Headache and miniatures don't mix

I had more time as usual of late and spent most of it working on my miniatures.  I had a piano to finish, made a piano stool and there was also this kit which I was working on.  Today it all came to a halt, because of a headache.  Hence this update of my blog.  Working on the computer is not so draining as concentrating on your work on the wood lathe.

My piano is finally finished.  I had a bit of a setback, but I can only blame myself.  As I mentioned before, my stain was rather old and I should have bought a new can. I would have done a much better job. Now I had to varnish my piano to make it look more presentable, but in reality it made it look worse.  To top it all of the rain has been pelting down here for three days in a row, so it was not quite the right sort of weather to paint or varnish anything.  Everything stayed sticky for a long time.  However, I am quite happy with the way my turning worked out.  I wanted to add some decorative turnings on either side.  Since my son had come and set up his wood lathe I tried my hand at it. The difficulty I was facing was that I needed two identical half shapes and was not game to put a turned piece through my sawing machine or scroll saw.  Fortunately my husband told me this trick: glue two pieces of wood together with wood glue and a piece of paper in between.  So I did and after a bit of practicing I ended up with these:

Remember the problem I had when my stain was too watery and the glue dissolved?  Well, in this case I used the dissolving glue to my advantage.  I turned the wood first and then threw the turnings in warm water.  This is the result.

A piano on its own doesn't look good, so I added a stool as well.  I need to practice turning a bit more for one of those old fashioned stools with a revolving seat, but a modern one will do for now:

The rounded edge of the seat is the toothpick that I showed you before, sanded back so I ended up with a half-round.  The seat has a cushion of very soft kangaroo leather and can be opened to store sheet music:

So, that's finished and now I will need to store both somewhere till I'll find a home for them.  The pictures were taken inside my flower shop.  They can stay there till I get a move on with the shop.

I've also finished the garden gloves and made a basket for them to be used in a garden.  I have made them suitably dirty, so they can't be sold in the shop. ;-)

I had two goes at the basket, because the first time around I made the strips too wide.  The second one looks better, but I used coloured varnish for a change and I don't know if I am happy with the result.  However, I have plenty of baskets, so it doesn't hurt to try something different for a change.

Well, that's it for the moment.  The school holidays are behind us now and the weeks will be busier from now on with all the classes and clubs that I attend, so I don't know how much I will be able to show you.  I do know that I still like to do more wood turning and I am currently looking at a chair with turned legs.  I'll keep you posted.

I have finally found some time to go and visit all the blogs of my new followers (insofar I could find one) and have enjoyed myself very much.  A warm welcome to all of you:

Ana Anselmo at MiniaturesForever

Deborah at Petit 

Mieke at Petit Victorian Rose 

Audra Pangle 

Karin Corbin at Karin Corbin Miniatures 

Myriam de Bruin at Millie Fleur 

Lea (Auteur du livre Le Grand Livre de la Maison Miniature) at Un jour a la campagne 

Johanna

Patrizia at Le Magie di Patty

Maragverdugo at Pequeneces

Cristina f

Jaz at Jazzi’s Minis

Silver Thistle at SilverThistles 

Sherry Raines 

-P- at Rotting Roof

More on the ironing board and a piano in progress

Another diversion.  I am all over the place right now.  Just the way I like it! Just doing things I feel like doing.  This time I have done some more work on my ironing board, because I don't like things to look brand new in miniature.  In real life it's quite different, I can tell you. :-)

As you can see, by now the ironing board has had some good use.  It shows the usual spot where the iron singes the fabric.  Instead of the required metal sheet that the workshop in the magazine required, I made wooden edging around the end bit and placed 'asbestos' in the space where the iron usually rests.  I know  asbestos is a dirty word nowadays, but that is what our mothers used in those times.  I have used a bit of old cardboard that I split through the centre.  It had just the required texture and with a dirty smudge it looks quite realistic. A few nails to keep the fabric in place, just like on my mother's ironing board, finishes it off nicely.  While I was at it I remembered that my mother had an additional small board for ironing sleeves, so I made one of those as well.  It looks different from the big ironing board, but that was intentional, because the little board has been re-covered and some small edging fabric has been put around it and fastened with a few nails.  As I said, I don't like pristine objects.  Real life isn't like that.

I am also working on a piano.  It's mainly finishing off a workshop that I had done during my holiday last year with Bert Aarts.  It's not quite finished yet, because I want to somehow decorate the top front with turned elements, but don't know exactly how to go about it yet.  So, the piano itself is finished, but I can't varnish until I have put on the additional decorations.

I have stained the piano in rosewood.  It's probably an unusual colour for a piano, but I liked it and we can take poetic licence, can't we?  The keyboard is only lying on top, to be glued in later. I will add some sheet music of course and now I am looking at the picture I think it calls for a piano stool as well.  Maybe I should take up some more wood turning, but might make a modern stool in the meantime.

Rest me to extend a warm welcome to my latest follower: Patrizia.  I noticed you are also building a flower shop.  It looks promising.  Have you seen mine at The Florist's?  Making miniature plants is another passion of mine.

Well, that's it for today.  It has just started to rain, so what better things to do than playing with my minis????

Bye for now

A diversion from my dollshouse story

I know I was telling you all about the dolls house I am building, but sometimes I take a break and do other things instead.  This time I have been trying out the new machines I bought earlier last year, during my overseas holiday.  I already had a disc sander and a table saw that I hadn't used much, but I wrote about it in the instalment: Getting Technical.  Back then I made a sliding table for my sawing machine.  I have also bought a thicknesser and it works a treat.  So I managed to lay my hands on some finely grained wood which I then put through my thicknesser to make it 2mm thick, the thickness I needed for my projects. 

My handy little machine in action

I wanted to make some wooden furniture and looked through my magazines for something that wouldn't be too hard to start with.  I found an old fashioned ironing board and a the very chair I would be able to use in my 50s house that I plan to build in the future.  It is a chair that converts to a little stepladder.  We used to have one like it when I grew up in the 50s and I have one right now, but a more luxury one which, in this case, is called a library chair.

The ironing board I changed a bit from the project in the magazine to make ik look more like the one my mother had.  The kitchen chair I had to make twice, because the first time I was 1 degree out with the hind legs.  That made them shorter, because they spread wider outwards, so I had to make the front leg shorter and also the back rest, because when you move it over to create the stepladder it sits on the floor.  Anyway, it was still usable, so I kept it, but made another one the correct way.

Since I wanted to use templates to get the degrees correct I decided to make a few kits to be used for a workshop at our miniature club.  All in all I had an enjoyable time and got to know my machines a bit better. :-)

The ironing board and two chairs, one of which is converted into a step ladder

Ironing board folded away

Both chairs together

The kitchen chair as a chair

The same chair as a step ladder

Sorry, I had published too soon (pressed the wrong button again!) and hadn't uploaded all my pictures yet.  Also I would like to welcome a number of new followers.  Unfortunately the list keeps coming up with different names all the time, so I am not too sure who the last newcomers were, but I wish you all a warm welcome and also a happy new year.

While waiting...

  
While waiting for the hinges to arrive (did you notice I didn't mention the word 'patiently'?) I decided I could finish another project that has been sitting on my desk for too long.

Remember I did a workshop with Ann High back in March at the Arnhem show?  Well if you don't, look back at this page: It's been a long time.  I showed you this picture amongst other photographs:

That was the beginning of my wood carving experience.  Now I have finally plucked up the courage to finish it, and after a lot more carving, detailing, glueing, staining and waxing, this is the result:

14th century chest

I am quite proud of the result and rightfully so I hope. ;-)  Now if anybody could point out to me where I can buy steamed pear I would be thrilled, because then I could do some more of this wonderful work.  I have really fallen for the carving.  Love it!!

And before I go I would also extend another warm welcome to Lady Jane, who's my latest follower.  Thanks to Rosamargarita I now know she has a blog: For the Love of Miniatures.  Go and check it out.

That's all for today folks.  See you next time.