Really Christmas Sewing!

Ok this was one of my more bizarre sewing ideas.  

I’m doing Christmas Lunch this year, but I REALLY don’t want to get a Christmas tree.  Apart from the cost,

… they shed needles,

…I have nowhere to dump it in January so I’ll have to pay to have it taken away,

…but I hate plastic ones

…I don’t have a huge living area so it’d be a struggle to fit one in the living room and not have it get in the way.

After some deliberation I came up with a solution that 

...won’t shed needles,

…will be easy to store after Christmas

…will take up very little room in the living room

...definitely says “Me” in a way that no pine tree (real or fake) ever could.

I sewed myself a Christmas tree!

The fabric was from my $1 stash and apart from being rather loud for my wardrobe it is really itchy, so I don’t see a place for it as a garment.  There was only a scant metre of it anyway so I was probably going to end up throwing it away eventually, so I class it as zero cost.

I cut the fabric into three rectangles that were twice as long as they were wide other and two rectangles for the trunk and bucket.

I folded the three rectangles into a square and stitched down one side…

...pressed the seam to the centre of the back, forming a triangle,

…inserted some cardboard to hold the triangle firmly

... before sewing each triangle closed and stitching them on top of each other…

…added a trunk and bucket and voila!

A Christmas tree!

I’ve hung it on a light, so there is space at the base to place presents, and will be decorating it shortly.  The rather loud green and silver print means that I won’t bother with tinsel, just lights and few baubles.

When the sun comes back...

I realise that this may seem an odd project to tackle now if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, but Kiwis and Aussies may understand.  In the last couple of weeks spring has sprung here, and then hurdled headlong into summer with minimal delay.  The sun has been shining, and it has been seriously warm.

Now I may not like the fact that I’m currently unemployed, but it is what it is, and I might as well take advantage of the early summer.  My garden is pretty public, but I do have a small balcony upstairs which would be ideal for a brief afternoon siesta. 

In a previous life I considered it my smoking corner, so when I gave up at the end of last year I avoided using it because of the smell and the association.  Today I decided to reclaim my balcony and create a private sun deck for myself.  The challenge, of course was to do this with minimal expense.

Obviously the first job was a cleanup, so I scrubbed and rinsed the deck and eliminated all signs of cigarettes, as well as the mould that had built up over the winter.  Even clean, the chairs had problems.

I’m not sure why I thought trying to crochet a deck chair cover was a good idea, but as well as looking odd, it stretches…

…which makes it pretty uncomfortable.

So I dispensed with the string and used webbing, tightened with a ratchet, to support the new cushions

The cushion covers were made from a jumble of short lengths of fabric from my stash.  Rather than invest in cushion inners I found an old single duvet. My son took it camping a couple of years ago and got mud and beer all over it.  Even after a wash it still looked grubby, and I don’t have a single bed in the house anymore any way, so I cut it half and folded it up to make two rectangle cushion inners.  

They sit quite nicely on the chair frames, but if I put them end to end they also make a perfect cushion for a siesta. 

It is now quite obvious that the frames themselves need some attention, but by the time I’d finished the cushions the heavens open and we had our first rain in over a week!  The frames can wait for another day, as the webbing and cushions are removable.

Next time the sun shines I will have comfortable chairs to enjoy it.

All I need is for the sun to come back…

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.