Monday, March 20, 2006

new furniture

Isn't it beautiful? This is the furniture I ordered last month. Came out wonderfully. This first photo is of a quilt display box. There are three panes of beveled glass (which is causing the distortion in the pic) and the rest of it is oak.

Right now it still reeks of stain, but in a couple of weeks I think I will be able to put some of my folded up quilts in there. Right now all my quilts that aren't on display are just heaped in a pile or crammed into pillowcases in the closet.

This cabinet has the most incredible workmanship:

The eleven pointed stars are made out of mother-of-pearl and I'm not sure what (in the old days it would have been ivory) and then individual carved pieces of oak all fitted together to make this gorgeous three-dimensional pattern. I wish I could take a photo that would do it justice, but after many attempts this is the best I could do.

When the furniture maker came to drop it off, he said this cabinet was too much work. (His father is the one who takes the orders.) I'm glad he was willing to do it.

So getting my furniture was a very good thing which happened recently.

On the downside, the car fell apart last night -- and this is after we just had a bunch of work done. The fan belt self-destructed and now it needs to be replaced along with some other gizmo. We either have to order the parts from the states, which takes time, or pay hundreds of dollars more to get them here, if they're even available. Sigh. My husband was lucky enough to get the car to a parking area near a friend's apartment, rather than having it break down completely on the Corniche (the main road which parallels the Nile and is very very busy). That was last night. Now he has to get it safely to Ma'adi with a borrowed fan belt. I'm crossing my fingers...

I got cranky the other day and decided I didn't care if there were workers outside my windows, I wanted some light, goshdarnit. There was no one around and I had them open for a couple of hours before I was asked to close them. I don't know if the closed curtains are for their benefit or mine. Don't know if they're worrying about being exposed to my naked knees and elbows (I'm such a hussy) or just the rampant American consumerism on display.

Thanks for the compliments on my Beady Eye. I have no idea how many beads I used. I think it's one of those questions it's better not to know the answer to. It was a LOT, I know that much. I don't know why I picked an eye as subject matter. In a Halloween context they're kinda creepy, but I'm actually surrounded by eye images on a daily basis, since one of the things I love to collect in Egypt is the tokens to avert the evil eye. Sounds like a topic for me to explore another day...

14 comments:

Passionate Quilter said...

Awesome! I love the quilt cabinet and actually was just talking to my hubby this weekend about one similar to that. But the other--WHOA! Knocks your socks off! Now that will be an heirloom piece!

Laurie Ann said...

What beautiful furniture! A lot of my quilts are hidden in wooden chest thingies. The chests themselves are pretty, but I would like something to display my quilts. Even one of those ladder thingies.

Anonymous said...

Wow! That second cabinet is outstanding! I didn't know they made things like this any more - what a treasure! I love the bevelled glass on the quilt display cabinet - it'll look great filled up with your quilts. Bummer about the car - I HATE spending money on the car! Sometimes I think it would be much better if we all had horses and carts LOL.

Sarah said...

OOOHHH! I am so jealous! Your new furniture is beautiful! Make sure you post a picture after you have loaded all the quilts into the glass one. I love the carving on the front of the solid piece. What are you going to use that one for?

Sarah

Bonnie K. Hunter said...

Oh wow! The furniture is GORGEOUS!! I love the workmanship....definately one of a kind pieces....the quilts will look great folded in teh cabinet! I'd love to have something like that..though I don't know where I'd put it. Sorry about the car...hate car troubles, most annoying, very inconvenient!

Bonnie

Finn said...

Really lovely pieces Tonya.I'm sure your quilts will look great in that cabinet.

Glad you got to open the drapes ofr blinds for a few hours at least. Must be horrible to have to keep them closed.

Patti said...

Tonya, these are absolutely wonderful. What an artist he is! These are pieces to cherish all your lives.

Cher said...

amazing workmanship on those cabinets..very beautiful. Nice you had a chance to have some sunlight into your place-if only for a few hours...how frustrating to have additional car issues-hope that gets sorted out quickly.

Dorothee said...

I'd love to see the cabinet "fully stocked"! And all those pieces are gorgeous. Lucky you!

Lily Mulholland said...

You hussy you!! Must've been a relief to get some light in!

And that cabinetry is just beautiful. It's so hard to find quality craftsmanship like that.

Can't wait to see the glass one stocked. hmm yes. Best to wait till those fumes disperse!

Quilts And Pieces said...

Oh my gosh Tonya! Those 2 cabinets are to die for! That one with all the carving and inlay is an absolute treasure! Oh I love them!

Your stuff about opening the curtains is just too funny! I just can't even imagine living like that!

Now I would make you buy me one of those cabinets if I were RICH!

Nines said...

Lovely furniture!! I especially like the quilt cabinet- don't we all. But I can just imagine the carpenter/craftsman saying, "You said what?" when he got a look at the description and the bill for that other gorgeous piece! I can also imagine that it was hard for him to let it go! Love the eyeball- is it a self-portrait? Good orange beads are very difficult to find. And those poor guys outside your window were probably just horribly distracted by the babe inside! The foreman's just trying to get some work out of them. Have mercy, Tonya!

Darcie said...

Ohmygoodness, Tonya! I'm having system overload here. Your cabinet is out-of-this-world beautiful. Lucky you!

And your floor! Awesome!

Holly said...

Oh Tonya, that quilt cabinet is wonderful! I can't wait to see your quilts in it. The other cabinet is a beauty. Too funny about the workers outside your window.