When I finally found them, I had to disappoint Tessie. She fell in love with the two photos that I had of Russian cottage beds. I had to break it to her that there wasn't going to be a free standing bed frame.
Tessie did specify, "No hanging cradles! Babies are icky, messy and sometimes they smell. Goofy Pig is enough to take care of." I wanted to question, "And he doesn't smell?" But I thought better of it....
I thought that the hanging cradle was an ingenious idea. It would be great in mini, but I guess not this time.
I think that I told you before that I am putting a trundle bed under the roof. It may not have a standing frame, but that doesn't mean that it can't have interesting bed coverings.
In the first photo, I was a bit surprised to see a beautiful patchwork quilt. The bed skirt was done in red and white cross stitch. There is a lot of that in Russia and the Slavic countries. I have several books of patterns from that area. Their towels and clothing are also decorated with some of the same red work designs. That will be fun to do.
I am crazy about the coverlet in the second picture. It is a woven rag quilt! I can't say that I have ever seen anything like it before. Poke the photo and take a good look.
The bed skirt on that one is crochet. The coverlet is augmented by a lambskin throw for warmth. Again, there is red work on the pillow borders.
This third photo is the one that I am going to try to copy as closely as possible. It is the kitchen area of the house.
The most interesting thing here is the fact that the samovar has a flu coming out of the top that vents directly intothe wall and the flu from the stove. Yes. They do call what looks like a fireplace a stove. I am going to have to see what I can find out about this.I noticed that most of the photos of the outside of the gingerbread houses don't have chimneys as such. The all seem to have a small, metal smoke stack with a cone on top. Many of them are in the center of the house.
After we settled the plans for the cooking area, I went upstairs and put up a couple of shelves.
There is a small lip where the roof meets the wall on both sides. I thought that would be a good storage space.
Face it. Tessie is going to be living in cramped quarters here and every inch of space will count.
Again I used a couple of pieces of the fan for the braces underneath the shelf. I may still put some pegs under it to allow for hanging things too.
Anyway, that is as far as I have gotten this morning. Tessie is screeching for me to get back to work and the laundry is calling my name in real life, so I had better go now.
See you tomorrow.
12 comments:
So. You're going to make a rag quilt, do red work on the linens and make a furry blanket? Can't wait to see!!!
Tessie will be all cozy in her new house. Will you be knitting her some socks for those bare feet? I think she will need some.
I think you should give Tessie a baby to take care of that will teach her to question your authority.
oh wait..that means you have to get her a husband too...
Never mind
Marisa :)
Oohh... wonderful beds and coverings, like that one you chose with the red and white very much:-)
Love that little shelf you made! And that furry bed....I want one!! You make that bed cozy enough, Tessie may never want to leave it:)
LMAO! A husband for Tessie.....Bah hahaha. Besides, she's got Zar to boss around!
You should know by now that Tessie is not the marrying kind. She doesn't like to have to answer to anybody.
As for the needlework, we shall see if I get that far. I am working on the bed itself right now. Next the feather mattress.
I love the beds but especially the hanging cradle, also because I have been wanting one for the tribal house. It is a pity that you won't be making it.
The quilt, I have no doubt you will be able to replicate and to do it par excellence.
I think you are the only person I know who still knit socks. I bow to you!
Wow, I love the stove in the picture. Tessie will love cooking at that! And the shelf you've put up is lovely.
Looking forward to seeing the quilt and blanket!
So, you are very well prepared for decorating the Russian house ! It's true that there were very popular to make things as patchwork or weave rugs from small pieses of weared (used)cloths or just some new fabric leftovers. You are highly skilled quilt maker so Tessie must be very well supplied will patchworks. With bed skirt you have no limited - stitching, croshet, knitting -almost any king of fancywork were used to decorate the bed.
As for stove - I just want to make a small remarks. There must be few (3-5) cast iron concentric rings for each burner to use pans and pots with different sizes.
And socks for Tessie is (are?) a must ! The floor was cold and there were draughts everywere. I think it could be wise to make some new warming cloths for Tessie...
Thank you Elena for your help. One question. Were the stoves that look like a fireplace fueled by wood, coal or something else? I haven't found any information on that.
La colcha estará preciosa, seguro.
Este estante está muy bonito y muy practico. Ya sabes que Tessie lo llenará rápido.
Besos Clara
Wood was ( and stil is) the general fuel in the most parts of Russia. In some places coal and turf can be used and sometimes bricks of dry dung (used as fuel or for construction in woodless regions) but it's not your case. YOur house looks like very typical for Central part of Russia, Siberia or Far East where there were a lot of wood. If you take any Russian folk fairy tales about Baba Yaga you'll see original russian stove as it is with shutter, cast iron pots of special shape and oven fork. I remember this things from my childhood when my grandmother struglled for keeping the "Russian stove" in her house althou there were electricity and gas because the quality and taste of the food prepared in this stove was incredible.
I really-really love these photos you found . . . the rough walls, the multi-layered bed coverings. So very cool. Love all the textures and subtle color. That is an interesting woven rag covering. As you know, I'm doing zero with mini (other than reading blogs) but I had to go out and buy some of the fan blades just in case!
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