OT:The finished Thread Case

I noted that idea in my post. The giving of quilts to family/friends being the usual reason to label them. The quilts of valor is another example. My take was based on my being in the commercial end of furniture work. That is mainly what I was thinking about regarding the not signing of my work, and I still adhere to it in that regard.But as I said, that is not for everybody, just my personal take and the reason for it.

John

Hey John

Oh I didn't mean to start a controversy either, that was not my intention. I was just curious if you signed your work.

I must admit this question came because of a television show. I watched a "Little House on the Prairie" episode where Charles Ingles made a beautiful table and carved his initials on the underside of it. Many years later it was sold at auction and the buyers were curious as to who the craftsman was because they admired the attention to detail and the craftmanship of the piece.

Many quilters sign their work because of the theft of thier original ideas and concepts. This was discussed in this very forum not too many years ago.

Kate T.

I don't think there is any controversy. At least I don't see one. No need to apologize. Everybody has their own take on the issue of signing their work. I will admit, that mine is probably a minority view. My wife has asked me to make up a bunch of labels for the clothing I do, but so far I have resisted. The only thing that has tempted me is my new sewing machine has a couple of alphabets and a bunch of fancy stitches that you could combine into a rather impressive looking embroidered label. The thought of combining the phrase Tailor Made, with Taylor Made, or Hand Taylored, has tweaked my interest. I have not succumbed as yet, though.

John

Howdy!

I figured you might divide one of the drawers for needles.

Like you, I have a couple of plastic compartmentalized boxes in which I keep some small notions; it's also where I put my thread so I can carry it around w/ me, see inside at a glance. A friend gave me the first box, a Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars carrier, compartments on both sides--I love it. Most of my notions are kept in a Pyramid Chest from Pier 1 Imports, as seen in the first "before" pic: This chest sits in front of along, narrow window beside the front door, near the dining roomwhere I love to sew. I'm amused at how many people can't resistopening the little drawers, then grin sheepishly for "snooping."I don't mind, go ahead & look.They're surprised to see the goodies inside. So, John, do you have the tea cup? Do you have to have the tea cup to start the boxes-inside-boxes project? ;-) What are these called? Nesting boxes? I dunno'.

R/Sandy

Howdy!

I sign mine so my kids can be rich some day. ;-D

My siggie is somewhere on every quilt I quilt; so far no one has contacted me to ask, "WHY did you sign your name on MY quilt?!!" ..they probably never notice.

Years ago a man in the small town where I lived told me that he lived in a house my great-grandfather had built, and he'd seen Grandpa's name written on one of the beams in the attic, Earl Manley Scholes. I thought that was just so cool. Seems Grandpa did that quite often; I find it very reassuring to know that his craftsmanship & reputation live on.

R/Sandy --not arguing w/ John or Mr. Yanagi; just rambling...

That's why we wrote inside the wall when we re-modeled the bathroom. Someday someone will find it and smile. Debra in VA See my quilts at

I used to come across a lot of that doing remodeling for people, especially under wall paper. One time I was stripping off the wall paper and came across a bunch of profanity that was placed there by the craftsmen who did the installation who were unhappy with the demands of the person who was making them do the job over for some reason. The new owner was laughing along with me and asked me if I would continue the tradition. I told her, not as long as he kept on my good side during the job. We chuckled and I finished the job without resorting to any of that type of thing.

John

John Beautiful job! I believe my love of beautiful wood projects rivals my love of quilts. I've always wished that someone in my life would create wonderful wood pieces for me. The last decade it has occurred to me that if I want these things I will just have to learn to work with wood myself. Unfortunately, time is a huge factor in my world, and starting a new hobby keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the list. So far most of my wood working projects have been from "finish it yourself" type kits. But at least I get to have the item I want with the finish color I want. What type of finish products do you use? I notice on the picture label it says "varnish"?? Keep up the great work, and thanks so much for sharing!

Marilyn in beautiful, Alberta, Canada

On Oct 20, 9:58 am, "Marigold" wrote: The type of varnish I use is called Minwax/Helmsman Varnish. It is a polyurethane indoor/outdoor varnish. I first started using it when I had a wooden sailboat that I restored and sailed on San Francisco Bay. I figured that if it stood up to a marine environment, it would be good enough for furniture. There are a number of brands that I have used in the past, but Helmsman seems to achieve the look that I am after. They also offer it in high gloss, semi-gloss, eggshell and matte finishes. There should be something for every requirement. One trick that I will pass along is to use 0000 steel wool and Johnsons Paste Wax for the final rub down polish. You put the steel wool into the paste wax and run it around in the wax and load up the steel wool and then you rub the steel wool (with the grain) over the whole surface of the item you are polishing. Then I use Pledge or other spray wax as a final finish. This leaves a lovely soft low-gloss finish which resembles aged finish on the piece. That is a personal preference of mine, and yours might be different. some people like the high gloss or matte look for their wood. As to the kit reference; that is actually a good way to go if you don't have the large assortment of tools and dedicated space to devote to woodworking. You can devote a lot of time to finishing the project and achieve a nice looking result that you can be proud of. I hope this helps in your next woodworking adventure.

John

John

Years ago I was lucky enough to live in a big city that had an adult ed woodshop class. There is a lot of safety taught, really fine equipment and the teacher was really good. As budgets have been cut I don't know if that is an option for as many people as it used to be. It was really an enjoyable experience for me. Might still be something folks in some areas have available. Like quilters, woodworkers are a creative friendly group. Taria

John wrote:

Be careful what you ask for. The extra bay is for needle expansion, if needed.

Thanks for the idea, Sandy

John

Sometimes local community colleges offer this type of thing. Call and ask for their catalog and see if it is available. If enough people ask for a class, they might offer it if they have that type of shop that they use for Adult Education. That is what they do at the local "Skill Center", here, where they teach high school drop outs, GED certification and employment skills and sometimes they offer night classes to adult students who just would like to know how to do woodworking. At least that is available here where I live. They start with the safety issues and then go on to complete a project during the length of the course. This is a good way to get access to power machinery without having to spend lots of money, and you can learn useful skills, even if you don't go on to being a dedicated woodworker. Everybody should benefit from learning to use tools.

John

Wow! Wow!! John, that's gorgeous! Wow!

Howdy!

I love it! It's like looking at a miniature general store sewing dept. ;-)

R/Sandy-- in warm n.Tx. where "the guys" have gone off to the guitar show, the biggest guitar show in the world (where else would it be?)

The opening music at this site is perfect! My fave ZZTop!

No more guitars or amps allowed around here. There are a mess. Since dh retired at least his are being played again. Taria

Sandy Ellis> Howdy!

I want to thank all of you who commented on this project. It is great to get feedback on things that you do. I wish I could do one for each and every one of you that liked it and said they wanted one. I would have to go back to work full time to afford just the wood for that, so you will have to share it with me vicariously. When I have some pictures to show the progress of the companion base that is going to be built, I will post them along with commentary.

Best wishes,

John

Oh, John! That is a real beauty!

I am VERY impressed!! Especially with all the dovetails and other precision work - John makes it look easy (well not easy perhaps but very straighforward). Having done woodworking in the past I know how unforgiving wood can be. There is no way to tug things to fit like we can do with fabric. But the smell and the feel of wood - just as wonderful!

Allison in Montreal (who wishes she had more room in the basement for woodworking tools and more time!)

John wrote: