CLEARING OUT THE OLD, MAKING ROOM FOR THE NEW

Yes, it has been a very long time, more than 3 months, since I last blogged.  To say that I've been busy and otherwise occupied would be an understatement.  The truth is, I miss blogging and I miss reading other blogs.  But, most of all, I miss my blogging friends.  Part of what I've been going through the last, well, really, couple of years, is a desire to clear out the old to make room for the new.  Several weeks ago I held a (HUGE) garage sale in my backyard.  The pictures below are from that  Thursday (big garage sale day here in Coronado) and Saturday.  When it was all over, I did quite well (enough to pay for the new clutch and starter in my car) though to look around at the yard, it looked like I sold NOTHING.  I had sooo much to get rid of.  What was left was donated to Goodwill and to other worthwhile organizations.  My house and yard look like a 'normal' person live here, though my garage still needs a little work.  The biggest lesson from this experience has been learning that I CAN let go and release all of what I am not using and do not need.  I had literally 100's of yards of fabric (some calicos since 1977!) that were doing me no good, packed neatly away in various boxes and such.  The local puppetry theatre that got a large majority of it will benefit in ways that I never would have.  

You may have noticed, too, some slight changes in my blog design.  Well, the fonts anyway.  I would like to re-design the entire thing to signal the changes in my life, but too much all at once is more than I can handle.  Slowly, but slowly I am making the changes I need to make.  My blog will, no doubt, relect them over the coming weeks and months.

VINTAGE BEDSPREAD SLIPCOVERS

I delivered this sofa, chair and pillows yesterday.  This job, a job that should have been much quicker and easier, took far longer than I ever thought it would.  It didn't LOOK like it would be so challenging.  The fact that I really didn't have enough of the bedspreads didn't help matters at all.

 Even the pillows were a challenge because I had to remake them, which meant completely taking them apart, serging the pieces, and washing said pieces before adding the white linen to make them larger.  The backs are the bedspread fabric.

 Because there were only 3 full-size spreads and the old slipcover (which had holes that had to be worked around) from the sofa, I was working with, truly, not enough fabric.  To make up for this, I used white linen for all the welting and white denim for the zipper boxes on the cushions and the decks on both pieces.  The hardest thing, though, is this type of 'fabric' tends to 'grow' once it's cut out.  Luckily, I was aware of this from previous jobs and that kept me on my toes the entire time, and a little concerned that once I finished them, they would be too big.  It also made me not want to work on them.

For the sofa back, I made a big tuck at the center to allow for the arms sticking out further than the top.  Buttons and button holes weren't really an option and this seemed the safest way to make sure the slipcover would actually go on without ripping it.  I made the ties from the linen.

 I, of course, had the same concerns with the chair.  It was somewhat easier because a chair isn't as big as a sofa.  Still, it was nerve racking.

 I have to say that I was quite pleased and happy with how it all turned out.

My client was as well and in spite of them being more than two weeks late (combination of hurt back and a death in the family,) she added a large 'tip' to the final balance due!  I've said it before and I'll say it again:  

I have the BEST clients!

LEATHER SLIPCOVERS?

 Okay, it's not really leather, but it sure looks like it.

 And it was almost as difficult to work with.  The fabric was some kind of fake ultra suede.

 And my serger really didn't like it at all.  It skipped stitched and generally made serging the edges a challenge.  In the end, though, it was worth all the pain:  my client loved it!

I especially liked the ottoman.  If it wasn't for the gathered skirts, you really would like the chair and ottoman were covered in leather.  It's just amazing what they can do with fabrics these days.

On another note, I have been having a lot of trouble with my back again, which has made posting more difficult.  It is much better, but still less than ideal.

MOO CARDS

I received my new business cards yesterday.  If you've been living under a rock or for some other reason simply do not know about moo.com, do yourself a favor and check it out.

Besides being incredibly cute, the possibilities are endless for designs.   All of these are photos that I've taken and altered in Photoshop.  I chose only 25 different images, but you can choose up to 100, so that all your cards are different.  The card stock is VERY heavy and the service is quick.  They have lots more than just these mini-cards.

Since I cannot seem to decide how to use my photography, this allows me to use the images while still figuring out what else I can do with them.

The only drawback to having such adorable cards is people tend to take more than one!

This is the only black and white image I decided to use.  And as you can see, you have the option of up to 6 lines of information on the flip side of the card.  If you haven't done so yet, go play at moo.com.  

DAY BED

 This day bed is in a home here in Coronado.  The designer, Max King, lives in New York City and the client lives in Connecticut.  This is her second home.

 The idea in this room was too make it look less like a bedroom and more like a sitting room.

 These bolsters are HUGE.  Once I made them I realized I was going to have a problem getting the covers on because, normally, when you put a bolster into a cover, you kind of bend it to get it in.  Since these are so big, bending wasn't an option.  At first I thought I was going to have to take off one end, slide the bolster in that way and then sew the end back on by hand.  In the end, I smooshed it down enough that it popped in and I was able to zip it shut.

And as if the challenge of getting the bolster covers on wasn't enough...When we were installing everything, I opened up the coverlet and Max said, "They sent the wrong fabric.  That's the wrong color."  Great, I thought.  Then I turned it over for him to see the 'wrong' side of the fabric and he said, "That's the right side."  Turns out I used the wrong side as the right side.  So I had to take it home, take the entire thing apart, turn the pieces inside out, make new welting (as it couldn't be reversed) and re-sew the coverlet.  Not the worst thing to have to do, but certainly not the plan for that day.  In the end, Max was happy and when the client comes to vacation in Coronado, she'll be happy.  Have I mentioned before that I absolutely hate messing up?

ORANGE IS THE HOT NEW COLOR THIS SPRING

 According to all the magazines, orange is the new hot color this season.  What better way to use it than as welting for this white duck cloth slipcover?

 My client is an artist in La Jolla and loves color as much as I do.

 Although the room is large and airy, using the orange as just a contrast does not overwhelm anything else in the room, including her art.

The original pillows were round, but I updated them with rectangular ones.

And this lovely piece of furniture is what's under the new slipcover!  My client's husband's comment when he walked in and saw the 'new' sofa was, "What an improvement!  Now that's something I can live with."

A KITCHEN BANQUETTE

 Talk about HUGE cushions!  

 This seating area in my client's kitchen is 12' long, which means each cushion and bolster is 6' long.  It's not really much different sewing a very long cushion or a short one, it just takes a lot more fabric!

And because they are so long, getting the covers on and off the back cushions was very difficult.  Since the ends do not show, I made the end caps part of the zipper box to alleviate that problem.

This is the 'before.'  Let's just say that it was incredibly ugly before and now it looks way better!

CHAIR PADS AND THROW PILLOWS

 Chair pads

 A lot of wooden chairs are very uncomfortable to sit on.  These stools at my client's kitchen bar were no exception.

 From another job I did for her, we discovered that making double ties makes the cushion more secure.  It also looks kinda cute!

 The leather sofa also got some throw pillows from the same fabric.  I used a red welting to frame the fabric.  That red caused a near-disaster when I washed the fabrics.  Knowing better than to wash the fabrics together, I did it anyway.  When I opened the washing machine, the white areas on the fabric  and the selvage were completely PINK.  Rats!  So I took the red fabric out and filled the machine with water and oxi-clean and let the newly 'pinked' fabric soak for a couple hours.  I then washed it again.  Luckily, the pink came out.  I then soaked the red fabric in vinegar to set the color.  In the end, I was able to avoid having to buy new fabric and you better believe I won't be making that mistake again.  Never a dull moment here!

The 'new' chairs at the bar.

SHEER BED SKIRT

When my client asked me to make a bed skirt for her, I said, "Sure."  When she brought me this sheer fabric, I nearly had a heart attack.  I HATE sewing on sheer fabric.  It is so unstable.  I call it slimy fabric. Did I mention I HATE it?  Well, I do and as this is a very good client that I've done lots of work for and with in the past, I didn't feel like I could actually turn her down, especially after I said I'd do it. 

At first she said she wanted it to be a double layer of the fabric.  This stressed me out beyond belief.  I couldn't figure out how to do it without all the seams showing, not to mention the bed frame.  I finally told her that I didn't think she's really like it if I did it that way and suggested using lining fabric for the back layer.  Basically, she wanted a ballet-ish look to the skirt.  

I know it is very hard to tell from these pictures, but it turned out really nice.  It was still an incredible pain to work with, but the lining fabric at least gave me the stability I needed to counteract the sliminess of the sheer.  It is also hard to tell, but the skirt doesn't go all the way to the floor and the sheer layer is about 3/4" shorter, which gives it kind of a petticoat look.  I was never so happy to finish a job and when I took it to her house and we put it on, she was thrilled!  That, in turn, made me happy.  If I never get asked to do another sheer bed skirt, it will be too soon.

IT'S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR

At least it's the time of year in Southern California that people are thinking their outdoor furniture/cushions need updating.

The patchwork pillow is a favorite of mine.  

My client loved this Tommy Bahama fabric.

The bench cushion and ottoman (not pictured) got a contrast welting so that everything tied together.  And what you cannot see is that all the pillows are reversible, so my client can change the look whenever she wishes.

The 'back' sides of two of the larger pillows.

The way I see it is, by making both sides of the pillows different, you get twice as many pillows for your money.