Happy Fathers Day

Pin It All the women in my family 'do something with their hands'.  Both my Grandmothers were prolific knitters as is my Mum who taught me how knit when I was six.  I sew, crochet and paint and, together with Deb, quilted for quite a while. My daughter Hayley cross stitches.  Deb knits, crochets and makes all manner of crafty items and my youngest sister Julia knits and cross stitches.  Deb's daughter (and my niece) Andie is helping mum with all sorts of crafts and it remains to be seen where her first craft love will lie..

Aside from teaching Deb how to knit left handed and banging nails on wooden cotton reels when we discovered French Knitting,  in all this whirl of crafty activity, my dad would sit quietly and read - that is until he moved into a house that had a large shed.  Since then, he has turned out the most astonishingly complex and beautifully made wooden boxes.  Firstly, he made me a wooden artist box with a slide out drawer to hold my paints.  The front folds down to make a desk easel and the interior of the box has been lined with white laminate so I could set up my still life pictures.  When I needed to stop painting for the day, I simply closed the lid of the box.  .

Then he made Julia a cross stitch box. 


Deb's sewing and craft box

After that he made Deb a sewing box to keep all her crafty items together.  It houses needles, cotton scissors and everything the serious crafter would need.

Last year he made me a beautiful 'knitting' box.  The top of the box lifts up to store the latest project (usually socks) and the drawers hold all my stitch holders, crochet hooks, tape measures and DPN's.  It's beautiful and I love it.



Treasured Knitting Chest





Sudoku & Pen and Pencil Set

One day I showed him a picture of a wooden Sudoku set.  He went away and made it and just in case I still wanted to do the Sudoku the 'old fashioned way', he made us all a Pen and Pencil set as well.  I bought him a book for Fathers Day about how to turn pens and pencils on a lathe, never expecting that we would be the lucky recipients of his craftiness.

Hayley's Cross Stitch Cabinet -
Devised from a conversation with her Grandad
about how an apothacary cabinet would be
great for cross stitchers.

But he outdid himself when it came to making a storage cabinet for Hayley.  This piece is a work of art.  All 3 of his daughters have a fabulous craft box but with Hayley, he went one step further and made a piece of furniture.  All the drawers are measured to make sure that the bobbins fit perfectly and the top drawers contain wooden insert trays so that Hayley can take out just the bobbins that she needs for her project.  The top part of the unit is a separate piece to make it just a little bit portable.  This box was made to compliment the existing cross stitch frame that he made.  The frame has an adjustable hoop (it's square but lets not split hairs here) and the frame also allows Hayley to place the chart at eye height which makes reading the chart a little easier.  The whole project was made around a single, cardboard bobbin.  He took it away with him to ensure that each drawer would comfortably hold them.  He listened to what Hayley was after, made a few scribbles on the back of envelope .. and this is the result.

  



Bread Box with built in chopping board

 Mum and Dad came for a visit yesterday and they brought with them my eagerly anticipated bread box.  The lid flips over to become a chopping board and it stores 2 loaves of bread and 6 bread rolls. (Perhaps now is not the time to tell him that my sourdough starter was a complete disaster).  He mentioned that he is making Deb a knitting loom and I found myself wanting one as well.

We like to think that our craftiness is fuelling his hobby.  It's a wonderful win-win situation.

So, Happy Fathers Day Dad.  Thanks for all your wonderful masterpieces that allow us to keep all our craft items (and bread) on display and never far from hand.

UPDATE - 27 DEC

This is the latest masterpiece from our Dad - a wool winder.  It is just beautiful and does a wonderful job.

Squirrel Swift and Wool Winder

We had a big discussion on the best type of swift that would go with it so I can't wait to see what he comes up with.  Whatever it is, it will be beautiful and we will treasure it.

The plans are available here  for anyone who is crafty enough to make one.

Lots of Love,
Louise, Deb, Hayley and Andie