Castine 2012

On Friday 8 June, Mavis, Diane and I flew from JFK to Portland in Maine. We rented a car for the trip to Castine through the beautiful green country side and lots of delightful little towns.

We stopped in Camden for lunch and I bought this lovely painting by John Pa....? at Lucy's Dollhouse shop,  I can't figure out the last few letters of the name, I suspect it is a British artist, if anyone knows who the artist is, please let me know. Lucy's also sell beautiful antique dolls, wonderful to look at if you are a doll lover.

Late that afternoon we arrived in Castine, it was great to meet new and old friends and spend Saturday peacefully just relaxing a bit before the busy week kicked of with the opening dinner on Saturday night.

Sunday morning our classes started, mine was a full day class and more, the brass bed has 165 parts, wow, that is a lot of turning, just look at that pile of brass blanks waiting to be turned into a bed. I have never done any metal turning before and wasn't really sure what to expect, well, once I got the hang of how the tools worked which took about the first day, I really started to enjoy myself and then it was a race against time, I was determined to at least go home with all the parts finished and I did manage to do that.

Here is a photo of Bill Robertson's finished prototype bed that I took in the exhibition room, mine is still a pile of brass pieces, hopefully I will have it finished in a week or so. One of the tasks I found the hardest was drilling holes through all the brass ball bearings that is used to join all the pieces together. The task itself wasn't too difficult, but my poor hands just got sore from the handle on the drill tail stock that was just a piece of metal with no soft covering and we had to drill holes through about 50 ball bearings.

Here we are all hard at work. All in all it was a fantastic class and I learned more than I ever expected and I am eager to use my new found skills on some fire screens that has brass parts on them, like the original full scale ones in the following two photos .

Can you see the tiny brass finial on the top of this one?

And look at that brass pole on this one.

And here are some of my brass pieces together with a half stitched William Morris rug, wallpaper and fabrics that I am thinking of using in the bedroom that still needs to be built.

Castine is just an awesome experience and if you have ever wanted to go, don't wait too long, you won't be sorry
Elga.

New York

Wow, what can I say about New York, it was my first time there and it sure is a big busy city, probably not a place I want to live in, but I did enjoy my three days there. I met up with Mavis Cheyne, an IGMA scholarship winner from New Zealand that I met online on the Petitpointer Yahoo group and we went all over Manhattan in the three days that we were in NY.

On the first day we first spend a few hours in Central Park waiting for the shops to open up.

Here I am in front of Alice in Wonderland.

Next we went to Annie & Company where I bought some lovely thin velvet cord and some 100% Bamboo embroidery thread, I have been planning a small French Knot rug for a bathroom and would like to try this thread. Locally I buy socks made from bamboo which I love because they are so soft and comfortable to wear, so I just couldn't resist the thread :-)

Next stop was Tiny Dolls House shop close to the Metropolitan museum of History, and here I bought these two plates by Christopher Whitford, aren't they just stunning!

I have been looking for a vase for this little antique shelf that I bought last year at Lucy's Doll House in Camden on the way to Castine, at first I thought it was porcelain but it is actually made from some kind of metal, it fits perfectly and I have no idea who painted it. From here we did some family gift related stops.



Last stop for the day was a tool shop where I bought a lot of cutters and drill bits for my drill press that is hard to find in SA, three friends shared with me so we have quite a big variety now. I also bought another few tools needed for my class in Castine. By this time we were very tired, we started the day by taking a bus to 66th street, from there we walked up through Central Park to about 94th street where the needlework shops were situated, from there we worked our way slowly back to 46th street to the tool shop, the hotel was in 31st street, so after buying the tools all we wanted was supper and a hotel room ASAP after all that walking.



On day two we went to The Cloisters museum where we saw the magnificent Unicorn Tapestries, it took long to get there and except for the tapestries I was rather disappointed with the museum, it was a lot smaller than I expected. Next we went to the MET museum where my mission was to see the original of the easy chair that I recently made and have started to stitch for, it was wonderful to see for real and I was happy to see that my color choices wasn't far off from the original chair, by this time we were rather tired again and went to have a well deserved supper.



I think the part of NY that I enjoyed the most was spending the evening at a concert of the NY Philharmonic orchestra, they played two of my most favorite Mozart violin concerto's, just heavenly to listen to and we desperately needed to rest out tired feet.



On the last day Diane Yunnie, a doll maker from SA joined us and we went to the garment district in NY, my favorite shop was Tinsel Traders where I bought these lovely antique metal embroidery threads that will make fantastic trim in mini.



I also found these lovely silk cords on the left and the tiny twisted cord on the right at Tinsel Traders.



Mavis gave me this beautiful doll that she made as a thank you gift for arranging the whole trip, the doll is only 4cm high and Mavis knitted her whole outfit which includes all the underwear as well, what a delightful surprise.

Next: Castine
Elga

Amsterdam and Rheda

I arrived back home late on Sunday night and has spend the last few days just resting and getting back into my own time zone after 2 very busy weeks in Europe and the USA. Today I will share my adventures in Amsterdam and Rheda.



On day one Josje met me at the airport, it was so great to meet her for the first time and she instantly felt like an old friend. First we went to Mc Lennan's Pure Silks, oh boy, what a feast for the eyes, here I bought the silks in the photo above. Next we went to a quilt shop where nothing spoke to me, so I didn't buy anything there.



Next, Josje took me to Den haan en Wagenmakers, a shop that sells quilt fabrics reproduced from fabric that were used in antique Dutch quilts, I don't think that I have ever seen such a beautiful collection of quilting cottons and I really had to exercise restraint and managed to buy only the three pieces in the above photo. From there we went to meet Mary Lynne at the train station, another first meeting with an "old" friend. After a well deserved supper we went on to Elly's apartment where I was staying for the next two nights, thanks Elly!

The next morning, we all met up again for the drive to Rheda in Germany, poor Elly, it was pouring with rain the whole 3 hours and more that it took us to reach Rheda.



Lunch at Rheda, from left to right, Elly, Winnie (a fellow blogger and petit pointer member), Josje, me and Mary Lynne.



I was so lucky as to receive some very special gifts on my trip and these I received over the three days in Europe. Elly gave me a copy of the book she had published about her Mouse House (what a great idea) and the glass egg container that needs some eggs. Mary Lynne gave me the beautiful little house that she bought on her trip in France and she bought me a lovely blue and white plate from Stokesay Ware. And Winnie gave me the most beautiful piece of tiny tatting that I have ever seen that she made herself. Thanks everyone, I felt really spoiled.

And now for my show purchases.



A full dinner service with six place settings from Stokesay Ware that I ordered and paid for earlier this year, so I could just go to them and pick it up without parting with a cent :-)



A lovely tea set from Avon Miniatiures painted by an unknown Dutch artist (Josje, I think you might have a name?).



Lovely glass items by Gerd Felka, the perfume bottle's stopper is removable, just amazing work.



The figurine is by Neil Carter, another plate from Stokesay Ware and two brass strips for furniture railings etc from Christina Noriega.



A beautiful light fitting and lamp from Ray Storey.



Ivory sock darner and horn thimble by Jurgen Engel and working dress shears by Edmund Drescher.



And finally, a hob grate kit for the fireplace in my dining room from Phoenix that I have been wanting for many years.

On Monday Elly and I went to visit Josje and see her wonderful work and collection for real, that was a wonderful treat, thanks Josje, for having us and giving us a delicious lunch. From there Elly took me to the airport for my flight to New York, Elly, thanks for everything you did to make my time in Amsterdam special.

I am slowly catching up on all your blogs, I simply didn't have anytime for reading while I was away.

Elga

The Adventure Begins!

In less than four hours I will go to the airport for my trip to Amsterdam and Castine, Josje will meet me at the airport, what fun! I hope I see some of you at the Rheda show on Sunday. Here are a few photos of the last ten months work, what a learning curve this was. Enjoy!

The Sewing Tables

The Gothic Chippendale Chairs

Tilt and Turn Tables

Rhode island Easy Chairs

Have a great weekend
Elga

Tilt-top Table: Making the Table Top with a Drill Press

I have 6 days left before I start on my trip to the USA, so I am very pressed for time, here are a few photos, once I am back I will do a proper tutorial on how to make the tables.

I mounted the table top blanks on a scrap piece of wood with a hole drilled into the center to fit the pin on my drill press.

Dishing out the center, I start in the center and work outwards until the circle is as big as I want.

Cutting the table top free after the inside edge was rounded with a ball cutter.

I use grinding stones with sandpaper stuck to the bottom to sand the table tops by hand, there is quite a few marks left from the cutters that needs removing and the round shapes of the stones are perfect for fitting into the round edge.

The back of the table with the braces glued on, the braces have two holes drilled right through for tiny screws that holds the table top to the birdcage. My hubby made the spring loaded catch that locks the top into place for serving tea. The birdcage can turn 360 degrees around the table post.

View from the front, the table still needs oiling to finish it.

With one of the chairs that also still needs a few finishing touches.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Elga

Making Bird Cages....of a different kind

I started making the bird cages for the tilt and turn tables. The Mopane wood one is glued together and one can easily see why they called them bird cages back in the 18th century. The bird cage is made up of a bottom with a hole drilled right through to enable it to turn, 4 tiny spindles and a top with an inverted ball shaped hole. The table tops that I will make this week will rest on top of the cage and tilt forward.

I use a duplicator when I have to turn so many parts that needs to look the same, on the left you can see the brass template with the follower touching it. The follower guides the cutter, with things this small you have to prepare twice the amount of wood you need as they sometimes just suddenly snap off with the grain.

With two of the chairs to show the size of the table.

Have a great week
Elga

I won my first give-away!!!

Two weeks ago I discovered to my delight that I have won a give-away for the first time. Jennifer from A Georgian Dolls House offered this lovely coal scuttle kit as a give-away on her blog, it fits perfectly in my Victorian kitchen.

She even included some pieces of real coal, as soon as I come back from the USA, I will finish and paint the coal scuttle, it has a scoop that fits into the back of the scuttle, I like little details like this.

I wonder when the dog is going to see the mice? And because I know some of you are going to wonder, I made all the furniture, including the stove more than 10 years ago, they were some of my first miniature projects.

Go and have a look at Jennifer's website http://www.jsminiatures.co.uk/index.php she sells lovely fireplace kits, marble and wood floor tiles, etc.
Elga

Tips on how to get your post to look like YOU want it.

Well, I see there are quite a few people struggling with getting their post to look like they want it and not how Blogger does it automatically. A few months ago my oldest daughter showed me a simple trick while I was getting very FRUSTRATED with blogger. She just highlighted my whole draft, clicked on the "remove formatting" icon, the big T with the red cross, second last on the right. I decided to play a bit and see what I can do, so let the fun begin. Oh, I never click on that icon, so I am not sure if Blogger automatically saved a setting or not and I always click on preview which opens in a new tab and you can see how your post is going to look, you can then go back and change whatever you are not happy with.

 I decided that the bin drawer on my sewing table needs a silk lining.

Ha, I just had to highlight my cursor and click that button because it wanted to start the text right in the middle under the photo. To get line breaks between paragraphs I just use the enter button om my keyboard


like I did right here.

     










This time the cursor went to the left next to the photo, I just use the enter button to get the cursor below the photo, as I don't like the few drawn out words next to the photo when you use a large photo.

         To start a sentence like this one away from the left, I just use the space bar.

And finally, a photo and wording where I normally put them, all on the left, having used the enter button on the keyboard to get the wording under the photo.


















The lining was just a sample to figure out size, I will use one of these two-toned ribbons for my lining.

Have fun playing with your posting!
Elga

American Tilt and Turn Table

I have started to put the legs into the turned table post, I am using a dovetailed mortise and tenon for the joinery. You have to cut the dovetail into the post sideways with an inverted cone burr, if you come from the top you will just end up with a straight channel. But the Proxxon can't cut that in hardwood in one go, so I first cut a channel in the normal way little bits at a time with a slightly narrower cutter.

The leg is shaped at the ankle and it is hard to cut these very hard woods with a knife, so once again I made a jig to shape the leg, in the jig is one that still needs to be cut, next to it is a leg that has been cut. On the third leg the hard edges has been rounded with sandpaper wrapped around a dowel. And a fourth leg has been glued in to the table post. After I have cut the 3 grooves as explained above, I file the area where the leg is going to touch the turned post flat, only then do I cut the dovetail in the post with the burr. The dovetail on the leg starts of as a normal tenon cut too big and then hand filed to get the right angle to fit into the dovetail on the post. The slot that you see on the top of the post is for a key made of a flat piece of wood that will fit in the slot and prevent the bird cage from falling of when you turn the table-top, it works like a modern day lazy Susan.

And here is a finished African Blackwood table post with a chair that is finally glued together, the chair still needs arm rests.

Have a wonderful weekend
Elga

Lots of progress and some news

First off all I want to apologize for being so quiet on all your blogs, since 23 April my phone line has been crossed with someone else's and my number is not working at all including internet access. At the moment I am reliant on the bit of mobile data available to me which is rather expensive in SA, so I am really just using it for e-mails etc, but today I just decided I have to do a post. I have made so many phone calls to the two companies involved (I can phone, from the person that I am crossed with number, most of the fault reporting numbers are fortunately toll free) that I am really sick and tired of the whole thing, apparently the turn around time in fixing faults are 7 working days and we had two public holidays over the last two weeks as well, so I just hope that it will all be fixed early next week. Well, enough of that, now on to miniatures.

I am busy making the knee brackets for the wing chairs, the chair on the right already has them in place.

The Chippendale chairs still need the front stretcher, the chair on the left has it's side stretchers in place but not glued, I need to take the measurement for the front stretcher directly off the chair, so the rubber band is just there to hold everything together for now.

I have started work on my last commission for now, a tilt and turn table. The central posts have been turned and I am busy with the three legs for each table, as you can see I am using jigs and pin-routing to make the little legs, you can see the original table that I am copying here.

I only have 4 weeks left to finish all my current commissions, today in exactly 4 weeks I will arrive in Amsterdam for 3 days of fun before I go on to the USA to attend Guild School at Castine. On Sunday 3 June I will go to the 1zu12 fair in Rheda, Germany with my friend and host Elly, I am really looking forward to it, as it will be my first international fair ever. And on Monday Elly will take me to visit Josje and see all her wonderful miniatures. Now don't you think I am in for a real treat?!?! And from Amsterdam I am going to New York where I will meet up with one of  IGMA's scholarship students, Mavis from New Zealand that I met on the Yahoo Petitpoimter group for 3 days of fun exploring NY before we go to Castine, so much to look forward too :-)

Have a wonderful weekend
Elga

Update: Good news, my phone line has just been fixed, now I have a lot of catching up to do on reading all your blog posts of the last 2 weeks.