Kitchen chairs

In other news, I have projects that are UFOs, but are not quilting projects. The first is recovering my kitchen chairs.

This has been an ordeal? headache? trial? something for a couple of reasons. First off, Mr. Belfry didn't like my fabric choice. How anyone couldn't like Amy Butler's Soul Blossoms, I'll never know. This wasn't the first fabric; this was actually the third, but it was the first one I liked with the chairs. The first two were remnants I picked up that looked terrible with the finish.

The second fabric was ok. He liked it better than the first, but it didn't really do anything. This is a laminated cotton from the Nicey Jane line.

Then in a fit of pique while at JoAnn's I bought the third fabric. I told him I was using one of the three, whether he liked it or not. The third one, of course, is polka dots. He laughed and said go for it. (It actually looks really nice).

It isn't a coated fabric like I wanted, so I guess I'll scotchgard it. My MIL originally covered the seats in upholstery fabric for car seats. It's lasted almost 40 years, so you can't fault her choice. Actually the fabric is ok except for the front corners. It was the foam that had disintegrated and needed to be replaced most of all.

The other reason this project has dragged on is mechanical difficulties. First, I couldn't get staples for my stapler. Then my electric drill wouldn't hold a charge anymore (It is almost 10 years old). So, I replaced both of those. That took three trips to the hardware store. The other factor is the chairs are a little over engineered. I had to take out 12 screws to get the seats off. Four of them had to be done manually since I don't have an extension for my new drill. I did learn that if you are taking apart a piece of wooden furniture, if you leave it long enough the parts will change shape and it will not be fun to get the holes to match up again.

Here's the after pic: Not to shabby!

Not bad for my first solo upholstery job. At least the fabric is straight.

June, better late than never

If you're considering starting a blog, one factor to consider before sharing it with your family is that it makes it very hard to talk about Christmas or birthday presents. There's also a good chance that you'll get asked why you haven't put up any photos recently. I have been sewing though.

I missed the deadline for the June UFO. I did finish it except for the binding by the end of the July 4th weekend. This quilt was originally intended to be a Christmas gift. But now I'm not sure. I'm still weighing if it will go with the intended recipient's house or not. hmmm.....

It started out as a pile of partly pieced strips:

I did a pseudo-quilt as you go technique, then came back and did a decorative stitch on each strip. I think I saw something similar in a catalog that inspired me. It's about 40x60".

I also finished up this one in May:

This was my #6 nephew's graduation quilt. The pattern is Tennessee Waltz. It's been done for awhile. All it needed was a label. I also wanted to get it shipped so he would see it before the rest of the world. Detail shot:

Additionally, I got the binding on two quilts to send to Japan. They're nothing fancy, but they'll keep someone warm. These are going to Quilts 4 Japan.

Other sewing:

I finished all my subway blocks and the top. Next up is quilting.

I've been working on my Chez Moi 2 quilt blocks for the past several months and completed that top, too.

I've working on the Glorified nine-patch blocks.

And I made a pillow for a retirement gift for a co-worker:

I've also started and finished my UFO for August. I learned last month. Do the UFO first, then catch up on other stuff. :) You'll have to wait to see that one.

July UFO

Greetings Blogland!

Last week while I was traveling for a conference with Mr. Belfry, I got through my entire binding pile. Six days in an air-conditioned hotel room. 5 quilts bound. Bliss. Granted, none of them were huge, but they would have had to wait til the cooler fall weather arrived to work on them at home. I've never had a binding pile before. Usually I do the binding as soon as I finish the quilt. I guess that means the challenge is working because I'm finishing things, and the list is getting shorter.

So not only did I finish my June UFO (better late than never), but I also finished my July UFO. And here it is:

This is another quilt I started just to play with a charm pack. I made up a bunch of squares then set them aside. The fabric is Oz by Sanae for Moda.

I had a few fat quarters to try and figure out a border, but nothing really worked. So, I decided to forgo the border and just finish it. It's around 25x30 inches and quilted in the ditch.

My August UFO is a really, really easy one. I think I put it on the list here, so I'd have a chance to catch up. I am behind where I wanted to be, but I'm still working through the piles very well.