Filling The Holes....

 

 Stitches And Stones.....

It Has been a While, Dear Readers, since I showed you a stitching update. This is not because I have done no stitching.... on the contrary, because the evening light lasts so long at this time of year, I have been getting in a Lot of stitching on the Chinese Dragon Carpet. This is the one done on 40 count silk mesh, which is fine enough that I need a magnifying glass and very good lighting in order to stitch. Early mornings are my favorite time, but I have been grabbing moments any time of day up to sunset! Above you can see that the dragons in the center are done, and their background mostly so. I decided that the cream color of the carpet background needed to "intrude" into the central motif in the form of "clouds" around the edges. I was starting to feel that the sharp cut-off of the light blue sky at the gold border would be too abrupt. I have not finished the "clouds" but the blue sky portion is done. There is a hint of gilding at the edges of the clouds as if the sun is reflecting light. And since my "addition" to the design is now well defined... I needed to get the rest of the carpet kit design underway so I could see how it all fits together. I counted VERY carefully out from the center of the carpet to determine exactly where on the original design my design overlapped to determine exactly where to begin stitching the kit designs. The carpet is strewn all over with very ornate leaves and vines..... grapes, I think... and having found a starting point I began stitching the pattern on one side out to where the border pattern begins.

Here I have placed the stitching on top of the kit picture 

(which is just about exactly full size)

so you can see how the overall pattern fits my addition.

I had to adjust the placement of the first leaves along the side.

 But I really wanted to see how they would fit

 where the border pattern begins.

And then I wanted to duplicate the changes

 on the opposite edge,

 so I would not overlook something

 that I had made different from the kit design.

And here you can see it again, overlaying the kit design picture.

I am pretty sure I will be making more changes to the kit design!

But that is as far as I have gotten for now.

 

 

And while I am showing you the stitching updates,

 here is the William Morris design from quite a while back.

I have not stitched on it as much because 

I have been taking advantage of the long days lighting

 to work on the Dragon Carpet.

I did buy a slightly larger frame in the hopes that

 I could stitch the entire carpet without

 having to roll the stitched part too far. 

This said the stitching area would be 9'',

 but really it is about 8 and 1/2 inches... 

so I gained about a half an inch!

Still, it does make a difference.

And what about the "stones" I promised you,

 I hear you asking...?

Well, Dear Readers, the window holes in the Castle facade

 are filled with window frames that are

 supposed to be stone, as is most of the Castle.

All those wooden frames I carefully cut to fit the windows

 need to be painted ... inside and out.... to resemble "stone".

There will be more trim added to the windows

 so this is just the base coats. 

The grout painting will happen last.

And meanwhile, I have been carefully cutting

 the glass panes to fit the window holes...

 and painting the lead lines on them 

with faux "lead line" paint.

The paint goes on sort of blobby. 

I let it dry for 24 hours and then

 trim the lines with an exacto knife.

The left window lines have been trimmed....

the right are not yet finished trimming.

Here I am testing how it fits in the window hole...

There are still several steps before I glue the frames in place.

First, I paint around the outside of the panes with black paint.

 This is so where the edges don't meet the frame exactly

 (all over the place!) 

the light will not shine through and ruin the illusion!

And second, I am adding a tiny hint of colored glass...

 to the quatre-foil windows in particular,

 and also a little bit of yellow and lavender to random panes

 to look like old faded glass.

(I did this with the first windows on the back of The Great Hall ages ago!)

Here you can see the painted glass better....

And in the window frame.

 The glass will be lifted a tiny bit when installed permanently

 so the design better aligns with the window openings...

 but this is just testing the effect of the painting.

Each step needs to be done on each window....

Here three windows are at various stages of completion....

And the fourth window just trimmed today!

Still not painted....

But just look at those glass windows filling those holes!

One step at a time, Dear Readers,

I am filling those little holes... 

whether they be with stitches or stones,

I am making Great Progress!

Summer Comes.....

 

Solstice....

Did you notice, Dear Readers, the fireflies flirting in the hedges while the lightning streaked the sky and the crickets tuned their legbows for their evening serenade? The full moon was just rising over the horizon beyond the Mysterious Wood and the catbird called to no-one in particular as the setting sun faded from view and Summer stole into the meadows with her Fairy escort leading the way. Really, it was impossible to miss, but I am not sure Will and Gabrielle were paying attention. They had come out to sit on the Folly Porch to enjoy the evening air. The day had been stiflingly hot and humid and thunderstorms hovered near but never seemed to arrive. They needed rain, but for now, just the cooling air was a blessed relief. 

"I don't think it ever got this hot back home...." said Gabrielle suddenly.

"Really...?" said Will, surprised. He hadn't given it any thought.

"I suppose you're right," he added, thoughtfully.

(they had both grown up in northern Europe)

"But Paris was always hot in the Summer," he said.

Paris always made him think of...

No, he was not going to spoil a lovely evening  with old history.

And yet, he suddenly felt an alarming sense of deja-vu...

It had been just such a night, and in just this spot

 that Daphne had revealed to him her secret.

 

That she'd had a baby out of wedlock, 

and had given up her child.

And that she could never love him as he deserved.

He'd been devastated, of course.

But, ironically, that was how he had met Gabrielle.....

Wasn't life sometimes impossible to understand?

And really, when he thought about it... 

he shared so much more with Gabrielle

 than he'd ever shared with Daphne!

He'd never really known Daphne...

Now he couldn't imagine a life without Gabrielle...!

He reached over and put his arm around her.

"Hey, you" he said, "have I told you how glad I am you're here?"

"No..." she replied, ever honest.

"But I am happy to be here..." she added, smiling.

"It is so beautiful here..." she said.

"My Grandmother always called these nights 'Fairy Nights'...

when Summer comes..." she added dreamily.

"and in the morning they've left their blankets spread in the grass...."

Will was enchanted... and he hadn't even realized it!

And not very far away at all the Fairies were indeed

 preparing for their Night of Revels....

As the full moon rose higher in the sky

 and the fireflies winked from the bushes....

Summer stole into the Meadow to the serenade of crickets.

Did You notice, Dear Readers,

The Solstice?

And Then.....

 

There Is The Castle... 

Always The Castle, Dear Readers, that Huge half-finished Behemoth that looms over my Little Worlds, still incomplete thirteen or is it fourteen years into the project. And it is never far from my mind even as I assiduously apply my attention to other demanding projects... for how else will They get finished? And somehow, over the years, I have come to think of Summer as "Castle Building Time", and I eagerly begin to plan this year's tasks... always with the awareness that I will not get anywhere near as far as I hope I will. But did you ever know of a Castle that did not take a long time to build? Even "mini" Castles apparently hold to this requirement. So here we are, on the Threshold of Summer, and I cannot wait to get going on building, starting up where I left off last Fall.... the Lord's Tower windows all need the frames built for the exterior. And this will Finally begin to define the Front Facade of the entire Castle! How I have pondered this! 

As usual, I am torn between the accurate

 Historical portrayal of a Castle,

 and my well known love of intricate details....

This is designed to be a thirteenth century Castle,

 well before the gothic excesses of the later designs.

It is supposed to be a very old, Norman style

 with simple arched windows.

And yet, even in those times

 the arches over the doorways

 were quite elaborately carved, 

and so were the window frames

 especially on the upper windows.

And as always with this Castle, the place to start is at the bottom...

The Stables window, the only one in the Stables, is small and simple.

I copied on the exterior the same treatment

 I had given it on the interior when

 I was "rocking the trim" several summers ago!

And the same process was used for the Guard Room... 

Copy what was done on the interior.

And while I was doing the basic simple windows

 I started on the Kitchen ones too. 

All the windows on the lowest level are alike.

The Dungeon window too.

Alas, I have already neglected to complete

 the arch stones for this before racing ahead

 with the more interesting upper windows!

 

I apologize for the dark photo.... lots of dreary days lately...

This is the beginning of the trim for The Lord's Council Chamber window.

And again, I copied the trim I already had used last Fall on the side of the Tower.

Here you can see the Stables and Guard Room windows finished.

They are your basic simple Norman window design.

When the Tower front is painted (which I eagerly anticipate!)

 they will just look like tiny window openings.

Here the Kitchen windows are getting their arch stones.

And here I have completed the Lord's Council Chamber window.

And it opens to let the Summer breezes flow!

Here you can see I have made good progress

 on the Lord's Bedchamber windows too!

But I confess, Dear Readers, what really has my attention

 is the Windows for The Great Hall!

That row of Clerestory windows has been calling to me!

They need the frames built and the glass cut and leaded....

how hard would that be?

It will be the same process as all the glass windows before it...

You make a paper pattern to fit the opening as closely as possible...

(because all the openings were cut by hand with my saber saw years ago,

 they are all hopelessly irregular in shape...)

Then you cut it in 1/8 inch plywood... 

fitting it as closely as you can.

And another one for the interior side of the same window.

(The wall is 3/8 inch plywood so the glass pane

 will sit neatly between the two frame sections.)

Here you see I have cut the window openings in the frames...

except for the very top part  in the arch... 

that will be a small quatrefoil window which I will drill out later.

 

Then they get a coat of primer...

Here I have drilled the quatrefoil window....

And you can see that both the inner and

 outer frame have the quatrefoil window cut.

And the first frame has the gray base paint...

Time to start the second one!

And the third window under way....

And the fourth window as well!

Drilling the quatrefoil windows is quite tricky.

In order to prevent splitting the wood, 

I start with a small drill bit and drill each of four holes.

I gradually increase the bit size up to 1/4 inch.

At that point the holes almost intersect

 and I cut away the last pieces of wood with the exacto knife.

It is important that the two layers have the holes in the same place

so I have to adjust the shape if a hole is a little off. 

This I do with my small round wood file.

I start to compare the layers as soon as

 the holes are big enough to see through.

And the fourth one cut too!

I was about to start fitting the glass panes, Dear Readers, 

when I remembered the windows all need

 the bottom frame piece added!

Like this....

And this.....

Only two more to go... 

before I can start to make the leaded glass panes.

Is it any wonder, Dear Readers,

 that even in Miniature 

it take years to build a Castle?