Recovering our Diningroom Chairs

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For my birthday (almost two months ago) my mother and I recovered the chairs to the dining set that came to us almost a year ago. Thanks mum!

The set originally belonged to my great-grandparents (Agnes and Nelson Johnson) and made their way through several lives to our home. My grandmother had recovered them years before they arrived here, and while I have a fondness for anything so "her" the stuffing was showing through and it was time for their next life.

While my mum and I talked about going to Osgood's in Springfield (great place for upholstery and large quantities of fabric), she ended up having enough fabric leftover from another project - refinishing another set of chairs from the same great-grandparents! Those chairs had originally been covered in a red silk velvet which lasted well over fifty years! Current prices of silk velvet being cost prohibitive, my mum chose a beautiful rusty-raisin colored mohair velvet. Mohair is also known for durability.

Unscrewing the seat from the frame, I had an adventure with pliers ripping out all the staples holding the fabric and padding in place.

Using the previous cover as a pattern, we traced on the back of the fabric and cut four new pieces. Using a dense foam and batting to round the edges and hold it in place, we stapled the new fabric in place and screwed the seats back in place.

These wonderful old chairs have a new look and a new life. We are so thankful to have items from our family's past, and grateful to get to give them a new round of memories. It's wonderful to combine our appreciation for the old-fashioned, our love of history, and putting old things to new uses.

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Heavy duty cleaning cloths

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A little over a year ago, I made a holder for un-paper towels. While I love them and use them daily, I found I need a sturdier cloth for some jobs. The un-paper towels are perfect for any job where paper towels would do the trick but even though they're cloth instead of paper, something a little heartier is called for when it comes to more significant cleaning jobs.

Inspired by this post, I decided to make my own.

Basic tutorial: Illustrated from left to right above.

I used half a yard of terry cloth and half a yard of plaid flannel cut into pieces for twelve cleaning cloths. I have small hands and the finished cloths are approximately 6"x8" but could be made any size. 

1.) Cut your pieces, lay them together, and stitch around the edge making sure to leave a gap of at least a couple inches in the center of one side. Leaving the gap in the center makes it easier to fold the edges under before top stitching.

2.) Trim edges close to stitching. I used pinking shears but trimming 1/8" to 1/4" from edge would work just as well. It's easier to see the gap in the seam.

3.) Flip inside out. Using your finger on the inside, push the corners taught. Fold the loose edges in at the gap. It helps to pull outward on the side seams and the gap edges will want to follow the rest of the seam.

4.) Top stitch all the way around, including over the open gap. 

5.) Repeat and enjoy! 

These are sturdy, machine washable, and feel good in my hands. 

In many areas of life I find that I enjoy the work I do to a much greater degree if I enjoy the tools and materials with which I am working. In a culture of disposables, things need not be wonderful. If they get the job done we then throw them out. 

At our house, we strive to have fewer things with more purposes. If something is going to be used countless times over the years, I want it to be beautiful, to feel good, and to add to our lives by ease and breadth of use. I think these will do just fine!

Latest Painting - finished at long last

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Sometimes things take a while.

24"x36" Acrylic on Canvas

I began this painting in the old apartment, about 4 years ago. 

A month ago inspiration for how to finish it appeared. After a few weeks of adding the lacework and finishing the background I put the final touches on it last night.

It is moments like these when I fully realize how important it is to believe that things will happen well in their own time, if we will only be patient.

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Lemon Drop Chia Pudding

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I've been experimenting  with different types of chia puddings for a bit and this was too delicious not to share. Another plus is that just about everyone I know could it eat! It's vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, grain-free, chocolate-free, has no refined sugars, and is nutrient dense to boot! Perhaps I'll try a grapefruit flavor next and see how it does.

Lemon Drop Chia Pudding 

Mix together:

• 1 can of coconut milk (I used full fat)
• Juice and zest of 1 organic lemon (if you're using the peel it's best to get organic)
• 1/3c chia seeds 
• Sweeten to taste (I used about 1/4 cup of maple syrup)
• 1t Vanilla extract. 

It'll take about an hour to fully soak up the liquid and won't solidify until it's been chilled for a bit longer. It's delicious for days - although I can't honestly attest to longer than a couple as it's never lasted longer in our house.

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200th Post! - Rhubarb and Raspberries

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Between traveling and all the various events and possible events, almost another month has gone by. I'm still running and hope to do a 10k race next month. 

Spring is most definitely here with leaves on the trees an flowers everywhere. A recent trip to visit my family up in New Hampshire sent me home with rhubarb and raspberry plants. They've had quite a patch up there since I lived there and it was starting to take over the lawn. I was happy to take some off their hands and start patches of our own. 

For the rhubarb, I was delighted when a small piece I'd planted last year made it through the winter, even in a tough spot. In the photo above you can see where I added a foot of height to the red rock wall at the back of the mulch to expanded the length of the bed to the corner. In a couple of years this bed will hopefully provide a bountiful rhubarb crop. 

For the raspberries, I cut the sod and put them in rows parallel to my drive. At the moment it looks like a dirt strip so when there is more than baby leaves on tiny stumps, I'll post a picture of their placement. 

I'm excited to add more perennial foods to our homestead and look to add a couple more this growing season. 

The bronze fennel I added last year came up with great gusto and I look forward to little candy-like snacks as they grow larger.

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Functional Decor - picking a project back up

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A couple years ago, I decided to make a copper wire tree. I have seen similar wire trees in window shops for years and decided to try my hand. Instead of using thin wire, I used a thicker gauge, hoping to make it a functional piece to hold jewelry.

The tree tipped over too easily without a strong base and so it was shelved until the muse felt like visiting again. 

She visited last week. I've been searching for inspiration for a piece of art for the bedroom and it struck me that I could not only create a base for the tree, but could incorporate it into a larger piece of work. 

A quick trip to the basement to see if we had any suitable materials quickly evolved into this:

A functional piece of art that incorporates two abandoned projects, scraps from the basement, and parts of a long unused household item.

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Vanilla Extract - Take 2

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As promised, here is a post from a pre-holiday project that has waited until now so as not to spoil any surprises.

You may remember that a couple of years ago I tried making vanilla extract. I posted on day 1 and day 30, but no final results. After the allotted couple months from the recipes I had found, it hadn't intensified and was basically vanilla infused vodka.

Original batch at 30days

 

This time I wanted more! So I did way more! I  used almost half a pound (buy in bulk online) instead of the few for the original batch and steeped them for six months! 

The result was an intensely aromatic and delicious vanilla extract.

The deep color and aroma of the extract is solely from the vanilla beans without any added colors, sweeteners or dilutes. It is absolutely divine and cost a fraction of store-bought bottles of similar size and quality. 

Most was given away as gifts and I still have more than I'll use in the next year.  I'll fill up the jar again and by the time I run out I'll have a whole 'nother batch.

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We did it! I ran 5k!

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We did it! We ran my first 5k race and ran every step of the way.

Since announcing the run a month before the race, my continued absence from this space has been very well occupied. I've spent at least one night in five different states and and traveled through five more several times each as well as continuing to train for the run.

Joe stayed with me the whole time and we clocked in at 42:10 which makes it a 13:35 minute mile. Based on how my runs had been going, I was aiming for around 45 minutes and am so pleased! 

 We're at the back right here. I'm carrying my coat. I brought a windbreaker to Joe's place on base but forgot it when we left to visit my aunt a few days before the race. Race morning it was 23 degrees when we arrived, so I started the run in my regular jacket and took it off when I warmed up.

It was so inspiring to run with such a vastly diverse group of people. There were people who walked every incline, people who sprinted and walked, the runners who did 5 minute miles and were done before we reached the half way point and so many like me - people challenging themselves to get off their butts (and buts) and do this.

Thanks so much for all the love and support, and I'm definitely looking forward to the next challenge.

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