wilde.hull

Ana’s side chair – completed

kristine — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:17:37 +0000

Well, the upholstery didn’t take me as long to do as the engineering the backs and the sanding and refinishing. So, here it is…Since Ana doesn’t have space for it, I think it is my new sewing chair.

before

after

Seed Saving

kristine — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:20:32 +0000

I did a lot of seed saving at the beginning of the summer, but have been slacking for the last couple of months. Since about July, I have had about 10 varieties of tomato seeds sorted and sitting outside that I kept meaning to bring inside. Unfortunately, the procrastination got the worst of them. I found today that they were thrown away. Ugh, I know it is my own fault but many of those tomatoes are no longer setting fruit so I am out of luck. The good news is that I do still have quite a few productive plants, so I can act quickly and round up some seeds for next year. I guess that is what I will do today, it is a good fall chore.

As far as the tomatoes go, they were by far my best crop this year. We made sauces and salsas, quite a few types of salads, and gave away bags to anyone who would eat them. We have canned sauce and salsa, still have many to stew, and in an attempt to save more our freezer is stocked with the bags that what we couldn’t get to. Now I have a lot of green fruit and fewer and fewer that reach maturity. I am going to start picking the green ones and trying for fried green tomatoes , relish, and I am going to see if we can get to pickling some. I just don’t want them to rot or loose them in a frost that I fear is just around the corner.

Ana’s side chair – progress

kristine — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:00:38 +0000

I am making some progress on that little side chair. I even found a woman on Craigslist who had some new(ish) foam she was getting rid of. I was super excited, but we did the transaction in a parking lot, and I really just looked at the size against my pattern to make sure it would be enough – which it was. I threw the garbage bag of upholstery foam in my truck and went on my way home. I was already on the freeway when I noticed that there was a definitive odor of cigarette smoke. They smelled so bad that I rolled down all the windows, but also decided to just throw them in the truck bed for the ride home. I left them outside for a few days while I contemplated what to do. Today I just put them all in a bathtub full of bleach and soaked them for a few hours. That was major improvement, but still I felt they needed to be done again. The pieces were for a child’s overstuffed chair, so they are relatively small pieces. I put them in washing machine (it took 3 loads), though I had my doubts they would survive. I even tossed them in the dryer for an hour. They are now going to spend another day or two in the sunshine to get the rest of the moisture out before I try to use them.

Here is the chair freshly sanded

and with its new white finish

here is a glimpse at the future…I cut-out the masonite back which will also get upholstery..Oh, and there is the fabric. I actually have had it in my sewing stuff for about a year, I picked it up a thrift store without knowing what I would ever do with it. The photo doesn’t show it, but it has a shimmery-silvery background, and is very soft. I kind of love it.

Cooler Nights

kristine — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 20:58:23 +0000

Well, the evening temperatures have dipped into the 30s. This means I need to think about a winter plan. I guess the first thing I am a little late on is the potted herbs. They took a bit of a hit in the first few cool nights, but I finally brought them inside, gave them a grow light, and a haircut. I trimmed them up to make sure that the roots stay strong and some of what I trimmed was just dead from my fall negligence. I think they will make it.

Ana’s side chair – another project

kristine — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:34:27 +0000

This chair was bound for the dumpster, left abandoned by it’s previous owners. Ana rescued it, thinking of my new-found upholstery “skills”. Well, it isn’t exactly a style that I love, but as it spent more time in my studio, I was more inspired. I decided to glam it up. Ana was less than impressed with my vision, but she trusted me to do whatever I want. It needs a new finish, the dark brown stain is worn in spots, the upholstery is a cute color, but very worn, and the padding is shot. I really don’t like the detail in the back, so I will be inventing a new one. I am going to attempt to transform this 70′s style dining side chair into a more modern glam-style parlor chair.

Upholstery project – (no class) Finished

kristine — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:33:49 +0000

I actually finished the sofa on the 6th day. However, I had some technical difficulties with my camera. One camera is on the fritz, the other was on loan. So, I was without images for awhile. But here it is. Jonathan was a big help with the bed hardware. I still need to hand stitch one arm that isn’t perfect, but other than that it is done!

Total cost of project:

Class: $90 (but lets take that out of the budget as a learning experience)

Sofa: $20
Fabric: $77
Foam: $100
Tools: $77

Total project: $274, ouch! However, the tools will be used on future projects, and I have a ton of leftover fabric. If/when I replace the mattress, the cost goes up another $150-200.

here is a reminder of what it looked like before:

and after:

the cushions are just a little tight, but should relax and flatten with use

Upholstery project – (no class) day 5

kristine — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 11:33:02 +0000

Today I started working towards finishing the sofa – on my own. I started with the second cushion. It was so much easier than the first. I am very pleased with how they turned out. Then I put the final cording around the bottom. That really helped polish it.

I then went to put on the legs. Yuck! They had nails sticking out of the bottom, and the old stain was scratched up and dirty. So, I set about refinishing legs. It took some patience and strength to get the nails out of the bottom, but with the help of Jonathan we got them. Then Jonathan helped me set them up on the lathe. It worked out really slick for sanding. I had a perfect clean 220 sanding on all four in minutes. Once sanded, I kind of liked the wood. I am pretty sure it is red oak. I did two coats of shellac finish, polished with steel wool. Almost all our furniture is dark mahogany and walnut, so I hope I don’t hate the lighter finish when done. I guess I can always stain them later if I hate it.

Now all I have left to complete the sofa is assembling the bed portion and touch up stitching (which I don’t want to start until it is all back together). I may get it finished tonight. Hooray! I have been thinking about making a few bolster pillows and had some buttons made in the same fabric if I ever get around to them. I don’t have material for the pillows and haven’t decided what color/pattern they will be, but I want something that will contrast. It is looking like a lot of blue grey.

Upholstery project – class day 4

kristine — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 01:00:32 +0000

The last day of class. I went with the goal of hand stitching the entire back and getting one seat cushion constructed so I could finish the final cushion at home and have an idea of what I was doing. Success! The back didn’t take nearly as long as I anticipated, which is good news, since the cushion took much longer than I expected. While other students were packing up and leaving I continued to work on that cushion. When I finally finished and cleaned up, I was the very last person in the class. I was so happy to load up my sofa and take it home. It was a drizzly day, so I wrapped it the best I could with blankets and tarps and took the slow, long way home. To complete the sofa I have to finish that second cushion, tack/sew on the bottom cording, attach the bed mechanism and feet, and then there are a few places that I will hand stitch to clean up. No problem!

I was glad that I attached the cording to the pillows the night before. It made the cushions go a little faster.

Upholstery project – class day 3

kristine — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 01:00:45 +0000

Wow, the 3rd day is already over. I spent the all class on the back and cutting out the remainder of my fabric. All was going well until I realized I managed to cut the back-side (full length of sofa) the wrong length. I had to re-cut. It was a good thing I had a lot of leftover fabric or I would have been in trouble. I probably have about four extra yards of this fabric even with the re-make. I hope I love the fabric when I am done, I have enough to do a small chair or something to match. That was my only hang-up today.

I am pleased with the way the back cushion portion looks. It originally had eleven buttons, but I decided to only do five and made them bigger and higher than they were before. It is starting to look like a sofa!

I took home the seat cushions to add the cording to, hoping that for the final class I can get those done. I also have to hand stitch the back panel on and there is a final cord to finish the edging. Wish me luck!

Upholstery project – class day 2

kristine — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 07:00:13 +0000

Day 2 feels like I am making progress, though slowly. I left class with both arms finished. I took home the cushions and the seat back to seam rip. Funny how fast six hours goes. Is there any way I can finish by the end of the week?