Chair Cushion tutorial

I started making cushion covers many years ago when my mother asked me to make one for a rattan chair in their Florida room. She had found a woman who would make all the square cushion covers, but she said she didn't know how to make the cover for the round cushion. I took the old cover apart, including the piping to see just how it had been constructed and then used the old pieces for a pattern. This is what is now called "reverse engineering." The new cover fit like a glove and my mom was very happy.



I really liked the foam cushion on the armchair and decided to get one for the rocker. The top and bottom of the cover were cut exactly an inch larger than the measure of the foam square. The side piece was cut 3/4 of an inch wider than the side measure. I had to seam the side piece because it was about 80 inches around, so I reinforced the seams by topstitching.




Using my trusty bias ticket, I made enough bias to go around both the top and bottom edges.



The bias is an inch and a half wide to account for the cording.



The cording goes inside the bias to create the piping. (Pin the cording to the bias when you start so that it doesn't slip out.)



Starting in the middle of a side, pin the bias with cording inside, to the raw edges of the top. Curve the bias to fit in each of the four corners.



When you reach the point where you started, cut the cording so that it meets the beginning end with no overlap. Trim the bias at a 45 degree angle and place it inside the leading edge.



Pin in place.



Use a cording foot or a zipper foot for all of the sewing involving the piping. I'm actually using what's called an overcast foot on my old Bernina. Sew around the entire top about 1/4 inch from the edge. This will insure that the raw edges of the piping don't slip when you are seaming the top and the edge piece.



Pin the edge piece in place striving to make sure that seams do not end up in the corners. When the two ends of the edge piece meet, add one quarter inch to each side and seam with right sides together. Finish pinning edge in place.



The edge piece, now in a ring, pinned in place looks like this. Get as close to the cording as you can when you sew this seam.



Here's the top and the edge turned right side out on the cushion for display. Apply piping to the bottom exactly as you did to the top and sew in place. Pin bottom to edge piece on three sides only.



I sew a line of stitching one quarter inch from the edge of the fourth side. It makes pressing it under much easier. Sew bottom to edge on the three sides and turn cover right side out. Press down the fourth side.



Put cover on foam cushion. (This is a little bit like putting a sock on an giant who can't help you by pushing.) Whip stitch the fourth edge closed and put that side of the cushion anywhere but in the front.



Here's the new cushion all ready for our dinner party tomorrow.

It's Friday already!

Well, I have no good excuses even. It's just been one of those weeks when I've done little jobs around the house that aren't very interesting like scrubbing bathrooms, priming quarter round, cleaning closets, hemming pants, and filing paperwork. We are having company for dinner tomorrow evening, so I've put the porch back together for now. That work will continue on Sunday. I am making a new cushion for the wicker rocker. I went to Hancock's to buy the foam and am using the decorator fabric with which I made pillow shams the first summer we lived here.

This must have been a low biorhythm week for me. Usually, I don't have any trouble getting motivated to do something creative. This last week, every day was just a slog. On the bright side, I will have a very clean house and time to return to Safety Pin studio on Sunday. Onward and upward.

Wicker Furniture Dilemna

So, I'm scraping along and as I get large areas free of the paint, a little voice starts nagging at the back of my head saying, "Maybe you shouldn't paint it."



It's looking like the pieces may have originally been green. You can see a big patch of it on the rocker.



And once in a while I come across the most gorgeous little kiss of copper paint. Copper was THE arts and crafts metal accent. This furniture was made for all those lovely porches on Arts and Crafts and Craftsman homes being built in the teens and '20's.



The couch is in a similar state to the rocker: lots of green showing through and infinitely scrapable.



The chair is going to be tougher because it's been indoors and my dad has kept it painted, so more layers to deal with here.



I've written to an antique company that specializes in wicker and to the Wicker Woman to see what they think about the paint issue. I'll keep you updated. Back to my little blue-handled scraper.

Sunday on the Porch

There is still lots of scraping to be done on the large wicker pieces, but, for now, the avocado paint can has been sealed up.
The end table turned out well, don't you think?



Here's the little stool with its new Retro Avocado legs.



The wicker table was the first thing to get the new almond color called Wax Works. The avocado definitely improved the old red tray, too.



Here's the vanity stool now painted with Wax Works.

Porch Progress

Several days ago I began the project to refresh the furniture on the screened porch. The bureau turned out very well. It's taking quite a lot of time to get the loose paint off the wicker, so that part is moving a bit slower.



Here's the end table after a second coat. The tray and stool will get their second coats shortly.

Thanks for the shoutout and visits during the apron event

Lots of fun with the apron event and some thanks are in order. First, thanks to Julia, the primary Apron Goddess for sponsoring the event. Next, a tip o' the hat to Scarlett Burroughs for thepicture and mention at Craft Gossip.com. To all of you who left comments, I appreciate each and every one of you for visiting and taking the time to make a comment. Comments let us bloggers know that someone out there in the blogosphere is looking at what we post. You all rock.

Aprons, Aprons, Everywhere

Today is the day. The Apron Goddesses' Aprons, Aprons, Everywhere event has arrived. Follow this link to their site for a Mr. Linky connection to all the participating apron goddesses. It seems I always find wonderful new blogs during these events, so I really appreciate bloggers who sponsor them.



This is my fancy hostess apron that was inspired by the pink, black and white 1930's reproduction fabric I used on the binding. Thanks to Jim for serving as photographer.



Here's a detail of some of the embroidery and the button nest composed of gems from Mama's button jar.

We've all been there: Anger

Anger. We've all been there--either as the person getting angry or the person who suffers someone else's anger and it's never pleasant. My son, Danny who blogs here posted about an experience he had in the grocery store with someone who was (inappropriately) angry. It's been picked up by Tricycle and now Elephant Journal where he linked to a poem by Jill McDonough that I sent him. (WARNING: Strong language used in the poem.) I learned about this powerful work from a Rachel Maddow Tweet. It gets right to the heart of the fact that anger and fear are very closely related.

I was brought up to regard anger as "not ladylike" and because it was a loss of control, it was doubly verboten in my family. (My dear husband describes my family gathering as a "carnival of control freaks.") Anger often brought me to tears which made explaining the cause of it difficult. In a recent study, angry women were regarded as less competent. A 1993 study of women and anger found some interesting correlations between anger expression and health.

How are you affected by anger or being in an angry situation?

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Change of program: working outdoors today

I bought paint yesterday and today it is gorgeous with almost no humidity. It was a sign that I should paint. I'm refreshing my Mama's Bar Harbor wicker furniture from the 1920's which hasn't been painted in donkey's years. The wire brush is taking off lots of the loose stuff. This is the rocking chair. There's a couch and an arm chair that I just brought back from Florida. It's all going to be almond.



I'm also painting an old bureau and an end table that I use on the screened porch. Last summer, I got one of those nifty hand sanders like they use on HGTV. It is the bomb as my kids would say. Works great in those tight places one can never quite get at.



This is a "before" shot of the bureau. It's old. My brother's baby clothes were kept in it and when my parents moved to Florida, it came to us. Our children's baby clothes were kept in it, too, and then it lived in our kitchen and on the front porch in Indiana. It wasn't very well made to begin with, so painting it only improves its appearance. Value is purely sentimental.



This is the new green. The white is very loud underneath the first coat, even though I'm using that paint and primer combination. It'll take two coats. Updates to follow.

4:20PM update


Here's the end table sanded down and ready for the first coat. The spray paint isn't going to work on the wicker. I'll just use the paint/primer combo on those as well, but will need to get it in almond. You win some; you lose some.



Here's the bureau after two coats. I was much happier after the second coat went on and the white underneath quieted down.

Finishing Finn's Quilt

Baby Finn's quilt is completed and on the way to Massachusetts. I made bias binding from one of the blue and white striped fabrics.



I made a tag for the label that is sewn to the quilt before the bias goes on. After writing the information, the tag is folded in half with right sides together, the two sides are sewn up, leaving the top open. Turned right side out, it is then pressed along both seams and sewn to the quilt on the back side with raw edges together. The bias then goes on the front side and is sewn down by hand on the back. (Here's a tutorial for sewing the bias on.)



In addition to identifying it's new owner, the giver, and the maker, it also includes washing instructions.

The Quilted Librarian as Apron Goddess

The Apron Goddesses are having an event on Thursday, July 16th. "Aprons, Aprons Everywhere" will provide you with a Mr. Linky connection to apron goddesses all over the blogosphere. As an inveterate apron wearer, I had to join in with the fun. If you would like to participate, go to this post for more information. Come back on Thursday for a photo of my very fancy crazy quilted apron. Below is a shot of me in my work apron about nine years ago. My friend, Chris Schaefer, embroidered my name on it and I made the Crossed Canoes block for it. I was sawing the legs off my stool because it was too tall for my work table. Still use the work apron, still have the stool.

The View from Saturday

It's Saturday, so it's safe to assume that we've been to the Farmer's Curb Market. Jim bought me these wonderful sunflowers that just seemed to make everyone smile as we made our way back to the car. We bought corn, green beans, cabbage, potatoes, green peppers, eggs, watermelon, and peaches. Despite getting there fairly early, it was teeming with people because it was Pancake Day. We didn't indulge since we're dieting, but they certainly smelled good.

Jane Austen's Sewing Box by Jennifer Forest arrived yesterday. I'd spotted it on one of the blogs from Oz that I frequent, Sophie Isobel's Her Library Adventures. (Thanks, Sophie!) Once I've finished Half-Blood Prince, I'll spend more time with it and report more fully.



I'm for the porch and working to finish Finn's baby quilt.

Influences on me as an artist: My husband, Jim

This is my dear husband, Jim, who announced this morning, "Gee, I had to scroll back all the way to our anniversary to find a significant mention of me in your blog." He exaggerated slightly, but I've determined that I can't win. Anna took me to task for putting a picture of her in a blog post that her co-workers found and took the mickey out. Because he has a blog of his own, Dan and I seem to have struck a balance on this. So, in an attempt to redress his grievance, this post is dedicated to Jim and his influence on me as an artist.

It was theatre art that first brought us together. We were cast in a production of Annie Get Your Gun here in Greensboro. Because we were both seeing other people at the time, we first became friends. About six months later, we were cast in a two-character romantic comedy and we've been playing it out ever since then. After we married, Jim began to direct me in shows more often than acting with me. He is, quite simply, the best director with whom I have ever worked.



Bus Stop was the first time he directed me and it was a memorable production. He made me a much better actress and gave me some incredible roles over the years.



The Man Who Came to Dinner at Wabash College was the last time we acted together--and with Anna as well.

In addition to being a wonderful director and actor, Jim is also a gifted writer. I've always encouraged him in his research and writing. He's written a few plays, as well, and I hope he does more because he has such a unique perspective on all the angles that must be considered to make a play succeed.



With a few exceptions, he's dedicated his books to me and the children. This is his first book on the commedia dell'arte. When it was reprinted, he had Mellon Press put a photo of the quilt I made for him, "Improvizo!" on the cover. Arlechino is his favorite commedia character.

Not only has Jim been incredibly encouraging to me about my art work, but he has also provide me with the time I needed to study and work. The importance of this cannot be overemphasized. He encouraged me to go back to Purdue to pursue an art degre. He single-parented the children for two weeks when they were very small two different times so I could go to Arrowmont to study with Nancy Crow, and for the week I went to QSDS. He helped me set up a studio space at home so I had a place to work. He had my work photographed by a professional photographer and had postcards made of my quilts. In other words, he's my biggest cheerleader.



This is the most recent piece that I made for Jim. It's called "Te Amo Mucho." That really says it all. I'll leave the last word to the best of all writers, Shakespeare (Sonnet 23).

As an unperfect actor on the stage,
Who with his fear is put beside his part,
Or some fierce thing replete with too much rage,
Whose strength's abundance weakens his own heart;
So I, for fear of trust, forget to say
The perfect ceremony of love's rite,
And in mine own love's strength seem to decay,
O'ercharg'd with burthen of mine own love's might.
O! let my looks be then the eloquence
And dumb presagers of my speaking breast,
Who plead for love, and look for recompense,
More than that tongue that more hath more express'd.
O! learn to read what silent love hath writ:
To hear with eyes belongs to love's fine wit.

Extolling the Expressive Life

Libby Brooks had an interesting article in the Guardian on the 9th. Bookended with a look at a thriving London knitting store, her piece really addressed the concept of "expressive life." US writer Bill Ivey coined the phrase and envisions "... creativity and heritage as the fabric of our society that gives meaning and value to our lives." (Ivey's introduction and the entire group of essays called "Expressive Lives" can be downloaded on the Demos site.) These essays raise the hope that out of our current economic woes and many people's disgust with consumerism, a new rebirth of the arts and crafts movement may come about. "The old manifesto has serious contemporary traction," Brooks notes, "respect for nature, dignity of labour, importance of long-garnered skills, access to beauty for all." Brooks likes that fact that craft is slow ("You cannot Twitter a cushion cover," she observes!), has a meditative quality, and is egalitarian.

I hope that these predictions are true and that many more people find a way to make their lives expressive. My expressive life helps me bring together the disparate elements of my life and make a sensible, cohesive whole of them. It also provides me with a strong sense of satisfaction in making something beautiful and meaningful with a practiced set of skills.

"Bits and Bobs"

This is a post of "bits and bobs" to quote Hagrid. My life feels somewhat scattered this week. Lots of errands and little jobs to do that don't really involve much creativity. I am making good progress on Finn's quilt--quilted most of one corner whilst waiting for my car to be serviced and inspected (see what I mean?).

I posted some time ago about Twitter and I am definitely still a novice Tweeter. Locating people to follow with similar interests can be difficult, so I wanted to provide a great link from Mashable about finding people on Twitter. This is a wonderful site that I go to when I want to get the 411 on the latest technology.



In between other things, I'm also rereading Half-Blood Prince before the movie comes out next Wednesday! Yes, I know. Nerd alert!! I don't care. How can you be a librarian and not love Harry?

What's happening on Tuesday

I'm still operating on the porch because this amazing weather continues. I have only a little corner of the stripes to finish quilting on finn's baby quilt, then it's on to the borders.



One of my non-sewing projects is for Anna and Matt. They are doing some renovating in their apartment this summer and have asked me for ideas from my magazines. I've been going through my old issues of Cottage Living, Domino, and Country Living looking for ideas. They want to create an island or a peninsula in their kitchen and are always looking for space-saving ideas since their apartment is small. I'm cutting out the pictures and then I'll glue them into this sketch book leaving pages on which they can make notes and drawings.

Now We are Six--ty

The End
When I was One,
I had just begun.
When I was Two,
I was nearly new.
When I was Three
I was hardly me.
When I was Four,
I was not much more.
When I was Five, I was just alive.
But now I am Six, I'm as clever as clever,
So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever.
~A.A Milne, Now We Are Six (1927)

Milne didn't provide us with Christopher Robin's reflections on sixty and I don't really have anything pithy to say about it myself, but I do think Billy Joel came up with a great thought two months ago:

"I'm not a looking-back kind of person. What I've realized about turning 60 is I'm not just one age, I'm every age I've ever been. Sometimes I'm 11, sometimes 16, sometimes I'm 25, sometimes I'm 38, sometimes I'm 42, sometimes I'm in my 50s. I'm all over the place. And it comes in handy, especially in this line of work." Source

Thank, Billy, I agree. I may be sixty, but it's still rock and roll to me!


Photo by my dear husband who also gave me the lovely yellow roses.

Independence Day

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism." ~Erma Bombeck

Notes from the porch

The weather continues to be glorious here in North Carolina--warm, but little to no humidity. I am ensconced on the screened porch with lots of hand sewing to keep me busy. Above is Finn's quilt all laid out and ready for basting two days ago in the studio.



Putting the first length of quilting thread in Finn's quilt on the porch.



Finishing up the binding on Mérida Remix.

A potpourri of project updates for July first

Here's a photo of my progress on the Brownies quilt whilst I was in New Jersey. Since I didn't make the deadline for the Thimbleberries challenge at Randy's, I've taken time to work on other things.



Last night I got the stripes all pieced for Finn's baby quilt and put the first thin border on.



I found backing flannel and a great polka dot fabric for the last border in New Jersey. My goal is to have this baby quilt sandwiched and pin based by the end of the day. Once it's quilted and off to baby Finn, I'll go back to the Brownies quilt.



This is the scarf I finally finished. No lie, I've been carrying this around for years. The yarn and the pattern came from Needleworks, a shop in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois that my friend Diane and I used to frequent. It's been two years and change since our last trip there and I bought it way before that!



I also finished quilting Mérida Remix in New Jersey so I'm sewing the binding on it this morning. Hand sewing the binding and quilting the baby quilt means lots of work to do on the screened porch.