Weekend Project

DH likes to sit with his feet propped on whatever is in front of him. My answer to that was to buy a chair with a footstool. Unfortunately, once I sat in it he never had a chance. I don't know that he has EVER used that chair. But, I do love it so.
(It's a Lane as in the pic, mine is rust)

Anyway, he has taken possession of one end of the couch but had no place for the feet. In deciding whether to choose a coffee table or ottoman, we went with the ottoman. A nice ottoman can be used for the feet, as extra seating or with a sturdy tray as a coffee table. With this decided, I was on the hunt. I finally found something that would suit my purposes as the Beacon Value Village Thrift Store on 4th Ave (our couch came from their Stone Ave store). I love the 4th Ave store as it's in one of the older areas of Tucson, near the university and you can find the most interesting stuff there. You can also see the most interesting people. 4th also has great restaurants and other shopping, and is the venue for a twice yearly Street Fair that's "off the hook". Just get there early is all I can say.

This thing has the ugliest vinyl covering I've ever seen but it's sturdy and the right size so here we go.
In this photo I've already removed the buttons and taken off the creaky wheels. I plan to use bun feet eventually but have you seen the cost of those things? I'm hoping I'll be able to dig up a suitable alternative. Any ideas?

Check back Monday for the results.

Look What I Found

I have no idea what I will use them for but I know they will be just right for something! I think the shorter pair are sculptural enough to just be as they are, chipped paint and all.

Happy Thanksgiving!
5 things I'm thankful for:
My family is healthy and together.
I have a job.
My husband has a job.
A roof over my head and food on my tale
I learned long ago the power of living below my means.
(...and Thrift Stores)

THE Reveal of THE Chair

I love it, how about you? The fabric is perfect for the style and adds just the right amount of color to a formerly drab corner. I picked the fabric up at JoAnn's in the discount fabric bins. I always check out the fabric in that area and this piece caught my eye. It was only about 2 yds which I thought would work for the chair, but I knew that if there wasn't enough or I made a big mistake I could use something different for the back. Turns out I had just enough with very little left over.

I had never upholstered before. I've covered dining chair seats and made box cushions but not real upholstery. I did this with the help of j caroline! Her page made the whole thing much easier and gave me the confidence that I could indeed, do this. If you try to upholster, just follow the steps and take pictures of each step as you take the chair apart.

Weekend Project: Reup a Chair

I needed just that one special chair for my living room. Living in a small space isn't difficult but finding furniture that doesn't swallow the space can sometimes by tricky. I wanted a chair that swivelled so that whoever was sitting in it could either be a part of the conversation or watch TV. Other criteria were that the chair profile be small and the legs be visible, no skirting, which increases visual space. And lastly, it had to be cheap.

I've kept my eye out for several months and have seen some that came close to my needs but one day, walking through the Habistore, I found it. It was beautiful! Actually, THEY were beautiful, my chair had a twin. A small mid-century profile with no skirting and it swivelled. I was in love even if it did have dirty black vinyl upholstery, I could see beyond its imperfections to the chair it was meant to be, it was THE chair. And now it's MY chair!

























The price, 19 smackeroos-more than I might normally pay but I was in love. Sadly, Twin was left behind (living in a small space, no room for extras in the furniture department) but I'm sure by now he (or she) was just the perfect fit for someone else. This weekend THE chair gets a makeover-check back Monday.

New Day, New Colors!

I can't stop! I've had this blog every color combination Blogger has, it's so fun. Painting a room takes hours of work-here I can change colors with the push of a button. What could be better for those of us who constantly look at things and think "Wonder what that would look like in fuscia?"

I wish I could say that the watercolor I've added to the header is my work but alas, no. It's something I picked up on one of my thrift store visits here in Tucson. I am a thrifter, "Hello, my name is Judy and I can't drive by a thrift store without stopping." I am the one who has the car door open and one foot out the door before the car has come to a complete and final stop. Treasure is calling to me! I was called to this piece at a, sad to say, now defunct thrift store. It was a wonderful place with a hodge-podge of furniture outside, piles of dusty, unorganized stuff inside and cases crammed full of all sorts of interesting treasure. It always reminded me my Grandma's attic which was always off-limits to us kids. It was in one of the glass cases that I found a stack of watercolors with all sorts of subject matter. From that stack I chose this one. When I asked how much, the proprietor said those great words dear to the heart of every thrifter "I don't know, what do you want to give me for it?" I used to play a game with myself of not buying anything over 5 bucks-so out I walked with my $5 masterpiece.

Now here the story gets interesting. The piece was not framed and as you may know, the real money is sometimes in the framing. I decided framing it would be my Christmas present one year and took my 40% off coupon to one of those fabric/craft stores and chose frame, mat, glass. The nice lady rang it up---$400! I meekly asked: "Is that with the 40% off?" She shook her head in the affirimative with that "Yes, Dolt!" expression. So that was Christmas and birthday and maybe even the next Christmas but, I love it.

And everyday when I look at it I thank the unkown artist for painting it.

A Day of Sharing Words

The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.

Mary Oliver

Sharing Words

Autumn

I made this for the center of the dining room table. I wanted something that felt like autumn without being the ubiquitous leaves or turkeys. It was made mostly with leftovers from past projects but did give me the oportunity to add to my stash-what's the fun if you can't buy new fabric.
I've thought of repeating this with reds, greens, white and gold.
Quilted by my MIL-Betty.

Making It Home

We've built a couple of houses (well, actually 3 plus a 200 sq ft studio, 2 + studio of strawbale, one of log construction). StrawbaleRedux covers the building of our current home. Now that we aren't actively building that blog is dormant but I thought I would pick up here with my work to turn walls of straw and mud into a living, breathing home. Hope you enjoy my efforts.