Going to hell in a hand basket!

A while back, I did a post on who we quilters are.  There were some wild and crazy careers, some very bizarre sport activities and then there were the tattoos.

If you were paying attention, you would have spotted this tattoo. There was no caption under the tattoo, but there is some writing on it. Did you check out what it says?  Probably not  - but read it carefully!

Crazy quilter on a bike!

Yes - that is MY leg and that is MY tattoo.

I know - who would have guessed.  I never really wanted a tattoo, but I was always intrigued by them. When I cycled across Canada, I met Bill. Bill is a tattoo artist and he was one of the members of our group. It was interesting to chat with him and at the end of the trip, he provided us with a sheet of tattoo art work that he had created in memory of our trip.    Of course - we all made jokes about getting the tattoos down one leg or other parts of the body.

Tattoo artwork for cross Canada trip

M had gotten a small tattoo on her shoulder, but she picked at it while it healed and it is't really isn't a successful tattoo.

As I was discussing long arm quilting with a new customer, she said her son owned the tattoo shop (Malefic Tattoos)  in Streetsville which is very close to me. When I finished the quilt, I told her I would deliver it to the shop (she has a work space at the shop).  That way, she gets her quilt back, I get to see the inside of a tattoo shop and M gets to have a consult on her tattoo.

Let's just say that one thing led to another and before you know it - I had booked an appointment to get a tattoo.  While it was kind of an impulse thing (as I have been known to do), it wasn't really because I had to wait MONTHS for the appointment.  Yes - he was that booked up.

Oh, let me explain the artwork first.  I consulted with the guys at the shop on design. I wanted something bike (as in bicycle) related. We checked out a few ideas on the internet and then they suggested that I take a picture of my bike and they would convert it into a tattoo. BRILLIANT!   Home to decide on which bike to use (got four of the darn things). Picked out the townie and I had a photo session in the driveway until I was happy with the angle. Next up was - text or no text????   It wouldn't be MINE without the text, so after scouring MANY MANY fonts, I found this one that I loved.

When I arrived on the day of my appointment, they finished up the artwork and put it on whatever kind of paper stuff they use to transfer the pattern to your body. As I was getting ready, M arrived and was able to snap some pictures of the process.

Getting a tattoo

In progress - see how red my skin is???

I think it was complete at this point

The biggest question with a tattoo isn't "is it going to hurt?"  Nope the better questions is "how much is it going to hurt?"   Oh boy - it hurts!!!!!   There is a sign in the shop which I won't post, but it says "Yes - it **&^%% hurts!"   And they weren't kidding.

Imagine a sunburn - a bad sunburn and you scratch it. And you scratch it more than once. That's what it feels like. The first part wasn't so bad because he was doing the preliminary work. But when Fabien went over the area again to do the highlights - well that HURT!!!!!   The entire process under the needle was about 1 1/2 hours. Thank goodness M was there to distract me somewhat, but I did want to ask questions. Oh well - next time!!!!    Ooops - did I say that???

However Fabien did an excellent job and you can see how perfectly straight those lines are. I was very impressed. I have to say that it wasn't just because of him that the tattoo turned out so great. He said - nice straight lines because I didn't flinch. I didn't move and it shows!

The healing process on a tattoo is awful!  First off - it is sensitive for a couple of days - just like a bad sunburn. Then the skin is dry and flaky and looks terrible. The idea is to keep it moisturized which I diligently did many times a day. This greatly reduced the itching. And you could feel the "scratch" lines as I put the Tattoo Goo on it as the lines were not yet healed.  But now all is good and to feel my leg, you wouldn't know there is a tattoo there. I did NOT pick at or scratch that tattoo once while it was healing and that was very hard for me. But I had seen what happened to M's and there was no way I was going to ruin this. It is too big and too visible to have it wrecked!

The more I check with people, MANY MANY people have tattoos. Some big, some small. But I sure do have an appreciation for anyone who gets a tattoo - it takes guts or stupidity. The nice thing is that tattoos no longer have that stigma that the people sporting a tattoo are gang members, Hell's Angels or a hardened criminal. It is way more common than you think and tattoo shops are inspected by the health departments and get a Pass or Fail.

Not mamy people have seen it, but I get comments from MEN, never women on the tattoo.  The guy at the bike shop said - "that is a SERIOUS tattoo" and others have asked if that is "new ink" and welcoming me to the club.  Pretty funny. It is about 6 inches tall and 5 inches wide right on the back of my right calf so you can't miss it!

What will the tattoo look like when I get older and my skin sags?  Who knows, but if it is ugly - I will just wear pants and no one has to know it is there but me!  I'll call it an age mark!  A bike with flat tires!

Trust me - that is the last surprise for this summer. It has been a very eventful summer and well - I am glad things are settling down.

On that note - I must get ready for work.

Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!

Ciao!!!!!!!!!