Monday, February 29, 2016

Leaping Ahead....




A Little Stitching, A Lot of Glue......

Well, Dear Readers, It is Leap Day, in a Leap Year, and I have some Leaping progress to show you! It has taken me more than two years to stitch these tiny Bed Curtains, and now that they are nearly finished, I have asked myself What took me so long? The embroidery part is now complete... (unless I decide to add a few more leaves in another color....) but the pattern is now done! I was originally not sure how I would "finish" the edges, whether or not glue used to stop the fraying of the silk would be enough, or whether I would need to hem them. But having read Josje's post on the durability and longevity of materials used, I now question using ANY glue on fabrics! I will be stitching the hems! But besides that, I had also realized that these tiny curtains would need to be lined... because they hang on the bed and the "back" side of the stitches would be visible! They are "relatively" neatly stitched.... but the back side of the embroidery is not as pretty as the front! Having reached this stage with these curtains, I thought it would be fun to see how they are going to look .... so I pulled the Pagoda Bed out of the Tree House....

Of course, it is really difficult to get a sense of how they will look.....
but I carefully folded the fabric and held it next to the bed!
 Heavens, it makes the flowers look Huge!

But the Main thing I got done this weekend, Dear Readers, 
was a Lot more Gluing of the structure of Hardwick Hall! 
I left you last weekend with the side walls attached, 
but only part of the Parlor Bay windows was done.

Here you can see the Parlor Bay Windows "propped" in place, but not yet glued.
There were several steps I needed to do while the wall was partly open.
I needed to make the curtain rod for the bay window while measuring was easy, same with cutting most of the baseboards and the windowsills for the bay. And I wanted to attach an outlet on the outside wall beyond the bay window so future lamps could be added at will.

Can you even see the outlet I have added?
 I painted it brown and ran the wire down into the basement!
Then I worked on adding the sides to the bay window.....
They didn't fit very well...
I ended up shaving a lot off of one side panel,
And the other one was a bit warped.

It took all day to get them attached!
Here you see them in the following morning light.

And from the interior.... 
with the baseboards and windowsills mostly added.....
 
And another view.... the trees with the lights in the branches 
are still waiting for me to finish painting them.

Here is a close-up of the interior windowsills....
I think they turned out very well!
But you can see the daylight through the seams of the wall panels!
This will have to be covered with the exterior trim....
although I don't think the kit provides any for these seams!

This is what the house looks like before the attic walls are attached. 
What you see here is now all glued in place!

I had done the preliminary preparing and painting 
of the attic walls a year ago, 
but then realized I could not attach any of it 
without finishing the side walls of the house. 
This is a complex structure to assemble!
Here you can see I have glued the main attic walls in place!
(weighted with a can of paint!)

And then I added the side dormer walls, also "prepared" long ago!
It feels so good to Finally be able to work on this attic level!
I plan to make "adjustments" to the kit plan for this room.....
but I could not even begin to test my ideas without the structure completed this far.

Here you can see I have also added 
the "rear side walls" on each side of the house.
I thought the width of the kit pieces was much too large,
so I "thinned" them down to about 3/4ths of an inch on each side, 
rather than the almost two inches they start out as!
This will allow for the rear corner trims, 
but also allow for maximum access to the rooms!
I am Finally making Progress!
And with the tiny stitching too!

I know I have mentioned before how difficult it is 
to photograph the Tree House rooms....
but I thought you would like to see the bed and the curtains in place.

So you can see, Dear Readers, 
with a Little stitching and a Lot of Glue
I have been Leaping Ahead!

11 comments:

  1. My goodness you have done an excellent job on your stitching. As curtains, your flowers are just right. They can be any size you like. I use glue all the time on fabric. Why not? I use mostly silk fabrics and silk ribbons for some of my dollies dresses. The glue cuts down on the bulk. Enjoy your dollhouse and do as you like. Everyone has their own way and it is rarely wrong. Find what fits your style. Kathy

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  2. Your embroidery is amazing, and very beautiful, but it IS pretty big for that tiny bed.
    But OH, how lovely is Hardwick Hall! It reminds me a little of the alternative reality I'm designing for us in 1957. The house is very vertical, and has bay windows and minor amounts of stained glass, like Hardwick.
    Lovely!
    Love, Mom

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  3. Gosh, love these houses of yours! With every post there is some progress! And of course I admire your stiching.:) I still can't even start to think about it, lol!
    Hugs

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  4. So much progress!!! It's stunning to see Hardwick Hall growing and coming to life - and I admire your foresight to think of all the details you have to add before gluing the walls in place. And hooray for the finished stitching - it looks lovely in place. Okay, the flowers are big... but not all fabrics have small patterns and this special bed matches well with special curtains.

    Hugs
    Birgit

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  5. Betsy, your embroidery is just beautiful!
    Your Hardwick Hall is a absolute beauty, no, it's a real treasure, as well from the inside as outside. Your murals in this dollhouse make every house, made by you, very special.
    Hugs, Ilona

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  6. une broderie toute en finessse

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  7. Hello Betsy - You HAVE been leaping ahead; what a lot of work you've done. Hardwick Hall is becoming more and more beautiful. The embroidered bed curtain is truly wonderful. Those tiny stitches are amazing! I'm so glad you decided to finish the curtain - it will be perfect for the pagoda bed.
    Marjorie

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  8. Hello Betsey,
    You sure got a lot done! Your stitchery is just amazing and always impresses me. The design is gorgeous! The flowers are big but that is very popular right now. Prints are getting bigger so I think it works well. It is so much fun to see the house come together. It has always been one of my favourite kits on the market...and you've just made it incredible. Keep up the amazing work.
    Big hug
    Giac

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  9. This is lovely with lots to see. I'm impressed with your needlework stills - so small it would drive me nuts!

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  10. Hi Betsy! I thought that you had forgotten all about your tree house and so what a Wonderful surprise to see that you have been hard at work on finishing the embroidery for the bed curtains. You do such Extraordinary work Betsy, that I wonder why you do not do MORE of it! The pattern is sooooo Lovely and will look Incredible once attached to the bed. It will be such a shame to only get to view one side of the bed but knowing that there are a matched set will be your little secret! :D
    Meanwhile your BIG HOUSE is moving along rapidly now and what a difference having the walls up and the windows installed and the lights ON and Staying ON! :D
    Really Beautiful work Betsy Dear and I am so glad that you are outlining the various steps. This doesn't look like an easy kit to construct but you are making it look Amazing! :))

    elizabeth

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