Unfortunately I haven't had much time to sand the frame and panels in order to move on to the next stage of the cupboard/ sideboard I started on a while ago but, we have both been quite busy getting ready for some craft fairs before x-mas.

I decided to concentrate on plates and bowls as they are quite a practical sort of gift and was hoping they would sell quite well. Unfortunately the 1st opportunity I had to take photos was when they were on the stall so a lot of them just came out as blurs but, as many were sold they are the only pictures I've got of them!

Anyway, we've got another one coming up this weekend and are still quite busy so I'm not gonna ramble on, I'll just let you see the pics;

Highly figured Burr Oak shallow bowl/plate;

Burr Oak bowl;

Lightly burred Oak fruit bowl, around 12" Diameter;

And this smaller, very highly figured Burr Oak bowl;

14"Ash Platter, very attractive silver grain;

11" Ash Platter with very attractive grain;

Set of 4 Ash plates around 10" diameter. Very attractive grain with very unusual criss-cross pattern. Went to a good home before I could get a decent pic!

A few more Walnut bowls using the same Walnut as my previous ones, the wood is over 130 yr old;

Another natural edge Yew bowl, possibly the nicest one I've made yet and definately the most unusual shape. Also went to a good home before I could get good pics.

A selection of bowls made from Pear wood. Very pretty wood with lots of knots and inclusions in the wood....




And finally I also put together some more frames.

Firstly, this small picture frame from Oak with nice contrasting sapwood;

And also a couple of mirrors, this medium/large sized mirror with frame made from pretty 'Silver-Streak' Oak;And this smaller frame made from an unknown red(dish) wood, possibly larch but probably will never be sure.

Buzzard fayre was a really good weekend, met some druids, knights, wenches (of both sexes), maidens, more than one jester, oh...... and a magician! I managed to sell a couple of my larger plates and bowls (some of the 1st ones I made) and quite a few smaller plates and bowls but mostly we were there for the laugh and had a really good time.

Sarah revived the ancient art of relic trading......

Turned a couple of Yew bowls, the first of which I'd quite like to keep as I was quite chuffed with it,

the second was for Sarah to give her bro for a b-day present.

Also turned a couple of Walnut Bowls, the Walnut is from an old Walnut tree in the orchard - about 130 yrs old but very small despite its age which makes for very tight grained wood.....

a pestle & mortar (also Walnut),

and an Applewood bowl (also from the orchard) with moss still attached.

Also turned an Oak Mallet to replace the rubber one I broke at the Buzzard fayre. Its quite plain but (at about double the weight of my Apple one made recently) a good size and weight for heavy duty work - and as its quite simple; it doesn't matter too much if it takes a beating. Which it already has.

& Sarah also turned herself a small Applewood mallet for working small chisels for woodcuts.

Also turned some garden dibbers to sell on the stall.

In need of extra shelving I made some Pink Douglas Fir/ Cedar shelves as a nice quick piece for both shoes and for Sarahs' jam and jellies jars.

I'm not sure which pieces are which wood but they match up quite well - I've never really been that keen on either of these soft woods but they are quite pretty and as they remain quite straight; are nice and easy to work with - they took almost half as long as Elm shelves in the same style would do.

The 'natural edge' sides to these shelves are quite funky as they both have a short piece of branch sticking out at opposite points!Making all the different jams & jellies also meant reviving the great, long-lost, British tradition of scrumping!

I also made a stool / small table type of thing with Applewood 'crotch' legs and an Elm top held in place by Oak split wedges. It was quite a lot of fun and didnt take too much work, I had to strip the apple with a drawknife but once that was done I only had to make 1 joint before a light bit of sanding.

Finally; I've just started on a large sideboard/cupboard with a frame made from old Oak and panels made from Elm planks. The Oak has lovely contrasting patterns between the pale sapwood and the dark heartwood. I haven't decided on the top yet - which is quite unusual for me, this is often the first thing I decide and the rest of the article is built to fit the top....

Anyway, after quite a lot of sanding, I'll be starting on the dovetailed draws and cupboard doors so, more on this 1 soon!

It's been another busy couple of weeks - Sarah and I have been trying to get ready for the Buzzard Fay-re which is coming up, although we still haven't got our 'medieval' costumes ready yet (te-he!). A couple of weeks ago I decided to make my 1st chair, Sarah's been on at me to make one for quite a while but I wasn't sure how I wanted to make it. So, I decided to make it really simple.....

Which it turned out was anything but....

The main pieces have been reclaimed from one of the very old original window frames from the barn (over 130 yr old), the diagonal grooves running down either side are from the wooden slats that were originally fitted before any of the barns were fitted with glass. The rest of the pieces are odd bits of Oak that we've found lying all over the farm. Jim offered my favourite description when he called it "The Barn Kings' Throne".

It was originally going to be just 4 joints with just 4 pieces of wood - I ended up using 18 bits of wood so you get an idea of how much it's changed from it's original plan! As for the trouble it caused... Every piece of wood has warped on all 3 planes and the 4 main posts had rotten nails in them at every 1 inch - trashed 3 chisels and a router bit!

For those of you wondering; none of the wood has been stained! That is all from the natural aging of the wood.

The next thing I started on was this lovely little stool, the seat is another piece of reclaimed Oak from around the farm, the legs are bone oak - oak limbs that have dried and seasoned whilst still attached to the trees, because the full width of the limb is used there is no 'run-out' of the grain, this makes it extremely strong whilst still being flexible.

Now onto the exciting stuff; Bowls, platters & plates.

My turnings.

I tried a couple of bowls using bits that I've had lying around. Both bowls started off ok but as I went on it became apparent that choice of wood was far more critical.

The 1st bowl was oak, it was going really well and I was getting to the bottom of the bowl when a knot opened up and started curling inwards. just as I was making the last couple of passes with the chisel, it caught the knot and a massive hole suddenly appeared in the bottom of the bowl. I was just a bit disappointed as it had been going so well but....

The next attempt went even worse, the wood was too heavy and so unbalanced that it snapped the screw on my chuck. After quite a lot of effort to retrieve the snapped screw, I replaced it with a stronger pin chuck hoping this would be up-to the task.

Unfortunately not. The pin worked loose and become lodged in the wood - I didn't find out anything was wrong until I had finished the outside of the bowl and about to turn it round, desperate to save at least 1 attempt at my bowl turning I tried everything to dislodge the pin. In the end the only thing left was to split the bowl with an axe.

Even more disappointed.

So it seemed a trip to pick up some new wood was in order. Dear Jim, as usual, sorted me out with some lovely bits for turning; Quite a bit of Ash, some lovely Burr Oak, a nice chunk of gorgeous Spalted Beech and a nice piece of Cherry. The Ash was a mix of green backs (fresh cut edge pieces) and a seasoned plank and as this is a good uniform wood which works quite well I decided this would be a good place to start.

With a new choice of wood, picked especially for turning, the results were much better!

Anyway, I could ramble on about each bowl for ages but, as we are running out of time, for now I'll just leave you with piccies of a selection of bowls platters and a couple of small chopping boards that we are taking to the fair.

Now the monsoon is settling in for a few days, trying not to get cabin fever,

I've finished a few things and have got round to taking some pics... bit of a mish mash of the last three weeks. Bored of working with sticky enamel paint and having a liking for vintage ads, I painted a couple in acrylic , what a joy.. no waiting for each layer to dry!

Loving the flowers summer brings, in particular a mexican hat plant which looks like a sculpted piece of jewellery, the turqoise 'beads' surrounding the leaf are the seeds.

Painting on slate for a change

Painted a watering can for mum (Mrs. Tiggywinkle.. not Tiggywrinkle!) and fiddled about with other things... a demijon Ben originally cut a entrance for a candle which I popped a plant in for the 'summer'.... I love these.

Found a piece of Ivy that lent itself to being wrapped round a candle, and almost finished Ben's sign!

I'm currently trying to make a frame from a rescued piece of Georgian ( I think) mahogany furniture, the top piece is stunningly carved, with a leafy and shell like design. The plan is to be able to do several paintings to fit in it, probably advertising signs, one depicting something of that period, one comic..a circus perhaps or cures for dreadful ailments and something else I know that is wedged deep somewhere in the somewhat fading imagination!

As I write Ben has just come in with a beautiful bowl he just 'knocked up' on his new lathe, and a gorgeous ash bowl, AND several little chopping boards..(very sweet) for the Buzzard Fayre down in Cornwall. ( No doubt he will proudly show his latest wares soon!)He seems to be having fun on the lathe, bought from Harry, one of those priceless craftsmen, full of knowledge and handy tips, his wife decorates beautiful lace bobbbins (which Harry makes) with the most intricate detail I have ever seen, a masterful couple indeed!

Anyway, enough of blethering on, our weird chicken Korma has had her first brood of chicks...she really is a strange fowl.

A double sided sign for Loggi... his fav quotation being on the backside!!!