Castle Kitchen Upgrade....
We have been suffering a Heat Wave, Dear Readers, with temperatures in the 90's F nearly every day, which means it is prudent to close the windows and blinds early in the day to keep the cool indoors for as long as possible. And that means my already dark workspace is darker still... and the Castle, dark to begin with is Gloomy as night. I apologize for the dark photos, but all I am doing is adding more of those Rocks you have seen before... surrounding the doors with a three dimensional framework. This is slow going so I did not take many pictures. The door above has all but the "keystone" attached. And the other kitchen door as well....
The kitchen has even more doors beyond these,
and they all need "Rocks" added to both sides of the frame....
Which means I will be "Rocking on" for a while!
And since I was upgrading the doors,
and had found such success with the arch supports
on the Guard Room Ceiling....
I decided to do the same here as well.
Can you even see back there in that corner
above that "modern" Bread Oven?
The vaulted ceiling support arch on the sides is just painted on...
But that is easily remedied!
Can you see I am adding the same "Rocks"
that I added to the Guard Room Ceiling?
I think I need to turn on the big spotlight....
To be able to make sure the Rocks are aligning properly...
There!
(I should have done that sooner....!)
(But you have no idea how challenging it is to get the spotlight down here...!)
Now you can see the Kitchen in all it's "Modern"
(for the Middle Ages at least) decor!
Shutters at the windows,
Modern Fireplace with a smoke removing chimney,
with room for more than one cauldron...
and a Roasting oven right to hand!
And the well is right beside the door on the other side of the wall!
And now the "stonework" will be sturdier too!
All I need to do is re-paint some of the grout lines
to match the new "Rocks"
And nobody will Ever Ever notice anything has changed at all!
But I am glad I did it... it does look so much better.
See? Can you tell anything was changed?
And lest you think I have lapsed on my Petit-point stitching jag....
I have started on a whole new era of stitching possibilities....
My first Carpet!
This is another Janet Granger kit which I had ordered
at the beginning of the Covid Era.
It is stitched on 18 point canvas with crewel yarn.
I had not used this scale since....
Well, I think this was the thread count I used with the stitching
for my little sofa I made in my teen years....
that resides in The Lovely Old Dollhouse Hallway....
And I hadn't used this weight cloth since!
But I had bought a frame for holding the cloth a number of years ago...
so I dug it out and started my first carpet stitching!
This will only be a 3inch by 5inch "scatter" rug when finished.
But I already like the pattern so much I have ordered the larger version....
Sally May has been wanting a new carpet for her Living Room for Forever!
I have worked on it mostly while I would normally be commuting.
But I might be going in to Work more often in the near future...
So my rate of progress might slow a bit.
For now it is coming right along!
And I have only had to unstitch mistakes a half dozen times or so...!
I think I get careless because it feels so "easy" compared to the tiny works.
The "lattice" work is being relatively tricky...
trying to decide which part to stitch in what order
without missing any stitches....
It's really a sweet design!
And because I am still "Rocking Along"....
I will show you the Castle as it now stands....
(Yes, It is huge!)
It is a Long Way from finished
And the kitchen is in the middle at the bottom...
There are still some other "Rocky" trim pieces I want to add...
but I haven't figured out the details yet.
And the doors... all six on both sides...
I will be traveling the "Rocky" Road for a while,
Dear Readers, on this Castle Kitchen upgrade!
(And I am not sure I like the New Blogger...
but I think I managed a Post!)
I love how the rocks look along the arches! And that rug! You've done so much so quickly!
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful, you are so clever and patient.
ReplyDeleteHe estado disfrutando de los avances de tu trabajo.
ReplyDeleteEs maravilloso todo lo que has realizado.
Felicidades.
Un saludo
I know all about "unstitch." Mandy sent me the book of Japanese knitting patterns and they are CHALLENGING. I have been defeated by some of them. And even when not defeated some are so difficult they're not fun! Your castle guardroom & kitchen are amazing - I think I could walk right into them.
ReplyDeleteMuch love,
Mom
Oh my, I feel for you, Betsy, suffering a heatwave is always so tiring and due to the lack of daylight you can't do much at mini work. At least it is for me, and we are heading two hot days two :(.
ReplyDeleteBut you don't have to apologise for the dark photos, Betsy, because I think that the Castle shows this way all it's gloomy rooms and glorious spaces as it was in earlier times, so very atmospherical ;O).
The rocks you added to the ceiling look great, a lot of work and effort to reach in there but the "Modern" medieval kitchen looks gorgeous.
Your first carpet stitching look good, it has a beautiful design, so enjoy it!
Regarding the use of New Blogger: they have approved lots of things in the settings, personally it works better for me than the first version of more than a month ago. Ah well, I think that Blogger just wanted to dust off our digital knowledge hehehehe, but you'll see you'll get used to it, because even I did too ;O)!!
Stay safe, take care, dear Betsy!
Hugs, Ilona
The rocks on the ceiling are fantastic, and the new embroidery is stunning.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely worth the work Betsy. I think the difference in looks and authenticity are worth the effort. Looks great!
ReplyDeleteBetsy, you really rock it!!! *LOL* It's for sure a lot of work but it's worth all the time and effort because it adds so much to the realism and atmosphere. And not to forget: We all will know it's there! ;O)
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed the views of the castle kitchen so much - although I must say that this kitchen doesn't look the same without Old Meg sitting by the fire. Thanks to your helpful spotlight I've noticed the fantastic brickwork on the ceiling now, all of this (including the "modern" fireplace *grin*) is drop-dead-beautiful.
And hooray - a new needlework project! And what an awesome one... such a pretty design, Sally May will be over the moon. But what impresses me most is your stitching speed, wow, so much progress! And all of this in a heatwave... We've been lucky around here (well, according to my personal likings), most of Germany was suffering from heat too but we in the North had comfortable weather and rain, sadly accompanied by strong wind (that's how it goes around here being surrounded by two Seas) which dried the soil fast. Well, we're scheduled for two hot days now but as long as it's just 48 hours I can live with that. Sadly there's another wave around the corner - corona infections are increasing. But with all the tourism at the North Sea and the Baltic Sea this was only a question of time. Take good care of yourself and keep on stitching... and of course: Rock on! Yeah!!! (bangs-her-head)
Hugs
Birgit
Thank you so much for this great article!
ReplyDeleteIf anyone wants to read more then I think this is the right place for you!
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