Road Bench

First, thanks to everyone who chimed in with ideas about what to do with the canning on this bench. I've finished the bench now!

Here's a reminder of what I started with:

I thought about using some grey fabric I have, but then I saw this piece of bright pinkish-orange fabric in my stash.

I got this fabric at Joann's, probably about a year ago. It was part of their dwell studio line in their 45" home decor fabrics. I think I probably got this for $6/yard.

I removed the old fabric (so gross, you don't want to see) and the accompanying 6000000 staples.I then did my best to totally remove the canning. I painted the frame white, and then started reupholstering.

I was sort of surprised how quickly this came together!

Even Ellie likes it!

(Ignore that small strip of brown. It has been painted now but I haven't had time to get new pics!)

A New House?

I have been relatively quiet lately, but there is a good reason for that. I have been in the process of buying a condo! I've been hesitant to share because I don't want to jinx the deal, but now that I'm under contract and things are rolling it feels ok.

To start, the condo is 820 square feet "above grade", and an additional 600 squarefeet in the FINISHED basement. It has two bedrooms and 1.5 baths.

The living spaces get great light, which is a change from where I live now, and the finished basement would make an awesome space for sewing and refinishing furniture.

The condo is in really great shape, I think (hopefully the inspection on Tuesday will confirm this), but it is outdated. It's currently a very groovy, matchy matchy condo.

I plan to replace the carpet before I even move in (er, you know, pending the discovery of what's under the carpets....) and probably shortly replace the counters and paint the cabinets. A place all of my own?? I can paint whatever I want? Garden space?? AWESOME!

Here are a couple pics of the place I've taken. Don't want to give it all away yet!

I Scored Big!

If you've looked around my blog at all you probably know that I love thrifting. I don't do it on a regular schedule but probably about once a month. There are a few places in my town, but my main stop is the Salvation Army.

I only recently realized that tucked in with the linens is some fabric, and at the end of an aisle there is a small bookcase with sewing patterns and notions. 

I looked today, and if I can say so myself, I scored big!

Someone must have recently cleaned out their sewing room. Would you believe I paid less than $16 for all of this?

-The zippers were marked 4/$1 and there were 12

-All of the hem tape and bias tape, and the buttons were split between two plastic bags each marked $3.99,

-The lining fabric and green w/flowers were each marked $.99

-The peach fabric was marked 3.99, the other two were 2.99

In addition, today was "super student" day, where you get 33% off your entire purchase with a University ID, which brought my total down to $15.18.

Look at the rainbow!

In addition, the last time I was there I found these two patterns:

 Simplicity 8333 is a pattern for doll (Barbie) clothes. I got this for $.99, as marked. This is a pattern from the early 90's, I'd guess. The store had a bunch of them when I was there, but I went for the one that had the most variety in garments. My mom has a preschool/daycare and her little girls will just love these things. I'm thinking I will be able to use scraps for these pieces.

Butterick 5212 is an OOP pattern that I've seen on blogland from time to time and liked. I was elated to find this pattern IN MY SIZE at the salvation army. I have yet to make it, but I have plans for it. 

So, how about you? Do you get notions at thrift stores? Is there anything I should avoid from second hand stores? (ie, thread could be old/brittle??)

Road Furniture

You know its going to be a great day when you get a free piece of awesome furniture before 9am.

A couple weeks ago on my way to work I drove past a bunch of furniture with a free sign outside of an apartment complex. Not one to turn down free project furniture, I stopped to see if there was anything I liked. Most of it was way to big to fit into my little Chevy, but this one bench caught my eye.

Sure, others might see ripped...black stuff on the bottom of the bench, nasty upholstery, dinged up wood and ripped caning, but I saw possibilities.

So I put this baby in my car, where it hung out while I was working. When I got home, I got to work stripping off the upholstery. Lots of staples, of course. But I also needed to start doing some research about what to do with that caning. 

I found a source for kits to repair the caining, but it seems it would be about $20 and I'm not sure if I want to make that much of an investment in it. Another option, I think, would be to upholster the arms.

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Or maybe I could just leave it open?

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What do you think? What other options do I have for fixing the arms?

Fall Wardrobe Plans part 2

So, the second part of my fall wardrobe plans! 

1. Butterick 5649- When I was in high school I had a pinkish-purple corduroy skirt from the Gap. When I saw the rainbow of colors of corduroy Joann's had recently, I was inspired to remake that skirt, but a little longer. This old skirt had buttons down the front but little other detailing. I found Butterick 5649 to be the perfect pattern to achieve this look. 

The pattern includes shorts, a straight skirt with a fly and pockets (is there a technical term for this?) and a a-line button up skirt. I will use the a-line button up this time (view A), but I am thinking I might also try out view C. This could be awesome for heavier fabrics- denim, wool...

2. Butterick 5600- This dress was inspired by one a coworker was wearing. I think I will make view C (below) although I may decide to add on the ruffle shown on View A. I have purchased a purple bottom weight fabric to make this, and will probably use dark buttons.

3. McCalls 6437. A top. I haven't made many tops, which is something I'd like to fix. I like the shape of this shirt, particularly the neckline. I also like the idea of adding some embellishment to the neckline.I have a pink chiffon type fabric that I would love to use for a top, this also might be a good option.

I feel like I will probably end up making  a few other things before all is said and done, but I am not sure what. What are you making for fall? Am I the only one that isn't capable of pulling together a cohesive wardrobe plan? :)

Vermont

You probably don't know that I grew up in Vermont. ALL of my family still lives in Vermont- I left for college 7 years ago, and I haven't moved back yet. 

You probably have heard about the damage Hurricane Irene caused in Vermont. Thankfully my family suffered very little damage- they lost power for a short time, and have some very soggy lawns. But other areas in Vermont were not so lucky, including places that I used to go to/by all the time growing up. Looking at these pictures is just heart wrentching for me, so hard. 

Something like 30 bridges were washed out, including at least 4 covered bridges. Three people are confirmed dead, possibly four, and others are missing.

You can help directly by donating to the Vermont Food Bank. Text FOODNOW to 52000 to donate $10. The Vermont Foodbank will help turn your $10 donation into $60 worth of groceries for local families in need, or go to their website to make your donation: http://www.vtfoodbank.org/.

Water in some places was like 7 feet high. In particular, the river that runs along the edge of the backyard of my house growing up was over 17 feet high on Sunday, with 8 feet considered "flood stage."

Cars completely submerged at a Vermont State College (Castleton-- their students just moved in at the end of last week! What a welcome to college!)

A camper was swept down the river and into this bridge..

The main street through Brandon, totally flooded. Just down the road from here a well known pizza house was moved 20 feet off its foundation as a result of the water.

This was one of my favorite swimming areas growing up- its the New Haven River/Bristol Falls. That road used to have trees on both sides, and an embankment along the river!

Ironically, Friday was such an exciting day for the people in my old 'hood. You see, just under a year ago the Champlain Bridge which connects Addison, VT to Crown Point, NY was deemed unsafe and closed immediately. Detour routes were generally about 100 EXTRA MILES EACH DAY, which was an extreme hardship on the people that lived in NY and worked in VT, or vice versa. After a few months they were able to install a ferry near where the bridge was, which runs 24/7. This alleviates some of the problem, but still adds time to peoples commutes. 

Well, they've been working nearly 24/7 on this bridge since late December, and Friday they added the top of the bridge, making it *look* finished. The area was all abuzz about the bridge being finished and how its going to improve life. Even though I'm 1000 miles away, I could feel the positive energy myself through the phone. People are just EXCITED about this bridge being completed.

So please, donate to the Vermont FoodBank. Or donate blood, where ever you are. Thanks!

(All pictures taken from Burlington Free Press)

Linked to Centsational Girl's "Favorite Things in My Town" Party...just took a different turn

Sunburst Mirror

I don't need to tell you that sunburst mirrors are a hot decor item these days, as you've likely seen them all over blogland and in stores. So I'll just cut to the chase. 

I made my own sunburst mirror, using some bamboo skewers I picked up at the grocery store, silver spray paint, a small mirror from a craft store, some cardboard and hot glue. 

I started by spray painting the skewers silver. I then used my little hand saw to cut the skewers to various lengths. I cut off the pointed ends of the skewers, with the intention of having that end glued to the back of the mirror. 

Once the skewers were cut, I arranged them in somewhat of a pattern around the back of the mirror. I started by using a pencil to draw lines cutting the mirror into 8ths on the back, and put my longest skewers along those lines. I then filled it in by placing a skewer in the middle of each remaining section, while varying the lengths, really by eye. At this point I also giggled about how in theory I would need an infinite number of skewers to fill in my mirror. Perhaps some of you will appreciate this too.:)

Lastly I glued the cardboard circle that I made by tracing my mirror (before gluing on any skewers) over the skewers. I thought this would make it easier to hang.

It looks nice on the wall to the right as you come up the stairs to my apartment. The walls in that area are very large and very empty, so this is a good step towards adding some interest there.

Chair Project!

About 2 years ago I scored this little side chair for $5 at a lawn sale. I really liked the size and shape of the chair, and the low price didn't hurt either. The chair itself had definitely seen better days, and the seat itself was in need of some repair. 

The underside of the chair. A mess.

It actually took me quite a while to remove the old fabric- because it wasn't secured with staples which allow some leverage, but with small carpet nails. In addition to the hundreds of nails I had to remove (stabbing myself in the leg with a screw driver in the process...don't worry, I'm ok) this chair was dusty. Yuck. 

Working on removing all those tacks

Close up of where the buttons were...naw, this fabric isn't dirty at all!

What the frame of the chair looked like after I removed the fabric
and the cats helped with a little scratching

Originally I was planning to use a piece of textured grey fabric I scored for about $4 a yard. It was on a clearance table for something like $10 a yard at Joann's, and on that particular day it was 50% off all clearance, AND I had a coupon for an additional percentage off my entire purchase. I didn't have quite two yards, but more than one.

But when I put this fabric onto the chair to see how it might look, I was bored. It looked clean and nice, but just not exciting. So I looked through my fabric stash (yup, I have a stash now) for something that was appropriate to use for this chair, and found some fabric that I have left over from another project that I thought fit the bill.

Much more interesting, right?

 Honestly, this is not a tutorial. But the picture below shows how I used the old fabric to make a template for the new fabric. I literally just traced.

And its done!?

It's hard to tell from these messy pictures (keeping it real, people.) but something wasn't right. The original upholstery was structured, where in this iteration, I just covered it the way you would a dining chair.

I lived with it for a day, but it just really didn't look the way I wanted it to. So I removed the fabric off the seat portion, and made a more structured cover using my sewing machine. I considered adding some pipping, but this project was already dragging on, and I've never done pipping before, so for my sanity, I decided that would be for my next project (which I already have in queue...wink wink).

So here are some final after pictures of the chair, and my cats being total hams. You should know, I took these pictures early in the morning, BEFORE I headed out to work, because the light was good--or at least as good as it was going to be. This is serious, guys.

For the back, I am considering adding some nail head trim, sort of like what's pictured below. Still thinking about it. Not sure yet. What do you think? Should I add nail head trim?

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