Side Tracked

OK, so my progress on the elephant project sort of ground to a halt over the weekend.  I had a house project (sewing for the house) sitting in my sewing room for a couple of months, and it was taking up so much room that I didn't really have room to have all my machines out in there.

This rather tied looking chair was a junk shop find for about NZ$30 because I wanted a chair to do my hand sewing and knitting in.  I originally bought it about 15 years ago, and recovered it a vibrant green, gold and purple print.  It sat in the corner by the window for years, with a floor lamp to illuminate my hand work in the evening, although it was in full sunshine, so was an ideal place to work during the day.  

Of course, 15 years of sunshine had taken it's toll on the fabric, and as well as fading the colours, several of the seams were looking a little fragile.  As well as starting to look a little tired, it didn't suit the colours in the new house and so had been stuck in the corner of my sewing room since I moved last October.  

This weekend I finally decided that I'd get it out and give it a new lease of life.  My son likes to watch TV in the dark, so a chair with a localised light was required anyway, and at least I'd be able to reclaim the space in the sewing room.

Last time I recovered it I used a curtain fabric with thermal lining, which was far from ideal.  it wasn't as hardwearing as a proper furnishing fabric and had absolutely no give in it, adding to the stress on the seams.  This time I decided to make life a little simpler and use a stretch fabric.  It was quite a thick Lycra print, which made it really easy to "fit" to the chair, as well as taking the stress off the seams when I sit in it.

I used newspapers to make a rough pattern for the chair pieces and covered the seat cushion separately.  Once I had a snug fitting slip cover I stapled it round the underside and put the legs back on. 

Overall the project should have taken me a day, but I ran out of staples for the staple gun on Saturday evening, so the project was shelved until Sunday morning. 

I think that it looks much better, and certainly a lot more modern, with the new cover, and it has now been installed in the living room with the floor lamp sitting behind it to light up my work.

I'm not sure about the legs - a wonder whether a lick of paint will complete the modern feel, but the legs unscrew so i can always do that at a later date.  In the meantime I have a great place to curl up with my knitting and hand sewing, while still being part of the general activity of the household.  Unlike Karen of Didyoumakethat I like to be around people when I'm sewing.  Even if I don't take part in the conversation, I don't feel so isolated when I can hear the conversations going on around me.  Although I frequently can't resist butting in, even if I'm sewing.