Table in place

I promised a picture of the table in situ, so here it is. Now imagine it after I have covered the white pillows with purple chenille and hung dark purple shade-like curtains. And hung pictures in the painted frames I made. OK, that's hard to imagine, so stay tuned for more pictures at a later date.

Lace interval

The trailer table is finished and installed (pictures coming soon), and there are lots of other trailer projects to dive into, but it is time for a diversion. I am currently obsessed by lace knitting. I don't think of myself as a lacey person, and noone would think of me in delicate, girlie terms, but the urge to knit lace is overwhelming. Perhaps it is the magic that appears when you block a shapeless tangled-looking mass and it turns into an intricately patterned airy garment. Recently I have been working on this Seraphim Shawl. (As you can see it is still in the shapeless mass stage.) Just as my efforts began to flag, I encountered the recently published "Victorian Lace Today". This beautiful book inspired me to launch into the shawl's lace charts with enthusiasm and to order up the pattern for "Delicato Mitts" from Knitspot.com.

One of my favorite pieces

In addition to picture frames to match the trailer table, I also made a coat rack. The original plan was to install small iron hooks on a board that I would then hang. While installing the new cabinet knobs, I had a flash of inspiration and rushed back to Home Depot for more knobs. I am mighty pleased with the finished product and can't wait to hang it.

All the varnishing is done, so it is time to turn to the soft stuff. As soon as my kitchen table is cleared of the detritus from the last projects, I will bring out the sewing machine that is languishing in a deep, dark corner of my fiber room (Yes, Sharon, I really do intend to sew.) I'll start simple with the pillow covers and work my way up to curtains. I wonder how you thread the thing...

Tada!!!
I have a few other pieces to do, then I'll seal them all with several coats of varnish. The varnish will deepen the colors and exentuate the texture from the burn lines.

Despite the cold, I installed the new cabinet knobs and drawer pulls in the trailer today, and hung a string of bright-colored folkart birds. Time to start looking for curtain fabric...

Purple complete!

Only green to go.

Happy discovery!

I am still working on painting the purple background of the trailer table. Meanwhile I am collecting other bits and pieces of decor. I scored a great purple thermal blanket on clearance. I also found some really funky shaggy purple spherical pillows, also on clearance. Today I zipped over to Home Depot at lunch to look for replacements for the rather boring pretend-brass cabinet knobs and drawer pulls. I had a particular design in mind, but that was blown away when I found knobs with the same vine design I have been painting on the picture frames and table! What was the chance of that? I can't wait to get in and install them this weekend!

The Problem with Purple

Tonight I started adding the purple background to my trailer table. From my experience with painting the spinning wheel, I already knew that purple is difficult to apply evenly. On the plywood it is even worse! After struggling to paint just a corner, I was ready to cry. It was looking like I had ruined all that work! The various grains either sucked in the paint without giving time to spread it evenly, or barely took the paint at all. What a mess! I forced myself to say my recently acquired mantra over and over: "It is what it is... It is what it is..." And I forged on. After all, folk art is supposed to be... um... folky, right? And the lighting is kinda dim in the trailer... Happily, I learned from the spinning wheel project that the application of several coats of varnish makes mistakes look like intentional style effects. Really, I meant to do that.. Really..

Trailer table progress

After a visiting the family for the holidays, I am back home and working on the replacement table for my little trailer. Before Christmas I completed burning the pattern, so the next step is paint.
Before launching into painting such a large surface, I warmed up by woodburning, then painting, a set of six small picture frames to match the table. They should help to coordinate the colors and flowering vine theme around the inside of the trailer. The frames have the same 4 colors that I am using on the table.

Here is the table with the red applied...












And with the yellow...

Tomorrow night I start adding the purple background, then I will paint the thousands of little leaves green. And finish off both table and frames with several coats of spar varnish.


One last note about Christmas projects: This year I decided to needle-felt an ornament for each member of my family. As you can see, I have a very large family!