again with the home improvement!

 Reupholstery is now on my list of unknown talents!  I tackled the 6 dining room chairs, and we are nearing the finish line!  I say "we" because I couldn't have done this without Bob's help.  The upholstery business takes some muscle!  These chairs and table were purchased in the early 90's and have been our every-day eating area ever since then.  The fabric was wearing very thin and started fraying on the edges.

This is the "before" picture.

I had done a couple very easy things before, like recovering a foot stool.  But this needed to be done as neatly as possible and look close to professional.  I did some reading and scanning through some videos to get started.   I picked out a fabric that I really liked, even though I have some reservations about the light color.  But I decided to give it a go and see how it turned out.

Bob removed 1 million staples holding on the fabric, piping and dust cover.  And they were tough to pull.  I know because I started out doing it, but it was really hard on my neck and shoulder.  The staples needed to be pried out with a pointed tool, then removed with a second tool.  Those staplers were very thorough!

I had planned to replace the foam cushion, but struggled to get it to shape around the edges smoothly.  At that point, I threw up my hands and abandoned the project for awhile to think about what to try next.  By this time, however, 4 of the 6 chairs were missing their seats!  So there was no going back!  Still, I procrastinated for awhile, toying with the idea of just giving in and paying someone to do it for me.  But at that point, Bob urged me on with promises of help. 

So, I ended up just using the old foam padding, since it already was shaped just right to fit.  While the seats were removed, I washed and scrubbed the nooks and crannies of the wood frames.  There was a bit of accumulated spilled milk, squished vegetables and who knows what else in those hidden spots!  

After we were satisfied with getting the fabric all stapled down, I went to work on making the piping (welting) to finish off the edges.  The picture below shows what that will look like when it's stapled in place.  I cut the fabric strips on the crossgrain of the fabric, so it could be aligned with the stripes in the front of the chair.  So I have a few (quite a few) more yards of piping to prepare and then see if I can staple it neatly in place.

We did make a couple of rookie mistakes, but this has been a "learn as you go" project.  

One lesson learned:

Although I was very conscious of measuring and centering that wide navy blue stripe in the center of each seat, I did make one big oops.  This stripe is an uneven stripe.  The color pattern is not mirror-imaged.  If you look at the "before" picture, that stripe is an even, mirror imaged stripe.  Well, one of the seat covers got flipped around and stapled on in the reverse of the other 5.  Big oops!  But our mutually agreed upon decision was to not remove and replace that seat cover.  We were tired!  That's going to be our Amish chair, bearing a mistake to remember us to be humble.  And either be more careful the next time or hire someone else to do it!

Meanwhile, we have had a good period for our growing plants outside!  Two quite different kinds of purple iris have been blooming.

And the garden seeds that we planted a week ago are sprouting up.  Along with the weeds!  We had 2 days of temps over 90, so that really gets things going.  The garden is in full sun, so that's very favorable for growing but also prime sunburning.  So I look for less sunny times for garden time!

bring on the cold

I have been waiting patiently for a package to arrive, and wouldn't you know, as soon as I am away for a week, the package shows up. So today when I arrived home, I was eager to find out if the new winter coat that I had ordered was everything that I had hoped it would be. I am not in the habit of buying clothes sight unseen from online sources. I came upon this coat through The Clymb, a company that gathers sources for shopping deals and sends out email notices of the current options. They have a focus on outdoor sports gear, a lot of which doesn't apply to my needs, but there have been some attractive offerings even for me. I bought a pair of shoes, a messenger bag, and now this coat. All have turned out to be good prices and good products, so if you want to take a look at their website I don't think you will go wrong. But back to the coat, it is from Lole, and turns out to be a very well made garment that will be keeping me happy until the spring flowers bloom!

I love the attention to detail with pockets, plackets, tailoring and materials.

A couple of other sewing/quilting projects to share with you--

this is called Lover's Lane by Villa Rosa Designs. An easy pattern, just 1 yard each of 3 main fabrics.

Some snazzy little shoes for my future grandson--

And this one is Nancy's little baby quilt from an Aardvark Quilts pattern. The stripes make it a winner. Finding a good assortment of nice homespun stripes in these colors is not easy, but Nancy is a fabric collector extraordinaire, and her storage bins are like a treasure chest!

One last thing that I wanted to share with you, but have been forgetting about--

This was the sunrise on Christmas day as we drove along the highway. It was truly beautiful. A gift in itself. No wrapping paper required.