The New Quilt Shop

Hard to believe it has been nearly ten months since I last posted. Made a little progress on the Beacon Hill in New Orleans, but haven't done any mini work here in Missouri -- until today!

Last week I got back the contents of the quilt shop from my niece. She now has the dollhouse that my father made and I have the contents. I was going to list them in my Etsy shop but then thought about a room box that has been gathering dust for several years. A cousin took a class with Brooke Tucker some years ago but didn't finish the box and gave it to me. Brooke is now retired, but some of her exquisite work can be seen here.
So, this morning I cleared off an extra computer table and moved it into the library to use as a base.
(As a result, the dining room table is now useless until I clear off the stuff dumped on it.)

I managed to extricate the room box from the shelf where it's been buried and set it up on my basement worktable and began to clean it up. I'd forgotten how big it was! The ceiling height is 12 inches and the outer walls are 21 inches apart. There is a raised area at the back, with see-through windows, and two built-in seats. (Don't forget to click on the photos for a bigger picture.)

The fireplace is not attached. The walls are "papered" with cloth with painted wood wainscoting below.

The built-in shelves were nearly hidden behind the wall extension on the right.  You can see the "view" out the center window in this picture. The back door was open when I took the previous shots.

The top opens to reveal the electric cords and switches. There are four bulbs, the two seen in front and two in back that mimic sunlight. It's also a great place to store bits and pieces while working on the shop!

Here are the views of outside. Both sides and the back have doors that open.

Well, nothing ever goes as easily as planned, so what's going to happen here? More than I'd counted on!

• The lights are awkward and burn HOT. They need to be replaced with LED lights.
• The bit of wall blocking the view of the shelves has to go.
• The fireplace wall needs to be moved back against the outer wall of the box.
• The built-in seats need to go to make room for fabric bolt racks.
• The outside needs to be finished in some way -- to look like a building or just a nice finish on a box?

And so on! I've already begun demolition. More pictures in the next post.

Furniture Painting Finished

It took most of the week, but the furniture is painted and clearcoated with polyacrylic. The designs came from a cousin's work and a little bell I bought in Kutna Hora. (click to enlarge)

I'm not sure how much more I'll get finished before we have to start packing up for the trip southward. I noticed a goodly amount of robins in the back yard today. They're gathering for their trip to their winter stomping grounds, too.

Furniture Shop Still Swinging

Today I sanded the furniture, put on a coat of gesso and one of the base color, and painted one of the chests. It was fun to see the little assembly line as the tables, chairs, and chests moved along. First photo show them with the little tabs and slots smoothed over with the wallboard mud.

 Next photo shows all but one coated with gesso.

 And the last photo shows the pieces with their base coat. I painted one chest in a manner similar to a chest I photographed in a log cabin in the Czech Republic belonging to the family of one of my cousins. My eyes gave out after the one chest was decorated. I'll address the rest tomorrow. They won't be as intricate, I think. We'll see where the muse takes me.

The paint colors are too raw, and I don't like the flat finish of the acrylics. When the decoration is complete, I'll use a glaze of some sort to mute the colors a bit and give it a satin finish.