..so time to sit back with a good book and a small glass of this season’s sloe gin? I was on the way to that, but pulled a dining chair out to sit on and decided that the Christmas table, dressed in its finery, could not be disgraced by these dilapidated chairs..
Out came the upholstery tools, the stash was raided,
and a transformation took place.
Merry Christmas all, and hope you have the people you want sitting at your table this festive season.
The chairs at our dining table were supposed to be a temporary fallback when we moved in to our house 19 years ago. Other priorities came and the chairs are still there. Gradually, the cane on the seats has given way due to many breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and other, less conventional use as camps, barricades, forts, castles, boats, spaceships, and the like. The onslaught has had consequences, and it was time to deal with the sagging bottom of one of them.
Two episodes of Grayson Perry giving the Reith lectures, much webbing stretching, lots of tacks and staples later, it is back to a functional state. Not perfect, but might last another 19 years.
Great day at the Knitting and Stitching show yesterday, meeting friends old and new, and managing to persuade a few people of the value of joining The Quilters’ Guild, which was what I was there to do. We were also the custodians of the winning quilts from the Festival of Quilts this year, so got a chance to have a much closer look at the best in show, absolutely incredible. This is by Janneke de Vries-Bodzinga, from Kollumerzwaag, The Netherlands and the quilt is called “Octopussy
I then had the afternoon free to see the incredible 104 hand-stitched panels of the Prestonpans tapestry.
To think that this was stitched from start to finish in 18 months is mind-boggling – truly a “Big Society “ project.
Lots to see, but I made a point of visiting the graduate showcase and some of the younger exhibitors. Rhea Clements scarves are wonderfully tactile
and Zeena Shah’s screenprints were quirky and amusing without being overly sugary.
I didn’t do much to stimulate the economy, limiting my self to two packets of John James embroidery needles ( lovely, if you haven't tried them) and three very small thimbles, as I can never find ones that fit well.
Recovery today, and an upholstery project that has been waiting for too long. One tattered piano stool is now transformed. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough of the thistle fabric to recover this one – it might have led to some wrong notes anyway. It is the same fabric in the last two photos, just with different light at different time of day – a good demonstration of how difficult it is to colour match fabrics from photos.
A much longer than anticipated visit from the plumber (do you know where your stopcocks are? If not, you might want to find out before your next plumber’s visit if you want to avoid looking as much of an idiot as I did) led to time for intermittent sewing.
Pat Archibald piece quilted simply with undulating lines with rayon threads, and bound with a pieced binding to continue the silhouette in to the binding. I like the fact that I didn’t have to be accurate with the piecing due to the existing crenellations on the silhouette.
I also managed to scavenge enough thistle fabric to make a new cover for a very tatty looking cushion. This felt very thrifty, as I also re-used the zip from the revolting old one.
No Morley this week as on Wednesday we went to see Punt and Dennis at Richmond Theatre. As funny as they are on Mock the Week and The Now Show.
Sewing this week has been mostly practical, with a project to re-cover the fraying back and seat of of a boring office chair, to turn that tattered duckling in to the swan below. I did an upholstery course some years ago, and it was great to get back to the mallet, chisel and staple gun.
