Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Mission: Mad for Plaid


Please excuse Baby Shadow. She thinks every new piece of furniture that come in the house is her new throne. 

This chair was my newest special order. It has a really cute shape, and the fabric was really fun too, but the chair had seen better days, and what was up with that lumpy seat?


It reminds me of a poem I wrote when I was little... "There's a Funny Lump in the Ottoman"

 But I'll try to stay on task for now.




After stripping off the old fabric and batting, I found why the seat was lumpy. The original burlap was so torn up, the springs were all poking through.



That doesn't look very fun to sit on, does it?

Besides replacing the burlap, I needed to retie the springs, to hold them in the right positions.


View from underneath



Next up was sanding and staining the wood, and adding some new batting. This stage was too tempting for Ivy, so she was temporarily banished to the basement.


 The customer wanted it to stay in plaid, but we found a fabric with more neutral, forest-y colors to go with another piece of furniture they owned.

Instead of the decorative nails, I was able to use ply-grip to secure the fabric in a neat way. However, I really had some struggles stapling it in some places.  It's pretty frustrating when your hands are tired and none of the staples are going in like you want them too.  I had to take a break and come back to it.  My next investment needs to be an electric staple gun, although, strong hands come in handy for jar opening. :)


Before:

Yes, there is a cat in the way again.
After:





Is anyone still curious about the poem?

Ok, ok, I'll show it to you, now that we've gotten through the important things.

There's a Funny Lump in the Ottoman

There's a funny lump in the ottoman,
Mom and Dad say it's just a spring

There's a funny lump in the ottoman,
Maybe it's a giant diamond ring!

There's a funny lump in the ottoman,
Maybe it's a million dollars, or a key

I just wish there was a hole in it so I could see!



Pretty silly, but imaginative!

Have you ever been frustrated with a project, just as you were getting close to finishing it?
Ever tried your hand at writing poetry about everyday objects?




4 comments:

  1. Wow! That was quite the transformation! As the 6th of 12 kids, I know ALL about springs poking up where they shouldn't....but usually it was because they were broken! ;)

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  2. The chair looks fantastic! I love plaid (I'm wearing a plaid shirt right now). And I love your poem about the ottoman. It sounds like it would make a cute children's story if you added a few more verses and a few illustrations.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! I like plaid a lot too, so it was fun to do an entire chair in it. That's a good idea! I'll have to think about that!

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