New Worktable

Ever since my hobby changed into selling miniature furniture and working on commissions, I have felt the need for more working space and power tools permanently ready for work. Here is the space I used to have in the corner of my dining room.

An old cupboard originally intended for clothes.......

Revealing it's secret when you open the doors.

It even had a light to brighten up the work surface!!! But I needed something else with a sturdier working surface and place for my smaller power tools that I use almost everyday.

My youngest daughter is moving out later this week starting the adventure of  looking after herself and I will use her bedroom as a work room. So on Saturday my husband and I started looking for possible worktables  when we stumbled across this old desk cum table. At first I wasn't too sure but when I sat down in the U-shaped cutout the possibilities of how to use it started screaming loud in my mind.

I mean, look at all that surface in front and next to me, loads of place for tools, gluing jigs etc. Looking across the table I thought, wow, how on earth am I going to use the other side, my arms are not long enough to reach anything I put down on that side. And then it dawned on me, the other three sides are not closed in like a normal pedestal desk, there are place for chairs, I like to sit while using the lathe and drill press. Because of it's unusual shape, size and the fact that it has lost it's 3 drawers it was selling for a song, so I bought it right there and then. I it is made of a lovely hardwood, Rhodesian teak I think and I have some of the wood in the garage, so I plan on making some drawers full of partitions for all my small tools that I use regularly. The table is also very sturdy, just perfect for a miniature furniture maker.

Ready to start working, the poor dining table had to move out, it will only be for a week or so until we get the workroom ready for it. I plan on doing final sanding, gluing furniture together, etc in the U cutout, the drill press is on the left with a plastic storage container with all the cutters, etc that I need right on the spot. on the right side is my small table saw with once again a storage container for extra blades, etc.

And the last open spot on the table is for my new Sherline lathe that I will be buying later this week. And the cupboard?......, it will still be used for storage, probably all my sewing stuff, fabric etc that I don't want close to my woodworking area.

Have a great week
Elga

Stitching with Animals

It has been awhile since I last posted, 4 days after I came back from Castine my mom was admitted to hospital with severe abdominal pain, she had a pancreas abscess, after getting the infection levels down, she was operated on to clean out the abscess and remove the dead tissue. She spend two and a half weeks in hospital, the first week or two was very hectic as it is quite a serious condition, but she recovered faster than what the doctor expected, although she still has a fair way to go until complete recovery.

While I was in Castine my youngest daughter bought a new kitten and he (Yoda) stole my heart as soon as I saw him.

About 10 weeks old and fast asleep, isn't he cute!

And he does find the most unusual places comfy to sleep on.

You woke me up!!!

Yoda has decided to join Anakin (yes, you are right, they were both named after Star Wars characters by my daughter) who has been my faithful stitching companion for quite a few years now, the last few nights, nice and cozy, it is winter here in the South after all.

Looks like they are becoming friends, Yoda is about 13 weeks old now.

And lastly, my newest petit point project, I am stitching it on 58 count silk to fit in an antique frame that I bought last year in the USA, once it is finished it will hang in the Victorian dining room. The chart is from Raffaella Serena's book Berlin work Samplers and Embroidery of the 19th century.

Elga