A Few New Things We've Been Working On

Now that the nice weather is here we've really been in the mood to make garden prims. We took advantage of the beautiful sunny day to make a display outside the barn and I just had to take a few photos for the blog.

The "Herb" sign is a stave from a barrel that Terry picked up along the roadside last weekend. I left the original pale yellow paint and just gave it a light sanding before doing the lettering. It looks brighter in the photo than it really is. It looks a little bumble bee like in the picture (the dark striped areas are actually the unpainted oak that was under the metal bands that held the barrel together). The rest of the signs are plain pine boards that I've crackled before lettering up to give them a nice aged appearance.

Terry constructed the rustic bird house from some rough sawn lumber that was up in the loft. She gave it a thin coat of Yorktown Green and then antiqued it with a little dark walnut stain. The roof and the star on the front were both cut from rusty tin that was salvaged from the Matt Arcand homestead house just down the road. The girl really needs to get herself some new tin snips before she loses a digit....and some heavy gloves wouldn't hurt either! A couple of horseshoe nail perches and it was complete.

The crow and birdhouse on the cedar rail will make great additions to any garden. I can hardly wait to see a set in the shop garden.

All in all a very productive weekend considering we were off our stride with not going to the auction on Friday night.

Well folks I'm off to get a little hooking in before hitting the hay.

ttfn

Jackie

Found Items and Make-do

You can just never tell what interesting pieces will find you when you keep your eyes open. There is an auction in town every Friday night...we attend....always hopeful that a deal will come along but never expecting it. Because we don't expect to find anything exciting we are never disappointed when we come home empty handed. The small lantern, the crock and the pine box all came from the auction. Nice little additions to the display.
Once in a while we come across items that someone else is just tossing out. The drop leaf enamel top table and the yellow rocker that you see in the picture are examples of 'one mans garbage is another mans treasure'. Driving a bus isn't all bad....it puts me at the right height to see into dumpsters....and that is how we came upon both of these treasures. (And no...I didn't pull over and toss this stuff into the bus!! Although it did cross my mind, I came back later in the truck with Terry in tow.)
Much of what we do depends on our ability to envision an old cast off transformed into something wonderful again. A good example would be the portion of oak barrel lid that Terry used as a canvas for her adaptation of a Currier and Ives winter scene.
Just this afternoon Terry and Randy picked up a small barrel (the stave's will make great sign boards), and a butcher block that is beyond repair but it has great turned legs that will make magnificent spindle Santa's. All of this great junk was sitting at the end of a driveway waiting for someone with vision to come along.
Love what you do and be open to all the possibilities. Make every day the best day ever.
Cheers
Jackie

Hoosier Close Up Pics

Here are the close-up pictures I promised. I'm so happy that we were able to save and restore the art deco motif on the cupboard doors.

We would like to thank all of you who have tuned in for the makeover and have even taken the time to email or comment on the work we have done. It's so nice to hear from others who own similar cupboards and are thinking about refinishing them.

Now we begin our search for original glassware (spice jars and the like) to really complete the project.

We spent the afternoon today back at our painting table. Terry worked on an original acrylic on canvas. She is doing a painting of an old farmhouse and barn that is just a stones throw down the road from the shop. It is really coming along nicely so I should be able to post a pic of it in a few days.

I worked away at lettering primitive signs. We sold a few over the weekend and I want to replenish my stock before we open again on Thursday....meanwhile I still have to finish the small hooking I'm working on. As if that isn't enough I will be putting in a few hours at our local greenhouse and driving a school bus in my spare time. Sheesh....I better get to bed early tonight 'cuz it's gonna be another busy week.

We'll catch ya later....

Cheers

Jackie

Hoosier Resoration Complete!!!

Well folks, here it is. One week from the day it arrived in our shop the homely hoosier style kitchen cupboard has been totally refurbished.

We tried to match it's new paint colour as closely as possible to the original paint. The paint we selected is Benjamin Moore 'Aura' in Oat Straw. It applied like a dream and looks absolutely fabulous.

We are thrilled with the final results we achieved on this piece and have given it a place of honour on the shop floor.

I will post a few close-up pics shortly.

We hope you've enjoyed following our progress this week.

Cheers

Jackie

More Cupboard Restoration

If you are thinking that the woman never sleeps...you're right. I suspect she spent more than a couple of nights in the workshop this week. (Just kidding.) Here she is fashioning new dividers for the utensil drawer.

The top photo shows the art deco motif that was hidden under a layer of white paint. Working on an old piece of furniture can be just like an archaeological dig....careful exploration can reveal wonderful secrets.

Tomorrow we paint it.

Stay tuned for the grand finale.

Cheers

Jackie

Update on the Kitchen Cupboard

It has been a busy week in the shop. As predicted, Terry couldn't resist the urge to start working on the cupboard. In this picture it has been torn apart and hinges and hardware stripped. It didn't need major repair work...a little gluing and 'Bob's your Uncle'. The tambour required quite a bit of sanding and the linen that makes the whole thing hinge needed replacing and gluing. It was decided that we wouldn't strip it completely but rather give it a good sanding and repaint. Stay tuned kids as we continue to work on this great piece.

Cheerio

Jackie

Hooked Rug

Thought you might be interested in another hooked piece.

This hooked rug is at the shop. You can just see it in the photo of the Hoosier cupboard.

Yesterday we did our spring cleaning...hauled everying about in the shop and dusted and cleaned. Once everything was spit-spot we rearranged everything including this rug which now hangs on one of the outer log walls. I like the new location...really shows off against the darker logs. It is a combination of #8 and hand cut on linen. I think I'm overdue for another big project.

....right after we finish the hoosier.

Cheers ~ Jackie

On the Road Again

The above picture is my entry into the Memories of My Mother hooked rug exhibit. The call for entry for this exhibition went out in 2004 with the show set to open on Mother's Day 2006 at the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre. Being the consummate procrastinator I had two years to design and hook the 2'x3' rug and I got busy at it Feb. 2006....the above photo was taken in March just before I bound the rug and shipped her out.

The rug has been on tour all of this time with things set to wrap up next year. Last week I received a letter asking if I would like to be part of the extended tour. Seems that an exhibit facilitator from western Canada would like the show to tour Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. This will mean that I get my rug back in 2012....how cool is that?!?!

Not in a million years did I think anything from my hand would be seen by so many.
Take care and enjoy your day!

Jackie

Hoosier Style Kitchen Cupboard

We've become "Auction Junkies"...the only thing that gets us through the week is knowing that come Friday night we are off to the auction. Most of the time we snag a treasure for the shop...a wool blanket perfect for hooking with, a jar of square nails, or perhaps a child size pressed back rocker. (OK!! So the rocker was a bad idea...who knew it had a gazzillion coats of enamel paint on it!!) Well, did we score BIG TIME on Friday night or what?! We beat out 3 other bidders to win this fantastic Hoosier style kitchen cupboard. It is a Knetchel Kitchen cupboard made in Hanover, Ontario. We believe it to be early 1930's art deco, but will do a little more research on it. It has some minor damage but we feel confident we can return it to its previous glory. As you can see it still has the flour sifter, spice rack, roll top, and all the original hinges and hardware.

Check back often to follow the restoration.


First job is to get it into the workshop and give it a good scrub so we can see what we are dealing with. Cheers, Jackie

Mother McCabe

This has really been a week for finishing up projects. This gal has been around a while. I hooked the wings for this doll probably 4 yrs ago...so long ago in fact, that I don't remember the exact date. At that time I cut, sewed and stuffed the body. She was then tossed into my hooking basket where she remained untouched until just a week or so ago. The wool that I had originally picked out for her dress is long gone...used for another project or more likely hooked into a mat. I picked through my stash of wool to find something suitable for her attire, and finished her off. A real make-do kinda gal. With buttons for eyes and a horseshoe nail nose, I think she's quite a looker. The wings are wired so they won't droop and have been completely lined. I've named her Mother McCabe...a primitive bio will complete her. She'll look mighty special hanging on the door of that Pail Cupboard. This picture was taken outside and man oh man was it a windy day...her hair is blowing straight in the air and she looks as if she is about to take off!! Perhaps that accounts for her startled look. LOL

I found another set of hooked wings in my wool stash...the second set are predominantly green...hard to say what they will become.

J.