My New "Knitting" Chair!

After waiting eight months for a 

chair I had on order from Ballard,

I finally decided I could wait no longer

and cancelled the order.

Making the rounds of the local furniture stores

I found one that "spoke" to me!

 I like the French script fabric.

It was comfortable,

which was the number one criteria since

my back likes to bother me.

(For someone who sits and knits

as much as I do, a chair with support

is essential.)

And the scale of the chair was right.

It was delivered the same afternoon I bought it.

(Ballard, I love your style,

but your customer service needs improvement.)

I now have a brand new "work station!"

The hidden bonus of this chair is that it's a

RECLINER!!!

I have never been a fan of recliners.

They always seemed too big

and too bulky.

If someone had ever told me I'd own one someday,

I would have said they were crazy!

Never say never...

Come sit awhile...

Linking at Twirl and Take a Bow
at
All Things Heart and Home

Chair Repair

A few years ago I found these two country French style chairs in a local shop.

They sit at a small table in my kitchen and have been used hardily.

This is where most meals are eaten and where

 morning coffee & papers are consumed.

I sit here to knit, work crossword puzzles and read.

Sadly, one is ready to retire.

But I love the chairs and am not ready to replace them.

I have re caned chairs in the past and felt sure I could repair the chair.

However, after inspecting the chair

I discovered the bottom, decorative piece of wood is attached

directly over the holes for caning.

Impossible to re cane!!!

I took the chair to my Dad,

who, by the way, can fix anything.

I thought perhaps he could take the chair apart,

I could re cane the seat,

he could reassemble it.

No.  He was having none of it.

Next I took it to a local furniture repairman.

No.  He was having none of it either.

Time for me to get creative...

...or make a last ditch effort to save my chair.

First I cut away the old cane.

Underneath the cane was some twine...

...which was also removed.

Next, painting the edge with the drilled holes.

I wanted to camouflage my next step as much as possible.

Other than the paint, these were the other two items purchased for my repairs.

My plan was to create a basket weave seat with

black webbing.

Because of the holes drilled for the previous caning

I had only a small lip on which to tack the webbing.

Not a totally elegant repair to my chair,

but at least I'll still get a bit more use from it.

I've added some cushions to the chair bottoms,

to hide the repair.

Of course, the new cushions necessitated a new tablecloth,

which I'll tell you about at another time.

This week I'm sharing with

Wow Us Wednesdays  at Savvy Southern Style

Open House Party at No Minimalist Here

Transformation Thursdays at The Shabby Creek Cottage

Sew Busy!

This is my office chair with a "just finished" slip cover.

Just before I moved into Buttermilk Cottage six years ago,

I sent out my desk chair and had it reupholstered

in a pretty blue to match my new office/sewing room.

The newly done chair was delivered before

I actually moved into the house.

I then had the cable/Internet company come and

get all that stuff wired and set up.

Since my "new" chair was in place in the room

where the cable guy was working,

he planted himself on my new chair!

The one I hadn't even sit in yet!

When he left, I discovered a spot on my chair!

Can you see it?

I tried rubbing it with a clean cloth and water,

but probably made it worse.

So, I've lived with it all these years.

Over time the blue has faded

so it was time to give the chair something

new to wear.

I discovered McCall's pattern, M4404 and thought I'd

try my hand at slipcover making.

On a recent trip to Ikea I had picked up a

white cotton bedspread they call "Indira."

I  liked the texture of it and had

no plans for it, so thought I'd use it.

I wanted something  I didn't have to

worry about fading (white=perfect),

and could throw into the washer and dryer,

(100% cotton=perfect).

First step was to wash and dry the bedspread.

After cutting out the pattern,

I placed the pieces on the chair to check the fit.

My chair's back fans out and the

pattern's is straight.



So I did a little alteration to the pattern,

adding the extra width and shape with extra paper.

The chair got another fitting and it looked okay.

Next came placing the pattern piece on the fabric and cutting them.

Once I started sewing, there were many more

"fittings" as I went along.

And some basting was needed to

make sure everything fit.

It was quite a lesson in slip covering a chair

I'm fairly happy with the finished results,

although I already know I'll do it again,

and make more revisions to the pattern for

a better finished fit and look.

Wouldn't it be perfect in a white matelasse? 

I recently passed up a white matelasse bedspread

in a consignment shop ($35.00) which would

have been perfect!

Lesson learned, get things when you find them,

even if you're unsure where you'll use them!

This week I'm sharing at

Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style.

My Chair Affair

Last week I found this adorable upholstery fabric.

There was just a little left on the roll,

but considering my love affair with chairs,

I couldn't resist buying it.

Adorable fabric = adorable bag!

All sorts of chairs!

Add a pretty stripe for the lining...

and a pretty button for closure,

and you've got a really cute bag!

Do you have a weekend trip planned?

It's just roomy enough for a few essentials.

Or how about a knitting bag???

Have a seat and let's knit for a while!

Inspired!

Several years ago I made this quilted table runner.

I used it on my dining table for many years.

However, once I moved to Buttermilk Cottage

I needed something on my table that

reflected at bit more light.

I still like the runner but where to use it???

I have this very useful little side chair in my living room.

I like it because it's easy to move from place to place

as needed for seating.

However, it's a bit blah, particularly for the holidays.

Earlier this week, I got an inspired idea!
Why not use the runner on the chair?
Simply by draping the runner across the chair,
then tucking in the excess...


I got a nicely covered side chair!!!


Now my little chair is all dressed for the season!



And all I had to do was work with what I already had!

This week please join with me as I party with
Savvy Southern Style
No Minimalist Here
All Things Heart & Home
Hooked on Houses
Cheap Chic Home
The Shabby Chic Cottage
and
French Country Cottage

Have a Seat

I'm noticing a definite trend in my house. I'm attracted to chairs! This is a framed print I've had for a while. There's something about it I love--the graceful lines of the chair, the background of old printed script, its simple black frame . It's one of those little accent pieces I move around from place to place whenever I'm rearranging.

This is the first piece of furniture my husband and I bought when we were first married. We found it at a craft show and bought it from a couple who restored chairs and were well known in our area for their chair caning craftsmanship.











I love this chair, even though I don't have "the perfect" place for it in my house. It gets moved around from spot to spot depending upon the season. Despite my constant efforts to downsize, I cannot part with it. I've even recaned it a couple of times myself.








This wicker chair actually belongs to my sister, Nanniepannie, but it sits on the front porch of Buttermilk Cottage, so I enjoy "having" it too. It was our grandmother's and Nancy actually has a picture of our grandmother holding her as a child and sitting in this chair. Priceless...
A few years ago this chair was in pitiful condition. The back and seat were broken and the chair had been banished to the garden shed. However, I have a good friend, Katherine, who is a gifted basket weaver and she generously repaired it for us.








Before moving into this house I did some serious downsizing. My former husband and I actually split all the furniture from the house we shared and I had enough to completely fill my space here. Except for in the kitchen, where the only "new" furniture I bought were two chairs to sit at my kitchen table.

I found these two chairs at an area antique shop and knew they had a home with me! Until I started blogging, this was where I spent every morning with my coffee and crossword puzzle. Now that time seems to be spent at my computer...

Another example of my chair fetish is this framed print. I first saw it several years ago, prior to "this lifetime," but it's a fairly large piece and I had no place for it. So, I "visited" it regularly in the store. I loved the colors and the organic feel of it.
Fast forward through a divorce and the purchase of another home. I went back to the store and bought it for "my new house" thinking it would be perfect in my dining room when I moved. Another fast forward through an addition of an office and bathroom and a total redo of the kitchen, plus painting and other cosmetic changes. Financial panic set in and I decided there was no way I should be buying art when I had all these other expenses. So, sadly the picture went back to the store.

Then, I moved into Buttermilk Cottage, the dust settled and I still had that picture in my head. So, back to the store (this was probably a year after I previously returned it) to get it. But, it wasn't hanging in the art/wall hanging section of the store. I walked around, dejectedly, telling myself what an idiot I was, when there it was, hanging in the floral department!!! It didn't end up in the dining room as I had planned, but found it's home in the living room where I take pleasure in seeing it everyday.

Here's one final little chair print which I found at Michael's. It hangs in my dining room. It attracted me because I love the color blue, the wood floor and snippet of rug remind me of my real dining room, the play of sunlight and shadow and quite simply, I'm attracted to chairs.

Let's sit awhile.