Rattan poles.....thousands of' 'em!

It's been a funny few weeks, by that I mean funny in an odd way, not funny haha sadly!

We knew there were two important tasks we had been putting off that could wait not longer. First was restoring the woodwork and cab on Bernard our trusty old Bedford horsebox and the second was to sort, cut and bundle a mountain of raw rattan poles into more sensible and manageable sizes.

As luck would have it the weather has been okay for the past few weekends, so in between the odd shower we donned masks, ladders and sanders then threw ourselves at the mammoth task of horsebox restoration. Bernard is 10'6" tall and 19' long, so to say it's a big job washing and sanding that lot is a severe understatement. Meanwhile we had phoned the mechanic to ask him if he could check Bernard over for his annual "plating" test, thinking that we had plenty of time as we don't need to use him until the end of August. So imagine our shock when the mechanic told us that we'd better get him down to his yard asap as the testing station was already fully booked until, (you've guessed it) the end of August!

So panic ensued, pressure applied. We worked away madly for three solid weekends and then took the truck to the mechanics yard. We're all keeping our fingers crossed now that we can get a cancellation at the local testing station, otherwise it will be a 40 mile plus trip each way to the next nearest one!

So this is what he looked like when he went to the mechanic. Woodwork almost finished and the cab only partly started. Ooooh I hope we can get him tested and back home soon, still lots to do.

So once the truck panic was over, we girded our loins for sorting out the rattan pole problem. Last Wednesday, the two of us plus two friends (probably now ex-friends) set about the task. I hate to admit it, but the old adage "out of sight is out of mind" is so true. We had genuinely forgotten just how much rattan we have. At first we were optimistic that we could achieve loads in one day, but by the end of a VERY long shift, it was obvious that the job was going to take at least another week of concerted effort. This was the mountain we were looking at sorting and is only about a third of the total.

And here we are trying to decide where to start.

So we were a bit worse for wear after that lot and decided to have a gentler time this weekend. We've pottered about gardening and doing nice, quiet things like............

......rescuing lost frogs from the middle of the kitchen floor. Don't ask.....I have no idea how he came to be there suspiciously covered in fluff from the tumble drier!

I wonder what next week will bring?

Preparing for Stock Gaylard Oak Fair

There's still quite a bit of client work to do, but we are getting ahead as most of the jobs in the workshop now are scheduled for September delivery. Sooooo.....we can begin preparations for our final demonstration of the year at the Oak Fair. The "to do" list is endless, the horsebox needs work, we have very few pieces for exhibition, must make some footstool frames...etc....etc!

The vintage crib frame that we bought a few weeks ago is getting restored. It's time consuming, but I'm pleased so far.

Going to have to get my old sewing machine out and my thinking cap on - next task is to line the inside with something beautiful! Any suggestions? At least it will be something different to put on our display, with or without a lining!

Here's one of the most recent client jobs we've finished, this chair had a full restoration and is due to go home soon. A lovely old armchair that would originally have been on rockers.

We're also enjoying the Olympics, it's one of the great things about being your own boss, you can watch, (or at least listen to) the telly while you work. Thank goodness the weather improved over the last week, otherwise it would have been a complete washout.

Hey ho, onward and upward....lots to do.

Sunshine and the show season begins

After weeks and weeks of rotten weather, Dorset is sunny at last! Up to 25 degrees yesterday with little or no wind - bliss. We're hoping it hangs on for a while, Dorset Art Weeks starts this weekend, a great idea which happens once every two years. Lots of red and yellow signs appear all over the county directing you to studios, workshops and galleries that are participating in the event. It's a great opportunity to see artists at work in their own environment doing what they do.

We took part for the first time two years ago. Stewarts Garden Centre hosts an event. The garden centre is a really inspiring place in a gorgeous location and during Dorset Art Weeks they invite a few local folks to come along to demonstrate and exhibit their work. Last time there was a potter, a textile artist, a furniture maker, a stained glass artist, a sculptor and us! We had a great time.

We were set up with horsebox Bernard in the car park, (the weather was good two years ago too!) It was lovely to be out of the workshop, in the fresh air for a change and we met some really interesting people. If you get the chance, please have a look at the DAW website, there are loads of events all over Dorset for the next two weeks. Come and say hello, or take a leisurely drive around this beautiful county and follow a few of the signs!

We've made some footstool frames especially and will be weaving seats on them during the event. Here's a preview....

The "cricket" stool is recyled from an old child sized cricket set.

We've made a decision about Bernard the Bedford TK horsebox

This year we're doing less shows than ever before. We have only definitely committed ourselves to three - Dorset Art Weeks and Holton Lee in June, then Stock Gaylard Oak Fair in August - that's it.

It will also be our last Summer season with "Bernard" the old Bedford TK Oakley horsebox as a backdrop and living accommodation. It's been a hard decision to make, but the time has come to move on and do things differently. We don't use Bernard enough, he needs to move around and be out and about more often, so in the Autumn he will be up for sale. Sad, but we have to be realistic, it will be a wrench to let him go after all this time, but there must be someone else out there who is looking for exactly what Bernard has to offer.

So this Spring when the weather improves we will bring Bernard out of his Winter sleep for the last time

Let us know if you are interested in becoming Bernard's new custodians. If you would like to see a potted history of our seven years with him, look here.

Oooooh dear......

Don't you just love him?

Well it's Friday morning and Bernard is still languishing in the mechanic's workshop. Overall he passed the "plating" test except for his brakes which failed by 1%. The mechanics investigated and found that a recently replaced brake master cylinder seemed to be the problem, it was sticking. Luckily we still had the old one, (some Bedford TK parts are as rare as hen's teeth!) and with a bit of persuasion it worked better than the newer one. That was yesterday afternoon....they have rechecked the braking system but are not convinced that it works all that much better than before. We'll find out..... at 3.30pm today he has a retest, (notice 3.30pm!).

Now what do we do......do we trundle down to the workshop, empty Bernard before his test then pack the car and trailer with everything we need for the show tomorrow, or do we wait and see?? If we pack the trailer and then get a pass certificate, we'll have to unpack and repack it all into the truck again, but if we don't pack the trailer before the test and then get a failure certificate, the workshop will be closing and we won't be able to get our show stuff out of the truck!!

I think at this point it would be easier to go on holiday.

Getting ready for the Woodfair at Larmer Tree.

Today is Wednesday and we will be at the Cranborne Chase Woodfair at Larmer Tree Gardens on Saturday - pretty straightforward stuff you'd think - except as I sit here and type, Bernard the horsebox, a crucial part of our stand display has once again failed his annual "plating" test (MOT). He is currently sitting in a commercial workshop awaiting a retest. Now this may or may not happen by Saturday and he may or may not pass the test ....panic ....me .....noooo!

Meanwhile the show preparations and client work continue. We finished the seat of the "Denims" stool yesterday evening, decided to go mad with mixed media and added in some French style hand wrapped coils of denim blue straw to the rushwork. I'm quite pleased with it, but my other half's jury is out!

Well you've got to admit it's something a bit different!! We've also made a much simpler version without the extra "leg". I've got to own up and say that making this has been fun and a challenge that I've really enjoyed. Persuading a few bent branches to hold together in a frame that can support a seat top is like doing a jigsaw puzzle that has some very oddly shaped pieces and without a photo of the finished thing.

Yes.....it was fun!

The "Denims" stool

A bit of carving.....I don't know why or how this came about, but when a fork between two branches of hazel looked like a pair of jeans, it seemed natural to carve a cowboy boot and put it on the bottom of the branch! (I know...it's mad...)

The "blocking out" of the shape.

Then the finished carving.

Is it mad? Oh well, my defence is "one's man meat is another man's poison! Now to decide how to weave the top - any ideas?

No 1 son's project.......

We're not the only people in the household with projects. No 1 son has a passion for restoration too, except his projects are somewhat larger than ours, usually cars or buildings! I'm sure it's our own fault for indulging his passion for model cars and lego when he was a tot.

Well here it is.........

It's been several weeks of very hard labour for him, but what a result! It was a non-runner with endless mechanical and bodywork problems, but he has persevered and now it is fully roadworthy and has passed the MOT test. It still needs a front end re-paint, but that's non-essential cosmetic work as far as he's concerned and will have to wait until more funds are available. I heard it running this morning.....mmmmmm, a Rover V8, just like a quietly purring big cat. We're very proud of his achievement, this is the third car he's either restored or rebuilt. Well done son!!!

Meanwhile we're plodding on - remember the chair frame that needed refinishing last week? Well here it is now waiting for the cane to be replaced.

I also spent some time over the weekend making a couple more footstool frames from scratch using some hazel from our garden and some recycled bits and pieces that we've gathered together over the years.

We're going to put a really fancy top on this one to contrast with the simplicity of the frame. The second of these frames is in pieces in the background of the photo, one of the legs has two branches and looks like a pair of jeans to me, so it's been christened the "Denims" stool!

Back to the mundane for today though, more "Habitat" cane panel seats.......

If you want to have a look at the work of loads of other really talented craftspeople, then pay a visit to Wendy's blog here, She showcases other crafty bloggers skills every Monday - pay her a visit!

Last minute job

Still a bit tacky, but finally I have got around to repairing, cleaning and refinishing this French medallion table top that we have had for years. At last it can be reinstated in pride of place at the back of our stand, (without me feeling embarrassed that it is grubby and unloved!)

Now we really are ready for the show tomorrow - I think!

Footstools for Frome Cheese Show

Just three new ones for the show tomorrow, (so far....).

A little wartime CC41 frame with an "antique" colour paper fibre rush seat with chevrons.

A taller "Arts & Crafts" green stained stool with a "river rush" paper fibre seat.

And finally a pitch pine framed footstool with a whacky stained rattan splint seat.

Another little job that was really enjoyable this week was this woven pot handle.

It makes a nice change!

Hope some of you can make it to the show tomorrow, fingers crossed for better weather hey?

Not exactly a day of rest.

It's Sunday....so I must be cleaning - again. The only consolation is that these are the last of the books from Mother in Law's house. Yippee!

It's taken all day to hoover, wipe and dry them, then they were sorted into history, novels, gardening etc. and boxed ready to take to auction. It seems an awful thing to do to break up one person's lifetime collection, but I don't know what else we can do really. It's a very difficult situation to be in, it seems wrong to dispose of someone's possessions whilst they are still alive and physically well, but equally we know that dementia doesn't improve over time and these are just things after all, things that she can no longer use.

The rest of the week has been successful, we waved our youngest son off to a new job in north Somerset for a couple of months, (he's enjoying it so far...) And we also waved goodbye to a lot of finished furniture so the workshop is much tidier and more spacious now.

These were two rush seats woven for a restorer friend of ours, the rest of the work was mainly cane panels. Next weekend we'll be at Frome Cheese Show on Saturday, so most of this week will be spent replenishing our stock of finished footstools for the display.

And just for a change, a word and wisdom of the week - because today in by book cleaning I came across a Thesaurus and a Book of Quotations, so I thought I'd make use of them!

Ephemeral - Brief, evanescent, fleeting, momentary, passing, transient.

Hmmm, just like life.

"I want to go ahead of Father Time with a scythe of my own" H. G. Wells.

I'm with you on that one H.G.

 

This weather!

Well we've packed Bernard ready to leave for the show in an hour's time, so that would be why it has just decided to pour with rain!! And it's not just raining out there, it's like a biblical flood, there's been thunder and lightening again. Just look at it....

And to top it all it's cold. I'm not looking forward to a night sleeping in a field, but at least we've got electricity, so if the worst comes to the worst we can put the heater on! Thank goodness for Bernard.

The boxes and baskets are finished....

So lets pray for a bit of calmer, brighter and warmer weather tomorrow. I seem to remember that every time we've been to Stock Gaylard the weather has been the same, heavy rain right up until the early hours of show day and then pleasantly warm and bright - here's hoping!

New Stock for Stock Gaylard Oak Fair?!

Been busy......experimenting! We needed a few last bits and pieces for the show this Saturday - I'd had this idea so I thought I'd give it a go and see if it would work.

There is a story behind this bit of recycling. We found some old pine packing boxes in the shed at Mother in Law's house when we were clearing out, they'd been stacked and used as storage shelves. My dear other half said he remembered his father using them over 40 years ago when he moved house. Several of them were riddled with woodworm to the extent that two fell apart when we lifted them, but the others weren't too bad. Anyway my other half wanted to throw them away, but I said "No I've got an idea". Now my OH is a patient man, he gave me that, "ooooh noooo" look then dutifully put them in a plastic bin bag and into the car. Well.... here are two of them, washed, wormed and ....well..... titivated!

I've woven a double braided rim around them, the idea being that they can be lined with fabric and used for whatever you fancy! The cane still needs to dry and then be trimmed and the boxes need polishing, but they should look good then. One is proudly labelled - SARDINES, (upside down!) and the other DRIED PRUNES. I am keeping one other for posterity, it is labelled PEACHES and came all the way from sunny California!

Apart from that we have finished another little footstool, more modern and Danish looking this time.

And lastly, I did finish the two egg baskets.

Thankfully we have enough items to take to the show now so all that we need to do is pack the lorry on Friday. Hope to see some of you there, come and say hello if you are visiting!

Books, books and more books

Sorry it's been a bit quiet on the blogging front, but as well as too much to do and too little time to do it, I've also been a bit preoccupied with books -  hundreds of 'em!

Now mother in law's house looks like it is definitely sold, (fingers crossed!) we've started the process of removing the last bits and pieces. Now there were two passions in my husbands late father's life - records and books. It was an obsession to the extent where he had to have special cabinets made to take the records and shelves for the books! When I say there are about 1000 classical lp's and more than 300 books it's no exaggeration.

Most of the books are about history, English and European, but there are also loads of novels and even a series of natural health and healing books. Because of the state the house was in, all of them have had to be hoovered and cleaned before we can sell them or give them to the local charity shop, hence I've been a bit busy! We've got to raise as much money as we can to go into mother in law's dementia care home fees fund.

Only another 100 or so to go........well, at least until we collect the last batch!!!

Otherwise work has been all cane panelling, another batch were done last week.

And we're still trying to get things together for the Stock Gaylard Woodfair at the end of the month. It's all go!

Preparing for the Three Counties Show

This weekend was meant to be spent in preparation..... rebuilding stands, wax finishing stool and chair frames, cleaning the truck and all the other admin/packing and background tasks that go into making yourself ready to put on a show. However, the weather dictates as always! It's pouring with rain, which according to the forecast is here for the day, so most plans are scuppered. The heavier outdoor prep work will just have to wait until tomorrow. There are a few things I can do, some printing maybe and basket making, so with a bit of luck we may be able to make some headway later today.

We have had a productive week, tedious at times but satisfying. A couple of oak framed chairs have been refinished ready for their new drop in rush seats, another oak cane seated chair has been refinished and recaned, a footstool or two have been done and joy of joys this little treasure is finished.

As predicted it has taken an age, a panel 24" x 17" with a two by two twill weave in 3.0mm wide cane onto bowed rails. If you have ever done any hand knotted close cane work, I'm sure you will know what that means - weeks of work!! Never mind, it will go home in a couple of weeks and the pain will be just a memory.

We should have been at Walford Mill Gallery this weekend for the Wimborne Folk Festival but didn't go because of the Three Counties Show starting on Friday. Such a shame for them that this weather has moved in, it spoils the fun and makes life so difficult if you are trying to put on a show. It started me thinking.....so as a result next week I'll start a sequence of posts about what it's really like to go out there - become an exhibitor and put yourself up to public scrutiny! What it takes in real terms.

(It's possible that I may need someone to censor my posts!).

Off to Sherborne

The horsebox is packed with food, clothes and furniture, just need to get some fuel, (again!) and then we're off to Sherborne Castle. We did finish one or two special little projects for the show, here's one when it was halfway through.

Perhaps someone at the show will fall in love with this little child sized rocking chair and give it a new home, but if not, it can live with me!

Back to the office on Tuesday.

Footstool frames

All week, frame after frame has gone through the restoration process - feels like I've done millions of them! Stripping, re-gluing, re-finishing and we've still got the seats to weave yet. But it is satisfying to look around the workshop now......

Piles of frames everywhere! The soda blasting of the American rocking chair was only partly successful, so I will have to persevere with that one another time. Meanwhile, talking of perseverance............

Word of the Week:

Assiduous -constant in application or effort; working diligently at a task; persevering; attentive.

It's been a good week here for "assiduous".

Wisdom of the Week:

"I think we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labour of the industrious" - Thomas Jefferson 3rd US President!

And he said that over 200 years ago, so what's changed.......?

Bernard, our project next week......

Well it's that time of the year again. Bernard our trusty old horsebox needs his annual overhaul. The best news is at least we can move him now thanks to a wonderful friend of ours. Up until the middle of last week the clutch was seized and we had no way of being able to deseize it - our friend came to the rescue. He fiddled and thumped, moved and shook the truck, then suddenly, we heard a click.....the clutch was freed! However, our friend doesn't know how he did it - so none of us are any the wiser how to fix it if it happens again. Hey ho.

So tomorrow I will be soda blasting various bits of furniture and truck. Then we will be cleaning various bits of furniture and truck..... and finally, we will be re-painting or re-finishing various.................!

Not the most exciting prospect in the world is it? But someone has to do it. By the end of the week we will hopefully have a handsome truck AND some footstool frames to work on at our first show of the year at Sherborne Castle at the end of May. It is wishful thinking on my part but it would be great if Bernard looked as good as he did when we spent 800 hours on him 6 years ago:

But to quote one of our sons, "that ain't gonna happen". It's more likely that I'll be making up a sign saying "Please excuse me I'm a Work in Progress"!

Porch rocker and preparing for the "Cheese Fest"

After all the excitement of Bernard passing his plating test on Wednesday it was serious "nose to the grindstone" time. The porch rocker with a drop-on close caned seat has taken a very long time, but at last it is finished.

Here it was before work started:

Here it is rewoven:

And finally, the colouring to match the old cane:

So now we pack the truck ready for the Cheese Festival! We've never been to this event before, so are really looking forward to it.

Bernard passed his test.........

After Bernard failed the annual "plating" test on Monday, we sent him to a mechanic who said that the handbrake would need to be adjusted and he would "take it from there", it could be that the only wheel cylinder that we haven't replaced has started to leak but the mechanic wouldn't know this until he delved a little deeper.........oh, please just let it be the handbrake.

The handbrake was adjusted, the brakes were bedded in, a bit of tweaking here and there and then the brakes were tested on a rolling road.

Bernard passed! Not only did he pass the test, but with flying colours - the braking system has never worked so well.

So, yesterday evening we collected him from Poole complete with a new 12 month pass certificate - deep joy! One less thing to think about, (to quote Forrest Gump).

So we shall go to the Frome Agricultural and Cheese Festival on Saturday after all.