an especially varied week in the shed

by the end of last week i came to the conclusion that being an upholsteress really is the most happy sort of job. this is how it went...

Monday

busy-ing in the shed in full apron n clogs attire, working on a very yellow velvety lovely lady’s chair (the chair being velvety, not the lady)

Tuesday

tutoring my Tuesday Lovelies in their morning and evening upholstery workshops across the fields @theFarm.

Wednesday

full apron n clogs attire again, this time covering a lovely lady’s little Victorian chair in a smart woolly blanket.

any earlier misgivings about deep buttoning in large geometric patterns were utterly misplaced.

Thursday morning

tutoring the last session of  a three-part ‘Paint Techniques for Furniture’ workshop, again @theFarm.

i don’t usually make two appearances in a week @theFarm and this was a bit of a trial run, brewed up by me and em after many requests. i’m pleased to report that much fun was had perfecting crackle glaze, craquelure, rubbed-back aging and even hand-painted pattern. 

after keeping my paint-y recipes and tricks a secret for so long (and indeedy blowing the dust off my pots and brushes) it was rather lovely to share. happily, new dates for this workshop are in May.

  

Thursday afternoon

an appointment in the big town with the lovely owner of interiors shop and studios The Marmalade House to reveal the results of my challenge to create some prototypes of ‘baggy linen’ lampshades.

Vanessa, The Marmalade House's lovely owner, holding up a 'find' which was our starting point

as they were prototypes and not for actual use, I made do with coat-hanger wire the frames and calico ‘linen’. here they are:

a plain one…

small H offered to be photographer's assistant

and one with shell frills, which i particularly liked…

happily, they were ‘almost just right’. a few tweaks to proportion ( a little wider at the bottom), seams (on show or not?) and we’re almost there. and in a happy bit of creative teamwork, Vanessa's going to have a go at dyeing them while i rustle up a 'final prototype'. 

Friday

it really would have been full apron n clogs attire again and on a mission to finish the woolly blanket chair… but I went skipping off to feed the lions and tigers instead.

really.

this is what happened… Mr H was invited to write a review of this splendid 'VIP experience' at not-so-far-away Longleat Safari Park, and he happened to mention that he was allowed to take a guest...

no need for any pondering. the whole point of being a Shed Dweller and Upholsteress in Charge, is that diaries and deadlines can be juggled and Fridays should include feeding lions, tigers, cheetahs and wolves if the occasion crops up. 

helping the Longleat wardens was a truly splendid way to play truant from the Shed… even the gory bits like trying not to slip over while rattling along in a caged-in trailer knee-deep in horse flesh. being chased by a pride of happy lions made it a lot of fun.

a few extra notes:

The Marmalade House dedicates itself to painted English country interiors, and is stuffed with fabrics, homely treasures of an eclectic nature and a workroom where Annie Sloane’s chalk paints are used. i will also be teaching some classes there soon. do have a look at their website for details.