Coming back at last!

OK, so what in the heck happened to me? I haven't really posted since March! My decade-plus relationship went kablewy! in a rather dramatic and unfortunate fashion and it took months to get over it. Not just the emotional stuff but also the practical stuff of moving belongings, doing work on my house, establishing a new social life, etc. A bunch of stuff happened at work as well, making my life even more chaotic and stressful.

I am finally back in the place where I want to turn back to my stitching and this book is definitely inspirational. I had a post a while back about one of these types of roofs. Imagine my surprise when in an architectural salvage yard today (shopping for a kitchen cupboard) to discover a small alcove with books and to find this little treasure. There are numerous examples of these roofs along with some other interesting pictures and I plan to make a pattern or two based on the examples.

Glad to be back!!

Going to Germany

I will be going with my BF to Germany in May. He is going for work, so we'll be in Erlangen for the week and I will be at my leisure during the weekdays while he is working. Any suggestions for things to see for the medievally-minded tourist?

Thinking about Spanish style furniture

I have a house whose architectural style is called "Spanish Eclectic", and this house needs furniture that fits it. A while back in the library I found a pamphlet published by the New Mexico Department of Vocational Education in 1933 called "Spanish Colonial Furniture Bulletin", a book of line drawings of extant furniture from the Spanish Colonial era. In the brief text the pamphlet states that New Mexico was settled by colonists early in the period (end of 16th century) and had minimal contact with outside influences after colonization, due to the discovery of limited exploitable resources. Thus, much of the furniture design is influenced by Spanish medieval and Renaissance design.

Note the mortise and tenon joinery and the spline that joins the boards that make up the seat of the chair on the right.

This will be one of the sources for designs for the dining table and chairs I eventually plan to build and which are just in the earliest design phase.



Another example of something Spanish I like is this table from either the 16th or 17th century, I'm not sure and the book (Great Styles of Furniture) isn't very informative either.