Saturday, October 18, 2014

October 18, 2014 Carpet Progress


Minus the eight days Linda Master was here for a visit. I have worked on this carpet every day for exactly two months. Once I get started have trouble stopping. I usually have a section I want finished everyday.

Linda and I had never met in person before. Though we speak often on the phone and email. I loved having her here. I am kicking myself now because I didn't take any photos. She took a few so you may see them on her blog soon. http://miraclechicken.blogspot.com/

Her visit was perfectly timed to attend Repair Days at the National Ornamental Metals Museum. It is my favorite weekend of the year. What could be better then two hundred metalsmiths from all over the USA (many of which are old friends) working together to repair anything from garden tools to a genuine Georgian sterling silver teapot with a big dent in it. If it is metal, the public can bring it in to be repaired. All the metalsmiths donate their time to raise money for the museum.. 

There are huge tents on the grounds of the museum. Under one of the big tents they are cooking to feed all these people that have come to work. Three meals a day for three days! This year there was a iron pour. The public could sign up to create a mould and watch as metalsmiths cast the molten iron. In another tent children were making bracelets. Another tent had gorgeous metal work by artists for an auction. Also to raise money for the museum. I hope Linda's pictures of the iron pour came out OK. She forgot her camera and took them with her phone.

Thank you Linda for teaching me everything I needed to know about the Proxxon Fet Saw.. I was clueless!

26 comments:

  1. What a wonderful sounding event and especially nice to share it with a friend.

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    1. It really is a great thing for the public and the museum.

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  2. How nice that you and Linda could meet and spent some time together...I am sure you had lots of fun!

    And your rug looks great!

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  3. How cool to have Linda visiting for eight days, sounds like you had fun. The repair day is a fabulous idea and one I would have dearly loved to attend. It would be wonderful just to absorb all of the talent and get tips on how to do things. It's kind of you all to donate your time. The rug is coming on so well - not long now =0)

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    1. Pepper... Come over next year for a visit and I will take you too. You would be more than welcome here. :-)

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  4. Waht a beutiful rug your making..

    Kind regards Xandra

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    1. Lots of work. More then I really understood when I decided to stitch it. Worth it I think. It is a wonderful design.

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  5. The rug looks amazing! You must be working around the clock. I love the sound of Repair Day, what a great idea.

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  6. Firstly this rug is truly a work of art. It is soooo close to being finished I bet you are working on it harder than ever. The colours are super. I am very envious about your final remark about learning about your Proxxon fret saw. Mine is sitting on my workdesk at the moment and I would love some hints of how to use it effectively. Changing the blade was a real experience and thank goodness for the internet or I would still be wondering! Looking forward to seeing this gorgeous carpet in situ when it is finished. Mini hugs, Carol

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    1. Thank you Carol.
      It has a looooong way to go to be finished!
      That manual Proxxon wrote is AWFUL!!! We couldn't change the blade at first because Proxxon had not drilled a hole all the way through for the smaller allen wrench. OMG! I had to finish drilling it.


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  7. Your rug is looking more beautiful with every post! It is indeed a labor of love and it is awesome to watch it "develop"! It is very inspiring to me to see such a detailed work as it is being made! Thank you for sharing your work in progress!
    And what a treat to spend time with a wonderful blogfriend! Your metal days sounds fascinating, fun and inspiring as well! What a wonderful "benefit" for the museum!

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  8. Thank you!

    Catherine S. design is just beautiful. I have loved seeing how several others stitched theirs. Everyone's is a bit different because of the threads. The dye lots vary enormously!
    Linda's visit was a treat! We had a great time.

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  9. La alfombra es un trabajo impresionante. Ya queda poco , debes estar muy satisfecha.

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  10. Gracias! Me temo que tengo un largo camino por recorrer antes de que termine embargo.

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  11. What a fun sounding event to have attended! I imagine that it would almost have a medieval atmosphere to it! It was good to have that time to spend with a good friend too.
    But your carpet Catherine is SUPERB! and it is not yet finished. To have chosen such a complex pattern was one thing, to have taken the first stitch was another but to have progressed to this point and produced such a Stunning work is Incredible! I have no skills in this arena, so I greatly admire this caliber of work that you are doing. I would have abandoned it a long time ago, after I had ruined it of course. So keep to it and you'll get through it and when you do, you will have something so gorgeous that you will hate to cover it up with furniture!

    elizabeth

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  12. I was very happy to see this amazing rug in person! WOW The pictures, as good as they are, are no match to the real thing :)
    My visit was a lot of fun and I will post my pictures on my blog directly---

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  13. I must say the words 'repair day' don't make the even sound exciting but your description of it makes it sound really fascinating, and a wonderful opportunity for you all to meet up. I'm sure you and Linda would have had a wonderful meet up too - I'm off to check out her blog post. And congratulations on the ongoing carpet work, it's really something very special.

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    1. Thank you Norma.

      Repair Days is great fun. People really love watching their items being fixed. It is wonderful to take a a sterling silver spoon that got caught in the garbage disposal and make it look like new again. People are shocked when they really thought there was nothing that could be done.

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  14. The carpet is breathtaking but the idea of a three days show on metals is mindblowing. I wish I could be there one day.
    Thank you for showing your work in progress, Rosanna

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    1. Thank you Rosanna.

      I would love it if you could be there. It is a amazing weekend.

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  15. Hello Catherine,
    What fun. Linda is wonderful. I'm glad you had a good time. The carpet is a real work of art...even unfinished. It is worth every single minute of your time...absolutely fantastic work!
    Big hug,
    Giac

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  16. Thank you Giac.

    Linda is an amazing artist. I will blog what she made me for my birthday soon. She brought it with her when she came to visit. I was overwhelmed by her talent. She is getting in to metal work a bit and doing a beautiful job.

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