That's a uniquely Aussie expression for 'didn't go to school' - the nice doctor peered down my throat yesterday, reeled back in horror at what she saw and immediately climbed into the lead-lined suit in case she picked it up herself.
Anyway, I spent an extremely lazy day today sleeping, knitting, reading (just started Hanging Hill, by Mo Hayder, one of my favourite authors - got it via Amazon/Kindle for US$7.95, a tiny bit cheaper than A$39.99 at the local bookstore) and ignoring the 'Present that cannot be named', which is now waiting for its b********.
Yesterday I spent a pleasant day with MBF before frightening the doctor, and on the way home from Town on Tuesday, where I had a quasi-farewell lunch with Miss Mary, who is off to the UK for an undefined period, I bought some this:
and some of this:
One of which will go on the 'Present that cannot be named" and one of which won't. Sorry, no prizes.
I also made discreet inquiries of Miss Mary regarding her car, which is somewhat larger than the Silver Flash, and a stationwagon, or estate car to boot (no pun intended), or whatever they're called where you live - and she's offering it up for a very good price, so some kind of trade may be made. I did offer up Mr Golightly, but she demurred gently, saying she couldn't fit him in the luggage. Shame, that.
It's the ideal size for picking up furniture, a practice I am going to go into RSN. Miss Rosie from School has told me about a Secret Squirrel warehouse way out west where bargains may be had, all of which need love and attention of the upholstery kind. Our garage is about to overflow...
MGF Kaz just rang me to say they've been in the beautiful Hunter Valley 17 years today, so
I may have to make a tribute Treasury & put it on the blog... stay tuned. And that's it for me, Gentle Readers. I have to go now & cook dinner for Mr G, who is going to come thumping up the steps any minute, catching me wasting my time once again. Tote that barge, lift that bail, hey? Back to upholstery school to bang in the nail. Love it!
Ciao!
Oh yes, back to reality. The very funny Antonia, from "Yetanotherbloomingblogspot", or 'Whoopee', has joined Facebook. She swears, so if you suffer from delicate ears, be warned. I have actually snorted coffee through my nose reading posts on her blog, and am extremely jealous that I am not as funny, erudite, rude or clever as she is. But I know how to hammer in tacks, and she doesn't, so there.
Speaking of tacks, the very lovely Kate from Rapt! Upholstery, is in the the third year of the course I'm doing, and has her own blog, which is well worth a look - she's done some amazing things with furniture that was on its last legs. We only see each other once a week, on a Monday, when the third years venture in with these huge bits of furniture they're all working on - enormous chaise lounges, wing chairs, whole Parker sofas - incredible, really. Hopefully when my turn comes around next year I'll be able to find something equally fab to work on.
My Monday at Upholstery School was spent wrestling with red vinyl, and I managed to stab myself under the fingernail with a staple. I swore like a navvy, it bled like a stuck pig, and of course the only comment that's made, by anybody, is "Don't get blood on the work". Good thing I'm not the sensitive wilting flower some of us are, isn't it?
Anyway, here's some pictures of what I was trying to achieve, which was:
All the pleats in one direction;
All the pleats point towards the centre point;
All the pleats are the same size;
The start point for each pleat must be on the front, not on the top, of the arm.
Not sure if I succeeded:
Much soreness of fingers, after this lot. Vinyl is a real pain to work with... nice for stool tops, but thank the Upholstery Gods that nobody wants their lounges covered in it!
Last night I made a doorstop for a nice man who bought it through my Etsy shop - I used the beautiful Echino linen, and it went just fine, but the problems I had filling it have resulted in sand all over the sewing room floor, and the bathroom floor. Why the bathroom floor, I hear you ask? I had a brainwave about drying out the sand using the hairdryer. Aha, I hear you say. Yes, Gentle Readers, Miss Incredibly-stupid Isabella got the hairdryer a bit too close to the sand and it flew everywhere. Sadly, the finished result didn't even make a bit of difference to the bulk of the sand & it's still damp. Next time I send the boys off to the hardware store for a bag of sand, remind me to specify I want the dry stuff.
And that, Gentle Readers, could be it for me today. I have done the first slices into the Birthday quilt top, so I need to sew some sashing strips together so I can stitch the quilt top back up... I may emulate yesterday's effort by having a mid-afternoon nap, but my final set of Lumiere de Noel layer cake blocks arrived from Texas this morning, so I may be spending nap time thinking about how to make a double sided quilt... Inspirational ideas welcome, of course!
Ciao!
