Students progress....

This is a gorgeous little french sofa which Christine has stripped back & is now rebuilding. It had numerous problems associated with the beautiful curved back..............so we decided that deep buttoning the back would give the sofa a little bit of  oh la la........& keep the contoured shape........so Christine has used a lovely smokey grey 100% Irish Linen, which has not been stiffened but is beautifully "unstructured" so the decision to go with a more "organic" less structured buttoning.......gives it that je ne sais quoi.......add a girls best friend & you have "Diamonds are Forever".....as we have been on a french piece then lunches have had to be nice & rustic

a french sofa, a howard chair & a chesterfield

This week my students have brought with them some lovely pieces.......a fench curved sofa, an edwardian howard armchair & a good old victorian chesterfield...........so far this week this is what has been achieved.......plus the odd lunch or two plus a birthday..................

In Praise of Students...................

Jane Churchill Miss Molly teamed with Antique hand dyed Indigo Spot, Antique Indigo dyed sheet plus vintage french stripped espadrille fabric

Vintage Mulberry Home Fabric

GP & J Baker Henley Damask in Terracotta, this is a beautiful soft weathered cotton damask

I have been very remiss at posting since starting this venture online.......its seems life just has its ways of commiting your time without you knowing..........One of my greatest pleasures recently has been time spent in the comapny of my Upholstery Students during classes & also after hours.........Upholstery is very very addictive & all consuming once you are involved with a project. It combines two of my greatest passions, seating & antique & vintage fabrics. These passions spill over into my everyday life & it gives me great pleasure when I teach & can then see that passion ignite within my students, & yes life is never the same once you get the bug.......Last night I went to see the Green Hornet in 3D & was probably more interested in the sofas & chairs in the sets.....although I did enjoy the film itself..........so for me its always the sofas & chairs & the fabrics they are covered in........ I have posted a few of my students work, all the work shown here was completed within the weeks course

Gris - Bleu

one of my favourite blogs.....enchanting & it helps my french.......www.gris-bleu.fr

Even one of my students agrees.....he has a wonderful Beagle called Watson......& Watsons all over his sofa.........Neven brought this as his project for the upholstery course @ Vintage 57...........

Dogs on sofas........

Mulberry Home Kennel Club

To dog & sofa lovers everywhere......that old old question should you let you pooch on the couch........

Roses........

Iam just thinking about ordering some bare root roses for my garden.......here sitting in the middle of nowhere in a real "pea soup" November night with the moon occasionally poking through the veil of mist..........Iam smelling roses...........I adore roses, old fashioned perfumed English Roses with their big blousy blooms........not only are they good looking in the garden but also on chairs, sofas curtains I could go on. Iam now remebering those wonderfull over the top floral "austrian" rusched blinds that were so popular in the 80's, completely ghastly ! But here are a couple of roses on chairs that I have done, the first Mulberry Home Fabric, then a chair I covered in Kate Forman "Roses" & then  Jane Churchill Rambling Rose