narrowboat

Taking it slow

| Tiddleyworks
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“Eye of the Needle” Bridge

This morning’s walk took me as far as this lovely canal bridge.  It’s known affectionately amongst local boaters as “The Eye of the Needle” as it’s probably one of the narrowest bridge holes on the network.  To thread your narrowboat through it without clipping the brickwork requires slowing down and lining up very carefully.  Even when you’ve put the bows through and think you’ve got it sussed it seems able to give the stern a surprising nudge as you exit.  The scars on the brickwork and stone are testament to those who didn’t take it slowly!

Taking it slowly also applies to working with leather.  Hand sewing is great but very time consuming.  Machine sewing requires a long stitch, a good needle and being able to control the speed and positioning accurately.  There’s nothing more infuriating than coming to the end of a line of stitching when your foot slips on the pedal and suddenly, all your hard work is ruined and you have to start again.

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Hand cranked Singer 15K – my “Pearl”

With this wonderful 1950 machine I can do beautiful top-stitching at a pace that’s totally controlled.  Pearl is such a joy to use as well.  The great thing is that if this machine can’t sew through a piece of leather, it won’t even try and saves you ruining a piece of leather.

So there you go – the advantages of taking it slowly!

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“Eye of the Needle” (2)

 

Roses and Castles

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Bit battered but still lovely – painted storage stool from the boat

I sold my lovely narrowboat recently, after 10 years or so of living afloat and longer as a boater.  Most of the furniture was built-in so there was little to bring away to the house with me apart from ornaments and rugs.  Here’s the stool from my daughter’s room which acted both as a step, a seat and also storage (things on a boat should always have more than one use!).  It was actually the old bathroom stool I’d salvaged from my father’s house which I sanded down and wreaked my “roses and castles” passion on.  The doors and side hatch panels on the boat were all painted like this.  I obviously couldn’t bring them away with me but this stool I could.

The spring is coming and flowers are starting to appear, so I’m thinking why not try and incorporate florals into the leatherworking?

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Leather red rose decorated corsage

This is the first of the canal style rose corsages.  The centre is a vintage leather golf-ball button and the flower is fastened with a good sized brooch pin so it doesn’t droop when you pin it on your lapel, hat or whatever.

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Decorated flower reverse

I think I’ll be making some more of these for sale in my shops at Tiddleyworks on Etsy and Folksy, so as they say, watch this space!

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Decorated leather rose detail

Whilst I’m missing my boat I am very happy that she’s gone to a super person who I know will look after her, and that’s really all that matters.  Now I have space to have a workroom which I never had before!  So I can sit in my “castle”, paint roses and watch the boats sail past my window.  Not bad eh?

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Leather decorated rose corsage

 

Joys of Boating

| Tiddleyworks

There’s not been much leatherworking done this morning.  Visiting the boat a few days ago I found that the engine wouldn’t start.  So this morning Matt and I went round to sort things out and do some general maintenance.

Rosinante Christmas 2015
Rosinante Christmas 2013

Well of course the engine starts first time for Matt!  (I’d not left the glo-plug on long enough to warm the fuel when I tried).  So while the engine was chugging and Matt was adding the antifreeze I started checking over in detail.  Seems like a new collar is needed for the stove as the damp has worked its way in during all this horrid weather, bother, bother, bother!.  The heater works and I’ve managed to top up the electricity point on the pier so we can be ready for the cold weather. I’ve done a temporary repair on the torn plastic window in the cratch (thank heavens for Duck tape).  Both of us got covered in soot clearing out the stove and I managed not to fall in climbing along the gunwhales to cap the chimney off.  These and other chores were not pleasurable in the driving wind and rain.

Rosinante ,Trent and Mersey, Barton Turn May 2014
Rosinante ,Trent and Mersey, Barton Turn May 2014

We finally packed up our tools, cleaning implements etc and headed off back down the pier to the car.  A fellow boater hallooed us:  “Been doing a bit of dusting?”

 

 
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