Kits and Kit Bashing.....
The Other Needlework I have been doing recently, Dear Readers, is the Petit-point Pillows made from Janet Granger's Lovely kits. I showed you the first pillow all finished, and the beginnings of stitching a second one, using the same design, but changing the color of the background. I also only had a 28 count fabric instead of the 22 count that comes with the kit. Here you can now see the two cushions together, and the difference that a higher count cloth makes in the size of the finished pillow! Of course I also started stitching yet another one of Janet's kits, this time in the Tree Of Life pattern.
Here you can see I have completed the stitching,
but have not yet made up the pillow.
I love the design for the Tree of Life,
but I found it harder to follow the pattern,
and made a mistake in counting the stitches in at least one place!
I also found it quite challenging to stitch the white, or cream colored,
background because it was harder to tell where you had stitched!
But nevertheless, I really am enjoying these little kits!
As for the Big Kit I am currently working on,
the Willowcrest, which I have named "Hardwick Hall",
construction is finally at a point where I have decided I need to make
some serious changes in the design of the structure!
The attic level is meant to be just that... an attic.
Here you can see the space is one main open area
with the stairway to one side of center.
The problem arrives with the placement of the chimney...
Here you can see where the kit wants you to place it....
right in the center of the room....
right in the way of Everything!
They have it attached as a piece of one of the main roof supports...
and even if I take that support and "flip" it
so the chimney is on the other side of the room, nearer to the stairs.....
I still think it is in an awkward position over the stairs.
It would still have to be re-built to fit around the stairs!
So I decided that this chimney is just not usable!
I must cut this chimney off and build my own to fit.
And besides that, I don't like these "roof supports"!
They are utterly unrealistic and block the view of the upper part of the ceiling!
So they will have to be changed too!
Here you can see the upper portion of the roof from the top,
with the chimney in the "flipped" position.....
and I have no problem with the basic roof shape.
But the "new" chimney is going to have to exit the roof
in a slightly different spot... so I will be making changes here too!
But the Truth of the matter is that I have always envisioned this Room at the top of the House as the Witch's "studio" or "Library" or "Spell-room".....
And because Madame Artemis is the Lady of the Moon...
I want there to be a Skylight in the roof
to let the Moon-light into this Space!
After all, those Moon Maidens are marching up those stairs to this Room....
We simply Must let the moon-light in!
And rather than a skylight in the modern sense,
I have been thinking of a Cupola.... or a Belvedere....
So I made a cardboard mock-up
just to see how it would look from the exterior.....
But really, Dear Readers, I had decided I would build this even if it looked awful!
So I was really just deciding on proportions and dimensions.....
Here you can see the rear view....
(The paint cans are weighing down the floor while a support is being glued!)
And before you could blink,
I had cut the roof panels to make an opening at the top....
And I have lopped off the chimney support too.....
but I still need to completely redesign the roof supports!
They will need to be more like real rafters and allow the view up into the cupola.
But for now they hold the roof panels properly in place.
And I am using a block of pink styrofoam
to play with the placement of the new chimney and fireplace...
because there will have to be a hearth to go with it!
And I must confess, that I am scheming
on how to make a spiral stair up to a landing
that would allow the little people
to look out the belvedere windows!
I think it will work if I make the floor a metal mesh
that still allows the light to come through to the main room below!
And I have to confess that I also started another one of the
little pillows in the Tree Of Life pattern...
on the smaller cloth, and with a slightly different color green for the leaves....
I think the light green supplied with the kit
is a little pale against the cream background!
So I guess you could say that I have been Kit Bashing, Dear Readers,
Whether it's Hardwick Hall or the Petitpoint Pillows....
I have been changing the plans!
