Feeling pleased with myself! - Re-upholstering dining room chairs.......

Before and After  : : : : : :

I've replaced the webbing underneath (approx cost $20 for 4 chairs), added some more foam on the side edges, as the seat foam was still in good condition ($18 for 8 pieces cut to size), and 5 metres of the new fabric was in the bargain bin for $4 per metre ($20 for 8 chairs), as I've still to cover some old vinyl chairs, but will be doing that in a different method.
The sides where (ahem) larger folk have their thighs resting over the edge is the bit that needed the extra foam.  It takes approx 3-4hours per chair to remove the 785 original staples PER CHAIR !!! and 20 minutes to put the new fabric on and re-assemble the chairs.
I really shouldn't count the cost of the new air-staple gun to make life a lot easier ($70), mainly because hubby will use it for other projects I decide I want to play with.
So I figure, by Christmas, I will have 8 new dining chairs, looking brand spanking diddly-I-doe new (ish) for a grand total of $68.


I am feeling so pleased with myself.  I just had to show what I'm doing instead of finishing off my Christmas stitching!

Christmas gift - and a reminder for the Ornament Exchange

Sorry that it's been so long since the last post - I just did not seem to have much to share with you all.  However, last weekend I did have a finish, and I've packed it away in my Christmas gift box.  A lovely lady at work has been bringing me bread all year.  It's the leftover bread from Brumby's - she has a neighbour who brings it home and gives it to her.  She knows that I have two boys that will demolish it all, and that last year was particularly tight financially.  So this year, I decided to make her a Christmas Table runner to say thank you for all her blessings this year.  I had a go at this pattern (found in one of the 300+ magazines that are still littering my loungeroom)  It was quite simple to follow and I enjoyed making it.  I did change the borders slightly, the original called for two sides to be edged with ric-rac, but I liked this version. 

 

You can see the fabric I chose for the border and the backing here.  The border fabric came from Denise's prize box, and sets the Christmas fabrics off so nicely. 

On a completely different subject.... did you know Google Reader has a blog limit you can follow????  Oh my, I have to spend some time going through my list, deleting those who have dropped off the blogoverse, just so I can add some new exciting ones I find.  How long will that take me???  

A public reminder for those who have joined in my ornament exchange for 2010 - Please remember to post your ornament to your partner by 1st December!!!  Post a picture of your ornament to your blog after your partner has received their gift!

Our leader has gone, but TUSAL continues on.

I checked my link tonight, and it appears that YoYo and the Dragon My Needle blog have left the blogging world.  I wish her the best, I seem to remember her last post was full of concern about the health and well-being of her husband.

However, this leaves our small remaining band of TUSAL devotees without a leader.  I'm willing to stand up and keep it going.  It is currently 9pm on a Thursday evening and I'm not up to posting a great big explainy post about TUSAL and how it works except to say that TUSAL stands for Totally Useless Stitch A Long, and is all to do about collecting your orts - the little bits of floss that are too short when stitching.  Somewhere between now and the next New Moon, I'll get my act into gear and fire up a TUSAL page - I may or may not keep a list of those who participate.

Any suggestions - ideas ? ? ? ? ? ?

What do you think?

my september 2010 TUSAL jar (and friends)

Another Christmas patchworkery finish for me - another gift to cross off the list!

 

Hot off the needle - another Christmas present crossed off the list.  I have a lot of greens, and although the pattern in the magazine (yes, another one) showed christmas reds, I felt that using all my reds just wouldn't be the right colour for the intended recipient

There is a local curtain and furnishing store, that put all the fabric samples from their sample books and offcuts into a basket out the front and sell them per piece.  I can never resist picking up half a dozen at a time, thinking that I'll make them into 'something'.

This time I did.  I used two pieces from the same range - one is more antique white than ivory and used them for the centre panel.  It's about 12" by 22" and will have to make a cushion insert.  I even sewed a ZIP into the edge.  I've not sewn a zip for over 20 years.          I remember why.  ugh!  Not an easy task when you cannot find your machine's zipper foot!  (mental note - remember to buy a new zipper foot for the machine!)

I'm quite pleased with the result.  I hope the recipient will like it.

Another GO Giveaway

Deeply broken-hearted that I am - I missed out on the last GO giveaway, but my spirits are picking up again - I found another GO giveaway at Lavender Ridge.  I've convinced myself that my quilting life (not that I am a patchworker or quilter) would be greatly assisted by one of these handy-dandy units.

Go along and check it out.

In Time for TUSAL and an early Christmas gift finish

Here is my T.U.S.A.L. for November 2010.  Please note the abundance of fluro yellow thread - that was all unpicked from Halloween stitching.  There is lots of red and black, as well as white, and I hope to have lots of christmas colours next month.  

Are you still filling your TUSAL jar?   

Do you use your orts for something at the end of the year?

Now for something hot off the needle - I saw this little fabric box in the November 2009 issue of Handmade - Special Country Christmas Crafts edition.  Budget Beater it said......use up your scraps it said.

Simple enough - surely I could follow this pattern by Judith Tetley. 

Page from Nov 2009 Homemade Christmas Edition - Judith Tetley's Challenge Piece

I cut up the pieces as required and started making the patchwork panel.  It was fine up to a point, but the directions got all muddy in the book and didn't quite make sense.  I also had to add a 1" strip to the lining to achieve the folded over edge as shown in the magazine.  I also muddled my way through the construction, completing it differently than the instructions.  I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, but it was a bit of a challenge, that was not going to get to me.

I've also been working on a tablerunner for a present for a workmate - I've got to get some backing fabric, then I can finish this one off.  I've also been busy making sullfolk puffs for another small Christmas Project, but nothing to show right now.

Another Snowman melts off the needle!!!

Hot off the needle. - SanMan Designs - Frosty.

Stitched on hand-dyed pink/peach aida

Stitched with DMC and Needle Necessities.

I made the buttons yesterday out of Fimo.

I now have a little jar of carrot noses - went for the 3D look rather than the flat look.  I might have to re-do the eyes on the very left snowman - we'll see how it settles when I make this into......into.......well, probably a cushion or a tote.

(My pile of finishes waiting to be made into a cushion/tote/wallhanging is growing!!!)

Now to move onto Christmas - specifically my Christmas Tablecloth and one or 70 ornaments..... 

I just checked - I thinkthis is my 10th snowman finish for 2010 !!!!  Now to find them all

Happy Hallowee'n - can the rain stop now please?

For once it's not stitching - But we had a Hallowee'n lunch today.

Mummy onna stick!

 I'll post the recipe on my cooking blog - Though fiddly, they are fun to make and very effective when served on a plate.  I made octopus too from the little boys.

I really would love to make the Cheese & Bacon Turtleburgers (go on google it... you know you want to),  but have to work out how to get enough bacon to make an effective shell.  Aussie Bacon looks different to American Bacon, but  gem of the idea is brewing..

Also showing photos from today's walk along the creek - there ARE roos across what is now Kennedy Lake, the creek having filled and burst its banks - this was a fast flowing bit of water.  I know we need the rain, but I'm so over it now.  I need to dry out before I develop webbed feet!

Tuesday morning sunrise

I woke a few minutes before the alarm today, and rather than try to capture a few more ounces of snooze, got up and set off for my daily perambulation with the dog.

As I stepped from the front door, it was just light. I acknowledged Lady Moon with a nod. She was demurely covered by a few wisps of cloud, still looking stunning 4 days past her prime.

I turned to the east, towards the creek and noticed the horizon has just a few faint tinges of mauve - the early sunrise catching the thin bank of cloud, changing the colour from it's pre-dawn blue-grey. Second, by second, the glow stretched and changed hue. As if watching a parade of young princes from Siam, each moment surpassing the previous.

I wanted to keep an eye out for wildlife, but my eyes were constantly drawn over my right shoulder as I walked along the creek. The pink glow gave way to a rosier glow, putting on a display for me, and me only. It was almost as if this sunrise wanted to be the best it could - after all, it only has one chance. The glow turned to an orange glow, fiery bright in it's embrace of the sky, deftly enhancing all the patterns in the wispy clouds. "I am the Prince" it shouted from the sky - "See how more colourful and pleasant to the eye I am?"

In an inkling, as if the Prince had heard his father's footsteps around the corner, the bright orange glow, gave way to a bashful, paler, version of itself. The orange lost all it's intensity as the King came closer, stretching his influence with pale golden courtiers.

By this time, I was facing west again, and Lady Moon had covered herself more, but was surrounded by pale pink wisps of cloud, the western sky tinged itself pink as the eastern sky gave way to a pale regal glow, clouds skittering away to announce the rise of this morning's Sun.


The King has arrived! The day may now start.

bronny
pakenham 6:45am
Tuesday            26 October 2010

Hot off the needle!!  It's a Lizzie Kate that I was working on this week.  I changed all the colours - used mostly Dinky Dyes.  I did originally stitch the 'O', the spiderweb in fluro DMC green, but changed my mind.  It hasn't shown up well here, but you can see it.  If I feel too thingy about it, I might backstitch part of the web in a mid-grey - we'll see how I feel by next week.  

I didn't stitch the little candy corn, but added a few buttons from my stash.  I won't tell you how many times that plastic spider made me jump while stitching the buttons and hanging cord on the back.

I really don't know if I'll stitch any more Halloween things between now and next sunday.  I'm starting to think more and more about my Christmas stitching.