The English Armchair Abroad

Change of direction

I have finally given in to the inevitable and given up the upholstery side of my business. My thumbs have become so painful that it simply isn't worth it anymore. I will continue with the paillage and the cane work.

Am I sad? Not a bit. I see it as an opportunity for new things and to that end I have reopened my Etsy shop. Not a lot in there yet but watch this space as I hope it builds up in time for the Christmas (can I use that word in August?) rush.

And in my shop, yes you've guessed, you will find my woven items plus a few knitted items. Believe me, if you want the best kitchen towels in the world, you want handwoven ones. Thick and super absorbent, they cannot be beaten.

Please let me know what you think. Or indeed, what you would like to see. I need your help and feedback to make this work.

In the meantime, a big thank you to my upholstery clients. I've only worked for people I like and have found it very rewarding. Beautiful furniture and some gorgeous fabrics are a joy to work with.

 

 

Sofa

This week I have been busy recovering this sofa. The owner was incredibly lucky to find enough fabric on a roll in the sale at Toiles de Mayenne. Apart from a tendency to fray if I so much as stroked the edges, the only problem I had was becoming more and more crosseyed when I was cutting the fabric. There was a lot of piping to cut (about 30 metres) and although I could follow the line of the pattern, the tiny squares were merging together after about five minutes. But it was worth it; the fabric works well on the sofa and should be hard wearing *

(* I do love auto spell but sometimes it "writes" great jokes. "Hard wearing" was transformed into "heard swearing". Read that sentence again changing the words for the auto spell - it is quite amusing.)

 

Chair upholstered

As promised, photos of the chair I finished for a friend.

There are no closeups but the hardest part was the back. On one side the wood was very damaged and there was nowhere to put the tacks. Very occasionally I use a staple gun to help me out but on this occasion I didn't dare as I thought the force of the staples going in would break away the remainder of the wood completely. As a result on one side there are very few tacks holding the top fabric. A visit to the carpenter, before the chair was worked on, would have avoided this problem.

But we live and learn. The girl concerned is now working at a workshop in England and I am quite certain will not make the same mistake again. I am just so pleased that the art of upholstery is continuing to a younger generation.

 

 

Soft furnishings

Three projects that seem to have been left off the blog. Soft furnishings occasionally come my way and I do enjoy working on them.

Not a great photo but the curtains are pretty. Unfortunately the client chose a very lightweight fabric (more suitable to patchwork) and this is evident in there photo - check out the floppy corner, top right.

The second project here is a roman blind. Fiddly to make but with the gorgeous Colefax & Fowler fabric it hangs well and looks lovely.

And finally, a headboard.

Very stately and the clients took a lot of trouble to find a fabric to match the rather colorful walls. Very enjoyable to work on and very rewarding.

 

Little brother

Even lovelier than the first one. A fun project because it really is quick to do.

Just in case you were wondering this is the underneath. Sorry about the broom.

Once the rush weaving is finished it is necessary to stuff it to make it tight and compact. For this chair I used a vegetable stuffing (looks like hay but it isn't hay) which I use for upholstery because it is more malleable for such a small chair that using scrunched up rush. Does that make sense? Probably not but I know what I mean!

 

 

Chair finished

Paillage - very pretty chair with a colour detail (blue/violet) in the paillage.

 

Child's chair

This sweet little chair has been given a complete overhaul. At least thirty years old, all the joints had become loose and the rush seating was worn to destruction.

It belongs to a friend of mine and it was a lovely quick project to work on.

 

Chairs delivered

Very fragile because of worm damage in the legs but the rich red of the fabric brings out the dark colour of the wood beautifully.

 

March already

What with one thing and another, the first two months of this year have passed in a bit of a daze. Three trips to England took their toll : work got behind and I seem to have been playing catchup for quite a while. But at last I seem to be organised again.

Two weeks ago I delivered a chair to a client. It was a big chair and took a lot of work but it looked beautiful when it was finished.

This photo is hopeless, taken with a very cheap telephone. Better photos to come I hope.

In the meantime, I suggest any of you living in or visiting London to make your way to the Courtauld Gallery to see the exhibition Court & Craft. I declare an interest with enormous pride. My sister, Rachel Ward, is the curator. She has been working on this exhibition for two years or more.

The central piece of the exhibition is the most exquisite bag, dating from the early 1300's. It is made of copper and decorated with gold and silver.

On top of the bag is a frieze, depicting the owner of the bag, her husband and her courtiers.

These photos don't do it justice. Go to the exhibition if you can and if not do a search and see better photos and more informed description.

And finally, some homespun yarn.

I separated the reds and the blues in thighs is BFL top and then spun a long draw two ply in each of the colours. The result is very pleasing and likely to be a pair of gloves. The new e-spinner worked a dream.

A happy week to you all.

 

 

2013

A short round up of some of the work I did in 2013. The pictures are a small (very small!) selection.

Happy New Year to you all. I wish you a healthy and prosperous 2014!