A Tale of Two Chairs

As I lay in bed Wednesday morning after having been rudely awakened by my neighbor Pete's diesel truck (a story for another day), I thought how much I love clean sheets. My mind wandered thinking of all the simple things that bring me pleasure and a post was born. Then, however, once seated in front of my computer my eyes stung like nobodies business. Maybe the millions of particles of pollen in the air? Who knows, but one thing I did know--I just couldn't spend the hour or so in front of the computer that a decent post requires.

Instead I decided not to wait for Mr. Richard, my new upholsterer any longer, I would tackle the "Groovy" chair myself. Now, it's been quite a while since I made anything like a chair cushion, and in fact, never had I made a gusset. A gusset you ask yourself. Pray tell, what is a gusset. Well, there's this little thing called the internet that came to my rescue. Actually, Angela is the one who told me what the piece between the top and bottom of a box cushion is called. Sooooo.......using our trusty friend Google, I came across an excellent blog,Sew Mama, with not only written directions but photographic ones as well.

Suffice it to say that this project was not easy at all. I began 10ish in the morning and worked all day long. What took so long you're probably wondering? Well, there's the measuring, attaching the trim, making all the welting and then attaching it to the bottom cushions. A zipper in each, and then the gusset. By 5:00 Angela called asking why I wasn't done....the nerve of her! She came over to inspect the progress, pronouncing it pretty amazing after all. In England her college major was textiles, thus she knew to call that long piece in the middle, a gusset. I decided I'd had enough for one day, and sat down in our new little seating area for a chit chat.

Speaking of areas, I'm delighted to report that my sewing experience, aside from technical difficulties, was wonderful. It all just felt so roomy, with space on all sides of me to make a mess. And a mess it was! Batting, scraps of fabric, the old cover, measuring tools, trim, cording and of course the machine. By the way, I used my Bernina, leaving the Singer for something I know how to make!

At any rate, yesterday morning after having my tea and orange juice, I finished it all up and here you have it!Those of you who've never seen the "Groovy" chair, and for that matter, don't know it's history, it used to be painted a yellowish white with a reddish cover with very fuzzy trim for the cushions. Before Matt left he spray painted it that wonderful brown, and now I think it really looks groovy!

So that is the tale of one chair, let's talk about a second one.

Tuesday afternoon, the aforementioned Mr. Richard called saying my chair should be ready either later that day or Wednesday morning. All the while I was working on my project I assumed the phone would ring any minute. Alas, it did not.

Although he told me it might take a week, I was hoping that would not be the case. But, it was. I was so hoping to have it back for the little birthday dinner tonight that I called him Thursday morning. Apparently, he's not that great a judge of time because he said he'd be here within the hour. Impatiently I waited. Must have been four or five hours later he showed up and I am delighted with the results! I decided to photograph the before and after, prior to his taking chair # 3:Now, when I chose this fabric, our intention was to have the two chairs on the wall where the piano stood for all those years, thus brown on blue. Now that I have a new design, I was very anxious about how it would look against the drapes. I like it. As you may recall, I purchased the chairs for several reasons, one of which was comfort. Turns out some of that comfort came from all the sagging upholstery, so now that it's all fresh and new, it's comfortable in a new and improved way. Here's another angle:
Checking out my work, his pronouncement was pretty good. He also mentioned how hard the trim I'd chosen was to work with, and I couldn't have agreed with him more! Apparently fringe is the way to go...

So, now it will be yet another week, but now that I've seen his excellent work, I know the wait is worth it. In the meantime, he gave me a few pointers on the antique chair I've purchased the orange zebra fabric for. He said, if I could do the "Groovy" chair I can certainly do this one. Did I tell you that I had him leave the original name in the slipper chairs? Made by Tomlinson, in probably the 50's, they are from the "Sophisticate" line, which I think you'll agree, they look the part now. He also said when they were new they probably cost around $800! I haven't found much online regarding these chairs but here is an interesting link to some cane chairs from the same line,Sophisticate. Notice the similarities in the legs.

I'm going to have to come up with a name for the Zebra chair--any ideas?

Finally, I've settled on some lamps and that shopping is DONE! Mr. Baxter had to get into the picture on this one! Since taking it, I've moved the table next to the curtains, and the pole lamp on the high end of the wall. I like it. Looking closely, you'll see one of the lamps on the buffet. Because they were a sale item at Lightstyles I couldn't return them. Fortunately, when Mr. Bruce finally arrived home after four grueling days of travel, he was pleased.

A glorious spring day around here. The laundry is hung, and the time has arrived for me to begin preparing the birthday feast for our wonderful twin sons, who turned 31 yesterday. Bill and David never liked birthday cake, opting instead for a homemade ice cream cake, however tonight I'm insisting, if only for a place to put a candle. I've already made some mini pound cakes this morning, ready for a candle, strawberries, and whipped cream. Crab cakes to start, followed by good old fashioned fried chicken, potato salad, cold asparagus with sliced tomatoes and lemon-caper dressing and biscuits. You know the ones--Mary B, of course!