Upholstery course: day one

Posted on 21 October, 2013 by Crafty Getaways

Given my penchant for auction bargains, I have been really keen to learn the skills involved in furniture upholstery. I often see tired looking sofas, chairs, stools, etc. that have lovely forms but have seen better days; wishing I had the confidence to buy them and transform them into something incredible.

On Saturday I was given that chance at a local one day workshop. I was asked to take along a small project so chose a small stool with Queen Anne legs and a sprung seat. The fabric was long gone and the stool looked a sorry state so most of the day was spent removing tacks, mending the woodwork and bandaging the wood so it was ready to take more staples and tacks. Here are some photos from the day… there’s still a lot to do including seven more layers until the stool resembles the original. The final fabric seems to be incidental!

I now hope to attend a multi-week course so I can finish the stool and move onto other projects that may benefit The Little Grange. SCH

Lavender update: four months on

Posted on 17 October, 2013 by Crafty Getaways

Well, I’ve had mixed success with the lavender cuttings! Partly because I took cuttings too early (I’ve since learnt that early autumn would probably be better) and partly because we had such a warm summer and I’ve struggled to know how much water to give them (read: I have over watered them)!

Nevertheless, out of the original 36 cuttings, 24 rooted well and put on good growth and I have been able to replace any weaker cuttings with the autumn new growth from the master plant.

I have also regularly ‘pinched out’ the top shoots so they bush out and form more foilage at the bottom rather than grow leggy stems. I will only water the cuttings very occasionally now that the weather has turned cooler and will keep them in the greenhouse out of harm’s way until next spring when they can be planted out at The Little Grange. SCH

Lavender cuttings 17 Oct 2013

A frugalitarian at heart

Posted on 12 September, 2013 by Crafty Getaways

I’m just back from today’s auction and I’m so happy with this week’s finds. For once we’re not talking huge pieces of furniture, rather a couple of choice items to furnish The Little Grange.

The first is a small iron stag’s head with two hooks for hanging coats. Very country living! The second is a painted iron plant trough and stand which I plan to put by the wall of the barn near the side gates. Accounting for commission fees, the stag’s head cost £20; the trough and stand £17.

Also, yesterday, we took our garden waste to the local waste disposal and recycling site and I picked up another item that had been left for rubbish; a low, stone bird bath for £2. I think I’m becoming a master frugalitarian! SCH

Renovation of the linen press: before/after shots of top section

Posted on 4 September, 2013 by Crafty Getaways

Last week the weather was finally cool enough to tackle the second component of the linen press. I set myself up in the shade of the grape vine and cleaned down the entire frame, removed the warn blue paper that was lining the linen drawers and then waxed all the parts.

Unlike the bottom section, which has the appearance of a polished Victorian set of pine drawers, the top component is a simple box structure with ‘open-fronted’ sliding drawers where linen would have been placed in olden times. The wood is untreated as this part of the linen press is intended to be hidden behind two veneered doors. I cleaned and waxed the doors and stored them in the garage as I wont be able to add these until the base and top frames are cleaned up and in situ. That’s probably a job for next week as I still need to treat those parts for wood worm first.

Below are a few pictures of work in progress as well as the finished product on top of the already renovated pine drawers. When everything is finished and assembled it will be placed in the barn/workshop at The Little Grange. SCH

Another successful day at the auction

Posted on 2 September, 2013 by Crafty Getaways

But what am I going to do with all of this furniture?

This week I was lucky enough to get my hands on a seven-feet long Edwardian wind-out table that will seat ten people once the leaves are added. It is made of mahogany and weighs a ton!

It is a beautiful piece of furniture complete with turned legs on casters and will no doubt look stunning in The Little Grange (especially once we add a crisp white tablecloth and have guests sitting around it).

As to the price? It cost £156 once the auctioneer’s fee was added on. Marvellous! SCH

Edwardian wind-out table with two leaves

A rubbish find

Posted on 27 July, 2013 by Crafty Getaways

I couldn’t believe my luck today when we went to dispose of 20 bags of garden waste having spent the morning cutting down trees and pruning shrubs. Our local waste disposal and recycling site keeps back a few ‘unwanted’ items for other people to buy. There are areas for internal and external doors, white goods, furniture and garden goods.

As we entered the site I saw a small ‘pie crust’ table and asked the site worker how much he wanted for it; he said £5. I offered him £2 and he said ok!! I think it’s probably hit and miss what you can find but if you have to make a trip there regularly its worth keeping an eye out. SCH

Small wooden table

Could this be the perfect property?

Posted on 3 July, 2013 by Crafty Getaways

Last summer, while staying with friends in France, two of us drove out to a little village to see a house that was for sale. We didn’t have an appointment so peaked through the front gates and managed to sneak around the back which was accessible by a side road. It was an intriguing property; a manor house on the edge of the village with uninterrupted views across fields to the front. Unfortunately I was not in a position to buy it as I hadn’t even begun to think about leaving the Middle East so we left the village and I didn’t give the house any more thought.

Fast forward a year and having spotted the property online, and realising it has a barn and accommodation all with en-suite bathrooms, I have booked flights to view the house next week! I am throwing caution to the wind and just going for it… I have a really good feeling that this might actually be the property we transform into The Little Grange! SCH

Lavender: the two-year project

Posted on 22 June, 2013 by Crafty Getaways

I know it sounds a little crazy to talk of edging a 100 ft garden path with lavender when I haven’t yet found the right property, but given the amount of work that goes into building a mature garden it seems wise to make an early start! Despite my impatience and general inexperience, I’m hoping that by taking cuttings from an old, gnarled lavender bush and planting them up now I will have the perfect-sized lavender plants within two years.

There are other benefits too: the cost of planting 40+ established plants from a local nursery is prohibitive (I estimate somewhere in the region of £400). With this being one of many ‘essential’ garden projects at The Little Grange it is hard to justify such a spend and the alternative – planting a few smaller plants – just wont have the same impact. By taking cuttings I will have all the plants I need for (virtually) nothing at all.*

I followed these simple steps:

Step 1: take an old lavender bush with lots of new shoots

Step 2: choose small pots, fill with compost and water lightly. For ease I planted 36 cuttings in two pre-formed trays of 18

Step 3: using secateurs, cut off a semi-ripe shoot of about 5 inches from the lavender bush

Step 4: using a sharp knife, cut just below the lowest leaf bud

Step 5: take off all leaves apart from the top set; thin out the central leaves

Step 6: using a pencil or similar-sized implement, make a hole in the centre of the compost and pop in the cutting

Step 7: using small wooden stakes and a see-through polythene bag; protect the cuttings; keep them out of direct sunlight

Once the cuttings are firmly established – they will sprout new shoots and will have a good root system – it will be time to pot them into bigger/individual containers with poor, stoney soil and leave them in a warm, sheltered spot. SCH

* Remember to factor in potting compost and water!

Piped cushions for an old wooden garden chair

Posted on 16 June, 2013 by Crafty Getaways

I am planning a relatively straight forward upholstery project… fabric-covered foam cushions for an old wooden garden chair. The chair is Adirondack by design so I will need to take careful measurements to ensure the cushions fit snugly. The covers will be made from a weighty cream patterned material and will be piped around the top and bottom edges.

To test how well the material performs I have just finished making two regular piped cushions which will probably end up on an inside chair/sofa rather than the completed garden chair, but it was good practice! Now… to those fabric-covered foam cushions… SCH

Garden inspiration

Posted on 10 June, 2013 by Crafty Getaways

What a fantastic way to spend a (partially) sunny weekend… looking around other people’s gardens!

In a small village, about two miles away, Mum and I visited 24 gardens over two afternoons as part of an open garden festival. I love looking through magazines for inspiration but nothing compares to seeing gardens up close.

Aside from getting that warm fuzzy feeling, the whole experience provided a fascinating insight into the British psyche… Armed with a map of the village we roamed from house to house on a mission to find new garden design ideas as well as new planting schemes.

No two gardens were alike; some were large and formal; others small and rambling. Planting was generally organic rather than staged and you could tell that people just loved to garden (and their gardens). What I hadn’t bargained for was the extent to which people moved beyond plants and soft/hard landscaping to create their own little havens matched perfectly to their personalities and obsessions! For example, the first Georgian house we visited just off the high street had a miniature train track running around the perimeter and a very excitable owner keeping the train and carriages moving past their stations. Another garden lover had a corner plot complete with hot tub, pond and chicken coup!

Other fun elements included a hill with secret kiddy tunnel, an enormous medieval castle dominating the back garden of a family home, and a teeny weeny garden filled with all manner of decorative objects including the inimitable gnome! All set in a small village no more than two miles square… what a treat.

However, for me it was the traditional garden elements that I enjoyed the most. Above are some of the ideas I hope to introduce into the garden at The Little Grange: stone boundary walls, big old gnarly trees, formal buxus hedges, wisteria in full bloom, well-planted vegetable patches and a suspended garden bench. SCH

Le Manoir Saint Gervais

Boutique bed & breakfast in west-central France * sewing & crafty getaways

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