![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
This weekend was supposed to be deck the halls around the house inside and out and do some crafting and we only got the tree up and the lights on it. But....the family room chair that the bottom was falling out of has now been repaired and I got to test my setup of my sewing table setup from when we installed the TV. It worked perfectly.
So the chair...we bought the mustard color chair and couch back when we got the other big couch at a consignment/resale shop for like 275$ total for the pair. We figured they were from the 60s-early 70s due to the color of teh fabric but they were in really good condition and super comfy. That was years ago now and the bottom of the chair broke out and what we figured was an easy repair turned into a bit more complicated but I didn't have have to send it out to be fixed. It wasn't too hard but it took time and one trip to the fabric store for supplies since I did not have upholstery stuff in my stash. The cool thing we figured out was the chairs got recovered in the 60s-70s but are really from around the the 30s since the internals are mahogany. so the upholstery burlap from then is not what we get now. But I bought some brown canvas duck cloth and an upholstery chenille which I found in the cheap remnants at Joanns.
I got home with my finds, setup the gate leg sewing table under my tv and cut out fabric and covered the old fabric where it went over the metal frame. I sandwiched the old between the chenille and the duck. The duck would be facing the springs. I realize now I should have put a layer of padding there but oh well it didn't have it to start with and lasted 30-40 years. Anyhoo...I got the bottom piece done and then mel used an awl to get the holes for the springs and it took us both to pull things into place to set. I then sewed the outside springs to the pad I made to keep them from wandering too much. I didn't do the center springs because I could not find my curved needles but I think it will be fine. I think put the canvas duck on the bottom to close everything up and used period tacks and a tack hammer to make it work. The previous items were this nasty weird fabric that was gross and dying and they stapled on. Yuck...staples. Ugh. So tacks are better. I only had one weird pucker on one edge but yanno it was my first time doing any of this. I'm happy that I've watched enough Repair Shop on BBC and Baumgardner Restoration to have an idea of what to do. So achievement unlocked.
For the before, in progress, and after:
( click to see pictures )
Mel and I also replaced my broken overhead light and that was easy until we put in a new switch and blew it up. Oops. The wiring in that junction box has too many wires and was too stuff and I think the ground hit the box poorly. So, its nice and brite and works when I turn it on so that is good.
So that whole chair project took me all afternoon and then to after dinner. After that Benton and I drug out the xmas tree. Which is when the grief hit for a bit. I pulled out mom's little light up xmas tree that my step sister had got her in the hospital back in December 2021. Oof that hit hard and I had to stop for a second and I shoved it back in the closet. Benton asked what it was and I told him and he asked if he could put it in his room. Which honestly, is okay. That helped a lot with my feelings but I feel that grief is going to keep bitch slapping me in weird ways coming up. Ugh. I wish it wouldn't but this is what it is. So, we got the tree up and the star on and Sunday we put the lights on. I let Benton stay up since we were watching Muppet Christmas Carol while we did the tree. But after Benton went to bed and Mel was already in bed by like 8pm. His sinus ick was still bothering him and his back hurt from something...probably coughing. he got up at like 10pm to shower and back to bed with his bourbon. I was twitchy and there was a text convo that had me swirling mentally. So I finally got in the shower at 1130 and then stayed up until 1am. I tried out my new LUS regime for my hair.
Sunday got up and moving late but not too bad. Got going, mel was still asleep when I left for the street fair. Picked Ari up and we got good parking where I nailed my parallel parking on the first try. The timing was right for people and things and we got a bit down the way before Chef Brian's Comfort Kitchen called to us to have chicken and waffles. OMG so good. We ate and chatted and got some sun and then moved through the fair. We had folks to shop for and it was a gorgeous day and having street beers to shop with was nice. We ran into Anya, Robert (thier kids) and Golda as we were done a few hours later. We shopped and needed coffee on the way home. We got Dutch Bros. which while not my fave is still better and friendlier than charbucks...though you can't get straight coffee.
Dropped Ari off and then headed home. Ankle was sore but not overly so and rested a bit when I got home before making dinner. After dinner Benton and I got the lights wrangled and then I tried to kitten proof the cord by wrapping it in velcro strapping the entire length to the switch and then placing the kitten cave on top of that under the tree. I did take the best photo of Spicy that I will probably use as our holiday card. Still trying to figure out how to write a blurb about the last few years...its daunting and I don't want to gloss over it but ugh. I probably had too much to drink but was comfy last night. I spun for a while to relax and hit to bed.
3 work days and I'm free for the rest of the year and I'm already got a fuzzy brain. Sighs.
Books: I finished #40 Down on the Farm and and about 50% done with #41 which is The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: 2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious.
So the chair...we bought the mustard color chair and couch back when we got the other big couch at a consignment/resale shop for like 275$ total for the pair. We figured they were from the 60s-early 70s due to the color of teh fabric but they were in really good condition and super comfy. That was years ago now and the bottom of the chair broke out and what we figured was an easy repair turned into a bit more complicated but I didn't have have to send it out to be fixed. It wasn't too hard but it took time and one trip to the fabric store for supplies since I did not have upholstery stuff in my stash. The cool thing we figured out was the chairs got recovered in the 60s-70s but are really from around the the 30s since the internals are mahogany. so the upholstery burlap from then is not what we get now. But I bought some brown canvas duck cloth and an upholstery chenille which I found in the cheap remnants at Joanns.
I got home with my finds, setup the gate leg sewing table under my tv and cut out fabric and covered the old fabric where it went over the metal frame. I sandwiched the old between the chenille and the duck. The duck would be facing the springs. I realize now I should have put a layer of padding there but oh well it didn't have it to start with and lasted 30-40 years. Anyhoo...I got the bottom piece done and then mel used an awl to get the holes for the springs and it took us both to pull things into place to set. I then sewed the outside springs to the pad I made to keep them from wandering too much. I didn't do the center springs because I could not find my curved needles but I think it will be fine. I think put the canvas duck on the bottom to close everything up and used period tacks and a tack hammer to make it work. The previous items were this nasty weird fabric that was gross and dying and they stapled on. Yuck...staples. Ugh. So tacks are better. I only had one weird pucker on one edge but yanno it was my first time doing any of this. I'm happy that I've watched enough Repair Shop on BBC and Baumgardner Restoration to have an idea of what to do. So achievement unlocked.
For the before, in progress, and after:
( click to see pictures )
Mel and I also replaced my broken overhead light and that was easy until we put in a new switch and blew it up. Oops. The wiring in that junction box has too many wires and was too stuff and I think the ground hit the box poorly. So, its nice and brite and works when I turn it on so that is good.
So that whole chair project took me all afternoon and then to after dinner. After that Benton and I drug out the xmas tree. Which is when the grief hit for a bit. I pulled out mom's little light up xmas tree that my step sister had got her in the hospital back in December 2021. Oof that hit hard and I had to stop for a second and I shoved it back in the closet. Benton asked what it was and I told him and he asked if he could put it in his room. Which honestly, is okay. That helped a lot with my feelings but I feel that grief is going to keep bitch slapping me in weird ways coming up. Ugh. I wish it wouldn't but this is what it is. So, we got the tree up and the star on and Sunday we put the lights on. I let Benton stay up since we were watching Muppet Christmas Carol while we did the tree. But after Benton went to bed and Mel was already in bed by like 8pm. His sinus ick was still bothering him and his back hurt from something...probably coughing. he got up at like 10pm to shower and back to bed with his bourbon. I was twitchy and there was a text convo that had me swirling mentally. So I finally got in the shower at 1130 and then stayed up until 1am. I tried out my new LUS regime for my hair.
Sunday got up and moving late but not too bad. Got going, mel was still asleep when I left for the street fair. Picked Ari up and we got good parking where I nailed my parallel parking on the first try. The timing was right for people and things and we got a bit down the way before Chef Brian's Comfort Kitchen called to us to have chicken and waffles. OMG so good. We ate and chatted and got some sun and then moved through the fair. We had folks to shop for and it was a gorgeous day and having street beers to shop with was nice. We ran into Anya, Robert (thier kids) and Golda as we were done a few hours later. We shopped and needed coffee on the way home. We got Dutch Bros. which while not my fave is still better and friendlier than charbucks...though you can't get straight coffee.
Dropped Ari off and then headed home. Ankle was sore but not overly so and rested a bit when I got home before making dinner. After dinner Benton and I got the lights wrangled and then I tried to kitten proof the cord by wrapping it in velcro strapping the entire length to the switch and then placing the kitten cave on top of that under the tree. I did take the best photo of Spicy that I will probably use as our holiday card. Still trying to figure out how to write a blurb about the last few years...its daunting and I don't want to gloss over it but ugh. I probably had too much to drink but was comfy last night. I spun for a while to relax and hit to bed.
3 work days and I'm free for the rest of the year and I'm already got a fuzzy brain. Sighs.
Books: I finished #40 Down on the Farm and and about 50% done with #41 which is The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: 2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious.
