft?

Do tell....

I hope you've enjoyed getting to know Bertha!

Tilly

xxx