Category Archives: carpentry

where I work

So, I’ve been putting a lot of time and energy into my part-time job at The Carpenter’s Shop, and I have to keep a constant watch on balancing that with the Jam Tarts side of my life.  I’ve made some excellent contacts out in the winelands of Paarl and Franschoek, and the orders are starting to flow in.

On Mandela Day, on 18 July, we were visited by the staff of go2Africa, and they put together a great video afterwards:  I thought I’d show it to you here so you can see where I work.  My best friend Karen is in it, she’s the social worker.  She specially did her nails that day!

My favourite bit is the guy at the end in the yellow anorak.

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magnificent submit

The whackiness of drivel spam sometimes makes me laugh out loud. This is my favourite so far – “Thanking you for magnificent submit.” You’re welcome, freaky spam bot.

Meet Hattie. She was made for me by Steve, one of the wonderful woodworkers we’ve met through being at Kirstenbosch Market.  She’s as light as a feather and can display 10 hats at a time and, because she’s a table stand, won’t get blown over if there’s wind. Pic out of focus, sorry. My bad. Bad and lazy.

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Next up, two wooden boxes that were taking up space without purpose at Rob’s flat: I’m not in the mood for painting right now so I decided to wallpaper them with newsprint. I have to say, I’m not entirely sure that this really is the way to go, but if I don’t try I’ll never know. I’ll do the tops and one bit of the insides and then, if I think it looks stupid, will just have to do something else!

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Still working on Tammy’s cushion in aubergine, lilac and willow, but nearly finished. The middle was the flower from the afghan in Issue 3 of Simply Crochet, but I changed things a bit after the row of cream. The purple cotton I’m using isn’t Vinni’s and I’m finding it a bit thinner, so I felt a smaller stitch than a treble was called for. I’m pretty much just making it up as I go along now. I like that about crochet, although it’s not an approach that works with cooking.

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Last thing for today, the winner of the Jam Tarts facebook give-away last week for a frog beanie was Mary-Anne from Woolhogs.

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She said she was thrilled but felt “undeserving” – not sure why, maybe because we know each other (only through blogging), live in the same city, have the same interests, etc.  I told her she won fair and square.  Life’s random, so things seem  coincidental some times.  That’s how random works.  I wish we could give away a frog beanie to everyone who entered and shared and liked, because you are all lovely people who would all look good in one :-)

Back soon x

Stool sample

Every time I go into the foam shop in Claremont, my eye is drawn to the ancient little stool that is kept at one of the sewing machine tables.

It looks so shabby and tired, as if it has tried really hard over the years to earn its keep!

I asked if I could borrow it for a couple of days to show someone I knew who works with wood, because I wanted my own version. Long to short, Gerrie made me a beautiful stool out of reclaimed wood, which I collected on Saturday at the Hope Street market.

It isn’t as A-frame as the old one, and the top is slightly bigger – which I think is a good thing (from a comfort point of view). I can’t decide whether to leave the wood as it is or to give it a weathered look.  I also can’t decide where it is going to live, so for now it’s in the lounge and gets moved around every couple of hours.  Such a silly, simple thing – but it makes me happy.

To be continued…