All Over The Map.....
You Might recall, Dear Readers, that I started to do some petit-point embroidery projects during the times of day I was normally in my car on the way to work. Those hours add up fast and I have accomplished a lot during my "commute" times! Above you can see the stitching completed on the little footstool in the Tree of Life design by Janet Granger. I love this design and had a lot of fun stitching it! But it only took a couple of weeks start to finish.... well, I have not assembled it yet, so it is not finished. But I was so enjoying the stitching process, I had to start another of her kits right away.
This is a mini handbag from the "Jazz Era"
and it took me even less time... I didn't even take progress pictures!
Of course, I have not sewn it together yet...
But the stitching is done.
And yes, I found myself in need of starting another of Janet's kits...
This time a Tea Cosy in the shape of a cottage.
Which is coming along rather quickly!
And lest I forget to show you the progress on assembling the footstool...
The kit includes the bare wood pieces to finish and assemble.
The feet are supposed to be gently rounded by sanding them.
I had just started this when I realized it might be fun
to make them "ball and claw" feet instead!
You can see the beginnings of my carving above.
I was quite happy with my efforts!
And promptly carved the other three to match!
I stained the pieces before gluing them....
and have not yet given them a coat of varnish.
Which is why the footstool has not yet been "finished"!
But that was already a couple of weeks ago....
and since then I have been building those "Rocky" window frames...
And rather than bore you with all the steps,
I will just show you the completed window for the outer door wall...
And with the shutters finished too!
The outer side of the wall has yet to be completed,
but this finishes the windows for The Lord's Council Chamber!
Ah, but you are wondering about the Map....
The Map is Slow going Dear Readers,
because I don't know what I am doing!
This is how it looked when you last saw it....
So Bare!
And yet, I keep needing to remind myself
to think like a Medieval Traveler...
I started by placing the "known" details....
the mountains that nobody disputes
and the location of Paradise
which was at the Center of the World.....
Although that was beginning to be
moved farther from the known lands.
And the Four Rivers that flow from Paradise....
dividing the continents....
But I got them wrong and had to do them over....
Perhaps this is better...?
And a few sailing ships had to ply the seas....
(just under-painted in white to make the colors true...)
Oh, did you want to see them closer....
pretend you are a bird....?
(Go ahead, poke the pictures to zoom in...!)
And more.....
More ships... a sea monster or two....
More mountains....
Each so carefully positioned....
And if you are wondering why, for once,
you can see so well in my pictures....
I had to rig a clamp lamp overhead
in order to be able to see what I was painting on the wall!
Now the ships have their hulls painted too.
And this little bit has taken Days of dithering!
But I must be Brave and just forge ahead....
There have to be castles....
in the places where castles were known to be!
Rome, Paris, London, Palermo, Jerusalem, Constantinople,....
every time you turn around there is somewhere else
that needs a castle or a walled city....
And they need their details inked so carefully!
This is sometime around 1200 AD....
I cannot be more precise about the year...
Castles were the up-and-coming thing....
The Crusades were nearly over...
The Battle ground would be on the Home Turf,
not the Foreign Lands...
Castles were being built everywhere...
Ghent, Edinburgh, Avignon, Cardiff, Norwich.....
And the knowledge of the World had changed....
People Traveled to the ends of the earth...
and came back again....
Marco Polo wrote his tales....
Fez, Lisbon, Dublin, Barcelona....
More Mountains.... More Rivers.....
Camels of the Deserts....
Elephants of the Indies...
And yes... Somewhere there Be Dragons!
But we haven't found them yet, Dear Readers,
And this exploration is a Long way from done....
because I really don't know where I am going...
But you can be sure I will be wandering all over the map!
I think the map will be an ongoing project for some time!
ReplyDeleteYour petit-point stitching is lovely and I know how much you enjoy doing it, but I'm most impressed by the ball & claw feet on that footstool. Never knew you could carve! I guess you can do just about anything. Keep it up!
Much love, Mom
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DeleteI love your ball and claw legs! And the sea monster is adorable! Perfect!
ReplyDeleteWow Betsy! You truly are making the most of your time at home and I just love that you are dedicating your commute time to the petite point stitching! The time I spent commuting used to make me so sad for the life I was losing. You have also reminded me that I have 2-1/2 hours each day back in my life and I am still so grateful for it!
ReplyDeleteI am so excited to see where all these lovely items are going and I am really excited about the stool! Your carved legs are gorgeous!
That map!!! Wow! Like all you do the details are astounding! I find if I right click on the photos I get an even closer view and am gobsmacked by your ability to create such fine detail on such tiny things! Incredible!
I love your embroideries, Betsy, I can imagine that you were in need of something different after your work at all of the hinges work ;O)! These embroideries are lovely!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great find to change the feet of the footstool, they look FAB!! That's one of your talents: seeing things which you can change into other more usable (for you) things.
The development of the map on the wall is growing nicely, and of course: it's all in the detail. It will take time to complete, but better late than never, isn't it? I've looked and seen the sea monster, love this detail.
Stay safe, dear Betsy, take care!
Hugs, Ilona
Las patas del reposa pies se ven fabulosas,que gran tallado!! El mapa te mantiene entretenida por un tiempo,esa visión medieval del mudo es muy interesante y cuantos detalles que lo embellecen!!
ReplyDeleteLa ventana queda genial!!
Besos.
What a good idea to have ball and claw feet on your stool and the tea cosy is such a lovely addition. It'll be nice to see that when it's done.
ReplyDeleteWhat a task you have given yourself with the map and all it's finite detail. It's marvellous.
Your embroideries are fantastic! The table has perfect legs and the map is interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful post full of a little bit of this (aka stunning, impressive embroidery work) and a little bit of that (aka progress on the map). Carving the feet of the footstool was a brilliant idea and the finished pieces show well that it was worth the time and effort.
ReplyDeleteBut of course what blew me away the most was the map... and even more after seeing the conditions under which you are painting this new masterpiece. And I am already whining when it comes to hiding wires in such a room... *grin* and you are even painting the most delicate details in such a limited space. Following your progress while watching your photos is somehow like watching civilization spread with all those castles popping up one after the other. And the mountains and the exploring (or should I say plundering) ships... oh my, the ships... the quality of the painting is extraordinary, well, it's drawn by you and that shows. And the camels and the elephants and the monsters and the wind blowing... and of course paradise. It reminded me of the classical Arabian garden culture which is based on the concept of making a garden resemble paradise as described in the Koran on earth.
But please forgive me wondering about the German part of the Holy Roman Empire still missing in your enumeration - I hope all that blank space in my country will be filled with castle dots the next time! *LOL* The minimum I'd expect is Aachen (*grin*) which was somehow the capital of Emperor Charlemagne (whom we call "Karl der Große" = Charles the Great) and stayed the place for the coronation of the German kings for centuries. Isn't it amazing to think that those ancient rulers were traveling from place to place and were not just situated in one town? Back in these days the government of the emperors or kings did not take place in castles but in buildings we call "Kaiserpfalz". These were buildings to host the emperor and his entourage during their stay before traveling to the next place aka the next Pfalz. Isn't it incredible - all this travelling just with horses and carriages? I wonder if the court's women would have liked being able to stitch during their travels like you have done while commuting... ;O) As always I'm looking forward to see your next little bit of this and of course even more the next little bit of that!
Hugs
Birgit